Re: Good linguistics programs

> The choice at the top of my list at the moment seems to be UC Berkeley,
> though it might be the U of Chicago if I didn't keep hearing bad things
> about the atmosphere there...does anyone know about this?
I spent 2 years at U of C grad school when I thought I still wanted
a PhD in ling and anthro (they will let you double up on them.)  The
undergrads their were VERY sharp and impressive.  The grad students
were from very diverse backgrounds and interests.  A friend of mine
is still there, although he ought to be defending his thesis any
day now, and he works with Turkic, Lakh, Burushaski, Salish, Fox,
and Russian.

As to the atmosphere, hmmm.  They tend to distinguish between (fill
in the blank discipline) and U of C (fill in the blank discipline).
They have a very high opinion of the school, the faculty, and the
student body.  It is mostly well deserved even if a little annoying
on occasion.  The library is top-notch, better than many twice its
size.  Programs are rigorous, expectations are high.

It is in a relatively high crime area but the school works around that
as much as possible.  It has a huge campus police force and an incident
will bring 5-6 campus cop cars in minutes.  There was a lot of racial
tension when I was there in 89-91.  The local neighborhoods are mostly
black, the students are mostly white, and the college encourages
gentrification.  There were many apparently racially motivated attacks
which NEVER made the media.  This isn't something the school likes
to publicize.  Now that I have stressed this, I should note, I never
had a problem personally but my circle of friends endured at least 1
rape and several muggings.

I have never regretted a day I spent there, I learned a lot, met a lot
of important linguists and made some great friends.  Chicago has
a lot to offer as a city, as much as I hate cities.
I never made it to Berkeley, Chicago offered me a free ride while I
was first runnerup at Berkeley.  It is of course one of the best.  I
would look to the faculty and their research interests in choosing.  Go
somewhere you can study the lgs you like.


> In any case, my cup runneth over with thanks for whoever can give me some
> advice here.
You are welcome!

--
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