Fall 2018 Applicants

[laleph]

1 hour ago, narple said:

I don't know that I agree 100% with what was mentioned about it being a great feeder program. Also from my experience, the program never encourages you to apply to only Chicago, this is my first time hearing this. From my understanding last year was more of an exception in terms of the ratio of non-UChicago v. UChicago students accepted. They do usually make an offer to one or two MAPSS students, but sometimes no one will get an offer. Of course the potential to get an offer is higher if you perform well in the MAPSS program, establish solid relationships, and your project also fits the department. 

Some people apply directly to the MAPSS program, but I applied to the PhD program. If you take this route though, there is no guarantee that you will be considered for the MAPSS program (I don't think) and I don't think this has much bearing on your funding offer. At least form my observance (though cannot be backed with hard data).

You are certainly more of an authority on these matters than I am! I'm relaying what I heard from one prof at UofC. To be clear: the prof didn't say that an applicant is automatically considered for MAPSS after having been rejected from the PhD program – but in practice it has happened more than once (it happened to me, and I know of a couple others). Your comment about performing well, establishing solid relationships, and finishing a project that fits with the department's interests is almost word-for-word what I heard from the prof. Of course there's no guarantee that you'll get into the PhD program if you do MAPSS, but I get the sense it does markedly improve your chances if you tick the above boxes – AND if you make it clear that you will attend the PhD program if admitted. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I was told that UofC has had some bizarre admit years. Not last year but the year before, too many people accepted the offer. As a result, the incoming year's cohort size was cut dramatically. It seems the committee is choosing to err on the side of caution. Knowing that a student who's performed well in MAPSS will commit to attend must be some kind of a plus for them.

Edited August 15, 2017 by laleph

[Banzailizard]

I am debating switching to focus on applying to MA programs or maybe putting out a mix of PhD and MA applications to hedge my bets. Funding would be an issue (I have the thread here bookmarked) but the goal would be to better establish my research background and focus my interests. 

Is the process for MA applications significantly different from that for a PhD? Should I continue to identify POI or is it more about the program at the MA level?   Are writing sample, LOR, and SOP just as important?  I am sure these things might be a bit idiosyncratic, but I am asking for an "on average" sort of answer.

[lkjpoi]

I think it's best to treat the MA application as if it were a PhD application in that you should demonstrate in it your seriousness and the depth of interests as well as your understanding of the particular department in which you want to study. I believe the application should be explicit in saying that the MA will serve as preparation for the PhD. By doing that you will prove that you know what you are doing and are not idly stumbling into the profession, but rather that you are attempting to take careful steps towards developing intellectually and professionally before embarking on your doctoral research.

That said, as far as I know from friends in the field (which is a small number of people), it is not absolutely necessary to get in contact with POIs and name them in your statement of purpose when applying to the MA. But I think it is a good idea and it is better to err on the side of overdoing your effort in the application. And, the writing sample, LOR, and SOP are just as important as in the PhD application, especially if you hope to get some kind of funding. You should always be aiming to impress the committee as much as you can!

 

[Karou]

Hi everyone!

I'm nowhere near as experienced in navigating the world of academia as other posters on this thread, but I thought I'd give my two cents on the issue of changing disciplines, and doing an MA prior to a PhD as I applied to several MA programs last winter.

First I'd like to strongly second @lkjpoi 's point in that you should treat MA applications just like PhD applications. That's what I did and it worked out well for me. I'd been researching the PhD application process for almost 2 years at this point and I thought I may as well put into practice everything I'd learned along the way (mostly on these forums, which are an incredible resource!). Anyway, I applied to six programs and got into all of them. That said, all programs I applied to were in the UK and I gather it is less competitive over there (I'd guess that this is due to the almost non-existent funding for Masters programs in the UK, but don't quote me on that). But still, I suppose I must have done something right! Amongst other things, I identified potential POIs in my statement and crafted a solid research proposal. Not PhD-application level, probably, but still solid and well-researched.

Now my academic background is very unusual, and although I did have a tiny bit of experience in history, I don't really count it as such. Long story short, I did a BA in English Studies (with roughly one History course per semester over the course of 3 years) through distance learning, and certainly learnt nothing in terms of specific research methods and such. After that, I physically attended university and dabbled in graduate studies of various disciplines for about 2 years (which I very much view as making up for my lack, so to speak, of a true university experience in my undergrad years). It taught me a lot about research in general, but still nothing specific to History. That said, I always managed to pick "historical" topics for my research papers, and I played that up in my applications. You could probably do the same with your thesis, @infovore. And like you, I did a lot of research on my own in preparation for my applications to find my own little niche within the discipline. All of that to say, I doubt the schools I applied to were impressed by my very slim experience in History, they probably paid more attention to the other elements of my application!

Certainly switching disciplines is going to be a challenge, but if you're willing to work of it, I'm sure it will be fine. Or at least that's what I tell myself since I'm headed to Oxford to do an MPhil in History in about a month! I know I'll have a lot of catching up to do, but hey, I wouldn't have gotten in if they didn't think I could do it. 

Best of luck to all of you as you start preparing your applications, and maybe we'll be colleagues one day as I intend to pursue a PhD in the US after my MPhil. And, like I said, I'm not particularly knowledgeable about this process, but if anyone has more questions about switching fields and taking the MA route, feel free to pm me!

[betwixt&between]

Hello everyone! This will be my third, and probably final, application season. I've already been accepted to a PhD Education program, but it's geared toward working professionals so my assistantship only covers tuition w/an extremely meager stipend. Also, I find that I still am more truly interested in the discipline of history and continually find myself questioning whether my current program was the right choice. My focus is 20th century African American history, civil rights, the Black Panther Party, with a keen interest in the historical intersection of black athletes and civil rights. I was wait-listed at UCONN, and ultimately did not receive a funding offer for Fall 2017. I plan on re-applying at UCONN, also looking at Yale, which offers a joint PhD in AfAm Studies/History, and perhaps Brown, once I have the opportunity to more fully research their faculty. Because I have a family, I am restricted to southern New England, and will probably be looking more into schools in the Boston area.

[Sigaba]

3 hours ago, betwixt&between said:

Hello everyone! This will be my third, and probably final, application season. I've already been accepted to a PhD Education program, but it's geared toward working professionals so my assistantship only covers tuition w/an extremely meager stipend. Also, I find that I still am more truly interested in the discipline of history and continually find myself questioning whether my current program was the right choice. My focus is 20th century African American history, civil rights, the Black Panther Party, with a keen interest in the historical intersection of black athletes and civil rights. I was wait-listed at UCONN, and ultimately did not receive a funding offer for Fall 2017. I plan on re-applying at UCONN, also looking at Yale, which offers a joint PhD in AfAm Studies/History, and perhaps Brown, once I have the opportunity to more fully research their faculty. Because I have a family, I am restricted to southern New England, and will probably be looking more into schools in the Boston area.

PM inbound.

[Qtf311]

Hi,

 

We are very similar but my interests focus around the cold war, neo-liberalism and mass incarceration on the post-WW 2 civil rights movement.  And I also have a family to consider but we are willing to move.  The schools I am looking at are Rutgers, Columbia, NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and PSU.  

 

Good luck,

[psstein]

On 7/6/2017 at 11:27 PM, telkanuru said:

The job market for late antiquity is really, really crap, FYI. Even by the regular standards of the current job market.

You're being kind. I almost did Byzantine History before I found out that the job market is non-existent (Notre Dame hired two people, which was an absolute shock). 

The two fields I was interested in (outside HoS) were NT/Early Christianity and Byzantine History. NT/Early Christianity has had one TT job advertised in the last year (at least at a top-ranked university, not a seminary) and Byzantine History has none.

[psstein]

On 6/18/2017 at 4:01 PM, DGrayson said:

Methodologically I'm interested in the intersection of religion and economics in early modern Europe, but I've also been working on demonic possession in 16th and 17th century England and love that. Still working out the schools I want to apply to! 

Oh man, that's a really fascinating topic, and sounds great for HoM! Try Gianna Pomata at Hopkins (though there are other things to be aware of if you apply to Hopkins, PM me for details).

[Steph Smith]

This may have already been addressed and I missed it in skimming through this thread, but I am wondering how close a POI's area of study should match my own? I am hoping to study 20th century American criminal justice, specifically as it relates to the War on Drugs and drug crimes. There isn't a lot of study in this area currently, so I've been highlighting professors of 20th century cultural history, legal history, and social history. Typically, something in their writing can be connected to my area of intended research, but rarely does it align directly.

[TMP]

1 hour ago, Steph Smith said:

This may have already been addressed and I missed it in skimming through this thread, but I am wondering how close a POI's area of study should match my own? I am hoping to study 20th century American criminal justice, specifically as it relates to the War on Drugs and drug crimes. There isn't a lot of study in this area currently, so I've been highlighting professors of 20th century cultural history, legal history, and social history. Typically, something in their writing can be connected to my area of intended research, but rarely does it align directly.

Not necessarily.  As long as your questions are similar to theirs  they can work with  you.

[DGrayson]

5 hours ago, Steph Smith said:

This may have already been addressed and I missed it in skimming through this thread, but I am wondering how close a POI's area of study should match my own? I am hoping to study 20th century American criminal justice, specifically as it relates to the War on Drugs and drug crimes. There isn't a lot of study in this area currently, so I've been highlighting professors of 20th century cultural history, legal history, and social history. Typically, something in their writing can be connected to my area of intended research, but rarely does it align directly.

I'm in a very similar boat to yours. If you are interested in a POI, but not sure whether or not they would be a good fit I would email them. Worst comes worst they'll say that your interests don't match up and that ends up saving you money down the line. They're also likely to recommend others that perhaps match up closer with your interests.

[Lily9]

6 hours ago, Steph Smith said:

This may have already been addressed and I missed it in skimming through this thread, but I am wondering how close a POI's area of study should match my own? I am hoping to study 20th century American criminal justice, specifically as it relates to the War on Drugs and drug crimes. There isn't a lot of study in this area currently, so I've been highlighting professors of 20th century cultural history, legal history, and social history. Typically, something in their writing can be connected to my area of intended research, but rarely does it align directly.

I'm in a similar situation. My research topic is very specific and there aren't many out there that fit it perfectly, so I'm trying to find people who seem like they'd be helpful and interested in it.

[JRH]

Greetings. I'm finalizing my list at the moment and was wondering if you had some recommendations. I have a BA in history from a small liberal arts school and a Masters in Library and Information Science (focused in Archival Studies) from UCLA. My interests are (broadly) the adaptation of racism in the United States since the Civil War and (narrowly) student protest methodology in the mid-20th century. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about applying to PhD programs without the History MA. My grades and scores have always been above average, but nothing particularly great enough to write home about. Within LIS, I have a few small publications under my belt. I'm presently employed as a faculty member/ reference librarian at a university where I am the history department liaison. The end goal is to become a university archivist, so I am open to MA programs. I'm just not particularly thrilled at the prospect of additional loans after UCLA.

[AP]

On 8/25/2017 at 0:17 PM, Steph Smith said:

This may have already been addressed and I missed it in skimming through this thread, but I am wondering how close a POI's area of study should match my own? I am hoping to study 20th century American criminal justice, specifically as it relates to the War on Drugs and drug crimes. There isn't a lot of study in this area currently, so I've been highlighting professors of 20th century cultural history, legal history, and social history. Typically, something in their writing can be connected to my area of intended research, but rarely does it align directly.

Focus on the main questions, not the area. I mean, of course you'd want a Americanist, but don't search for someone who does exactly what you do. Search for someone that can help you with your questions. 

[TMP]

16 hours ago, JRH said:

Greetings. I'm finalizing my list at the moment and was wondering if you had some recommendations. I have a BA in history from a small liberal arts school and a Masters in Library and Information Science (focused in Archival Studies) from UCLA. My interests are (broadly) the adaptation of racism in the United States since the Civil War and (narrowly) student protest methodology in the mid-20th century. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about applying to PhD programs without the History MA. My grades and scores have always been above average, but nothing particularly great enough to write home about. Within LIS, I have a few small publications under my belt. I'm presently employed as a faculty member/ reference librarian at a university where I am the history department liaison. The end goal is to become a university archivist, so I am open to MA programs. I'm just not particularly thrilled at the prospect of additional loans after UCLA.

The question is, do you want to produce a 250-350 page dissertation?  That is what makes the PhD different from the MA.  If you cannot see yourself spending 3-5 years research and writing about one topic, then you'll want to find MA programs with funding.

Also, is getting a PhD necessary to be a university archivist?

[OHSP]

20 hours ago, JRH said:

Greetings. I'm finalizing my list at the moment and was wondering if you had some recommendations. I have a BA in history from a small liberal arts school and a Masters in Library and Information Science (focused in Archival Studies) from UCLA. My interests are (broadly) the adaptation of racism in the United States since the Civil War and (narrowly) student protest methodology in the mid-20th century. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about applying to PhD programs without the History MA. My grades and scores have always been above average, but nothing particularly great enough to write home about. Within LIS, I have a few small publications under my belt. I'm presently employed as a faculty member/ reference librarian at a university where I am the history department liaison. The end goal is to become a university archivist, so I am open to MA programs. I'm just not particularly thrilled at the prospect of additional loans after UCLA.

Have you looked at NYU? I'm pretty sure that their MA programs are unfunded but they have some really great people in archives and public history (and also in 20th c. US)--I'm happy to talk more via PM. 

Edited August 27, 2017 by OHSP

[Qtf311]

Hi all,  just throwing this out there because I see some really good advice being giving in this forum. I've done my research and I have some good ideas about the schools I want to apply to but I was hoping to see if there is anything I may have missed.

I am a interested in 20th century African American history, specifically how the Cold War, mass incarceration and neo-liberalism has affected the civil rights movement.  I also have broad interests in social movements, radicalism and slavery in US history.

My question is, does anyone have any suggestions on programs that might be good fits?  I have done my own research and have a list of schools and POIs but I just want to see if I may have overlooked any programs.  This is for a Ph. D program.  Thanks.

[Karou]

On 8/27/2017 at 5:48 PM, Qtf311 said:

Hi all,  just throwing this out there because I see some really good advice being giving in this forum. I've done my research and I have some good ideas about the schools I want to apply to but I was hoping to see if there is anything I may have missed.

I am a interested in 20th century African American history, specifically how the Cold War, mass incarceration and neo-liberalism has affected the civil rights movement.  I also have broad interests in social movements, radicalism and slavery in US history.

My question is, does anyone have any suggestions on programs that might be good fits?  I have done my own research and have a list of schools and POIs but I just want to see if I may have overlooked any programs.  This is for a Ph. D program.  Thanks.

Hi there!

I don't know all that much about your areas of interest but neo-liberalism and social movements came up in pretty much every single class I took in the past year and, out of all the articles we read, a lot were written by scholars that had a PhD in the History of Consciousness, from UC Santa Cruz. I feel like that would be right up your alley, but if the interdisciplinary nature of this program isn't your thing, the History program, also at UCSC, has great faculty whose interests seem to match yours.

Hope this helps.

[Lily9]

Does anyone have recommendations when it comes to Pre-Colombian Native American history? The majority of that field has archaeologists working in it (understandably) though I have found a few historians that approach it from a historians angle. My undergrad thesis had to do with Cahokia, though the historian part came in more because I analyzed 17th-20th century documents/perceptions of it + other mounds and how that demonstrated racial ideas at the time...

Thanks!

[Qtf311]

Hi, thanks!  That is interesting and I will look into it.  Appreciate your time and advice.

[Sigaba]

On 8/25/2017 at 9:17 AM, Steph Smith said:

This may have already been addressed and I missed it in skimming through this thread, but I am wondering how close a POI's area of study should match my own? I am hoping to study 20th century American criminal justice, specifically as it relates to the War on Drugs and drug crimes. There isn't a lot of study in this area currently, so I've been highlighting professors of 20th century cultural history, legal history, and social history. Typically, something in their writing can be connected to my area of intended research, but rarely does it align directly.

Could you define your research interest a bit more precisely and modify significantly how you summarize the state of existing scholarship? 

• A google search for "war on drugs criminal justice united states scholarly article .pdf" yields over 300k hits.
• A ProQuest dissertation search for "war on drugs criminal justice united states" maxes out the number of hits (40).
• A jstor search for (((war on drugs ) AND (criminal justice)) AND (united states)) limited to journals in African American Studies, Criminology and Criminal Studies, History, Law, Political Science, Public Health, and Public Policy and Administration yields 307k hits.
• The Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library has posted on line a 16 page summary of its holdings related to drug abuse policy. IME, this type of summary is a byproduct of public, journalistic, and scholarly interests and FOIA requests.

With the number of results that one can find in a few minutes, the assertion that "there isn't a lot of study in this area currently" may raise some eyebrows unless you define that area more specifically.

[Steph Smith]

2 hours ago, Sigaba said:

With the number of results that one can find in a few minutes, the assertion that "there isn't a lot of study in this area currently" may raise some eyebrows unless you define that area more specifically.

To be 100% honest, checking those places had not occurred to me nor been recommended to me before now, so thank you for pointing those out. I've been going through faculty lists at various schools to identify areas of research and potential POIs. That search has led me to only about 5 professors with research interests along the same lines, according to their profile page on the university website.

 

EDIT:

Following up on your sources here, most authors I've come across in a Google Scholar search are either not professors (they work for various think-tanks, publications, and projects) or are law professors or medical doctors/professors instead of history professors. The other two databases you mentioned require paid membership to access, which I do not have at the moment. Any suggestions for free sources?

Edited August 28, 2017 by Steph Smith
Follow Up on sources provided

[gsc]

2 hours ago, Steph Smith said:

To be 100% honest, checking those places had not occurred to me nor been recommended to me before now, so thank you for pointing those out. I've been going through faculty lists at various schools to identify areas of research and potential POIs. That search has led me to only about 5 professors with research interests along the same lines, according to their profile page on the university website.

 

EDIT:

Following up on your sources here, most authors I've come across in a Google Scholar search are either not professors (they work for various think-tanks, publications, and projects) or are law professors or medical doctors/professors instead of history professors. The other two databases you mentioned require paid membership to access, which I do not have at the moment. Any suggestions for free sources?

I think there are two separate issues here.

1st, it may be the case that there are not many historians, at institutions where you would want to apply, who are taking students, who are also working on things like the war on drugs — I assume you mean in the 1980s, which is recent enough that historians may not have really turned their attention to it yet, hence why your searches come up empty. But this isn't really a problem. Applicants get hung up about needing an advisor who studies their exact project, but it's not as important as making sure that your broad, overarching interests align, so I would, as you already have, look for departments where there is an established contingent of people, not just one or two, thinking about criminal justice and race and social policy in the US. On this point, have you considered Rutgers? I'm a Europeanist but I know that race in the US is something we're very strong in. 

2nd, and this is what @Sigaba is getting at if I understand correctly, is that searching for faculty is not the same thing as searching the literature. Just because there are not many historians at institutions where you want to apply does not mean that there is no work going on in the field, so if you make that statement in an application you'll raise eyebrows, because of course the war on drugs has been studied by people. Law professors and sociologists and anthropologists, yes, but that's all highly relevant for you, and probably what your own work will build on in the future.

The value of searching the literature is two fold. First, you might actually find the names of more historians that you can work with. Faculty pages are notorious for not being updated to reflect what people actually do. Second, you'll see, across a variety of fields, who is studying what aspects of your topics, the contributions they have made, where there are still gaps, etc. You don't mention if you have institutional access anywhere, but you are in Des Moines — my hometown, actually! — and Drake has a good library and law library that you can use if you have an afternoon free. See what books are available on your subject there and leaf through them, looking at footnotes and introductions, what people have written about, what people are saying to each other. You may be able to get a guest or community pass that will let you use their computer systems, for the purpose of looking at articles. 

I don't think at this stage you need to have a huge understanding of the literature; I certainly didn't. But you should have an idea of what's come before you, even if it's not historians per se, and absolutely you ought to have an idea about what you want to say about your topic beyond the fact that you want to study it. Usually, reading the literature helps you clarify this point, because once you see what other people have done, you can articulate what it is you want to do differently. That is valuable not just for your SOP but for yourself as a scholar. 

[Sigaba]

4 hours ago, Steph Smith said:

To be 100% honest, checking those places had not occurred to me nor been recommended to me before now, so thank you for pointing those out. I've been going through faculty lists at various schools to identify areas of research and potential POIs. That search has led me to only about 5 professors with research interests along the same lines, according to their profile page on the university website.

 

EDIT:

Following up on your sources here, most authors I've come across in a Google Scholar search are either not professors (they work for various think-tanks, publications, and projects) or are law professors or medical doctors/professors instead of history professors. The other two databases you mentioned require paid membership to access, which I do not have at the moment. Any suggestions for free sources?

@Steph Smith, please exercise greater care in how you describe your research, your findings, and your interests. Saying that your search faculty member websites have provided little indication that historians are working on the war on drugs is vastly different than saying "There isn't a lot of study in this area currently."

IRT "free sources" please keep using Google, available library catalogs, libraries near you (https://library.drake.edu/), and maybe online booksellers. Also, when you do research on a professor look for his or her CV and course syllabi. Those documents will generally provide more information than web sites.

If you manage to get into a good periodical library or access to Jstor, I recommend very strongly this article. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24911839?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

The article provides a framework for an event in the recent past becoming a topic of historical inquiry.