onerepublic96

Hi! I'm an American student about to start an MA in modern and contemporary literature at one of the top universities in the UK. Since it's a one-year programme, I'm also starting to make plans for transitioning to PhD (hopefully entering in the fall of 2020). I'm researching universities both in the US and in the UK, and so far I'm finding UK programmes to be more attractive for me (a major factor is the shorter completion time due to the ability to specialise right away instead of spending 2 years studying a broad range of periods and disciplines). However, I'm a little confused as to how a UK PhD (or DPhil) will look, as opposed to a US one, when it's time to apply for jobs in the US. I'm painfully aware of the current state of the academic job market, of course, but it would be nice to maximise my chances of employment (and perhaps the quality of said employment)... My main concern is whether US universities may consider the relative lack of breadth of the UK programmes in any way a detriment to my application. Does anyone here have experience with navigating this transition between UK training and US employment?

I'm applying to 11, all in the UK initially seemed like a lot but now I'm just paranoid about not getting into *any* of them... my constant nightmare

Been lurking on this thread even though I'm not applying for PhD in the next cycle (shooting for an MA first; I'm coming out of a science-based undergrad experience), and oh my goodness I've got a lot to learn...

As an interesting anecdote that I think perfectly captures the universal reaction to PhD study from non-PhD': I let my mom read a paper I wrote recently discussing marital power dynamics and Irish culturalism in Joyce's Dubliners, and her only comment was "and you want to do this for the rest of your life?"

My goodness! Thankfully, I don't have to deal with the "oh how will you ever have kids?!" issue... yet. I'm only about finishing up undergrad, and I'm planning to get my MA first, but I've already approached the topic (cautiously) with my mother, as she has always been under the impression that I will become a doctor. To be honest, I had been going along with her since about middle school, but halfway through my undergrad, I realized literature was my passion. Now that she knows I'm considering ditching med school, she's always coming up with little quips: she'll have a migraine and casually mention "well when you're a doctor you'll fix me," or she'll get a dean's list letter from my uni and say "oh I always tell everyone how smart my daughter is and how she's going to be a great doctor." They're not very rude or very forceful comments, but they do rub me the wrong way, and after a while it really starts getting on my nerves... Her biggest issue is the money. She's horrified that I'll be earning as much as she does (as a nurse), and keeps insisting that I'm going to be poor/never buy a house/never drive a nice car/never go on vacation/etc. The funny thing is, I'll be earning just as much as her, and sure we're not rich, but we do pretty well for ourselves–just came back from a Caribbean vacation, no less!

I love your style! Oh man, my books are unrecognizable by the time I'm through with them. That's partly why I have to have two copies of the things that truly make an impression on me–by the time I'm done circling/scribbling/underlining in one book, the mass of text is too overwhelming to read!

Thank you all so much for the replies! I've been in this funk all week and seeing your words of advice and encouragement has definitely lifted some of the weight off my chest. Ever since I even began thinking about making this change, I've considered an MA program a near-must, not merely for the GPA boost but, more importantly, for the experience it will offer. It's helpful to know that others think this is the best decision, as well.

Hi all, I have posted here before on other issues (thank you so much for all of your comments, by the way!) so some may remember me–I'm an undergrad junior in the middle of a leap from medicine to English literature. One of my chief concerns is my GPA... I'm majoring in the sciences, as it had been drilled into me by my parents–since middle school, if not earlier–that I must become a doctor. Now, however, I'm realizing all too late that medicine is not at all where my passions lie, and I would rather pursue a graduate degree in English lit. Here's the thing, though: I performed decently well in my first year, but in my second year of undergrad I got involved in a lot of extracurriculars, my science classes suddenly became much more challenging, and I suffered from my time management issues quite terribly (GPA was 2.62 in the first semester and 3.08 in the second). This was due entirely to my poor performance in courses like Calculus or Orgo or Neuroscience. Since that year, I've gotten over my time management failures and improved drastically (3.84 GPA last semester, looking to be similar this semester as well). I've spoken to some of my advisors but keep getting different input – some say since the low GPA is due to my science courses and thus won't be weighed as heavily by admission committees, others say it looks too bad nevertheless, and my chances at a top PhD program are slim. I had some hope in the beginning, for I have always done well in my English courses and rationalized the low GPA as, to some degree, irrelevant to these subjects... and I planned to also pursue an MA first, to give me more experience (since I wasn't an English major) and dilute my poor undergrad performance with my grad experience... but now after following several threads here and seeing the admission statistics, I'm losing hope completely... Students are applying with GPAs in the 3.90s and being rejected... I guess I'm just looking for some input. Would the MA really not be enough to give me a little push upward? To help counter that one awful year of undergrad? Should I just give up hope for any shot at one of the top PhD programs? I can't even express how much I regret that one year... I know this sounds incredibly melodramatic, but it truly feels like it's beginning to ruin my life (apologies for the extra long post)

Also concerned about my GPA here (had one bad year).. but I'm majoring in a science field, and the poor grades in my sophomore year all came from science subjects. Just did a quick calculation – pure English GPA is 3.9. Not sure if this will matter, but I'd like to hope my high performance in English/lit will help offset some of the poor science grades..

Is it generally better for any reason to apply to PhD in the middle of MA? What about after the MA is completed? I'd think applying after completion would be looked upon best, as an applicant would have a more solid body of work/ performance to show for the MA degree. I may very well be wrong, though..

Hello there! I'm currently an undergrad (graduating in 2018) with the ultimate goal of pursuing a PhD in English lit (specifically my interests are Romantic & Victorian studies). Unfortunately, it so happens that I am not majoring in anything related to English, so I am looking to complete a master's degree first. I have some interest in studying in the UK, but I wonder if there is any significant difference between US & UK master's degrees in the field that could potentially harm my chances at later pursuing a PhD in the US? Ideally, I'd love to be able to get into one of the better programs, so to speak, though I know how insanely difficult that is. I am currently at a top 10 school for undergraduate, if that has any bearing, and specifically would like to pursue my master's at University of Edinburgh (I'm really interested in their Romantic & Victorian program). So I guess my questions are: does the name of the graduate institution matter a great deal in PhD applications? Would a UK degree put me at any disadvantage? Thanks in advance for your responses!

Thank you all so much for your responses! I did give it some more thought and have come to the conclusion that an MA is the way to go, as I really don't feel I have the necessary experience to attempt a PhD right away. As a follow up: if I apply after completing my MA, how will my undergraduate history be weighed against the work I pursue during my MA? To what degree will great performance in MA help me soften some of the damage of my sophomore year of undergrad?

Hello there! I'm currently a second-semester junior majoring in neuroscience, minoring in English. It's a tale as old as time: a student pushed toward one field by her family, realizing all-too-late that she has more interest in another. Long story short, I'm beginning to consider pursuing a graduate degree in English lit, but am growing more and more worried about whether it would really be possible to accomplish that, given that my undergraduate degree will be in an unrelated subject. I'm not sure how much the minor in English will really matter, but I suspect it won't be significant. I'm considering pursuing an MA in English before even attempting to apply for PhD, as that will give me much more experience and allow me to more fully expand the skills I already have, improving my chances for the PhD. My question is, though, most (if not all) PhD application deadlines here in the US close in the winter, and I will have only begun my MA by then. If I apply at that point, how will my undergrad transcript be weighed against the fact that I'm in the middle of my MA? Will I have any grades ready by then to show for my grad work? Would it be best to wait, finish the MA, and apply then? Additionally, my undergrad GPA suffered significantly during my sophomore year (particularly the fall semester), largely due to a heavy load of difficult science classes & my time management failures (it was quite bad; there was an F, a D, and a C). I really can't say I have any decent excuse; I was very young and very foolish, and it was entirely my fault. I've improved drastically since then, but I can't help but kick myself over those mistakes and how they will probably come back to bite me in my grad apps. How much do you think these one-time poor science grades affect my prospects? My English/lit grades have always been quite high... I apologize for the length of this post! Hopefully someone can answer some of these questions... Any additional advice is very much welcome