CommPhD20

In my opinion, most articles of this type unintentionally reveal the true flaws of the person who is dissatisfied with the system. I know we're getting this individual at their worst, but they seem to lack the kind of passion and understanding of professorship that could give them a chance to really shine. The way they look at jobs is troubling -- "Midwestern or Southern school you've never heard of" -- I'm sorry, you thought you would get your Ph.D and get to go wherever you want? Had you ever really been to the Midwest or South? Also, she has a Ph.D in German Literature. That's not the same as a typical English dept. person that she is trying to relate to. I have to wonder whether she is willing to teach German language classes.

I appreciate all the comments -- I certainly didn't intend to say "you should just consider me an MA grad because I did this," but I understand to just lay out what I did. Good tip on the writing sample, I'm hoping it can really come in handy for that. It sounds like, as I hoped, that it will be a very useful part of my overall package. EDIT: Just realized that I'll be applying while this is in progress. I'll certainly have enough material to submit a sample, but the process won't have finished. Is this a problem? I suppose this is a frequent type of consideration when applying straight out of undergrad.

That sounds great, I appreciate the advice. I often find my school to be exceedingly cozy, by the way, so I guess I can look forward to losing that in my post-grad life

Hey everyone -- I am currently attending a well-regarded liberal arts school as an undergraduate and my intention is to pursue a Ph.D in Cinema and Media Studies upon graduating. Heading into my senior year, I'm working on a proposal for an Honors Thesis in the Political Science Department (for reference, there will only be 2 of these done in the entire department and less than 20 in the entire college). I spend a 1 credit directed inquiry in my second semester of junior year (now) working on research to narrow my thesis, then two 6 credit semesters working on the thesis as a senior. Upon arriving to classes of my senior year, I submit a written proposal to a panel of readers consisting of my supervisor, another POLS professor, and an outside reader (my Film advisor). If you're wondering, this will be work on television studies that engages with both political theory and theory from the film or cultural studies tradition -- in other words, it will be work that translates to my intended graduate work...small liberal arts schools just don't "Film and Media Studies" departments. The final thesis will be 40-70 pages in length, will be defended orally to the aforementioned 3-person panel, and will not be distinguished as "Honors" unless an A is received. Much of the work will be independent and research-based with cursory oversight by my advisor giving me help with late-stage revisions and of course corresponding with me to make sure my research is fruitful. My question is this: Given the scope and intensity of this project, can I market this as effectively giving me the experience of a MA grad? Will it otherwise be particularly useful beyond the fact that grad school won't be as much of a shock?

I'm a year away from this happening to me...feeling for you all!