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frenchphd

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Everything posted by frenchphd

  1. That's plenty for Boulder, as long as you are happy sharing a kitchen/bathroom and are ok with eating the majority of your meals at home (which is healthier, anyway).
  2. Don't do either, to be honest. It's mostly a waste of money.
  3. Actually, when you join a top doctoral program in French with an MA in hand, what happens is that you must redo an MA at that PhD program. What is good about doing this (two MAs) is that you get to develop knowledge of a larger amount of material than you could with just the PhD program. This also gives you the chance to develop mastery in an additional field, by taking a lot of courses outside the department. Who should do this double MA route depends on the person -- there are people who are very well-trained, thanks to their undergrad programs. These people don't need to get two MAs. There are also other good reasons to get a (funded) MA first: developing your research project over time; understanding conferences and publishing in academia; and building connections and having colleagues outside of your PhD institution.
  4. I'd like to echo the defense for taking a break from academia. In fact, programs in foreign language literature typically have students who took time off university -- perhaps living in France, Italy, working at a high school teaching English (very common), in a bar, in a café, in a summer camp, etc. It is an important part of our formation. It is rather unusual to go into a foreign language literature PhD immediately after college. Very few do it, and even those who do wish they had spent time abroad. I think people are aware of what you mean by 100 students, @MetaphysicalDrama. Aren't these students allowed to take whatever courses they want within the humanities, though? This would make this "divisions" between departments more fluid... It also doesn't really change @Warelin's logic, which is solid, esp. about the "selectivity." I attend a "top" school with no equivalent of MAPH. My courses are way smaller than those at Chicago (from what PhD students tell me) -- I've taken courses with 2-9 students, while Chicago grad courses are 15-20 or more. It really affects the classroom experience for everybody, and affects any one person's ability to develop a relationship with the professor. If PhD admissions are a crapshoot, then attending Chicago's MAPH program to better your chances for admission is pointless. It would be better to improve your profile by attending a funded MA program and writing, publishing, and doing good work generally--and just hoping for the best. Why pay, especially since the 'famous' faculty whose recommendations help with admission -- don't end up writing a letter for you? Why go into debt for an overpriced program (unless you are privileged to complete the program without debt)?
  5. "I think about 10% of applicants from each humanities department at Chicago (English, philosophy, classics, art history, and etc.) are referred to MAPH after their PhD apps are rejected." You are going to have to verify this claim. I would argue that 90%+ of PhD-rejected applicants are referred to MAPH, looking at the results page on thegradcafe. More anecdotally, everyone I know who was rejected by UChicago's PhD program was admitted to the MAPH. Of course, all these people were smart enough to realize that it would be difficult to get much, if anything, out of an overpriced, 1-year MA program. The vast majority of these "offers" do not turn into yields for the university. Wow -- an adjunct position through a UChicago MA... I know lots of adjuncts with MAs from Portland State. Not really selling anything here. In my view, it takes a lot of privilege to even consider accepting an adjunct position: a spouse hired full-time, perhaps, or family wealth, and certainly good health. The amount of privilege required to go through Chicago's MA program... now that's just beyond my conception. If your goal is to be a full-time college professor in the humanities, no university can guarantee that, not even Harvard. Shelling out thousands of dollars in the process and raising the opportunity cost -- that's just silly, particularly since there are many MA programs that have funding. I would strongly discourage paying to attend Chicago's MA program. Chicago isn't the only school with cash-cow MA programs. Columbia is another big one -- and, at least anecdotally, I know several people who regret getting such a degree because they thought it would lead to good employment prospects outside of academia -- just because it's Columbia. Wrong. Unsurprisingly, the 'real world' isn't desperate for people with MAs in humanities.
  6. Don't waste your money or your time. The MAPH program is how Chicago fills its classes and brings in funding for the university. I'd much rather attend, for example, UMass-Amherst and get a TA salary rather than pay to attend UChicago's MAPH program and spend so much money for what is a mediocre degree. It's quite easy to get into MAPH programs or at many masters programs at Columbia/Penn/Brown etc. The degree is practically worthless. This is how the university sells its reputation. Don't fall for it. Chicago is currently in a lot of debt and has funding issues. I've seen lots of people go into debt for "prestigious" degrees and they will all tell you it wasn't worth it. Admission committees know that the MAPH isn't a prestigious degree... it's NOT AT ALL the same thing as being an undergrad at Chicago, which is an insanely competitive process, allowing the school to have some of the brightest students in America. Chicago's undergrad program also has SUBSTANTIAL financial aid -- so most people aren't pay full freight to attend the school. I mean, unless you are really wealthy... then my comments do not apply to you at all! By all means, do the program if you can pay the price. Remember that you might not make it into a top English PhD program anyway -- it's a highly competitive process.
  7. Congratulations on the Berkeley offer! If I were you, I'd take it -- Karl Britto is one of the few people who works specifically on east asian francophone literature. It is unlikely that you will get into Yale. As I warned in the beginning of this season, Yale will only consider applications from future North African specialists. Any deviation and they will reject you, as the extraordinary Chris Miller is retiring (he is on phased retirement starting this semester). Good luck with the rest of the interviews and applications, everyone! Feel free to PM me if you have questions about interviews. I interviewed at many of these schools a few years ago (and attended their visits). It's weird how Harvard did not interview you all before sending waiting list decisions. Harvard was rather unsuccessful with recruitment last year, so, if it happens again, you all will probably get in
  8. In the past, Harvard had a phone interview, and then acceptances went around mid to late February. So exciting for all of you! Good luck!!
  9. Do post if you all are admitted into any school! It is exciting to get into programs.
  10. My impression of the easy admission practices to Chicago's MAPH program comes from the results page on thegradcafe, as well as a cursory survey of the posts on the literature forums. Generally, it seems that if someone did not get into the PhD program of their choice, they did get into the MAPH program as a consolation prize. Check it out. Does not seem competitive at all. As to Columbia, I was mainly referring to the history and literature program in Paris, which is a cash-cow program with very generous admission policies. I have not, till date, heard anybody get rejected from this program. English is a much bigger field, with Columbia being the most competitive PhD program, so I'm not surprised that it is "competitive" to get into Columbia's MA program in English. That's how their fund a few of their PhDs ...
  11. Of course... re: Emmanuel. Françoise Lionnet's mentorship has launched some very successful careers.
  12. You are severely discounting the real reason why people discourage others from getting PhDs. They know that you are aware of the job market, and that you are willing to look past that for reasons of intellectual fulfillment. I went through the exact same phase. However, what you are discounting is that academia is a culture, steeped in its own jargon and way of life, and once you spent 5+ years in it, you become really constricted mentally and physically, thanks to an environment that has only cultured and trained you into becoming an academic. It is much harder to shake this feeling off than you think; the idea that you can do other things outside of the academy becomes blurred. It really has nothing to do with the facts; it is about how people end up feeling. I, too, resisted this feeling for many years but it got to me. I attend arguably the biggest-name university in the world, and I do not expect that I will be able to continue this lifestyle, which is heart-breaking. I, too, thought I could break away. But it has proven to be hard. For a humanities PhD, I have quant and coding skills too, as my secondary specialization is digital humanities. Can I think of ways to phase out of the academy? The career services people can. But me? No, because it's a lot harder than I thought--and I, myself, am the limit. In short, I am addicted to academia... I'm not discouraging you from doing academia. My professors told me not to, but I did it anyway because I thought I knew better. Do it, but just remember that you, too, might get addicted.
  13. GRE scores don't really matter as long as they aren't terrible. Most schools are more concerned with your analytical skills and your facility with French.
  14. Yours is a classic story: family-pressure led to science degrees. But now you have decided that life would be better spent studying the humanities, so you want to get a PhD in English. Professors have heard this narrative many times. To convince them that your change is serious, you have to get experience. Getting into Harvard or Columbia's English programs is extraordinary difficult even for the best students in the humanities. As others have said, it's going to be a tough sell without having background in literature or the humanities generally. There is just a range of vocabulary you need, a range of thinkers you should have engaged with, capacities you should have (writing very long papers -- not as easy as you think!) If I were you, I'd simply finish the masters degree at Cornell, and rethink this path. There are no academic jobs for English PhDs -- including Yale PhDs; by the end, you might have to come back to engineering, or do something else with your life. If you are serious, 100% committed, simply apply to MA programs in literature. It's quite easy to get into Columbia or Chicago to get an unfunded MA -- basically guaranteed admission. Columbia also has this history and literature program in Paris, taught in English. Alternatively, you could look for funded MAs -- maybe at Oregon State or something? I would not recommend the part-time classes and full-time STEM work scenario -- it's a lot harder to handle than one would think! It's important to give your 100% to get into a top program in English.
  15. ^^ Right. And note that even within Francophone studies, what is fashionable changes. Right now it is good to work on the subsaharan Africa. In the last few years, North Africa has been quite popular, but now that most institutions have finished hiring, those jobs are also declining. Who knows what will be fashionable next -- all depends on current events! Don't bet on anything-- just work on whatever calls to you. It's somewhat useless to build yourself for the market, given you cannot predict it, but it may be worthwhile to not work on certain topics (early modern), or even if you do, relate them to contemporary junctures. Also note that many jobs last year went to people who already had tenure-track jobs elsewhere, particularly the desirable ones located in or near cities (Scripps comes to mind). Given that students are not necessarily studying the humanities today, institutions often want the most experienced faculty members who can keep students in the humanities -- which often means professors with a lot of teaching experience. Also if your aim is to go to a top-name school, which probably won't allow for a lot of teaching experience, you may want to go to an MA program first that makes you teach every semester. Many people who found jobs last year had teaching experience from these positions as well.
  16. Unless it's a master's in science (particularly techy stuff), it's essentially the humanities. (And even those tech programs are cash-cow programs.) Some humanities programs probably have 80% acceptance rate or above.. like Chicago's MAPH. If I were you, I wouldn't attend this program. Columbia is NOTORIOUS for its terminal MA programs.
  17. Here's some "inside" (not really) knowledge for all potential applicants: -- Do not apply to Columbia -- they overenrolled by nearly 100% this year. By the same token, UPenn, which overenrolled last year, will be able to admit more candidates next year. -- Chris Miller at Yale is retiring soon, and will not take new students, so if you want to study the Caribbean or Francophone Africa (excluding Francophone North Africa), look elsewhere. They will not admit you. Save your money. Same re: Howard Bloch for medievalists (look at NYU, Michigan instead). Edwin Duval (Renaissance) has already announced his phased retirement, so probably look at Princeton (Katie Chenoweth) for early modern studies (french as well as comp. lit). -- NYU's placements have been terrible in the last two years (one person got a lecturer position, but that's it). There are few jobs, so it is worthwhile to attend smaller programs that can devote more time and resources to fewer people. -- Getting jobs is a lot about teaching experience these days. Even visiting positions really want to see that you have teaching experience, particularly at small liberal arts colleges. Places where you might get more teaching experience (Michigan, Berkeley, UCLA, CUNY, Penn State) might be better places for finding an academic position ultimately. The market is smaller, but it's also changing. Can't say much about French, because it's so small and every year is somewhat different, but fields like English no longer just hire people from Harvard or Yale... Yale English in particular has done particularly poorly in placing people. Places like Rutgers and CUNY are producing students with desirable research portfolios. The old adage of "go to a top school or don't go" needs a second look. (caveat: Obviously most of us do not go into PhD programs because we want a job. But it's nice to think about maximizing your chances of continuing this lifestyle.)
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