Studying abroad

[cattycj]

if anyone can help...

i'm really interested in studying abroad. do any of you guys have any info on scholarships? i'm a college grad and i'm thinking of maybe studying my master's in another country.

[victory]

Might be able to help. What's your field of interest?

[cattycj]

i graduated from a social science course. are there any opportunities for me in that field?

[victory]

Cattycj, I'll need more specific info:

1. Which particular social science? Did you graduate from a general "AB Social Sciences" course or did you complete a degree in a more specific field, re: sociology, economics, political science, anthropology, psychology?

2. What are your career plans? Do you plan to work in the private sector, public sector, or academia? What kind of job would you like to pursue after you get your degree? In which country do you see yourself working?

Graduate-level programs are extremely field-specific and geared for very narrow purposes -- that means you had better know your end goal well or you may end up "wasting" one to four years of your life for a degree that won't really help your career goals.

If you can provide more specific info, I'll hopefully be able to direct you to good programs and/or scholarship/fellowship opportunities.

[sea sprite]

heya. if you need any other info like where to take the gre and toefl etc. i can advise you. i just went through all those things last year (oct-dec) when i was applying to all these gradschools for an ms/ma degree in an environmental bio related field. although i wasn't accepted by my 1st choice (UCB), i got into a really good program at CU (di bale na kahit ivy league, maganda yung ino-offer nila eh).

my advice is to surf the 'net for grad school offerings that may coincide with what you eventually want to do with your life. it wouldn't hurt to check out the u.s. news site since they come out with grad school rankings in a lot of fields. good luck!

[cattycj]

i finished anthropology here in the philippines. balak ko sana to study somewhere sa states or canada. work in the academe. that's about it.

[victory]

Hi, cattycj. Thanks for sharing this information. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert in the field of anthropology, and I can only offer my two cents worth on the general structure of the academia in the US since you're interested in possibly pursuing studies here.

1. Assuming that you're interested in continuing a career in the academe, the Ph.D. is the only way to go. I'm not sure about your field and whether it is more acceptable to go for a terminal master's degree before you take up a Ph.D., but for many other social sciences, schools and programs accept Ph.D. students straight off from College (although some work experience or experience in the academe might conceivably help). Getting into a top Ph.D. program is pretty rough, but the good news is that most of the top universities and programs provide COMPLETE funding for Ph.D. students, as long as you pass the admissions hurdle. So that definitely solves your scholarship/fellowship issue, right?

Complete scholarship/fellowship support in terminal master's degree programs are much more rare than the Ph.D. program structure I described above.

2. If the field of anthropology is anything like the field of economics, it will be to your interest to seek out the school which offers not only "name brand prestige" like the Ivy Leagues of this world -- but more importantly, the kind of mentoring you want and need. Ask yourself who are the shining lights in your field, which scholars produce the kind of thinking and writing that stimulates you and energizes you -- under which faculty mentor would you like to work as a Ph.D. student and budding young scholar? Since you graduated with an undergraduate degree in anthropology, you will be more familiar than I am with who the "big names" are in your field. Look at where they are based -- do they work in universities in the US, or elsewhere? You'll want to apply to those schools where your "dream faculty mentors" work, so you can learn from the best people in the field the kind of cutting-edge developments necessary for you to become a bright young scholar as well.

You may find that the top people in your field are actually NOT based in US schools, for example! So look around -- because at the Ph.D. level, it's not the school per se that matters anymore: It's who your Ph.D. adviser and mentor is, and how well he or she is respected in the field.

Aside from website sources, it may be good for you to visit the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF) and browse through the resources they have for Filipinos interested in studying in the US. Unless they've moved their base of operations after last June 2000, their office should still be located at:

Philippine American Educational Foundation (PAEF)
3/F Accelerando Building, 395 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia)
Makati, MM 1200
Tel. No. 895-3037
(It's in front of Gerry's Grill along Jupiter Street in Makati)

PAEF has numerous resources available for you. Also, it will be to your interest to establish ties with PAEF, since it is the sister organization of the Fulbright Foundation in the Philippines -- which also sponsors Filipinos who wish to study in the US via the competitive, prestigious Fulbright Scholarship program.

Good luck in your search and I hope these tips help! Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, re: good programs specifically for anthropology.

[victory]

See what fifteen seconds of searching in the Internet can do? Cattycj, I make no guarantees that the following websites will provide you with quality leads, but here are the websites of the American Anthropological Association and their student arm, the National Association of Student Anthropologists (NASA):

American Anthropological Association: http://www.aaanet.org/

National Association of Student Anthropologists: http://www.aaanet.org/nasa/

NASA has a frequently asked questions page, which addresses stuff like "what's the best graduate program in anthropology?" You might find this useful.

http://www.aaanet.org/nasa/faqs.htm

Hope this helps! Again, good luck in your search.

[cattycj]

thanks you guys :)

victory, those are really useful info. i really appreciate the help (and the advice too). thanks!

[victory]

You're most welcome, cattycj. Good luck in your search!

[birleys]

Just additional comments here

Cattycj, if you are thinking of pursuing further studies on anthropology with a scholarship, you can also try to apply at the Japanese Embassy in the Phil.

I remember that the Monbusho (or the Japanese Education Ministry) offers full time scholarship to successful candidates. The ministry offers not just on technical stuff, but also for social sciences(I think anthro is also included, but please check it again). I think the reason why Japan offers generous scholarships especially among the Southeast Asians is because it wants to improve or strengthen ties with the developing nation. Yung nga lang if you are accepted, you will study in Japan, and not in the US.

Victory is correct in saying you should know your career goals before going into further studies. I, for one, wanted to get know more about Japan (its people, language, history, business, etc). I enjoyed my first time here that I decided to spend another year and another. The only way to that was to become a graduate student.

Just a question lang, is studying for a higher degree really a "waste of time?" if you were not able to use it. For example, I took up MA international development here only to discover that UN and its related agencies do not prioritize Filipinos on the hiring scheme at the entry level because there are so many Filipinos in the UN relative to the monetary contribution our poor Phil. government gives.

Morever, nowadays, it seems that having a bachelors degree is not enough. Somehow, you have to get a masters degree--even for just credentialing. When I decided to take my masters back then, my folks advised me to take it--because the not everybody gets the opportunity to study abroad, and it would help me in my advancement as they said. I just do not know if they were thinking from their own "time reference" when they advised me.

Well that is water under the bridge.

Your thoughts folks :)