amanda1655 Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 On a related note, the prodigious amounts of alcohol consumed by certain graduate students would shame even the most bacchanal of college freshmen. Sounds classy. Louiselabe - I'm glad that you got such a great e-mail back from Penn. I have feeling that a lot of us weren't accepted for similar reasons. If you still want to do history, take a year, read a lot, and try to figure out what ultimately interested you about your field of study. Maybe you can find a similar interest that explores the same questions and ideas.
missycari Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 Has anyone been to a prospectives students weekend yet? I am wondering what to expect, with my first visit looming. Vordulak, perhaps you could be so kind as to elaborate some about NYU, although I'm worried about post-acceptance visits, not interviews. I'm kind of nervous about talking to all the professors.. should I expect a lot of questions directed at me (as opposed to me asking them questions)?
amanda1655 Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 I second this question. One of my prospective professors wants me to call him this week. I told him it would be near the end of the week, partially because of work I have to do. Partially because I am a wimp and need time to build confidence.
missycari Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 There appears to me to be a qualitative difference in the way professors treat applications for American history and other fields. As British historian, I pretty much just applied to schools with good historians in my larger field. There's usually just one, and they might have focuses totally different than mine. I have preferences among those of course but I don't think that my field has been an issue in my results. I'm talking about crossing social history with political history, etc. I'm a little baffled that people are having troubles with their subfields of US history, when there are usually a number of US historians at any given school. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Or think I'm totally crazy?
jaw17 Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 I suspect that Penn is a fantastic program full of great, kind profs...and one very crabby and incompetent program administrator who unfortunately happens to be the external face of the department. Does anyone know whether it's feasible/appropriate for history grad students at one university (say, Princeton) to inquire about auditing a few courses at another university (say, UPenn)? I think it's looking about 90% certain that we'll be in Philly next year to accommodate my program, and it would be nice if husband could take some of his language classes there rather than commuting additional days to Princeton.
historygirl Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 20th century US is ridiculously overloaded. Everyone and their brother applies to do it. And, of course, there aren't nearly enough jobs for it, either. Modern Europe is also an extremely popular subfield, although it won't be as bad as 20thC US. If you're interested in fascism in Europe, keep in mind that you have Italy, Germany, and Spain to consider. That gives you a bit of flexibility.
amanda1655 Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 I differ a little bit from misscari about British History. You can have trouble in British history if your interest is in Welsh, Irish, or Scottish history. These areas are relatively understudied and professors in mainstream British history are often a bit reticent to advise students on them. Notice I said normally. One of the offers I am seriously considering is with a professor who studies Victorian Britain. I think the link between us is that we are both very interested in literary culture and its historical context.
missycari Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 Very good point, Amanda. Leave it to someone who primarily studies England to ignore Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Perhaps what I said would have been more correct if I had said English, not British, history. That said, I think Scotland, Wales, and Ireland are enormously important components of Britain and that "British" scholars should pay more attention to them!
luvalicious Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 She had an awful experience with her advisor (a British historian) and ended up dropping the program, but she said the rest of the faculty and students were fantastic! Thanks for the congrats, and yeah. I guess I should be glad I'm not Brit History, lol. I'm a little baffled that people are having troubles with their subfields of US history, when there are usually a number of US historians at any given school. Where I got my BA and MA, it was the other way around. Far more European historians than anything else, and in the case of my MA it was because I was so different that I got in, much to my later regret. I always hear about the glut in 20c US and I believe it, but I've never seen it in practice. In a way I guess that makes me lucky because working against the grain really sharpens the experience for ya, lemme tell you. I took a couple seminars with a guy who, when asked his specific interests, said "Nazi Germany." And that was that. He's still middling along there somehow and everyone else has moved on. Coincidence? I think not. I want to study the 1960s, and apparently this is going to be very difficult This is the decade of American history that I'm covering in my thesis, and it is dificult. The trick is coming up with a different angle -- which is why I stay away from movement-based history as much as I can. There's still things to be discovered, I'm sure, but every professor I've ever had has been like "1960s? Who isn't studying that?"
Louiselab Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 ah NYU... how I will miss that lovely shade of purple and a university which opens up what we now call branch locations in other countries...
abc Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 I suspect that Penn is a fantastic program full of great, kind profs...and one very crabby and incompetent program administrator who unfortunately happens to be the external face of the department. Does anyone know whether it's feasible/appropriate for history grad students at one university (say, Princeton) to inquire about auditing a few courses at another university (say, UPenn)? I think it's looking about 90% certain that we'll be in Philly next year to accommodate my program, and it would be nice if husband could take some of his language classes there rather than commuting additional days to Princeton. My understanding is that Princeton and Penn have some sort of exchange program and it is possible to take classes at the other. I don't know if this holds for just certain departments or any classes, however. It's certainly worth asking his prospective advisor.
rising_star Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 I suspect that Penn is a fantastic program full of great, kind profs...and one very crabby and incompetent program administrator who unfortunately happens to be the external face of the department. Does anyone know whether it's feasible/appropriate for history grad students at one university (say, Princeton) to inquire about auditing a few courses at another university (say, UPenn)? I think it's looking about 90% certain that we'll be in Philly next year to accommodate my program, and it would be nice if husband could take some of his language classes there rather than commuting additional days to Princeton. It may be possible. I know Princeton has agreements with UPenn to let undergrads take and audit Penn courses as needed. I know someone that studied Gikuyu with a professor at Penn two days a week from Princeton... so maybe it'll work for grad students too? Def something you should ask.
RJR08 Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 To the people inquiring re: Northwestern- I received acceptance today via email from some sort of graduate head type. The prospective dates are 3/16-3/17. I study 19th century US history/ race and law. Funding is fairly generous, $20,100 for 5 years, but I'm uncertain about how standardized their offers are.
dizzydancer Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 To the people inquiring re: Northwestern- I received acceptance today via email from some sort of graduate head type. The prospective dates are 3/16-3/17. I study 19th century US history/ race and law. Funding is fairly generous, $20,100 for 5 years, but I'm uncertain about how standardized their offers are. ugh I wish I would just hear something from them already. According to their website, they fund all incoming students.
Louiselab Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 Yeah, I know how you feel...I'm waiting for CUNY too...My professor (and LOR writer) is on the adcom there and I went to him to kind of fish for information about when I might be hearing something, and the man seriously had a poker face about it. Kind of frustrating. Who did you want to work with there? I'm interested in the same fields as you, particularly the 1960s. I was fond of michael s. foley in particular... but CUNY's great because i live in ny and honestly can't imagine leaving to go anywhere... I had a prof for undergrad who specializes in the 1960s, I should've just applied to work with him, he loved me. Who do you want to work with? Your recommender is on the committee and won't tell you!? that is so harsh! I would go crazy... "if you say nothing, i will know it's a no..."
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