McGill

[solairne]

Anybody applied to McGill's PhD program in Ling?

[psycholinguist]

I applied to the MA program there. I've never been able to figure out whether they'll accept students into the Ph.D. one with just a BA, but other Canadian schools want you to get an MA in linguistics first, so I decided I'd err on the side of caution.

[solairne]

I applied to the MA program there. I've never been able to figure out whether they'll accept students into the Ph.D. one with just a BA, but other Canadian schools want you to get an MA in linguistics first, so I decided I'd err on the side of caution.

Are the MA and PhD programs considered separately? It seems that they let in about 10 of 50-70 applicants per annum for the PhD program, but I have no idea about the MA. It's no longer listed on their webpage, but a few of last year's students who had their CV posted were admitted directly from BA into the PhD program. I thought the same thing you did, too. Hopefully it works out for both of us.

[tarski]

Seems pretty safe...

Applicants for direct admission to the MA or PhD program in linguistics should normally have completed a B.A. with a specialization in linguistics. Applications are also invited from students with a background in other disciplines. Strong candidates who do not satisfy all requirements may be required to take additional undergraduate courses.

http://www.mcgill.ca/linguistics/graduate/admission/

[solairne]

Seems pretty safe...

http://www.mcgill.ca/linguistics/graduate/admission/

Yea, I was thinking about that earlier. I know that the University of Toronto requires an MA for PhD admissions, but I'd imagine that is far from the norm because the number of schools that grant BA or PhDs in Ling is larger than those that grant terminal MAs... and there aren't many that do BA/PhD.

Are you applying to McGill Tarski?

[tarski]

Are you applying to McGill Tarski?

No, but I was considering it at one point (for philosophy) and remembered that their philosophy PhD also let you in without an MA, which is unusual (/used to be unusual/is becoming less unusual) for a Canadian school.

[ogopogo]

hmm...it's been a long time since I looked on this forum but now I'm glad I did since I can offer a bit of info on McGill linguistics.

It seems to me like you might have done the safe thing. Last year's incoming class had two people with MAs who went into the PhD program and 2 people with BAs (or equivalent) who went into the MA program (plus 2 others). They definitely used to admit people with a BA directly to the PhD, depending on their background, but not sure if that's common now. PhD and MA students take basically the same classes in the first year anyway, and MA students have the option to transfer to the PhD program later if all goes well.

Hope you both get good news back soon. I got the e-mail feb 16th last year, so probably not too much longer to wait.

[solairne]

hmm...it's been a long time since I looked on this forum but now I'm glad I did since I can offer a bit of info on McGill linguistics.

It seems to me like you might have done the safe thing. Last year's incoming class had two people with MAs who went into the PhD program and 2 people with BAs (or equivalent) who went into the MA program (plus 2 others). They definitely used to admit people with a BA directly to the PhD, depending on their background, but not sure if that's common now. PhD and MA students take basically the same classes in the first year anyway, and MA students have the option to transfer to the PhD program later if all goes well.

Hope you both get good news back soon. I got the e-mail feb 16th last year, so probably not too much longer to wait.

Do you mean that only 2 students matriculated to the PhD level and both had MAs? There were only 2 people entering for PhDs? That seems extraordinarily low. They said that 15% of applicants were accepted, so did only a handful of people even apply?

From those whom I spoke with at McGill (professors and graduate students) it seemed that they put much more emphasis on fit and ability to pursue scientific research than a particular formation. One of them even commented that some find it desirable to have a non-Ling BA or MA because the schools like to form you themselves.

As (I assume) a student there at McGill, how is it studying there? Are the professors as good as they seem on paper? How is the city?

[ogopogo]

Sorry, I didn't intend to confuse. There were six new students this year in the department, 3 in the PhD, 2 in the MA and 1 qualifying but i just mentioned the ones that had a BA or MA in linguistics at time of admission to the program. I have no idea about acceptance rates since I don't know how many offers were made and the acceptance letter just refers to the standard 'dozens of highly-qualified applicants'. Once in the program students have the option to switch degree programs so whether you are admitted to the MA or the PhD doesn't really matter, and certainly the fit of research interests are an extremely important factor in whether or not you get the golden ticket.

The city is great, even in the winter, and a lot of the profs here are really amazing. The first year in any program they torture you a bit with the courses, but good profs make a big difference and, from what I've heard, next year's class is pretty lucky in that regard.

[solairne]

Sorry, I didn't intend to confuse. There were six new students this year in the department, 3 in the PhD, 2 in the MA and 1 qualifying but i just mentioned the ones that had a BA or MA in linguistics at time of admission to the program. I have no idea about acceptance rates since I don't know how many offers were made and the acceptance letter just refers to the standard 'dozens of highly-qualified applicants'. Once in the program students have the option to switch degree programs so whether you are admitted to the MA or the PhD doesn't really matter, and certainly the fit of research interests are an extremely important factor in whether or not you get the golden ticket.

The city is great, even in the winter, and a lot of the profs here are really amazing. The first year in any program they torture you a bit with the courses, but good profs make a big difference and, from what I've heard, next year's class is pretty lucky in that regard.

Do they often offer an MA place to a student who applied for a PhD? That seems like not that many people apply if only 5 students were admitted, qualifying year not included.

I've made a few good contacts there and my interests match up perfectly with 2 projects Lydia White and Heather Goad are working on and my writing sample is very similar (it seems) to an undergraduate thesis that Jon Nissenbaum is supervising. The professors, especially Heather Goad, all seems very warm and welcoming. I hope that is a good sign!

[ogopogo]

Do they often offer an MA place to a student who applied for a PhD? That seems like not that many people apply if only 5 students were admitted, qualifying year not included.

I've made a few good contacts there and my interests match up perfectly with 2 projects Lydia White and Heather Goad are working on and my writing sample is very similar (it seems) to an undergraduate thesis that Jon Nissenbaum is supervising. The professors, especially Heather Goad, all seems very warm and welcoming. I hope that is a good sign!

I wouldn't expect it to be common. I don't think they have 'places' so much as a finite amount of funding for students that they can offer, and since they only admit as many students as they can reasonably expect to be able to fund for 5 years I guess that results in small cohorts. And on the whole, I think they care more about picking the students they want in the department than which program they apply to. It sounds like you have a pretty good fit with several of the profs and any of the people you mentioned would be great to work with. Here's hoping you'll be joining us soon!

[psycholinguist]

Thanks so much, ogopogo! This is all really good to know.

[solairne]

Has anybody heard anything or know any information? It seems that we're in the time period where decisions are likely to be made / go out.

[Phonix]

Has anybody heard anything or know any information? It seems that we're in the time period where decisions are likely to be made / go out.

good luck, solairne

[psycholinguist]

Rejected. Not horribly disappointed, but now this means that if the U of T doesn't want me either, I'll be back here next year.

[mikazukipie]

Rejected. Not horribly disappointed, but now this means that if the U of T doesn't want me either, I'll be back here next year.

I got rejected, too. I have my fingers crossed for you, psycholinguist!!

[psycholinguist]

Thanks! They rejected me too, unfortunately; one of my LOR-writers didn't get her letter in on time, so my application was considered incomplete and thrown in the recycling-bin.

Oh well. I got through disappointment last year, so I can do it again. And I could always go live in a box! * laughs *

[fuzzylogician]

I'm so sorry to hear that!

It's frustrating to be thrown out because of a technicality, that's so unfair.

[psycholinguist]

I'm so sorry to hear that!

It's frustrating to be thrown out because of a technicality, that's so unfair.

Thanks so much!

It's okay. I've asked if they do appeals since I am not eager to be held accountable for a professor's procrastination, and even if they don't, it gives me a chance to get some more research-experience somewhere before applying once again.

[psycholinguist]

Thanks so much!

It's okay. I've asked if they do appeals since I am not eager to be held accountable for a professor's procrastination, and even if they don't, it gives me a chance to get some more research-experience somewhere before applying once again.

Appeal was successful! Professor came through and re-sent the letter, and now I'm on the waitlist!

I am thrilled.

[fuzzylogician]

Wow, that's great news! Good luck!

[psycholinguist]

Wow, that's great news! Good luck!

Thanks so much! I'm just so pleased that they considered my application at all. Goes to show, I guess, that it never hurts to request an appeal and see what happens.

(For the benefit of those just joining us here in this thread, I ought to clarify: I'm talking about the University of Toronto, and their MA program. * grins *)

[liszt85]

Appeal was successful! Professor came through and re-sent the letter, and now I'm on the waitlist!

I am thrilled.

That's awesome news, congrats.. Something tells me that you're in the top half of that waitlist. Lets see, fingers crossed.

[psycholinguist]

That's awesome news, congrats.. Something tells me that you're in the top half of that waitlist. Lets see, fingers crossed.

Thanks!

How are you doing? Ohio State going well?

[liszt85]

Thanks!

How are you doing? Ohio State going well?

Extremely hectic but I'm beginning to LOVE my adviser's kind of work and he's awesome! I also participate in the music cognition lab group which keeps me happy too. So can't be better! My adviser meets with me officially twice a week and unofficially whenever I need his advice/help. I have a feeling that this is going to be a productive collaboration, so I'm absolutely thrilled at the moment but remember the graph? http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=125