Waiting patiently...

Thanks for the update Ananda! and congratulations. Those fields sound interesting! I didn't realize 'animal discourse' had made it into lit studies yet--I don't suppose they are studying Animal Farm are they? ha ha. So are you still undecided?

Both, really. I just saw a pretty awesome seminar presentation on the structural connections of Niel Gaiman's "Sandman" to medieval 'king's journey' tales (think King Horn, Havelok, etc). But I think most people who study such things intensively (I am not one of them) emphasize the theoretical and 'world-view' connections between the two: loss of individualism, author-as-amalgamation-of-texts, etc. I am an American and this was my only non-US application. I think the fact that nobody there saw my GRE scores helped out a lot. You gotta love Canadian schools for that!

Nice! I hope you do. Is that MA or Phd? Haha, yeah quite on the other end chronologically anyway. You'd be surprised at the connections of postmodernism and Medieval; they are much stronger, IMHO, than those between postmodernism and modernism (high-modernism anyway).

No comments on the 'real' grad school ad? I especially liked 0:47 to 0:58: "I get to spend the next ten years of my life analyzing 3 lines of a poem that is over 500 years old! In the real world, that would be considered a mental disorder."

I saw on the result board that they've made offers to 9 and have had 7 accept their offer. I was one of those who accepted, but I was curious about the sub-fields of others who have accepted offers as well as those who are in the running (ie. waitlisted or have offer but undecided). Just for the sake of curiosity. I'm going into the PhD program and I'm a medievalist.

Cheers back at you KRC. I can’t speak for the rest of my camp of web cynics--and we prefer ‘realists,’ but I guess all cynics do —but I’m pretty sure I know the difference between academic jobs and what else is out there. I’ve done shit jobs, including combat arms in the military, plumbing, and entry-level construction, for most of my adult life. I’m REALLY happy to have opportunities to study what I love--and get paid for it nonetheless--rather than be shot at by Iraqis. We should all feel VERY privileged to be able to go to school in the first place; getting paid anything for it is just icing on the cake. I share your aversion to students, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, complaining about how horrible life is to have tests and papers due at the end of every semester. It certainly beats the hell out of digging through feces, framing houses, or dodging IEDs—though those jobs do, and should, pay better than graduate studies. But, if these videos and the article make people sad and force them to reconsider their vaguely pondered life choices, then they should thank those who composed them. And, if they make you laugh, as they should if you have made a well-thought-out choice and have a sense of humor about your chosen profession for the next decade or so, then just enjoy a bit of cynical humor. Thanks for all the statistics, everyone; anybody find any for us literature folks?

It's good to see some positive responses out there! I'm very glad to see that Rhet-comp is moving up as well; my friends should be happy. Besides, they're just statistics anyway and none of us can do math so it shouldn't matter. What did Twain say? something like "there are lies, there are damned lies, and then there are statistics." Personally, I've never done anything practical and don't plan to start now. I just think everyone should go into this with eyes wide open, which the majority of folks on the forum seem to be doing. I have met some, however, that seem a LOT like the student in the "So you want to get a PhD" video. There's just a very established and comfortable hierarchy and method of establishing your success (ie grades) in academia and I think many students pursue higher degrees in the humanities out of misconceptions about the profession and life of an academic. congrats on everyone's success, both current and in the future. I'm glad I could provoke some thought-- thank you for sharing.

I was surprised by his statistic of 50% as well; I think this article is pretty dated. Most of the Directors of Grad Studies I've talked to have noted a sharp drop in placements of any sort (not just tenure-track) within the last few years. I would bet money it is quite a bit lower now since many universities are allowing their tenured faculty core to attenuate with retirements/deaths etc. and then replacing those positions with adjuncts and grad students. Why pay someone whom you can't get rid of a good deal of money when you can pay someone else significantly less and then ditch them when the economy gets bad? That's capitalism, baby. Of course, I'm all in favor of some good competition, but the playing field seems to be getting smaller at the same time we triple our team sizes. Just a thought...

Last one, I promise. This is the advertisement that grad schools SHOULD be putting out: Believe me, it is definitely worth sitting through the ad. (just a warning, it is a bit crude at times, but Chaucer is much worse) Again, I hope this doesn't offend anyone. Good luck to all in your academic endeavors.

Here is the follow up to the original "So you want to get a PhD in the Humanities?" Just as biting, just as hilarious. The guy they refer to near the end is a tenured Professor at Hope College. His articles should be required reading for anyone who is considering a PhD in the Humanities. Link to Benton Article Not to crush anyone's hopes or anything, but I just feel like everyone should go into this with open eyes.

These are all great posts. I wanted to share some more that I've found. I hope you enjoy. This is the "Grad Student Rap" It's pretty hilarious and honestly pretty damn good. Adam Ruben is the main guy here, My office mate got the book (through Interlibrary loan--I think he would approve); and I highly recommend it as well. Not for the faint of heart, however.

I haven't heard hide nor hair about the MA applicants and I haven't seen hardly any posts about people applying to UBC. There was one admit post to the PhD program today with a fellowship (congrats!), but that's all. I wonder where all the applicants are?

I'm sorry you haven't heard yet. I think that some programs hold back some letters and watch the forums to see the reaction. Anyway. I just received the acceptance letter to the PhD program and my field is Medieval, particularly Early Middle English and Welsh. Best of luck to all!

Just checked my email after a few days without doing so and found a funding offer from UOregon from Elizabeth Bohls via Mike Stamm. They are offering tuition remission + a 1&1 GTF position ($13,346) + "a Stanley Maveety Fellowship in the amount of $5,000.00" which has something to do with Medieval and Early Modern Studies (I'm a medievalist). They are having an Open House March 31-April 2; includes food and lodging but not transportation. So, good luck to everyone, I'd say the acceptances will be hearing word on funding soon.

Oops... I thought that was a separate school. Thanks for the correction!

not really an update, but I emailed the graduate secretary about updates, and she said she had none for me, that these things take time, etc. I guess this means those of us who haven't heard are still in the running?

I emailed the dept the other day for a status update and was told I was on the wait-list for PhD. I haven't seen a single rejection or acceptance from there (though they obviously have sent out acceptances to some). Would anyone else like to share their results?

I emailed Mike Stamm today to ask about application status and he said that they were making final decisions today (1 March). No word on numbers of admits, class size, etc. I assume we should all hear pretty soon. When I applied to the MA program a couple years ago, they sent out acceptances by email. Good luck to all!

That was me, and I had been meaning to make start this same post beforehand. It seems odd that no one had done so yet. Anyway, the admit was just an email from the DGS mentioning funding and timelines. No other information was provided. I have to give an answer by March 16, so I'd say people will definitely start hearing around that time if not before. I know what it's like to wait on info, so I'll do my best to get as much as possible. Good luck to all!

I guess we all know where we stand at this point. Condolences to all the rejections. How many have posted that they've been waitlisted? It seems like they are basing it around specialties to have a more rounded department, which makes sense. It might be a good idea to get a feel for the specialties in the wait-list. I'm a medievalist. anyone else on the waitlist care to post their specialties?

Congrats on your acceptances crutch. did the email mention when they would send out funding offers?

Thanks Chris83. Hopefully we'll here something soon. Best of luck to everyone

Anyone hear anything about funding? I'm thinking of emailing the department and asking, but I don't want to bother them if someone else already has. Congrats to all acceptances!