Atlas313

Hi all, I just got accepted to Trinity's MPhil in Irish Writing program without funding. It looks like it'll be hugely expensive as I'm non-EU (~$30,000 in all), and I can't see how it's worth it. I kind of get the feeling that it's just a cash cow, since they accept around 20 students and don't require a writing sample. I'm pretty sure I'd like to do a PhD focused on Irish Lit, so I guess the program fits well with that, but it seems ridiculous to me to pay that much for a one year masters. Any insights or advice?

Thanks so much for your feedback! Very helpful

Hi everyone, I'm new here so apologies if I'm breaking any (un)spoken posting rules... I've just applied this year to Trinity's MPhil in Irish Writing, and I'm wondering if anyone has intel or thoughts on the program? My long-term goal is to do some kind of MPhil or MA and then head on into the whole PhD thing (unique, I know), but I'm still unsure whether I'll have a good shot. Is the Trinity MPhil well-regarded? Assuming I'm not an idiot and actually do well, would it give me a good chance at respectable PhD programs? I ask mainly because the Trinity program is one year and seems somewhat less rigorous, from the outside, than comparable MAs in the US. I also have a few other general questions, though I'm not sure how appropriate they are for this forum. (I imagine tons of people post this kind of thing and that the general answer is "who cares" or "we don't know"...) All the same: I want to do a PhD focusing on Beckett and Kierkegaard, but I'm not sure how viable this is? I'd try to do a dissertation on the sublime, absurd, faith, nonsense, etc. in their writing. I did philosophy in undergrad and literally never took an English class. I'm very close with my phi professors, but have never even spoken to an English prof. So, I'm sure it's obvious, I'm in the dark here. I did well in undergrad -- graduated in three years, 3.9 GPA with honors' summa, awards, and also played D.1 basketball for a spell -- but I don't know how this looks to an English adcom considering I, again, took 0 English classes. Beyond this, I did Peace Corps and have spent the last five years living abroad. So I can speak a couple languages, two fluently and one poorly, but I'm unsure whether any of this matters to competitive PhD programs. I've also had some stuff published in lit mags, though nothing terribly prestigious... How "valuable" are these things? I imagine not very, and assume that the writing sample is the big thing. But, again, I have no idea. Any thoughts on any aspects of this would be much appreciated.