folkloredude

I pretty much lurk around Grad Cafe anonymously, making a post here and there. And this is pretty much the only forum I check, and not to sound like a stalker, but in recent weeks I've been checking to see if Tybalt had posted good news. As a fellow "old" man (I'll be 32 when I start again in the fall) returning to grad school after a hiatus, I know the agony of waiting to hear good news and wondering if you'll ever get a chance to pursue your passion or if it will always be wondering "what if?"...I'm happy for you, Tybalt; Rochester is a great program. Congrats. I don't know you from a fart in the wind--and probably never will--but I know how you're feeling right now and it feels good. Go empty one of those happy-happy-joy-joy screams into the universe.

You might consider the Comparative Literature program at UMass Amherst. I have my M.F.A. from UMass, and took multiple grad seminars in comparative literature. UMass Complit has a terminal M.A., though I'm not sure the language requirements. In speaking with other grad students at the time, they didn't seem too brutal. I think you only needed one major language and a minor one. Plus, you have access to the 5-college system and can take courses from Amherst College, Smith, etc. From my experience, there is a real inter-disciplinary focus at UMass. I took several courses at Amherst College (including a seminar on Russian literature), and although they were upper-division undergraduate I requested permission from both the department and faculty member to enroll as an independent study, did a little extra reading/ writing, and received graduate credit. And, it gave me the opportunity to work closely with faculty members. When I was there, they were flexible and encouraged independent study. Maybe this works for you, maybe not. UMass would fit your interests, too. Laszlo Dienes works in Russian literature, and James Young has a joint appointment in Complit/ English and teaches a variety of courses in Jewish literatures, especially memory/ trauma studies. These are just the faculty members I'm familiar with; if you do a little research you can probably find more. One other thing I will add: even though I was in the M.F.A. program at the time, I received a lot of individual attention from the complit faculty. In fact, I would say the complit people were more interested in my professional development than the English folk (this isn't to bad-mouth the English faculty; they were wonderful as well). It was, however, difficult to get individual attention from the English department. The only bad thing I have to say about UMass is the weather. The winters are brutal. Absolutely brutal.

I received a phone call yesterday afternoon notifying me that I had been accepted into the program. $15,000 stipend for 5 years, tuition waiver, health benefits, etc. The DGS mentioned I was at the top of the list for admits, and the committee had just finished making final decisions. So perhaps I was one of the first to know and the news will trickle in slowly for other admits. No mention on the size of the cohort (I didn't ask). I was a bit surprised they offered to fly me out for a campus visit, considering some of the things I've read on Gradcafe regarding the funding issues at UNL. It was a very pleasant phone call. Don't know if I'll take the offer because I'm leaning toward another school (and have waitlist possibilities), but this will make me pause and consider my options. Best of luck to the rest of you waiting to hear news.