Clawsworth

I have almost finished an MA in English and I'm considering going on for a PhD in Education in Canada. All of the admissions pages I'm seeing say that you need an MA in a "related subject" or "area" to be considered for an Education PhD. Does English count? Would it be possible to be admitted into an Education program without having a BA or an MA in a field related to education? Thanks

My spouse was accepted at UBC, U of Alberta, and Western Ontario. He will probably be attending UBC's SLAIS program -- anyone else?

My spouse applied to UBC's SLAIS program and was accepted, and will probably be accepting their offer. Like you say, it is a solid program and I hear it has a great reputation.

I am friends with a colleague who posted his acceptances, and I was nothing but happy for him even though he was accepted to my top choice and I was rejected. Honestly, I was glad to know that acceptances had gone out for these programs, even though I was eventually rejected. I don't think it's conceited to post happy, life-altering news, even if you are friends with colleagues who are applying to the same programs.

My spouse checked his application status online a few days ago and it says "accepted", but he hasn't received any email or mail yet. It certainly does happen, and it's a bit frustrating because we don't know anything about finances or acceptance deadlines to that particular program.

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that!

Are visits essential for all PhD applicants? It seems like it would be difficult to manage for people who applied to a bunch of programs. I did not visit anywhere, and now I am even more worried about rejections.

Last year I received an acceptance email at 9am on a Saturday. I actually went back in my email to find it so I could see whether I needed to freak out on weekends this time around!

English PhD concentrating in medieval literature: University of Alberta University of British Columbia University of Western Ontario I know it's not many, but I really couldn't afford any additional applications.

Hi, I'm studying at a Canadian university as a US citizen. I know some people who brought their partners along, and they all say that getting a work permit was an easy process. Canada takes a very liberal approach to counting partners as common-law, even if they're unmarried (I think if you've lived together for at least a year than your partner will count as common-law). Here is the website that will explain it in greater detail. As for finding work, both of the partners of the US students I know found work easily and are happy with their salaries. My husband and I have been here for almost 7 months now (we're both grad students at the same university) and we're pretty adjusted to life here now. It was, admittedly, a stressful process changing over our bank accounts, drivers licenses, etc. over to Canadian equivalents, and we also had some funding problems as international students. However, all of our initial difficulties have been solved now and we're very happy here. I'm actually surprised at the number of US citizens in my program!

Fun!

Hi, my husband is applying for 3 MLIS programs (he has an MA in English) and he needs to send out the SoPs as soon as possible. He sent it to some of our professors for feedback, but they're so busy since it's the end of the term that we don't know when they can get to it. We were wondering if someone here could give him some feedback before we send them out on Monday. We're not exactly sure what a good MLIS SoP would look like, so any feedback from someone who does would be greatly appreciated. Send me a PM if you wouldn't mind taking a look, and I will look over your SoP or writing sample in return. Thanks!

FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion Of Your Thesis Defense. BY LUKE BURNS http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2010/11/19burns.html - - - - Q: Do I have to kill the snake? A: University guidelines state that you have to "defeat" the snake. There are many ways to accomplish this. Lots of students choose to wrestle the snake. Some construct decoys and elaborate traps to confuse and then ensnare the snake. One student brought a flute and played a song to lull the snake to sleep. Then he threw the snake out a window. Q: Does everyone fight the same snake? A: No. You will fight one of the many snakes that are kept on campus by the facilities department. Q: Are the snakes big? A: We have lots of different snakes. The quality of your work determines which snake you will fight. The better your thesis is, the smaller the snake will be. Q: Does my thesis adviser pick the snake? A: No. Your adviser just tells the guy who picks the snakes how good your thesis was. Q: What does it mean if I get a small snake that is also very strong? A: Snake-picking is not an exact science. The size of the snake is the main factor. The snake may be very strong, or it may be very weak. It may be of Asian, African, or South American origin. It may constrict its victims and then swallow them whole, or it may use venom to blind and/or paralyze its prey. You shouldn't read too much into these other characteristics. Although if you get a poisonous snake, it often means that there was a problem with the formatting of your bibliography. Q: When and where do I fight the snake? Does the school have some kind of pit or arena for snake fights? A: You fight the snake in the room you have reserved for your defense. The fight generally starts after you have finished answering questions about your thesis. However, the snake will be lurking in the room the whole time and it can strike at any point. If the snake attacks prematurely it's obviously better to defeat it and get back to the rest of your defense as quickly as possible. Q: Would someone who wrote a bad thesis and defeated a large snake get the same grade as someone who wrote a good thesis and defeated a small snake? A: Yes. Q: So then couldn't you just fight a snake in lieu of actually writing a thesis? A: Technically, yes. But in that case the snake would be very big. Very big, indeed. Q: Could the snake kill me? A: That almost never happens. But if you're worried, just make sure that you write a good thesis. Q: Why do I have to do this? A: Snake fighting is one of the great traditions of higher education. It may seem somewhat antiquated and silly, like the robes we wear at graduation, but fighting a snake is an important part of the history and culture of every reputable university. Almost everyone with an advanced degree has gone through this process. Notable figures such as John Foster Dulles, Philip Roth, and Doris Kearns Goodwin (to name but a few) have all had to defeat at least one snake in single combat. Q: This whole snake thing is just a metaphor, right? A: I assure you, the snakes are very real. (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2010/11/19burns.html)

Hello, I am also about to send in my writing sample, and I would happy to swap the first couple pages with someone. Mine is on medieval literature, so it would be a bonus if any medievalists would take a look. PM me if you're interested, thanks!

My husband and I got married during undergrad for $100 and then some family and friends treated us to dinner afterwards. We had a really great time and I wouldn't change anything. As some people have pointed out, it really depends on your priorities. A huge wedding was not a priority for us, but it may be for you or your fiance. I don't think getting married in grad school is really any different than getting married any other time. You pay for what you want/ can afford in either case. With that being said, we are both in grad school now (in the same department) and getting married has saved us a lot of money over the years, both in taxes and in gaining us eligibility for certain scholarships.

I just finished driving from Southern California to western Canada and I can share some of my experiences. I traveled with my husband and our bird, and we only took what we could fit into our car (and got rid of the rest). We left early in the morning each day to avoid all traffic, and we stayed at two $40-$50 hotels along the way (not the best decision since one of them ended up being in a very bad neighbourhood in Sacramento and we hardly got any sleep through all the yelling outside). We fit a surprising amount in our small car: a desk, 5 trash bags full of clothes, a bird-cage, 5 full backpacks, 1 computer, 1 monitor, 2 laptops, bedding, and cooking supplies. When the driving got boring I just popped in an audiobook, I'd suggest getting some of those because they passed the time nicely (we ended up listing to the entire Odyssey and then another audiobook of 19th century short stories). We drove for about 8 hours each day, I think I would have gone crazy driving any longer than that (although if you're going with someone else it might be easier to switch off; my husband doesn't drive though). A GPS is also very helpful. It definitely made finding something to eat along the way MUCH easier. We had a suite reserved ahead of time, but it was a bad idea renting without seeing it beforehand (I've done this blind three times already, but I didn't get lucky this time; needless to say, we'll be moving out of this place as soon as we can). That's really all the advice I can think of with the trip so recent in my mind -- good luck!

I did not do any publishing before I got married, but I got rid of my old middle name (never liked it), used my maiden name as my middle name, and took my husband's last name. Personally, I like having the same last name as my husband, but I know it's not for everyone. We decided to have the same last name and to pick which one we liked the best. We both like his last name more, and since I was never attached to my maiden name (my mother made it up out of nowhere so it has no long family significance), I took his. It's all about what you and your fiance think is best though, and I do think you'd still be able to publish under your maiden name in either circumstance.

Thanks! You answered my question perfectly.

I've studied abroad at UBC before and I was able to get my student visa at the border with no problems. However, this time I'm going as a grad student and want to go a month before class starts to get acquainted with the city and do all necessary pre-school preparations. Will they allow me to enter this early? I can't find information about this anywhere -- thanks in advance!

That's funny, I thought I was the only one who worried that my acceptance letter was sent to me by mistake! I didn't think I'd get in anywhere (except maybe my backup that I REALLY was not looking forward to), so when I woke up and saw the acceptance letter from the place I thought would reject me for sure, I screamed! It still freaks me out that I'm going to the university I actually wanted to attend. Hopefully this feeling we all share will just encourage us to really do well in grad school!

Thank you! Your post was incredibly helpful. It sounds like a great place and I can't wait to move there!

I was accepted at UVic and was wondering if anyone could tell me more about the city. Specifically, I am looking for housing that will accommodate my husband, pet bird, and myself close to UVic. I was also wondering about good organic grocery stores in the area and possibly vegan restaurants nearby. Any other information is greatly appreciated as well -- shopping centres, good and bad neighbourhoods, and interesting things to do in the area. (We are not into bars or clubs, but would be interested in art galleries, drama theatres, and orchestras.) More generally, what do you think of the city? Thanks!

I woke up to great news today -- my husband and I were both accepted into the English MA program at University of Victoria! After all of those rejections and little hope remaining for being accepted anywhere, we couldn't be happier! Best of luck to all of you still waiting... I hope you all get good news soon.

I had the same thing happen to me... I finally got sick of waiting and called up two universities and was told that they rejected me months ago. They didn't even bother to update my status online, so I was checking that everyday for no reason. I'm waiting on two more...

Thanks Pseudo. I'm sorry you came back to another rejection letter today -- I wish you the best with your last two programs. I applied to one mediocre backup school as well, but I haven't even heard from them yet. I think at this point I'll be happy to get any acceptance, because I really want to go to grad school this year. Thanks Martizzle, I know what you mean. A positive outlook can definitely help during this time, but it makes it much harder if a rejection comes instead... Good luck everyone, and you're right, it'll be over soon! Enjoy the weekend -- I will try to as well!