MonsieurHonoré

@hoelandbarthes Love the name btw ... I check periodically on here to see what's been going on, so I'm a bit late here ... I did not go to Cambridge for my MA - did mine here in the US and it was a heavily French speaking program - however, the fact that some programs used French in their departments much more than others was a major factor in my decision the second time I applied to PhD programs (left the first with a terminal MA). When I was visiting schools after being accepted and even before, I found that programs varied widely on this (I'm assuming that this is what you're asking). Many programs, regardless of this difference will have wonderful opportunities to get you some type of job somewhere, however, practically speaking, at least here in the US, your job interviews are very, very likely going to be in half French, half English ... and on another level, I just felt like a piece of my identity would be lost had I chose a program where French wasn't spoken regularly. Nothing wrong with those programs, I just knew that it wouldn't be right for me. It would have bothered me, I would have felt anxious (I feel very anxious when I'm not speaking the language, especially if I'm asked to do it after a long period of time of being lax about it. I didn't want that). Are you applying this year to another school ? Cheers!

@sportengels Of course! More than happy to help others demystify this process - I have indeed done several interviews. When I went through the process a second time, I actually went to the person that did my original interview for my first PhD program (the one I left with the MA) to ask them what they were looking for during the interview. Most of the interviews that I did were in half French, half English - they all started with French. Different schools obviously look for different things, but one of the main points is to obviously check your French to see if your spoken matches the level of your writing sample and if you'd be able to teach in French (most TAs teach in the language), but I'd say a close second is to see what your general 'vibe' is. Be charming and jovial and enthusiastic - this is supposed to be your passion after all :) Many people find the interview process daunting, but I actually had a really wonderful conversation with the interviewers of the school that I'm in now. Be able to justify why you want to go to the school that you want to go to and do your homework on the school to say how their resources will aid you in your research (some of these points apply to the application essay as well). Not only do the universities want to make sure that you will be able to thrive in their program and have someone to work with but I also think that they want to see that their values and views on academic scholarship align with yours. I personally think that my current school accepted me in part because I value creativity above all else in my research (niche topics, whacky analyses, etc.). Some schools really care about teaching experience and I advise everyone to go to an interview prepared to say what their teaching experience is (whether that's tutoring or teaching classes, or just enthusiasm because you've had a certain experience - DO have an answer). Be prepared to give an explanation if you had a career change, major change, switched disciplines at some point and just in case, if you had an episode where your grades were less than stellar. I definitely had one such episode in undergrad in a different discipline, but it didn't affect me at all and I wasn't asked about it. Put a positive spin on things if you did have a difficult time with something - there's a huge difference in saying "I had a difficult time and came out of it" vs. "even though I had a difficult time, I learned x, y and z and it influenced my research in a certain way" .... I've always said that these programs aren't just looking for what you have done, but what you can make from the precious resources that are given to you. "Why do you want to go here?" was always a question ... I'll think of others and send another post. Only one time did I get a strange question that took me off guard, but I handled it well à l'improviste : "Where does our program stack up against the other programs you applied to?" ... I honestly think that the interviewers just wanted to hear their school get talked up, which is exactly what I did LOL. Some programs accept without an interview - based on my own experience, I know for a fact that UConn in 2017/18 didn't do any interview with my acceptance and Cornell didn't do an interview during the 2019/2020 cycle. Also, ask them questions when they ask you what your questions are at the end - I remember asking "what classes will be offered next semester?" and I'll think of others I asked as I remember a bit more.

@sportengels Hey there! French PhD here who hasn't been on this site in a long time. Wanted to check to see how everyone was faring now that applications and programs were opening up again after COVID. Late to this party, but I thought I'd offer my perspective in case you're interested. I went through this process twice, once in 2017 (ended up choosing a wonderful PhD program that allowed students to finish with a terminal MA if they chose to leave after the 1st prelim) and again in 2019 before all hell broke loose (I'm now at an Ivy and I love it here). So, I basically "PhD program hopped" and many programs allow you to do this. There are people here that came straight from undergrad, which was the case for me in the first PhD program I was in and left with the MA. If you have a clear idea about what your research interests are and can make a good argument about why the school is a good fit for you (mention a professor or two and specific resources), then that's fantastic. The coming straight from undergrad business has no bearing. My advice : DO NOT choose an unfunded MA program. I know someone who did and they doubled the student loans that they had out. Your teaching experience that you have will help, make sure to mention that in your application essays. Best of luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

@presidentialpudding thanks for your post! I couldn’t agree more - teaching is crucial, and something that is often overlooked in the dissertation-writing phase. At my current university, we grad students were lucky enough to be a part of a recent job search for a candidate that they hired, and they were specifically looking for someone who was a seasoned veteran in teaching. The candidates who didn’t have enough of it on their CVs, or showed that they didn’t have enough through the talks that they gave were rejected. A year fellowship in my opinion is generous enough during the dissertation phase/ABD, but teaching experience and the personability gained from that is priceless.

@rueillydiderot Thank you! Your research sounds super interesting as well! It’s always super nice to meet another Early Modernist!! I would indeed love to work with Prof Krause and I can’t wait to meet her in person. I understand the stuff about the work as well - since I teach almost every day at my current university, it’s a huge inconvenience to take off and find a substitute instructor. I had to be very judicious about where I wanted to visit for this reason. Based on the conferences I’ve been to, I can definitely confirm the fact that everyone knows everyone in our small community - one that I’m so glad to be a part of since everyone is so kind and humble!

@rueillydiderot Did you get accepted at Brown too?? Perhaps we’ll meet in March! I’m an Early Modernist as well and I study the history of science and scientific representation in French lyric poetry. I love teaching, so Brown’s package is really appealing to me.

Hey hey! @Coleslaw Thanks for posting this to our previous forum! Im not making any decisions until after my visits either, although I’m pretty certain as to where I want to go

@xinyu_uynix Im all for this idea and would love to join, but if you could put either the title or a link in this thread for people to filter to the other, it would be greatly appreciated!

@Robert_Kerans Congrats!! The interview went really well yesterday, but I’m assuming they already sent their acceptance emails out and I’ve been waitlisted. Really happy to have gotten in where I did though!

Anyone hear anything from NYU yet?? Counting down the seconds when I should be studying lol

@xinyu_uynix Cool! I’d personally love to work with Dr. Usher. I’m fascinated by his research, and really enjoyed speaking with him today. My interview ended up being a slightly rushed due to technical difficulties, but all ended up well. They didn’t say anything about the friday thing, but I’m assuming that they just forgot.

@xinyu_uynix Do you mean they confirmed news for tomorrow ? Will all of the interviewees hear something?

@Robert_Kerans Thanks for the info! I'm really hoping that we hear back tomorrow - such a positive experience!

@Marcin Congrats on the acceptance to Boston!! Cornell has had an excellent placement record in the last several years, encourages its students to approach literary questions in novel ways (particularly through combining scientific subjects with the humanities), has an outstanding faculty with an exceptional school of criticism, offers the opportunity to serve on the editorial board of a journal that very famous theorists, including Judith Butler, have published in, and is very generous financially to its students. If you have a problem with it, or don’t like their program, then just don’t apply or go there, but the rest of us are all very honored and grateful to have been accepted for our own reasons.

Oui! il le faut et oui ça me manque énormément