| title | author | Date |
|---|---|---|
For PhD Applicants |
Manan Ahmed |
Fall 2024 |
Due to the volume of inquiries, I am unable to respond in a timely manner (I do answer every email I get from students!) I am writing this out to provide generalized help that may contextualize my responses.
For South Asia pre-modern/early modern programs, the list of possible universities is small (UChicago, Northwestern, UCLA, UW Washington-Seattle, UT Austin, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Vanderbilt, Princeton). That list grows longer/shrinks based on scholars in adjacent fields (Area Studies, Religion, Philosophy) at any given university.
When researching departments/faculty, the best guide remains their published work, but please also look at the courses they offer (often a good indication of current research agendas), and students they currently advice. It is always a good idea to reach out to current doctoral students in the programs you are applying, to get a better understanding of climate, mentorship and advocacy for any given faculty or department as a whole.
Columbia’s History department does admissions by committee (as do most US institutions). As in, you do not apply to work with a single faculty. At Columbia, we admit about 7% of applications. Generally, there is a strong emphasis on whether the applicant is well prepared for graduate history work—a strong writing sample showing archival or language competencies, and experience in relevant historiographies and field questions. It is also very helpful to have a support from a range of faculty in the dept, not just by area or time-period expertise but also thematic expertise. Hence, reaching out to faculty with whom you share intellectual concerns and overlaps is a critical part of a successful application.
If you are applying and need help with the application fee, most places have fee waivers. For Columbia, please see this https://www.gsas.columbia.edu/content/application-fee-waivers.
For the US, it is important to structure your SOP in a recognizable (standard) format. Here is a quick guideline for you to follow:
- The first para is about you: your research profile, what kind of historian/scholar you are intending to become, and what are you interested in broadly speaking. This needs to be consistent with the second para.
- The second para should lay out your research agenda. The historical question that you are wishing to pursue. Start from the broad contours (what, when) and go to a specific question/issue/concern (it should be a why!).
- The third para should detail why is this question/concern important? What previous scholarship exists or other works that you think are important for it.
- The fourth para is your previous training in the ability to pursue this research. This means research in primary sources, and your demonstrable research language capabilities (your BA/MA thesis can be used as an example here)
- Final para: Why do you want to study at the particular institution. Name the faculty (multiple) that you would want to work with, name any particular resources that dept/university/city has to offer (name faculty in other depts).
This is all done in 2 pages maximum (single space).