<p>I am currently looking at graduate schools in History (particularly US South/American Indians). Because I am applying to MA programs, funding will be an issue and I will not take out any more loans. UNC-Chapel Hill has a Folklore MA program that is linked to their Southern Institute and focuses on culture in the US South and is interdisciplinary. I would like to eventually get my PhD in history, would it be better to go to the UNC FL MA program or get funded at lesser program (like a UNC-Greensboro or UNC-Charlotte)?</p>
<p>Why do you want to get a MA if the PhD is your goal? PhD programs offer funding… But if you have concrete reasons for the MA (not a history major, lack of languages, no research, etc), then do what you can to find a MA program that has funding or tuition remission (discount). Look all over the South if the South interests you, not just in the Carolinas. An interdisciplinary MA is also fine to have as a stepping stone for the PhD as long you can remain focus on history, including your thesis.</p>
<p>It is mainly because I think I am a pretty mediocre candidate in terms of grades and writing ability and furthermore, I am hesitant to make a 5-7 year commitment. </p>
<p>I do have a few things going for me, I will hopefully be graduating with honors in history from a top 30 school, have written two significant research papers, have done research at two museums, and will have very good recs. </p>
<p>I just do not have a 3.8 GPA and do not know multiple languages (i just have italian) After looking at some of the admissions information, I have gotten pretty down about it. Also, this sounds stupid, but I do not want to go from such a great school to a mediocre program.</p>
<p>when you apply to grad school, you don’t look for the highest ranked school, just the program that fits the best with your particular field of interest. in some cases (especially in american or european history), the best departments for your subfield are also some of the best schools. students without perfect portfolios but with the perfect fit can get into most programs as long as they meet the threshold.</p>
<p>that threshold? around a 3.5 GPA (give or take, but i’d say you need at least a 3.0), around the 90th %ile on the verbal section of the GRE (above 620V should be good to go), and knowledge on at least one language.</p>
<p>if funding is a real problem, you’ll be very hard pressed to find terminal masters degrees that offer full funding. if anything, take a year off to find some work and then take night classes for a second language other than italian (french and german are popular requirements for history programs, but spanish may be more useful to someone studying the southern US, especially if you’re considering early american). use that year to write the best possible personal statement, to perfect your writing sample, and then just hope for strong LORs from your professors.</p>
<p>you really don’t need the perfect profile. just the perfect fit. and you also need to discard ideas of “a top 30 school.” at the grad level, the department’s reputation in your subfield matters far more than the institution’s overall ranking. as i said, for someone studying the western world (though not necessarily first nations/“indian” history), the best schools for your subfield will usually be highly ranked anyway.</p>
<p>If you aren’t going to borrow, how would you pay for the Folklore program at Chapel Hill?</p>
<p>It is funded for everyone.</p>
<p>OK. Your original post implied it wasn’t. So lay the three programs out and look for fit, disregard the name. Decide what will be best for your career goals, and where you think you would be happiest.</p>
<p>save yourself the hassle and future stress – go for the phd now; you might regret later that you didn’t go strain through.</p>
<p>At the risk of sounding like my parents… It wouldn’t hurt to apply for the PhD programs now. If you don’t get in, no big deal. You’re only out the application fee and whatever time you would have invested in applying to the MA program anyway (also, I think a lot of schools will ask if you’d like to be considered for the MA if they reject you for the PhD program, but don’t quote me on that). If you do get accepted, and you go and then decide it’s not for you, you would still be earning an MA on the way to the PhD and should you choose not to go on after that, so be it. They can’t exactly force you to stick around if you don’t want to.</p>