Thread by @PriyamvadaGopal

Dear 'wide-eyed brown kids'. I'll be posting a short thread later about applications, research proposals, and recommendation letters, as a soft antidote to an appalling attack on young people passing as truth-telling about 'coolie labour' (get a grip) in academia.

You need three things to apply to arts/humanities PhD programmes in the USA and UK. It's not mysterious or opaque, really.
1. Strong research proposal 2. Transcripts 3. Two or three detailed reference letters.

1. Strong research proposal is non-negotiable. Don't send CVs-- no one looks at them, unless they specifically ask. You must offer a clear project, with details of what you will explore & how it contributes to current work in the field. Formulate a strong research question.

2. Ask successful students currently studying in these programmes to show you theirs --there is no shame in studying samples & following a pattern. Many departments will have examples on their websites.

3. The transcripts bit is self-evident, and if you're applying to the USA, you'll also need GREs and usually, subject GREs with high scores.

4. On the knotty matter of references: ask two teachers who know you well, & have read your essays/work to write *detailed* letters testifying to your strengths. If they feel they can't write detailed or positive letters, do not use them as referees.

5. This point really is addressed to referees. What is required is an account of your student's strengths & suitability for 4-5 years of study & sustained writing. Please don't offer 'character' testimonials or single paragraph references, they are useless.

6. For programmes in the UK, it's desirable to make contact with a potential supervisor so that you can demonstrate a fit to the funding body, & also have someone make the case for you internally if approached to supervise you. Not compulsory, however.

7. On the matter of 'coolie labor'. Yes, graduate assistantships are not charity, they work in favour of the institution. Grad students in the USA are organising in many places against exploitation. However, it's bonkers to suggest that that is the only reason you get funding.

8. As ideas go, if conditions are decent, it's not a bad idea in itself: you teach as you write your PhD, get your fees paid and a stipend, and come out of graduate school with teaching experience. It *can* be exploitative but 'coolie labor'? Never worked a plantation, can't say

9. The UK typically has scholarships/fellowships rather than teaching assistantships. They ARE harder to get than in the United States which is a huge field. You can get some experience teaching, but it's not guaranteed. And the PhD times are shorter.

10. Very finally, I would say that you should apply to the UK if you have a strong research proposal with a very clear idea of how you will proceed, as there is no lag time. In the USA you have more time to take classes, & change your mind. Either way, you need a proposal.

11. Very very finally, the people who really need 'training' as far as PhD applications go are the vast majority of South Asian academic reference letters. Most letters are usually inadequate.

(It takes me the better part of a full working day, or usually, two afternoons, to write a single reference letter)

I cannot stress how unethical it is to agree to write a letter for someone you cannot support reasonably strongly. Just say no. As an indication I only write for people that I can *at the very least* put in my 'top 10%'. Anything less, & institution will rightly read hesitation.

Also there's no point in running to famous people you've met once to write a letter for you if they also can't do a detailed letter. If they just write 'I met so-and-so at a conference and they seem bright', that won't do. Better a detailed letter from an unknown lecturer.

The internet has opened up ambitions for a lot of young people in South Asia & rightly so. It doesn't mean everyone is suited to PhD study or that a PhD suits everyone. However, no one applies because they want to drink coffee at Central Perk, what a patronising piece of bullshit

Brahmins acting as intellectual gatekeepers. Not. A.Good. Look.

I forgot Writing Sample. Or similar. Your best piece(s) of writing.