Fall 2018 Performance Studies PhD

[Quotidian]

If you do a results search you can see Berkeley PS has done a few interviews (and I have a friend who interviewed and was accepted), but don’t forget that sometimes schools do interviews and acceptances in rounds because not everyone they originally accept will necessarily take the offer. So you never know. 

[ubernerd]

Hey, @petrichordant I actually applied to Northwestwern IDPT and got invited to the interview/recruitment event via phone. 

I was told that there are only 6 spots and 8 applicants are being interviewed. 

However I wouldn't let this discourage you. 

[ubernerd]

Also, for those of you still wondering about Berkeley. I spoke to the performance studies department and I was told that 8 interviews were conducted and four were already accepted. The affiliate with the department then proceeded to say that it is unlikely anymore applicants will be reviewed outside of those 8 people.

 

so, I guess the Berkeley standard is: if you don't get interviewed it's unlikely for you to get in because they likely accept all their interviewees. 

 

However, I got informally "waitlisted" so if there's anyone not going to Berkeley please notify them as soon as possible so slots for others including me can open up.!

[ubernerd]

ALSO, I have a skype interview in place for Brown like some of you on the forum. 

If any of you have already been through any interview process can you share what it's like. This will be my first interview and I know partly the interviews are just to see if you're a nice and reasonable person and that you are asking questions and showing some sense of enthusiasm for the department. 

Im still shaking in my boots I need be in a phd program sooo bad!! 

Edited January 29, 2018 by ubernerd

[Quotidian]

When is your Brown interview @ubernerd? Mine is late Friday afternoon. Did they say who you were interviewing with? I am just preparing to interview with anyone in the dept. 

[petrichordant]

Thanks @ubernerd .  I didn't have high hopes for Northwestern anyway.  Congrats on the interviews! 

I interviewed with UCSB as a video chat with a bunch of faculty.  It was a brief interview; we mostly talked about my research interests and how they would fit with the department, as well as what I was interested in doing after the PhD. 

Good luck! 

[ubernerd]

@Quotidian I will also be interviewed late Friday. I think all the interviews are back to back. On skype. Hence the 15 min window we will all have. I received no specifications on who might be there but I'm guessing the director of the department, maybe the person you've requested to work with (if you're lucky), a current graduate student, and other department committee members. (such as the one who sent out the interview email)

 

[ubernerd]

@petrichordant

dude if you get into ucsb, I'll be so stoked for you !!! The campus is beautiful. And I heard good things about the faculty. That they are really nice. 

I definitely regret not applying. And did you just come up with an elevator pitch explaining your research. Was it more detailed then what you wrote in your sop. Or just a quick synopsis? 

[Quotidian]

@oppoffrown that’s a really nice offer! Congratulations on all of your acceptances. Can I ask if Brown asked you to tie your work to the theatrical canon at all? My work is much more in the realm of performance studies/performance of everyday life than theatre studies, but I’ve heard Brown cares about whether your research ties into both. Also, more generally, what were the most unexpected questions you were asked, or questions you wished you had prepared for more thoroughly in advance? 

[oppoffrown]

1 hour ago, Quotidian said:

@oppoffrown Can I ask if Brown asked you to tie your work to the theatrical canon at all? My work is much more in the realm of performance studies/performance of everyday life than theatre studies, but I’ve heard Brown cares about whether your research ties into both. Also, more generally, what were the most unexpected questions you were asked, or questions you wished you had prepared for more thoroughly in advance? 

I was not asked to relate my interests to "the canon". I seriously doubt that anyone will ask you a question like that. It could be useful to be able to explain where your interests exist in relation to existing bodies of scholarship. For Brown, I think it would be wise to be able to clearly articulate how your work/interests relate directly to their faculty. They asked, "why Brown?" So make sure that you can give a compelling answer that shows why your training is best completed at Brown as opposed to any of the other great programs. I can't speak to whether they care about if your work relates to both theatre studies and some non-aesthetic mode of performance studies. I wasn't asked anything directly related to that, and it seems like an awkward interview question. 

I don't remember a lot of the questions because it was some time ago. I remember the Brown question because it was so simple but I hadn't worked out an answer to it before they asked so I had to do a lot of quick thinking. It was(in jest) terrifying, though they were lovely. It was an awkward interview simply because I was trying to skype with four people at once and I couldn't really tell who was talking to me at times because I couldn't see everyone in the same frame. I was very good at articulating my own interests and hopes for a dissertation (though that has all changed since enrolling). I remember speaking with the DGS at Berkeley and I used the word "theatricality" and we had a good five minute conversation about the myriad of understandings of the term and how it related to performativity. So just be able to engage in a conversation about the keywords that you use to describe your interests. You don't have to have a definitive answer for complicated theoretical issues but you should be able to demonstrate the ability to think for and with someone else if the opportunity arises in conversation. If I had to do the whole process again, I would work on more solidly outlining what each program would allow me to do that another would not. This often has more to do with specific faculty than the institution, as I'm sure that I could be doing my project at any of the schools that accepted me but I chose my current institution for a specific reason. And remember that many of these programs, while they want to see how smart and innovative you are, also want to make sure that you mesh well with their values. Do you seem collegial? Are you confident? Are you open to critique? Those kinds of things.

Edited January 30, 2018 by oppoffrown

[Quotidian]

@oppoffrown Thank you for the in-depth response! 

[ubernerd]

Yes, @oppoffrown ! THANK YOU SO MUCH. And when you say, "existing bodies of scholarship" do you mean how it relates to more contemporary theater, or other contemporary scholarship existing outside of the institution. Or just with the work of the professors at that institution 

[mariahjewelalanis]

Anyone else heard from Stanford?

[DirectorsCoffee]

I applied to Stanford but haven’t heard. I sorta assumed that I won’t hear from them as others on here have already had interviews. The same is true for Berkeley. I haven’t heard, but assumed that I won’t as others have already been accepted. The only official answer I have received is from Northwestern. 

I did meet with all the schools I applied to before applying. I don’t know how that affects hearing from them though. 

Guess we’ll all just have to slowly go mad.... I mean wait.  Wait patiently. 

[Quotidian]

How did people’s Brown interviews go? Mine felt rough they really grilled me on my project and I sort of floundered through it. Hope others had a smoother time of it! 

[ubernerd]

1 hour ago, Quotidian said:

How did people’s Brown interviews go? Mine felt rough they really grilled me on my project and I sort of floundered through it. Hope others had a smoother time of it! 

Omg!!! That interview was rough for sure! They definitely grilled me on my research as well. No real questions about me which made it seem more intimidating and less conversational. Then I was informed about the "finalist" process. I was unaware that deliberations weren't  made right after interviews. Apparently it's a bit more cut throat than I predicted. But we will see. I am sure you did fine! I prepared and practiced to the best of my capability. And I am sure you did as well! I was definitely flustered though! 

Hopefully they saw I was a bit nervous and took that into consideration. 

 

Let's just send those follow up emails about the interview and hope for the best! 

[Quotidian]

@ubernerd my interview was exactly the same. Definitely intimidating. All questions about my work (which I feel like I answered poorly, although they were good questions that I should think more about) and I was also surprised that there was another step in the process. I’m sure you did great though! Hope you get positive news from them this week! 

[ubernerd]

Thanks and same to you! @Quotidian

[mariahjewelalanis]

Just got my UC Berkeley rejection notice. Hope some of you got positive news!

[Quotidian]

Hang in there. This is a tough time in the season. Based on what I’ve read in past PS threads, I bet positive news will come later in Feb/March. It’s tough to wait it out but there’s solidarity here!

[ubernerd]

10 hours ago, mariahjewelalanis said:

Just got my UC Berkeley rejection notice. Hope some of you got positive news!

Sorry to hear that! I am sure my official rejection from Berkeley will follow any day now but I am also sure programs that are better fits for us are out there, and will come around eventually. Stay strong during the process. Rejection is hurtful (my first out right rejection was from Maryland) but it doesn’t define or limit the intelligence or capacity we have for graduate studies. We’ve come so far, and like @Quotidiansaid it’s just the beginning! 

 

 

[petrichordant]

Got my Berkeley rejection too, @mariahjewelalanis.  *High five!*

 

[Quotidian]

Got an official rejection from Brown. Disappointed in how I performed during the interview. I think more thought-out answers about my project could have made a difference. Oh well! Hope others have moved forward! 

[ubernerd]

Got an official rejection from Brown as well! My interview sucked too so no worries! But because it was my first one I was able to approach a lot of my other interviews way better!

Did anyone else get an interview and invited to the recruitment weekend for UCLA?

[ubernerd]

or get an interview with UC Irvine?