[poi123]

I hold a 2nd upper class degree from a low tier univ and an MA from Notts.

Do you think I stand a chance to get into a top university in the States for a PhD in linguistics? Like UCB, NYU, Stanford, Georgetown and etc?

[annette2010]

(Original post by poi123)
I hold a 2nd upper class degree from a low tier univ and an MA from Notts.

Do you think I stand a chance to get into a top university in the States for a PhD in linguistics? Like UCB, NYU, Stanford, Georgetown and etc?

I think most American Unis ask for GRE, so you might need to get a good score in that first. Also, I'd say it depends on you proposal and their specialisations. If you have research experience and/or publications, it would be helpful, too.
Some unis might require you to finish their MA/Mphil first and then pass an exam to get to the actual PhD level... which takes TIME!!
Don't know what you are interested in, but getting an offer (or admission as they call it) without funding shouldn't be hard, the funding part is always the hardest...
Good luck anyway

[devil09]

(Original post by annette2010)
Don't know what you are interested in, but getting an offer (or admission as they call it) without funding shouldn't be hard, the funding part is always the hardest...

Incorrect for two reasons.

(1) Any graduate student is a significant investment in faculty time and department resources, and programs are therefore extremely selective about whom they choose to admit.

(2) Many universities do not allow graduate programs to admit students whom they can't fund.


Annette was correct that your research interests and background are of paramount importance in graduate admissions. You need to have clearly defined research interests that mesh well with the faculty members of the programs you're applying for.

In order of importance, I'd say admissions looks for:

• A personal statement explaining exactly what you've done so far, what you want to do, and why you want to do it at that particular program
• Relevant, rigorous courses and good performance in them (or papers or modules or whatever you wish to call them)
• Strong letters of recommendation from scholars well-known in that field
• Research background (any published papers or conference presentations)
• Excellent writing sample (for some programs)
• At least decent GRE scores

Graduate programs in the humanities and some of the social sciences in the US are incredibly competitive. It is not unusual for even extremely qualified applicants to take two or even three tries to get in somewhere.