It’s nearly application season again, and I know that many of you are gearing up for another cycle of PhD admissions. In this blog post, I will outline the steps you should take to apply for a PhD in the United States.
I recommend starting this process 4 to 6 months ahead of the application deadline. For most programs in the humanities and social sciences, this deadline will be in early to mid-December.
Identify your target schools
Your target schools will vary based on the specific field you’re interested in. Throw your idea of what the “best” schools are out the window — that’s how undergrads think. What you’re looking for is a program that can support you and your particular interests.
This means that you should look for programs that have 1) faculty who can mentor you, and 2) access to materials you might need (labs, archives, galleries travel funding, etc.). Start by looking at the scholars you already like. Where did they go to school? It’s not hard to find someone’s alma mater with a little Googling. How about your undergraduate or graduate mentors? Where did they get their degrees?
Schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, etc. do have excellent graduate programs, and can (but not necessarily) have more funding available than other schools. However, it’s not helpful for you to look only at the brand name. You want to be looking at the individual programs and departments. For example, my friends in Chemistry tell me that the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has an excellently regarded program, and the University of Indiana Bloomington has more Asian languages on offer than I think I’ve ever seen. If you study German, French, or experimental cinema you might consider the University of Chicago, but if you do ethnic/diasporic cinema and want to be among screenwriters and filmmakers, I would recommend the University of Texas Austin.
Bottom line: what matters when you make your choice is whether you will receive the support you need to do the work you want to do.
Note: Do not ever apply to or accept an offer from a PhD program that expects you to pay tuition. You should always, always be offered a stipend, not the other way around.
Assemble your application
Once you have your schools lined up, it’s time to assemble your application.
Most applications are made up of four main components: your statement of purpose, your writing sample, your CV, and your letters of recommendation.
- Statement of Purpose (SOP)
This is the most important part of your application. SOPs are a 500-1000 word statement on your research goals. This is the only place where you get to speak directly to the admissions committee, so make it count. A good SOP should address your research goals, your training, and why you’re a good fit for that school. I’ll be putting together some resources on SOPs soon, and will link them when they’re done. - Writing sample
After the SOP, the writing sample is the second most important part of the application. This is where you demonstrate that you know what academic writing and research looks like, and give the application committee a taste of what you can do. Most people use an excerpt of 15-30 pages from their MA or BA theses, or from a class paper they feel best represents their interests. Make sure your writing sample is on the topic you want to do your future research on. - CV
The CV is a way to (relatively) quickly list what you’ve done in your academic career thus far. Here you can put any conferences you’ve attended, papers that you’ve published, or presentations you’ve given. If you haven’t done any of that (many applicants haven’t), a list of relevant coursework is also a good option. You want to be able to back up whatever claims you’ve made in your SOP about your training, and prove that you’re serious about the PhD. - Letters of recommendation
You don’t have much control over these, and how much they count for will vary. Choose people who will say good things about you as a student and scholar. People with PhDs, ideally. Your advisor and/or professors from your BA or MA insitution are standard. If you don’t have good relationships with them, try professors who have had you in class or otherwise know your work. If that’s still a no-go, choose people who have read your work and have some kind of authority to speak to who you are: community leaders, clergy (this really varies, though), or supervisors if your job is/was related to your academic field. Ask for recommendations at least a month in advance, and send a polite reminder a week before they’re due.
All of this will take some time to put together, which is why I recommend you start as early as possible. We all know that the first draft is never the best draft, so I suggest writing your SOP early and then putting it away for a couple of weeks if you have the time to spare.
Open all your application portals well ahead of time. Sometimes there are extra questions or requirements in there that aren’t stated on the website (I know, I know). Additionally, always ask for an application fee waiver, whether you “need” it or not. If there’s no obvious way to do this, email the administrator of the department or school you’re applying to. There’s no harm in asking, and you could save $100s (or $1000s).
Submit your application
And… once you have everything you need, you wait! Most programs with a December deadline will get back to you in February-March. It’s a rough waiting period, but if you know you’ve submitted the best application you can, then in the end what’s meant to be will be. Remember, PhD admissions aren’t only based on merit or application quality, but on department funding, the number of students a program can support, whether a certain professor can take on another student, and a myriad of other factors.
Of course, all this hinges on whether you feel you have submitted the highest quality application possible. That’s why I highly, highly recommend having someone review your application materials at least once before you submit them. You can ask a professor to do this, or the career center at your university. I also offer SOP reviews, strategy consults, and application copy edits, which can be great for bringing your writing sample up to speed.
You’ve got this!!!
Application season can be a stressful one, but you’re doing amazing things! Be proud of yourself, and good luck!!