mikers86

My feelings differ on this matter. Consider that each top 20 program narrows their potential candidate list to 30 or 40 people (ballpark) and each of these individuals gets scrutinized to a fault, equally deserving of admittance but removed for whatever reason - let's say fit because it's not quantifiable. It's a safe estimate, though not fact, that those who don't end up in a top 20 could potentially be offered admittance to programs just below. Traditionally they have close to a 4.0 as proflorax stated, as I would guess (generalization) those admitted to say the top 50 with an MA. It's far easier to explain away an F when applying to MA programs, but it could potentially set you apart from other PhD applicants in a negative way. You're limited to roughly 2 pages in your SOP, and the space required to adequately explain the situation would take away from selling yourself to the committee. Adcomms are human, but even if they can be persuaded, the grad school may not agree. I don't say this to be pessimistic or deter you from applying and hope it doesn't come off as condescending. All that said, I agree with those above. Speak with the professor if possible to see what can be done about the F. If nothing, then have a letter writer that knows you well explain it in their letter or even that professor. One concern with having that professor address the issue. Make sure they are willing to write about you in a positive manner that will enhance you as an applicant and not just a throwaway letter addressing the F. Every LOR counts. If you aren't sure, see if you can send your application materials to a trusted party outside of your university who can tell you either to include that letter or consider looking elsewhere. It's a difficult position to be in. There's no hard and fast rule about this, but it's an entirely uphill battle and your other materials have to be as perfect as possible. Good luck to you! Please let us know if the situation gets resolved.

No matter how many times you read over application requirements, I swear a new one materializes on the grad school page that contradicts what was previously stated. Keep on top of it! It's especially tedious if say one of your undergrad institutions doesn't permit online transcript requests and you have to overnight a paper request with a check. Not to mention expensive...

I didn't title mine. Several of the applications instead asked you just put Personal Statement Last Name in the headers which I appreciated. When you have a page restriction, every line counts.

Field specific, MLA, even relevant symposium. Conferences supplement publications on the c.v. (we can't all publish an article a year, can we?) but what you present will ideally lead to a published article. Hence going to extremely broad conferences usually won't provide you with the particular feedback needed to develop the conference paper further.

It's an incredibly difficult position. On the one hand, I can't imagine anyone else being able to write as strongly for you than your thesis advisor. Who else knows your work and interests that well? But if you feel as if there is no way to ask, find someone else immediately and ask them to read your thesis if they aren't familiar with the project.

Generally once they've written "a" LOR they alter it slightly depending on where it's going, so additional schools shouldn't be much of an issue. I feel that you should ask him, as long as you give him ample time before the deadline is up, and especially if his area of work is related to your own. But also try to think of someone else you could ask in the event he is unable to write for you again. Definitely ask. It's a difficult time for him, but also an extremely important moment in your life and vital to your future.

My MA was at Middle of Road State University, which I chose over Well-Ranked Private University because it was where I had finished my BA (by the time I finished I had LOR from people I knew for 5 years), I received in-state tuition (though I did get at TAship the 2nd year), and location location location. Like proflorax said, make strong connections, have faculty help you develop your writing sample, and just make use of your time in that program. You can overcome almost anything - GRE scores, unranked/low ranked BA or MA institution - if you have a solid writing sample. I would personally look at what sort of courses the program has historically offered to see if those remotely match your interests or seem like they would be beneficial to you in any way. And I mean any way - you can make most courses work for you. But if you're a 20c American person and they predominantly do pre-1800 British, then perhaps it's not the right way to go.

I sent out an initial list of schools and deadlines for LOR, followed by asking them in person if they needed other materials, and then emails two days before deadlines if they hadn't submitted their letters yet. You potentially run the risk of them not having written the letter if you ask the day before (Yes, ideally they won't wait until the day before, but stranger and worse things have happened)

There's not a definitive list of funded MA programs, often because programs don't give full disclosure on the subject. Funding could be in the form of a TAship, or a partial or full-tuition scholarship, or even potentially an RAship outside the department. There are definitely some benefits to looking for funding outside the actual department. Working as an administrative assistant x number of hours a week (covering your tuition/maybe a small stipend) will expose you to other areas of academia, and perhaps not be as huge a distraction from your studies as say a TAship. You can potentially work with a DGS to get creative in terms of funding. By all of that I just mean start by looking at programs that interest you. It helps if you have a general sense of a time period or national or theoretical perspective that you could be interested in working on for the next 1-2 years and making sure there are at least a few faculty members who do similar work. If sites don't specifically disclose funding for MA students, email the DGS and just ask. Worst they can say is no, there isn't available funding for MA students. It will save you time and money for application fees. Often MFA/MA programs are more like cash cows for the university, but funded MA programs are out there. I know in the past people have tried to compile lists on this forum. Maybe someone can pull a link to it?

Exactly. You are making the argument. "I" is acceptable when used appropriately and sparingly.

And as the English Admissions FAQ site mentions, "though each program allows you to take courses in the other and to appoint faculty from either program to your committee, if you find that a majority of the faculty with whom you are interested in working are based in Literature, it would make sense to apply to that program." Best of luck in figuring out your decision!

This is a question that comes up fairly frequently, mainly because department websites don't clearly state the difference. From my own experience, the majority of English PhD students organize fields around period/nation (Transatlantic 18C, for instance) whereas Lit tends to be more theoretically organized. It's not a hard and fast rule. You can take courses in Lit if you're in English and vice versa. One difference in terms of applying is the Lit program uses interviews, Skype initially (I think) and then a campus visit to determine who will receive an acceptance offer. English doesn't. I'd send off emails to both DGS' if you're unsure of which program would better suit you. We're both wonderful departments, but I admit deciding which is the right "fit" is tricky.

Just to throw it out there, UNH does have a funded 2-year MA that does not explicitly transition to their PhD. It's just competitive funding at the MA level. And they're hiring a Medievalist this year. As for English/Theater History, that's tricky. I do have a friend who did her dissertation on Ren theater and had a theater history prof on her committee, so I imagine it would depend more on how you want to approach drama.

Yes. There is no restriction as far as I'm aware that prevents you from having Associate professors on your committee. Honestly, there are far more Associate than Full professors and it would be unrealistic to only have a committee populated by Full. Even Assistant professors are options. The catch to the latter is tenure and the potential stress that can cause.

I would say fit is far less important when applying to MA programs. You likely have an idea of your interests, but the entire point of an MA is to explore other areas, become informed about differing theoretical/methodological programs, and just be open to the options of the field. Otherwise you would just be applying to PhD programs with some semblance of a research topic in mind. But as proflorax said, if you think you're interested in Med/Ren, make sure programs you apply to actually have faculty in these areas. Email them and ask with what frequency they teach grad courses, or see if there are archives of course options from prior years. Fit is a much looser concept at the MA level, honestly. What's more important is opportunities for writing a thesis that you can turn into a writing sample for doctoral programs (if you decide to go that route), opportunities to teach, funding, conference support, and all those wonderful things that help professionalize you on your way through academia, and if/where that department is placing students in PhD programs.

(Not to put the cart before the horse) Depending on the program you may not have any leverage. It could be the case that the offer is a one size fits all deal to level the playing field between students. It may be the case that you get one offer at the very start of acceptance season but don't receive another offer until mid-March, after you've already visited the first program. But questions like "are there opportunities for summer research funding" or "are there opportunities to teach FYW in the summer" and more of that variety are quite useful. Usually it isn't posted online for general applicants but more for those in the know.

The quant score *generally* matters less to English departments than it does to the Graduate school, their own requirements/idea(l)s for admittance, funding, or metrics for admission statistics. But in terms of the department, it's less of a factor.

Where they keep the wine and the departmental secret handshake. You don't learn how to perform the sacrifice to tenure track job committees until year 4.

Yay generalizations! If you are seriously considering the MFA, then I urge you to find a program that is funded and allows you to actually TEACH courses, either FYW or Creative Writing classes. They do exist and make you more "marketable" on the academic market. Again, no guarantee of a non-contingent position, but having that teaching background can potentially open up more opportunities. I'm not sure getting the MFA prior to applying to Art History PhD programs is super helpful, either. Depending on length of the MFA program, that delays your time working on the doctorate, which can be quite lengthy depending on the individual. Say 2 years for the MFA, and maybe 5-6 for the PhD? I'd say if preparedness is a concern, see if you can take a grad class in Art History at an institution and use that as a stepping stone. As for the Top Ten statement, there is no guarantee someone from a Top Ten will get the job over someone who doesn't have a doctorate from those programs. Do those top programs give you a slight advantage in earlier rounds? Possibly. But it's all about what each individual job committee is looking for in a new hire, which may or may not be a graduate of those elite institutions. If job security/hiring potential is what you're after, then perhaps neither an MFA or PhD in Art History is right for you. Neither degree explicitly fares better on the academic market because demand for each is different in any given year, and Alt-Ac positions also vary widely.

I don't have any additional suggestions, but the benefit of either UNC or Duke is the option to take courses at the other institution, giving you greater access to faculty.

I've known applicants (and even professors from back in the day) who never got rejection notices from UPenn. This isn't to say you shouldn't apply.

Drafting/editing your SOP/WS for every single program, because no two programs have the same requirements. Obviously. Word count limits, page limits (counting or not counting Works Cited), double spaced, single spaced, font size, PDF, Word document. No two applications will ever look the same for these two documents. Your WS is perfect and 20 pages? Chances are that at least one school cuts you off at 15 pages. Or even 10 pages. Or my favorite, the wonderfully vague "somewhere between 12 and 25 pages" (looking at you, Stanford). Crafting and tailoring these documents for every application is extremely demanding, so if you can figure out what each program requires, say now, it will make your life slightly easier down the road. (Make sure if you're copying and pasting that you actually change the name of the program) I "tried" to do one set of docs each weekend, though when you're grading 25 essays or reading 25 drafts or conferencing 25 students or lesson planning, it's harder to be that efficient. So start now

I cannot stress how time consuming certain applications were, and for the silliest things. For instance, inputting every single class you've ever taken. While rare, a complete time suck. Request your transcripts early, prior to Winter break, and request extras for yourself, both official and unofficial. You don't want to be caught off guard if/when you decide to apply to another program.

Fingers crossed that it all pays off for you WT.

Though anecdotal, my scores weren't exactly glorious in either the General or Subject exam. 156, 142, 4.0 (though having taught comp, I get what they're looking for now). I took the exam for MA program applications and just didn't have time to retake it for PhD apps. I won't even mention the Subject score. Moral of the story: they aren't the end of the world. Did they keep me out of Harvard? Likely. But I got into a handful of programs and am quite content with where I am.