EspritHabile

Thanks! How's your week going so far? (I feel like there must be shellacking going on or I'm hijacking the thread...) I did get an email invitation to a UNCG open house that is very clearly marked for people who are considering applying. That got me all excited for one moment and then horrified that maybe that was a sign that my application hadn't submitted correctly. Visitation shellacked!

That's my plan for tomorrow!

Say what?! That's ridiculous. Sorry you had to deal with that.

I have a dear friend who completed their Ph.D. at Ball State. If you have questions, I may be able to answer them vicariously.

Ooh, I dunno.... getting three good emails in a row is probably begging for some karmic balancing. Might get a champagne cork in the eye or break a window! Does anyone have advice (or wanna point me to an existing thread) about how to make decisions like this?

Congratulations to @klader , @Wabbajack , @OceansAreBlue (fellowship nom, way to go!), and @CHAO_O! Sorry if I missed anyone! Purdue sent me a nice email today, too! I shall celebrate by grading all night.

Yes!! That's awesome! Well done!

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I can't find any mention of grad visits or events for Feb 19-20, but it does seem to me that it would be easier to handle All The Visits TM at once. . .

I have no idea!!!!!! *cue screaming* I only just realized that page is about UG admissions. But still! Wouldn't it make sense for them to stack admissions visits? Or is this secret code that they're going to interview people? Is it Monday yet????

UH, YOU GUYS. Like @klader, I was surprised that Purdue's visit date is so early. I curiously checked the portal, my emails, and all the other helpful "how to write an SOP" messages from them and saw no mention of the February dates. For gits and shiggles, I just googled "Purdue English February 19" and THIS is what I found: https://www.cla.purdue.edu/students/future/admittedstudents/events.html

!!! I applied for Rhet/Comp.

Yes! Living for this. I have been equally addicted to GradCafe and the skincareaddiction subreddit this winter. When I started my MA program, my first meeting with my future thesis chair was a several-mile hike at what felt like Mach 2 speeds. On that hike, they gave me an excellent piece of self-care advice that has been very helpful to me ever since: No matter what else is going on or how busy you are, you should reserve 1 full day each week that is about taking care of your human needs. Don't read, don't research, don't write, don't grade, don't do email, and don't hold any meetings or study groups for just 1 day each week. Use that time to sleep, to play music, to play games, to go hiking or running or swimming or whatever-ing. Take a day for yourself to recharge, to reflect, and to have fun. Do whatever activities or non-activities allow you to recharge and reconnect with your more-than-just-a-student self. It can be really difficult to stick to this, and you'll feel enormously guilty about taking time off from your studies, but it makes a huge difference in the long run in terms of avoiding burnout. In moments of weakness, I tell myself "it all gets done" and indeed, it does.

Looking at last year's forum posts, it seems like Purdue started notifying next week (which would be after the deadline to RSVP). Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how on earth I'd make that happen. I work full-time and taking off 2-3 days is really tricky at this point in the semester.

Thank you! You and I have very similar backgrounds and concerns about going back to school. I have a great full-time gig, too, and I do the work I would be going to school to learn how to do. I guess that makes me a late bloomer or something, right?

Ok, that would make sense. The letter I received indicated that they would provide meals for the 2 (or 3) days of the visit, provide overnight accommodations with current students as hosts, and reimburse up to $250 in travel expenses. Unfortunately, there's just no way I can feasibly haul myself there for the visit. I'm sorry you haven't heard from them. FWIW, I heard about the visit day very late so I doubt I'm topping any lists. Edit to respond to @Wabbajack : Thank you! I can't help but feel like my not being able to attend the visit will somehow dash my chances of getting an admission offer though.

I received the email, (which says to RSVP by Monday, Feb 5--eek!) but I don't think I'll be able to swing the visit. Does anyone know whether the visit plays into admissions decisions? Do they invite ALL 600+ people who apply, or do they invite some secret list of invisible waitlisters?

Thanks, @Warelin and @FreakyFoucault! I would love to know what my cortisol levels are doing right now. Sweet jeebus. I hope other waiting on OSU get good news soon! The stress is real, but we can do this!

The KU website has a general funding page at https://graduate.ku.edu/funding and you could call or email the DGS or the English Department for more info about opportunities within your department and how to be considered for them. Typically, MA candidates can work as teaching or research assistants, which would offer a stipend and (usually, but not always) tuition remission. So although they do bury their information, don't give up until you determine what their support looks like--imagine how many other decent candidates are giving up on that money just because they can't find the info.

It sounds to me like you've chosen the types of texts that you want to explore (dystopian and post-apocalyptic works), but not necessarily the way that you want to examine them, which might explain why you're struggling to find programs and faculty that share your interests. So for example, there are many ways that you could use rhetorical theories and perspectives to explore the way these dystopian and post-apocalyptic texts function or how they are composed, which is what I did during my earlier graduate work. If that's your interest, you could look for programs in literature, rhetoric & composition, etc. Or you could examine socio-political discourse in these works. You could also, as you mentioned, connect theoretical perspectives like ecocriticism or feminist studies to your readings of the texts (so a traditional literature or comparative literature program would work for this). Doing that kind of ecocritical or even ecofeminist reading of texts in depth and in a way that keeps you passionately interested is something that takes practice and some graduate level coursework, but can certainly be done. You could also look at programs in film studies, digital humanities, gender studies, and so forth. If you're interested in speculative fiction / science fiction studies (as @RydraWong suggested), and not 100% tied to the Southeastern U.S., then I'd say to check out places like UC Riverside or UC Davis. UC Riverside is where the majority (as far as I know) of scholars interested in dystopian science fiction and speculative fiction work. For a recommendation a little closer to your geographic area, check out the University of Kansas (they have a science fiction research center that's pretty robust looking) and the other places mentioned in someone else's thread about science fiction literature. There's a LOT you can do with speculative fiction studies, so that might be a nice option for you that would still allow you to focus on working with Americanists (if that's what you're into).

I had similar interests during my MA program (so I'd be happy to chat with you about your work), and seriously considered the program at UC Riverside. As others have noted here, there are also programs in comparative literature or literature that would allow you to focus in your own way on science fiction studies. I was able to combine ecocriticism and rhetorical studies with science fiction for my earlier graduate work even though there was not a specific concentration in my department to "allow" that sort of thing. I think some good general advice would be to review your old conference programs to see where people you admire are attending. Same for scholars in the field that you admire (Gary K. Wolfe, for example, earned his Ph.D. at U. of Chicago). And if you haven't already, check out the Science Fiction Research Association's conference website (this year's conference, as you may already know, is hosted at UC Riverside). The University of Kansas also has a science fiction research center, which might offer some resources to support your interests.

All good questions. Thanks, too, for your other info-heavy posts about deadlines, fees, and other data. I'm very Interdisciplinary by nature, so my research interests are, I think, pretty widely scattered. My current work focuses significantly on inclusive pedagogy (so, ELL concerns, non-prescriptive linguistics, supporting at-risk students, Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, anti-racist pedagogy). I'm also interested in assessment and RAD research. And for fun, let's throw in the rhetoric of science, science fiction, and ecocriticism. Because of my broad interests, I enjoy collaborative environments. However, I am burnt out on winter and tiny towns.

Thanks for this. UT Austin is near the top of my list due to the combination of my respect for the Charles A. Dana Center and the stunning new writing center space. Is it cool if I ping you privately about what the grad life is like there?

I appreciate your perspective--thanks! U of Delaware had not popped onto my radar before, but I'm scoping them out. My list just keeps on growing...

Thank you! Do you care to share why you think they should be on my radar? Thank you! I've heard good things about Arizona State and U. of Arizona and will check them both out. Sound advice--thank you!

Greetings, all, I currently direct a small writing center, which I absolutely love, but am ready to move on to other opportunities. Job postings all seem to require a Ph.D., so I am ready to "close the loop," so to speak, and return to graduate school. So far, my list of schools that offer an emphasis in writing center / writing program administration and composition includes: UT Austin, Miami University, Ohio University, Ball State University, Purdue, U. of Louisville, U. of Wisconsin-Madison, and U. of Michigan. For technical and scientific writing, I'll also throw in the U. of Minnesota. Do you have any insights on the schools/programs I've listed here? I've heard that there are some concerns about how TAs are treated at Purdue, and their recent acquisition of Kaplan is certainly pretty interesting. Are there other schools/programs I ought to consider? Cheers, and thanks!