Zauber

All the programs that I looked up whilst applying (around 40) were fully-funded. Most of the well-known/good programs seem to be. Then again, it may have slipped under the radar. Thanks for sharing something that I didn't know!

Everyone else has said most of the important stuff. All PhD programs are fully-funded, it is just the components of the funding that change (TAships, RA/GSR posts, Fellowships etc.). Do not worry about funding since you need to get into a program and you will be taken care of. As @Philosobroad so rightly stated, look at Comp.Lit programs. Postcolonial Studies in the aftermath of Spivak and Basnett, is being done in CompLit departments with more gusto than ever. The ability to think, read and articulate in multiple languages is a valuable tool to have, especially given our shared Indian multilingual context. Apply to schools which have people you want to work with. Don't look at the name as much, although it is still a factor. If you get into an Ivy but don't have faculty that share or can support your your interests, it serves no purpose. A University of Wisconsin-Madison or a University of California-San Diego might be better options for you. Some schools you could look at include: UC system- Berkeley, Santa Cruz, San Diego, Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Los Angeles and Riverside Ohio State University of Wisconsin-Madison NYU Columbia University University of Chicago University of Washington University of Texas- Austin University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill Indiana University Washington University in St. Louis Brown Penn State UPenn University of Maryland University of Massachusetts I hope this helps! Good luck and happy hunting! You can contact me if you have any questions. I went through this process for the Fall 2017 cycle so I know what it is like.

Thank you for this! I'm actually a Comp.Lit PhD student with a BA in Psychology so this is kind of a sea change! I really hope that you're right about catching up. I tend to get anxious prematurely though, so this might also just be nerves talking. I really do love literature and hope that I can share that with any students that I might interact with.

I'm going to be a TA right off the bat at UC Davis and it terrifies me so I understand exactly what you mean. I'm required to teach/lead 2 discussion sections a week. proctor all exams and grade all papers for ONE class. As a newly-minted undergrad with ZERO teaching experience, I'm quaking in my imaginary boots! In addition to this, I have to do a TA review class with a supervising professor every week. All in all, I feel woefully underprepared and terribly nervous. The fact that I'm an international student doesn't help assuage my anxieties. I feel like I'm way behind on the learning curve already and despite reading through dozens of articles and forums about TA duties and how to manage them, I think the butterflies won't go away till I'm actually in front of my class and actually learning from my many probably errors.

Not quite an English grad but Comp.Lit with my primary lit being English seems to fit. I earned my bachelor's in Psychology with minors in Anthropology and Peace and Conflict Studies from a tiny little place in India (Around than 300 students across 4 years). I start school (PhD in Comp.Lit) in September but from what a few fifth-year grads and faculty members told me, the transition isn't too tough. The MA coursework is meant to cover your basics so that you aren't lost with regard to certain technical terms and theories in your discipline and usually contains at least one introductory course that is mandatory. It's hard work though so reading some foundational texts in your discipline helps to prime you for what lies ahead. I've just been reading some books on citation and research methodology alongside basic textbooks on literary theory and when I told one of the faculty members in my graduate department about it, she said that it was enough and that I didn't need to worry since most students have to unlearn and relearn a lot of things anyway. Hope this helped somehow!

I got accepted into a PhD program and found out pretty recently that I am the youngest of 5 admitted students. With a minimum of 4 years between me and the next person, I'm worried about fitting in and how to not make a fool of myself given my inexperience and obvious youth. ANY ADVICE would be fantastic at this point, if only to stop me from having panic attacks.

I primarily used Julia Kristeva's work on Abjection in "Power of Horror" and Gilbert & Gubar's seminal work on the Madwoman in the Attic. I majored in psychology so there was a lot of psychoanalysis involved- Lacan and Freud in particular.

Just email the program and ask if you can speak to a current grad student. They should be ok with it

I'd say pause for a second and look at the program structure. See what you need in terms of development. If you need to strengthen your foundations, then write that down. If you need space to play around with ideas, then write that down. Look at the faculty and see who can help you best. Don't look at a department as a whole, sometimes looking at its constituent elements helps a lot more. Look at the workload in both places and find out if you can speak to current students so that you get some insider perspective on the department. I'd say go with the one that benefits you holistically and where you feel that you will shine. That's my 2 cents

Lol I love the way you've phrased your problem. I think it comes down to what you really feel is best for you in terms of career/research goals. Sorry I can't help much!

Thank you!

A little late to the party but my writing sample was also an excerpt from my undergraduate thesis. It was on abjection as catharsis for writers of Gothic literature. I argued that writers such as Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker wrote their identity conflicts into their projects so that the works would become cathartic quasi-autobiographies. I don't think it was the best piece of writing but I think it showcased my love for theory.

Anyone with acceptances yet? Especially to UC Davis? I just got accepted a few days ago!

Yes! I didn't think it would happen because I was rejected from everywhere else and didn't think a waitlist position would change into an acceptance. My decision came in last week, after I'd just about confirmed my place at a Masters Program in India. Big shock but a good one! Hopefully the same will happen to you!