<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I'm currently a junior at Brandeis University and triple majoring in IGS (International Global Studies), History, and East Asian Studies. </p>
<p>I have a cumulative GPA of 3.6 and a 3.8 in History.</p>
<p>I have not taken the GRE yet, but does anyone know the rankings and statistics for the Graduate Programs? Like the minimum requirements (although most schools say they do not have cut-offs or etc, I believe such a thing exists =P </p>
<p>Thank you!!!</p>
<p>Your best bet is to talk to your professors about the type of program that will be best for you, then start to focus in on departments and individual professors who might be candidates for your advisor. You’ll want to think specifically about what general field of history you’re interested in and then start to drill down to pretty specific topics - graduate study is all about specialization and you’ll want to know before you start filling out applications that the departments you’re targeting have professors who are able and willing to work with you.</p>
<p>As far as the GRE - in the humanities it’s one of those things that won’t get you in but can keep you out. Unfortunately, very few universities publish the data on their admited students. Minnesota is one:</p>
<p>[The</a> Graduate School : University of Minnesota : Program Reports](<a href=“http://www.grad.umn.edu/data/stats/ad/1038000.html#gre]The”>http://www.grad.umn.edu/data/stats/ad/1038000.html#gre)</p>
<p>You can probably conclude from that chart that for UMn you’d like to have something like 650/650/5 or better but at the same time you’re not shut out if you hapen to hit the mid-500s. You can also conclude that things got very competitive this year - no one below the 500-599 V was admitted whereas there were several at much lower scores previously.</p>
<p>But given that, your LORs, SOP, and writing sample will all be more important than your GRE score. You should also be aware that some of the more competitive programs also expect that you will apply with at least one of your research languages (typically German or French but your field may differ) already mastered. (Note that they will be unlikely to mention this on their websites - your professors will know or know who to ask.)</p>
<p>Finally, be aware that jobs are few and far between in the humanities and things are unlikely to get better anytime soon.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>WilliamC </p>
<p>Thank you for your reply!
I just recently took a practice test and got a 730 Verbal and a 710 Q.
If I get similar marks on the real test, do you know if I have a shot at schools like Brown University? (I really like their history department)
Initially I was thinking about applying to law school, and after some research I stumbled upon some websites about law school admission statistics (they were pretty easy to find…like for example in order to get into BC law, one “had to” have a minimum gpa of 3.4 and whatever lsat score (i think it was like 165 or something). Do graduate schools have similar cut-offs? If so, where can I find those stats? I am also aware of how much one’s thesis and recommendation letters have an effect as well…but just curious as to the other statistics. Thank you!!!</p>
<p>Your GRE scores look fine. What will count for more is your preparation, including in the languages necessary to do the research for your particular field; your writing sample and statement of purpose; your profs’ recommendations and your GPA (especially in your field). Usually, by the time you apply, you have not written much of your senior thesis, but it is important to describe your topic and what you bring to it.
You also want to make sure that you have researched the programs well. No good stating you are interested in medieval history if the Dept has no one specializing in that period.
Keep in mind that your application will be evaluated against applications from students with totally different interests, eg. Latin American labor history or the Second British Empire.</p>
<p>In addition to what marite said - humanities grad school admissions is not nearly so numbers driven as law (and business) school is. </p>
<p>Generally, there are no explicit cut-offs beyond those of each graduate school which are typically 3.0+ GPA and 1000+ combined GRE. In actual practice the numbers are significantly higher depending on the department and/or program you’re applying to, that year’s admissions pool, how many fellowships are available, how many professors are available to supervise new students, etc.</p>
<p>That last item is important, especially for a relatively small school like Brown. If you applied, say, in Asian history, you’d want to be aware that there are 5 professors in that group, one of whom is shared with Portuguese & Brazilian. Of the remaining 4, 2 concentrate on Japanese issues, one China, and the 4th is working on India/Pakistan issues. If you’re interested in Japan but neither professor can take any new students, you’re probably out of luck no matter how good your application is.</p>
<p>This is why it is absolutely vital to work closely with your LOR writers to develop a realistic list of programs before you start applying. Academia is a small world and your professors will have a good idea of what kind of applications are being accepted at various schools.</p>
<p>It also bears repeating - have one of your field’s modern research languages in the bag when you apply. In my field (Classics) at least one top school makes their first cut of otherwise qualified applicants based on whether they already have a reading knowledge of German or French.</p>
<p>There have been threads on this before, try to use the search function.</p>
<p>My recommendation is to consider applying to MA programs as well when you are applying for PhD for the first time. There is a growing number of people applying with MA under their belt… and that includes at least one solid research language and one or two theses (nearly) completed. Michigan hardly took anyone straight out of undergrad. </p>
<p>This year’s economi climate shook up grad school admissions, especially in the humanities. Some programs chose to admit the same number of people but cut funding and give funding only to the very top candidates. Other programs chose to accept however how many they can actually afford as not to overyield. I don’t know which is worse. Being accepted without funding or face stiffer competition due to lower number of offers.</p>
<p>That said, I’m not particularly looking forward to apply for PhD again but I feel much more solid now than I did a year ago in my MA program so I’m going to give it a shot.</p>
<p>Forget about Brown. Focus on the professors you want to work with FIRST, then look at their departments. The West Coast tend to be quite strong on Asian history because of the proximity and the population there. To write a very good SOP, you need to be clear about your research interests and issues that you will need to deal with and what your thoughts can bring to the field. That means doing a LOT of literature review to get a sense of the gaps and overflows in the field.</p>
<p>And yes… research language. You need to get in at least 3rd or 4th year to be considered solid enough to pass the first reading exam which usually happens by the end of your first year in the PhD program.</p>
<p>so… ARE you studying asian history? and what time period, what specific region, and what thematic interests?</p>
<p>don’t worry so much about the cut offs. there are always people with 3.3 GPAs and 600 V scores that manage to get into top schools through a combination of LORs, fit with faculty, and magical pixie dust, while other students with 3.7 GPAs and high 600/low 700 V scores get turned away from the same school.</p>
<p>more than anything else, you need to fit with the department. you need to know what you want to study. even if you change your mind later on, you need to articulate a clear, concise expression of a thesis/dissertation topic. you’re not bound to it, but it’ll be a factor in your admission. chances are you will only find a handful of profs in all of academia that do exactly what you want to study, so try to find profs who study the same country and theme, or the same country and time period.</p>
<p>if you are indeed planning to study asian history, look for departments where you have at least 4 asian history professors and/or a decent number of grad students studying asian history. if you apply somewhere with 2 asian history professors and 3 grad students out of 50 studying asian history, your odds of getting in are very, very slim.</p>
<p>like others have said, there is no hard cut-off for grades or GREs. GREs won’t get you in, but they can keep you out, so you’ll want something over the 90th %ile at the very least.</p>