#boldlystudying

Star Trek? Let’s go with Star Trek.

and they just casually vulcan kiss all the time. It’d be like at least kissing on the cheek every few mins

1. Go apple picking V.S. Go on a hay ride6. Trick or Treating V.S. Watch Scary movies7. Apple Pie V.S. Pumpkin Pie8. Halloween V.S. Thanksgiving16. Reading V.S. Writing18. Live in a Cabin In a Forest V.S. Have it be fall 24/7

Hey again! (I understand why the ranking of your university may bother you a bit but, at the if your school offers a strong graduate history department and you find a key advisor there, I would say you have little reason to be worried.)

Now, here are a few tips I wrote a couple of months ago about applying to graduate school:

BEFORE APPLYING

1. Consider why you want to go – I know this may sound absurd since you usually know why you want to go to graduate school but, it’s possible that based on your chosen career, an undergraduate degree in history would have been fine. Just take some time to think about this.

2. Find a topic that interests you – While once admitted into a program, students are usually allowed (even expected) to change their application proposal, you should still apply to graduate school having a clear idea about what you want to study. History programs especially require that a Professor (and a graduate committee) supervise your work. It is important for the university receiving your application to know that they have a professional body capable of working with you for the duration of your MA thesis / PhD dissertation. This is also important for you as a student because there is nothing worst than having to complete a project on a topic that probably never interested you in the first place but that you chose not understanding that you were making a commitment. (Trust me, I know all too well what I am saying here.)

3. Pinpoint prospective schools – Different institutions offer different types of history programs. Once you have decided on a topic, it’s important to find the university that offers the best academic environment for you. Beyond having the right faculty, you also want to look for a school that offers financial support to students.

4. Look at every schools’ requirement for graduate studies – As I mentioned before, “different institutions offer different types of history programs.” While M.A. programs usually last for two years in most school systems, PhD programs vary a lot. Some universities require students to pass their comprehensive exams fairly early into their doctoral studies, others require it much later, as you must have guessed, this does have an impact on the length of the program. A PhD can take everything from four to seven years to complete (as a full-time student).

5. Look for a potential advisor – One common mistake that students make when they apply to graduate school is that they assume every instructor working on a field that interest them at a given institution can potentially become their advisor. There are a lot of different academic titles and many individuals that are not full-time Professors get to teach. As someone who is applying to graduate school, it is your responsibility to make sure to keep in contact with a Professor who’s functions include research and supervising prospective students (usually those that have Distinguished Professor, Professor or Associate Professor attached to their names, as supposed to those with titles such as Lecturer and Teaching Assistant). Here is a great list of “Standard Academic Professional Titles” by the University of Illinois at Urbana.

6. Do not overlook the importance of financial stability – Graduate school can be (is) expensive. (I say this especially for American readers.) I have seen many people who were talented but, unfortunately, could not continue graduate school because they could not offer it. I’ve hinted before that is was important when “fishing” for schools to look at those that offered financial support to their students. While financial support can mean loans, you do want to look for institutions that are generous with academic bursaries and offer T.A.ships (Teaching Assistant positions). It would be a shame to cut short your career in academia because of lack of funds.

7. Know the academic “jargon” – Aside from understanding what each academic title entails, you should also familiarise yourself as much as you can the language used in academia especially whatever will be useful to understand what is asked of you as an applicant and prospective student!

WHEN APPLYING

1. Prepare ahead – Say you are interested in entering into an M.A. program in fall of 2016, now (as we are in the pre-fall of 2015) is the best time for you to start applying. Application for graduate school means requesting all your students transcripts, writing letters to potential advisors, writing a convincing research proposal, asking former and/or current Professors for recommendation letters… All of this takes time and it will take even more if you are interested in studying abroad, therefore, I strongly recommend that you start the procedures six months to one full year before the actual school start.

2. Look at every schools’ requirement for applicants – Beyond the structure of a particular program, it’s very important to understand what each school wants from its applicants. Perhaps the school that interests you wants three recommendation letters, perhaps it only wants too. Perhaps one school wants a cover letter and a research proposal, perhaps another school wants both plus an interview with you. Make sure you read and re-read precisely what is asked of you and keep track of the deadline for application.

3. Good writing takes time – As stated above, different institutions ask for different paperwork however if you are applying to graduate school and especially to a PhD program in history you can expect to write a research proposal. The research proposal is an important part of your application, you should do it with care. Not only do you have to convince actual academics that you have a project that is a) interesting b) achievable c) that you are ready for such endeavours, you also have to prove to the committee evaluating your application that you understand the historiography around your topic and that you can contribute something original to it. Try to do this in five pages!

Now, for M.A. programs you may or may not be asked to write a research proposal but you most likely will have to write a statement of purpose. (Again, if you do not know what is a “research proposal” and a “statement of purpose” in this context, this is your responsibility as an applicant to find out.)

4. Have your work revised –  If this blog post was my research proposal, the committee reading it would be very disappointed.  It goes without saying that the writing that is acceptable online is not in academia. As a prospective student and applicant, you are writing to Professors and hopefully, future peers. You have to convey your readiness for the task at hand. A statement of purpose or research proposal full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors will be judged negatively. Put every change on your side by proofreading your work, having a friend review it and hopefully, having it professionally reviewed by writer/corrector.

5. Apply and cross your fingers! :-)

Hello! *Actually, my MA thesis was a bit more on U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America but, my PhD dissertation, which is what i’ve been discussing of late, will deal with oral history.

Thank you! It's for a oral history project organization--I'd be transcribing, setting up interviews, and generally assisting the leaders in the project. It'd be my ideal internship so I'm really hoping I get it.

boldlystudying replied to your post “br: I'm doing great! Kinda nervous because I have a speech tmwr, a...”

And have a wonderful day! ^_^

hey!! ew, speeches kinda suck, but they’re such an integral part of school :c also wow, an internship, what will you be doing? or is that somewhat of a secret!!?? :x hope you study well, and remember to drink enough water! thanks for participating! <3

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following? no, sorry, but ily!! / yep! / doing so now! / yes, definitely, absolutely!!!!

21: What are your plans for this weekend? Well, tomorrow I’ll go to church, finish a presentation and paper I have due Monday, go grocery shopping and then hopefully have time to go for a run or something!

52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Most definitely!