Classics Phd -How high should I aim?

Graduate School
1

<p>Sorry if I do this wrong in any way. This is my first post on this site.</p>

<p>I have a BA (2004) and MA (2008) in Classics from a solid Canadian university, but I am an American citizen. My undergraduate gpa was a cumulative 3.8 and of course I never scored lower than an A- in any of my graduate classes. I have an undegraduate background in Late Antique studies and a graduate background in the literature of the Late Republic. </p>

<p>I'm also in my second year of teaching Latin and Greek at a public university, from October 2009 to the present. On paper, I have 6 years of Latin and 5 years of Greek. However, it is fair to say that I have been studying or teaching Latin and Greek for 10 years, ever since I was a freshmen.
Yes, I did Intro Greek and Latin in my first year at the same time. I was nuts then. I still am. :) I also took 2 years of Italian, a year of Ancient Hebrew, 2 years of Spanish, and a year of modern standard Arabic. Languages were always my thing.
I'm currently taking German this semester to improve my chances.
I took the GRE in 2008 and my scores were poor in math, meh, around 400Q and high enough in the verbal 690V. My analytical writing score was 5.5.
I applied to Classics phds in the fall of 2008 at U of Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Cornell, UCSB, and U of Cincinnati. I didn't get in anywhere.
As relieved and disappointed as I was, I believe I didn't get in because I aimed too high, didn't email potential advisors, and didn't try hard enough to match my interests with certain faculty members.
I'm applying for a Classics Phd again and I'm doing things very differently. For one thing, I'm emailing everyone I'm interested in working with and providing them with a copy of my CV and a chapter of my MA thesis. I've received a lot of feedback!
I'm also not aiming as high as last time. I've decided to apply for SUNY-Buffalo, Rutgers, UCSB, and U of Washington. I also want to apply to a fifth school, but I can't make up mind as to whether it should be another mid-tier or a reach school like UPenn. </p>

<p>My problem right now is this: my BA and MA leaned heavily on Philology, but I want to move toward ancient history (Roman imperialism, Romanization, relationships with foreign peoples-think Sallust or Tacitus). I have a decent amount of historiography and I was a TA for several undergraduate ancient history courses, but I still feel as if I have to defend my decision to apply to programs offering a Classics Phd with Ancient History emphasis.</p>

<ol>
<li>Does my language background trump my only average amount of history courses?</li>
<li>Does the fact that I don't want to pursue further study on my MA thesis topic (Julius Caesar's Gallic War) create a negative impression?</li>
<li>Am I qualified to apply for universities that are higher up on the totem pole, say UPenn or Chicago? </li>
<li>What school should I apply to and why? I'm curious to see what you guys think, even if their program doesn't specifically match my interests.
Thank you for all your help!</li>
</ol>

2

<p>I would not lose heart, especially with such incredibly strong language background. Yours has been the best I’ve seen on these forums!</p>

<p>You most likely made through the first cuts. How were your LORs? You might be right with your statement in regards to faculty fit but definitely listen to professors who are responding to your e-mails. Faculty members understand that you want to change your interest- you should show your line of thinking in your SOP so they can see where you’re going.</p>

<p>I still think you should throw in some reach schools, including those you applied last year, to challenge yourself and demonstrate that you’re still interested in their programs. </p>

<p>My roommate is in the program at Michigan. I do think that it’s more history and archaeology focused so you’ll need to investigate it a little further to see what was your weakest point. It was, needless to say, quite competitive, only 3 funded offers out of 80 applications. Really, I think you just need to talk with the professors and keep in good contact to make sure you’re heading in the right direction and investing your time wisely with these applications.</p>

3

<ol>
<li><p>You will have to defend your decision to switch subfields, but if you have a real passion for ancient history that shouldn’t be bad. Find a way to link your interests in philology to your current interest in ancient history and give a valid academic explanation for the switch over. Was it some wonderful reading you did by a prominent scholar that inspired you? (Extra points if that scholar is a professor at one of the schools you’re applying to!) Are you seeing connections between your old subfield and your new one? A lot of people switch subfield between their MA and the PhD, it’s not uncommon.</p></li>
<li><p>In graduate education I’d be hesitant to say anything trumps anything, given the variability between programs. I am also not in classics or the humanities. But I will say that your language background will be a positive in your favor and may mitigate the fact that you don’t have a lot of history.</p></li>
<li><p>Not necessarily, see #1. Explain this well in your personal statement. Hopefully you are working on that now.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes. You have a solid undergraduate GPA, I’m assuming will have solid GRE scores. Get some excellent recommendations, throw your language abilities on top of that, and write a really, really good personal statement. I’m of the strong mind that a student should not shut themselves out of applying to doctoral programs that they fit excellently at simply from being fearful of not gaining admission. I mean, it’d be one thing if you had a 2.8 and only Greek. But when you are a competitive applicant and just have serious doubts, don’t exclude yourself. The only way you 100% have no chance is if you don’t apply at all.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I did that to myself - I applied to all master’s of public health programs and one PhD program, telling myself there was no way I was going to get in but let me just do this on a whim. I got in. I was telling my advisor just about a year ago (during my second year at Columbia) the story, that that I was afraid I wouldn’t be admitted to top social psychology programs, and so I applied to no other doctoral programs aside from Columbia, and he expressed surprise at this, telling me that I would have been competitive at the places I was interested in. I mean, I’m happy where I am but sometimes I still wish I had the confidence to cast a wider net and not just apply to master’s program and this one doctoral program on a whim. (But there are always post-docs!)</p>

4

<p>What do you want to do with your PhD- teach at a major university or would you be ok with a less known school or a cc? Tenure-track or part-time? I think you need to get advice from classics folks (not at the schools you are applying to) for some frank chat about hiring realities, job security, etc. Belong to any classics associations?</p>

5

<p>Thanks, guys!
Sorry it took so long for me to reply back.
I’m very focused on teaching. My goal is to work at a small liberal arts university in the country side and teach Latin and Greek, as well as Classical Literature and Ancient History classes, preferably with some form of job security. The most important thing is that I want to work in a Classics department with other like minded people.
I also know that the school I received my BA and MA from lacks a certain required amount of prestige and that the places I will apply to this fall don’t offer much more. I would move anywhere for a job, especially one located at a mid-tier school.
Every month I write down the things that I have to do and I’ve finished them all for the month of September except write a rough draft of my SOP. sigh. I don’t know why I always find this little piece of paper so difficult to write. I left it to the last minute when I applied to Phd programs 2 years ago and I’m sure it was plain to see. I’m trying to avoid making that mistake as well. I know I could post it on an online forum, but I am just not that brave or masochistic, take your pic.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a reply!</p>

6

<p>A tip: pick the sort of LACs where you would like to teach. Look at the number of classics faculty. Harvard has 18+, Hobart/William Smith (a nice LAC not far from Cornell) has 3. The small number can mean a longer wait for an opening, a smaller pool of “like minded people.” Look at the number of adjuncts, emeriti, etc, to see how they round out their offerings (and save $) with part-timers. Try to learn the number of students in Greek/Latin or AH. That indicates “demand.”<br>
Smaller schools will like if you can fill multi-slots. Look at the sample LACs’ offerings in AH or pre-modern and see how creative the courses get, to attract students- eg, many courses combine gender issues and history, religion and history, etc. Prepare yourself as best you can. Good Luck.</p>

7

<p>My apps are done!
In the end, I applied for SUNY, Rutgers, UCSB, Washington and UPENN.
I mailed everything in ahead of time and I sent it all certified mail, so that I could track it all online.
There was a month there where I thought USPS had lost my SUNY paperwork, but it turns out it did arrive, it just wasn’t signed for and no one had changed my online status.
Now I am playing the waiting game.
Aside from the one in Washington which focuses more on philology, I only applied to Classics Phds with an emphasis in Ancient History.
I don’t know if I’ll get in anywhere or where I’ll go if I get in to more than one spot.
I hope I don’t have to wait too long. I remember getting my first rejection letter on Valentine’s day, so anything has to be better than that!
Just considering the topics that I like and what kind of professor I want to be, I have to say that SUNY, with its two faculty members focusing on the Roman frontier, would be the best fit. It’s also close to all my peeps in Canada who tell me that I can always jump the border, should Palin win in 2012 and bring about armageddon.
UCSB would be a close second, but its location is the closest to extended family.
Right now, I’m trying to find insider info for both these schools, but it’s hard to find because my google searches always bring me back to the official pages.
Are there any others out there applying for phds in Classics?
Anyone?
Bueller?
heh heh
:)</p>