TheCleve

Psychoanalysis has been used (and derided) most consistently and cogently by feminist and queer scholars in the past few decades, so without knowing what specific aspects of psychoanalysis and literature you are interested in, I would suggest you think about schools that have some people working in gender and sexuality. You might also think about some schools or professors who came out of schools with some heavy theoretical chops -- Duke, Chicago, various UCs -- because nobody, but nobody, gets out of a theory track without looking pretty thoroughly through Freud, Lacan et al. But honestly, psychoanalysis is pretty ubiquitous in English. Not everybody loves it or uses it -- in fact, many many scholars roll their eyes at it -- but most profs who have been trained in the past 30 years have at least a working knowledge of psychoanalytic discourse. Apart from that, I know that Martin Gliserman at Rutgers-New Brunswick works with psychoanalysis and actually has a psychoanalytic private practice.

I'm taking it easy this summer -- trying to strike a balance between revving myself up for grad work and burning out by prepping too hard. My main goal is to read some articles and books by professors I've been explicitly told would be interested in working with me so that I have a loose grasp on their background, interests, scholarly style etc. That way, I'll feel more comfortable chatting with them about their projects when I show up in August, and can hopefully begin building relationships with them right away. Beyond that, I'm just poking around JSTOR and skimming articles on things I'm interested in, fields I'm not familiar with, groundwork for potential projects etc. I really wouldn't worry about showing up unprepared or misinformed -- chances are good that the rest of your cohort is feeling the same way right now. Maybe you could start by reading some stuff by profs working in your field at your university so that you know what kind of work is happening in your department, or if you have an inkling of a future project in mind, skim some background articles to get a feel for the kinds of questions that are being asked. I'm not a social scientist, but I'll bet you'll be taking a methods survey along with the rest of your cohort and you'll fill in gaps in your knowledge pretty organically along the way. EDT: Whomp whomp, I didn't read carefully. You said neuroscience not psychology, but the sentiment still applies.

I think Fayre's advice is sound. But as some anecdotal advice: a friend applied to the PhD program at UVa a few years ago without taking or submitting subject test scores. The department told them that they could submit the scores if they were offered admission -- which means for you that you could potentially take the test once you get to the US and begin the program -- although even after enrolling and completing their degree, they never bothered to take the test or submit the scores and was never offered any grief about it. I'll bet that if you emailed the DGS or department secretary, they'll be willing to work with you so that you can still apply.

literary_tourist, UVa has a thriving Brit lit program (ranked #2 in in that subgroup on USNWR, for what it's worth) as does Indiana-Bloomington, which is particularly known for its Victorianists and gender studies. Ed.: Also, if you're looking to work on travel literature or just the theme of travel more broadly, I would suggest looking into departments that have some professors doing transnational or post-colonial work.

I spoke briefly to a Notable Name in our department about just this, and she said something to the effect of, "Oh, that only matters if it's not a good school." Caveat being that she earned her Notable Name a good 20 years ago. I'm out to expand my horizons, and I think putting out enough varied, timely and original work and making connections with people beyond my own department -- which I ought to be doing anyway -- should keep me thinking with an eye to the discipline as a whole. The job market is what it is, so I'm jumping in banking that I'll do enough good and interesting work which, compounded with program prestige, will neutralize any concerns about academic incest. JMU, thanks for this.

Hi all -- long time lurker. After accepting an offer from my undergrad institution, I'm beginning to get nervous about how I'll navigate the new dynamics, and I was hoping for some perspective from academics. So: I decided to accept an offer from my BA Alma Mater -- a top ten (in English) public university -- because, among other things, they courted me pretty heavily, offered me great money, and really are one of the best fit schools I applied to. I wasn't very methodical in my applications, and consequently applied to quite a few schools that are good and brand name, but not particularly suited to my interests. But as August approaches, I'm getting worried about how to gracefully transition back to the same university as a grad students. My worries are as follows: I'll be entering the PhD program directly from undergrad with this app cycle year in between, so I'm afraid I'll still be fresh in the faculty's mind as a precocious undergrad rather than as the serious and (hopefully) capable grad student I want to present as. I'm also not sure how to deal with already having established relationships with professors. Most of my strongest relationships are with new, up-and-coming profs, and I was told when I accepted the offer that a few of our department's academic rock stars were particularly struck with my application. I feel like this is a blessing because it means I can branch out in new directions and broaden my intellectual/academic horizons despite the fact that I'll be returning to the same cesspool, so to speak. Luckily the department is large, so there are many faculty members I've never even met, but how do I navigate classes, department social functions, picking advisers etc.? I feel this irrational aversion to taking any classes taught by profs who know me despite the fact that at least of few of these classes would be most rewarding. Should I avoid them, at least for the first semester until I've established myself? Finally, my partner, who now attends a different PhD program attended this university for his MA, which is where we met. I got to know his MA cohort pretty well -- the rich and collaborative relationships between grad students in the department being another reason I chose this program -- and a few of the PhDs on a smile-and-wave basis. His cohort is gone, but I'll be returning to the program where I'll kind of know some of the students which feels so much more awkward to me than if I were simply a stranger. I know if I wanted a fresh start I should have accepted a different offer, but is there a way to make a return to old stomping grounds feel like a new adventure? TL;DR, I guess I'm asking how to make the transition from the undergrad persona that many of the faculty and students knew me as to a more professional and collegial one? Thanks for any input.