trebuchet

Was one started? I can't find it. I assumed this just happened every year!

Mike D - you're over-thinking this one. Get over it, first. Now, pretend you're an expert - what would your areas of expertise be? Write that down. "Philosophy of Law" for example, would work, as would something more specific. In my discipline, for example, I might list: new media histories, contemporary art and globalization, curating new media. Imagine a 3rd or 4th year course you might be teaching in 5 years time - what would it be called? That's your expertise. Imagine you're writing keywords for an article abstract (for example, for the proposal you are submitting). What would those be? It's not a trick question. Hopefully this helps.

I'm in the southwest neighbourhood of Montreal and FINALLY got my letter after much angst-ridden waiting. CGS! (Category A) Committee 1 - Fine Arts Score 22.4 Just finished my first year of PhD (recommended by the program - previously rejected going in, applying directly to SSHRC) GPA - I don't even know, I guess I should. A average, I only had one B+ ever. Awards/publications - because I'm a studio artist and in fine arts, this might be a bit different... - held OGS and department awards in my masters - received program fellowship at my current school - awarded national Canada Council for the Arts research grant previously, as well as provincial/municipal funding from arts councils - book chapter and other publications from arts publishers (non-referreed) - a couple arts conferences - International touring exhibition and International artist residencies - RA/TA experience plus sessional teaching employment Field - Interdisc with studio art major Holy crap - I'm floored.

This reply could be too late, but... It really depends on your specific experience. It's hard to give advice, because it winds up being personal in the end. What relevant experience do you have? Have you done advising before? Even as a volunteer? Or been a mentor/leader in any capacity? Have you ever read "The CV Doctor" on the Chronicle of Higher Education? (Do a search). Many different scenarios, good advice. Also, I think the Chronicle recently - maybe ProfHacker - was doing a series on applying to non-academic/administrative jobs. Typically, no matter what I'm applying for, I re-jig my CV every time, and write a new letter. (it can be based on other letters, but I typically try to make each letter specific to the job.) On my CV, after education, I"ll put the most relevant category. E.g. I recently applied for a TAship, and I put the teaching experience up-front. When I applied for an RA, the "Research Experience" got priority. Even though my CV is longer than one page, I try to get the most relevant things on the first page, and use the letter to highlight specific relevant things. For myself, I find that academic and non-academic job applications are, in principle, the same. Get to the point, be meticulous, be relevant. I recently read this piece - interesting: http://lifehacker.com/5874647/why-i-wont-hire-you This is mostly general, but without knowing you... Best of luck!

... got the confirmation today that sshrc received my app, for those who want to track timelines.

Your real friends will always be happy for you. So, don't expect big kudos on facebook. Perfectly acceptable to post. Depends on your personality. But I remember when I applied to a Masters (pre-facebook, can you imagine?) - I told no one except a few close friends. A guy I knew told everyone about his application plans. Which also meant he had to tell them about all of his rejections. I've never been the type, though, to announce this kind of stuff broadly. So I didn't post my phd acceptance on facebook - I told people personally (or via email), and I emailed thank-yous to my references. If a friend posted such news, I'd be happy for them - but I'd probably respond with a private message. FWIW.

Bittorrent. Found a cheap unlimited internet plan for $360 if you pay annually. Some readers may not like this, but I can often find many resources (film/TV), even books as PDFs online. I still buy important books, but if I'm broke, or if I'm not sure I want to invest in the book, or the library doesn't have it - it's useful. Cooking at home for sure. (I have a not-so-secret crush on NYT food writer Mark Bittman, who has tons of great videos online and recipes for making simple things - he's not a trained chef, just a food writer who loves food and cooking). Pack lunch if you can - otherwise, pack snacks like granola bars and fruit (boring but will keep you from passing out), one of those bullet thermoses for spending the day at the library. It's great - I actually hate most of the crappy fast food places around my campus, so I'm not tempted. My own packed lunch is better than most of those options. Coffee's my weakness. I spend about 10 minutes a week scanning sale flyers - others have mentioned buying things on sale - I don't have a car, so I can't go crazy and buy in bulk, but I can keep an eye out for cheap essentials. No car - I walk, bike or take the bus in bad weather. Study at home when possible - keeps me from spending money by not going out! Otherwise I'll be dropping $5 on lattes if I'm feeling weak. I'll admit, though, I'm inconsistent with sticking to my budget, which sometimes leaves me with a stretch of 3 or 4 days before the next payday when I'm totally broke, but extremely happy that I froze a bunch of cooked meals and stocked up on a few sale things. Otherwise I wouldn't be eating. Haven't bought clothing in over 2 years, but I take care of my clothes (don't put them in the dryer - especially at laundromats. They'll often rip or wear your clothes faster. Hang dry, also saves a few bucks.) Next year I need new winter boots (Canada). Canada totally sucks for cell phone rates - we have the highest rates of *any* other country in the world, bar none. At the moment, I skype and use my phone rarely - only when absolutely necessary. I have a $20 pay as you go plan, and I try to avoid topping up. This may change if I can ever afford an iphone. Having said all that, I probably pay more on my apartment - I currently live alone. I also *like* food and cooking, so I probably spend a bit more on a few luxury items now and then. My current stipend: 11K/year from my department for 4 years (fingers crossed on national funding for next year, which would replace this with 20K). I have an RA which is I think around 4K per term, but doesn't run in the summer (so, 19K at the moment) and I'm looking for another TA position to add, or other part time job which will probably take me to around 24K. That's my goal. For my masters, though, I received much more. Provincial funding at 15K x 2 years. TAships at 10K/year. Plus, I was lucky to receive a private scholarship which added another 10K each year. I was able to put the extra funds toward my research and travel, which was fantastic. It was nice to not worry about funds, or not have to hustle to find your next job like I am now. I also used to do freelance design work - I don't anymore - but that would also bring in the odd bit of cash. I used to write for more popular publications which pay - I need to pick this up again - because that's also a couple hundred here and there. Not much, but sometimes even $75 can seem like a windfall. Editing, too, can bring in extra cash for those with experience. Am I mistaken - I thought we still technically pay taxes on scholarship funds in Canada (at the end of the year). Someone, earlier, said it's tax free... I think it also depends on your age. It's easier to live in poverty the younger you are. If you've worked in between degrees, and gotten used to making a bit more, it's harder to go back. Next year my boyfriend moves here, which will be great, except he doesn't make much! (Note to self: find rich boyfriend). Nice to hear that others are inspired by this thread! And to those of you with rich families or high value stipends - congratulations! (not sarcastic). You are lucky, enjoy it while you can. Remember to buy your poorer friends a drink now and then Best of luck to everyone.

While a few years back now, I remember I submitted directly to OGS, and I heard nothing until April (mid-to-late?) when I found out I was successful. If it's still the same, you may just have to wait. For me, I had to make a decision on my school before I knew about OGS, which was frustrating.

Probably a question that depends highly on the school, the department and the particular award. For example, in my program, I'm currently funded through Fine Arts. However, I can apply, for example, to the Jewish Studies program which offers several scholarship to students in any department. This is stipulated in their guidelines for those funds. Typically, a school's graduate studies office will have an awards directory and eligibility is listed there. If you are applying for next fall, though, your first line is an admissions scholarship if offered. This usually comes from the department you've applied to. Ask someone - a department secretary, your proposed advisor - if they can point you in the direction of more information about awards and scholarships.

Agree with @StrangeLight - apply to everything, if you have the time. How is that bad? I'm in Canada, so I don't know about US Schools and funding, but I find that many schools here with come up with *some* funding for you, even if you don't have an official University scholarship. Friend of mine got in to his program last year, but wasn't funded. The department found him a TAship as well as giving him basically a 4000 bursary because he couldn't afford to be there otherwise. This year, he received scholarship funding, has 3 different TAships and another on campus job. While working is often not an option for foreign students, there are always "international student" grants. In Quebec, the province has multi-year funding specifically for this purpose, as well as departmental scholarships for foreign students.

I received good news from my University (Concordia) - December 20. This was my third time writing a proposal - the first time, I applied directly to SSHRC, but my PhD applications got derailed. SSHRC rejected me anyway. I received a mailed later in late February, if I recall. The second time was last year when I finally got my PhD applications together - again, I applied directly to SSHRC, but got rejected. Letter in the mail, mid-to-late February. Third times the charm, maybe. Now in a program, I applied to my department, and received an email from the University saying my application had been forwarded to the national competition. I was lucky that I had received merit-based departmental funding upon entrance, which was something else to add to my application. Each time, I re-wrote the application, almost from scratch - I'd say I threw out at least 50% of the writing and tried again. This time, I still thought my application was rushed, but I tried really had to make the description of my research as concrete as possible (which is often difficult with art/humanities/practice-based work). Not to mention that my advisor forgot to sign her letter, and caused me a lot of running around in late October. I'm not sure what usually happens next - does anyone know how SSHRC lets the recipients know, and when?

Concordia University (Canada): PhD in Humanities, and "Special Individualized Program" MA or PhD.

Yeah, ditto - it all depends on what you've done and how you can contextualize it. I had 8 years between masters and PhD, but my work was related - and when it wasn't obviously so, I drew out the connections. It's also more common in certain disciplines, especially those with a practical dimension - in art, it's common to start a career then go to grad school, so the time off is seen as an asset, and often the age in these programs is quite varied. Nevertheless, I'm just happy I'm not the oldest person in my program

What did you decide? The EGS is well respected, if only for the pedigrees of their faculty. Some schools will let you take EGS credits as part of your program... It's a totally different ballgame. Personally, I'm inclined to go the route of the tradition program. There are all kinds of support systems that you won't find at a place like EGS. However, if I had a chance to do a term at the EGS and get credit for it, that's the way to go for me.

I knew someone who got in about 6 years ago - he had a few short articles published, curated a few local shows, finished his MA... and he got in! Not a huge profile at the time. He's a really good writer, currently doing a PhD in NY. Also knew someone who got into the studio program, similar creds. You never know who your competition is, it's almost always worth applying. Not sure where you're located, but have you tried publishing any writing, or applying somewhere to curate a small exhibition?