Slavic 2017 +

[cokitty]

Hello all! Just thought I would start a new thread for those of us who are or are considering throwing our names in for this round of applications.

Of course, to some extent, this also operates as a "what are my chances" thread (as most "chances" threads do not apply to our speciality...) and a thread to discuss different programs and their relative merits.

I graduated this past May with a degree in Russian Language and Literature.  Last fall, I did some initial canvassing of websites and came up with a shortlist (from an already short list of programs available!) of programs and I'm working on narrowing those down and starting my applications.  I'm living in Moscow right now and teaching English, not only to bolster my language ability and teaching skills, but also to be more competitive by having spent time in Russia (which is my area of interest) as I wasn't able to study abroad for financial reasons.  I'm hoping to complete an MA and continue directly to a PhD in Russian Literature.

Programs currently on my list are (more or less in order):

• Illinois U-C
• UCLA
• Ohio
• USC
• Northwestern
• Washington
• Indiana
• Harvard

Initially, I was very interested in Berkeley and Stanford, but not many of their faculty have interests similar to mine, it seems.  I'm mostly interested in translation and representation of women (esp. in Soviet literature).

So, let's have it! Of course, I am also interested in current or past students of SLLC and your impressions and opinions.

[heliogabalus]

Indiana seems to have been bolstering the translation side of their program in the last few years.

[cokitty]

8 hours ago, heliogabalus said:

Indiana seems to have been bolstering the translation side of their program in the last few years.

Yes, I noticed quite a bit about translation on their site pages, which makes me hopeful.  The reason it's so far down on my list is because, quite frankly, I like the Illinois program more and I despise the location.  I lived in the midwest for 10 years and I'm not thrilled at the idea of going back, although if I liked a program enough, I obviously would - location, of course, isn't everything, but it's something.

[heliogabalus]

I've heard better things about Bloomington than Urbana as a city--but if the program looks better, that's great. I feel like Indiana is trying to expand more into other languages so Russian, which I think is cool, but if you're strictly a 19th-20th cent. Russianist a place like Northwestern could be good. What happened to UChicago? It seems like the place imploded or something. Do you want to go into academia or alt-ac?

[cokitty]

1 hour ago, heliogabalus said:

I've heard better things about Bloomington than Urbana as a city--but if the program looks better, that's great. I feel like Indiana is trying to expand more into other languages so Russian, which I think is cool, but if you're strictly a 19th-20th cent. Russianist a place like Northwestern could be good. What happened to UChicago? It seems like the place imploded or something. Do you want to go into academia or alt-ac?

Yeah, Bloomington is waaaay better than U-C.  You can't always get what you want, I guess.  

I've been dabbling a bit more in 21st century lit, but 19th and 20th are my core areas of interest and focus.  Northwestern's program does look good but honestly I'm a little scared by the fact that they don't require GRE scores.  It seems to me that every other place requires GRE, so why wouldn't they? Lack of rigor? I don't know.

Yeah, UChicago isn't even accepting applications... it's so strange! I wish it said why.

It's my dream to be a professor (ha), so that's really what I'm working towards.  I know the market is pretty sad at the moment, but there aren't a plethora of SLAC PhDs and it seems like a lot of faculty might be aging out in a few years...

[heliogabalus]

Northwestern doesn't require the GRE?? Weird, but my guess is that GRE English scores were hurting good candidates from Russia, so they dropped them. For Modern Russian lit, Northwestern has had a pretty strong rep.

Be wary of anyone who tells you that the faculty will be aging out. The professors will definitely be retiring, but those tenured positions will rarely turn into new tenure track positions. Just look at Penn: 3 professors, 7 lecturers. When Steiner retired, they just closed up the position, I think. I don't mean to be a complete downer, but compared to the number of academic jobs that open, there is a plethora of Slavic PhDs. Figure that every Slavic Department is putting out 1-2 PhDs per year; so you have about 25 PhDs per year. Of those 25, maybe 3 get decent academic jobs (if there are others, count on some senior professors to move). Next year when there are three more jobs, you will have the 22 PhDs left over from last year competing for the 3 jobs that the new 25 PhDs are competing for. The good news is that being a Slavic PhD does give you some unique talents that an English PhD won't, so you'll have some other opportunities--but I think within academia Slavics is as depressing as any other field in the humanities. (And of the schools on your list, only Harvard will really give you a better chance at getting one of the academic jobs.)

Edited August 26, 2016 by heliogabalus
typo

[cokitty]

Yes, I've had all three of my profs (none of which went to Harvard) say as much to me.  I'm trying to stay hopeful.  And, in the end, if academia doesn't work out for me, then I've still spent time doing what I love and I won't have felt like I've wasted my time Anyway, like I said, although academia is #1, if it doesn't work out, that's ok, in the end.  

[mrs12]

Hi! I'm also applying this round to several Russian Studies programs. (Russian Studies and Slavic tend to be lumped together depending on who you ask, but if you intended this to just be Slavic then let me know!)

I'm looking at a lot of different programs, but I'm aiming more for a professional focus rather than academic so that's been a bit more difficult to suss out. My primary list right now is:

• Georgetown MAERES
• Wisconsin-Madison CREECA
• Harvard REECA
• Indiana Bloomington CEUS

[cokitty]

Well, Russian is a Slavic language, so I tend to just lump it all together.  What's been the process to find professionally vs academically focused programs? It does seem pretty difficult.

[mrs12]

Too true. :3 I'm actually on the Central(eur)asia side of "Russian Studies", but honestly, there's so many names and distinctions and no set rules.

As for professional programs, there are two things I'm majorly looking for. I want a program that allows you to do more than just area studies courses. I primarily like statistics, but there are ways of mixing language and culture with "skill" based courses. And secondly, I'm looking for programs that have a good alumni/job network in my areas of interest. 

That might seem like it's not too stringent, but so far I'm still having trouble finding many programs that pass.

[cokitty]

Thread bump/updates!

My fully developed list of programs is:

• Yale
• USC
• UCLA
• Northwestern
• Berkeley
• Illinois U-C

[cokitty]

Hey, just wanted to brag in another place about my Yale rejection.  Didn't get an interview, knew it was coming (kind of like Berkeley at this point...). 

[wheresmysnow]

Пацаны!

"Is anybody out there?" as the great philosopher P. Floyd once said. What is going on with your applications? Who's heard what?

Also, to those who got accepted to Northwestern for Fall 2018, I'd love to have a word with you. You crushed my dreams and I have the utmost respect for you. 

I'm in lit, specifically the 19th century and its cross sections with political and social philosophy. Who else is with me? Any linguistics people in here? 

[nichts]

@wheresmysnow Radio silence for the Slavists, what can you do? I'm in comparative literature but my area is Central Europe (Czech and German).

[Willow2018]

@wheresmysnow I'm another Slavic Languages and Literatures applicant! I've been contacted by a few places, still waiting to hear from Columbia. 

[wheresmysnow]

On 03.02.2018 at 9:31 AM, Willow2018 said:

@wheresmysnow I'm another Slavic Languages and Literatures applicant! I've been contacted by a few places, still waiting to hear from Columbia. 

One of us! Mind sharing who has contacted you? 

What do you study? Ling or lit? 

I'm still waiting on Columbia too. No idea of their timeline, though. Fingers crossed for the both of us!

[Willow2018]

7 hours ago, wheresmysnow said:

One of us! Mind sharing who has contacted you? 

What do you study? Ling or lit? 

I'm still waiting on Columbia too. No idea of their timeline, though. Fingers crossed for the both of us!

I am a Lit person, but very interdisciplinary.

I've been accepted by Yale, Michigan and Northwestern and am waiting on all the rest (Princeton, Wisconsin, Harvard and Columbia). I've been interviewed or been accepted by all but Columbia, so we'll see!

Edited February 5, 2018 by Willow2018

[russianto2019]

@Willow2018 I'm also waiting to hear from some of those schools! Any updates on your part?

Edited February 26, 2018 by russianto2019

[Willow2018]

On 2/26/2018 at 6:37 PM, russianto2019 said:

@Willow2018 I'm also waiting to hear from some of those schools! Any updates on your part?

Hey! I've heard from everyone but Harvard at this point.

 

[Willow2018]

Update: I have now heard from (or withdrawn my application from) all of the schools to which I applied! 

[thornberry]

Hello, this may not be the best place for these questions, but I thought a new thread might be unnecessary.

I have a few questions for those who are already attending slavic grad programs (and for anyone else in the know):

1. What language are your classes primarily conducted in? I assume Russian mostly, but I was wondering if some of the literature classes skew toward English even though the readings are in Russian.

2. Is anyone attending a slavic MA program? If so, were you able to receive funding?

3. Lastly, most people who pursue slavic at the graduate level seem to want to work in academia, but are there any people out there who are more interested in working in the public or private sectors or, more specifically, in translation?

Hope I didn't ask too many questions for my first post; any help would be greatly appreciated!))