allaboutmedieval

I should say that the CUNY person responded to my emails, saying that she gets the sense that 'almost all of our students are able to find adjunct work.' "We do want to say that adjunct funding is getting a bit tighter due to budget problems, but my observation of our current students suggests to me that they are all finding adjunct teaching of one kind or another, if they are out there actually looking for it." Not a guarantee, but not damning either. Anyone out there with experience at CUNY, past or present?

Thanks. I was in a similar situation as you two years ago when faced with unfunded MAs, but was able to finagle full funding from American U. So I applied to PhDs this year with the funded MA in my back pocket. Apparently made no difference, except to CUNY. I should also say that the 'you're on your own 'comment is more that I'm on my own finding adjunct work at CUNY, not on my own finding any work at all.

I'm new to GradCafe and posted this in April 15 Freak-out forum. Someone suggested I post it in the lit forum to get responses from people with CUNY English experience. Thanks! -- Hi, new to the forums, so thanks for any feedback you can provide. I was accepted off the wait list for CUNY's PhD in English for Fall 2011 yesterday. I have until Friday to make a decision, according to the email. However, I'm not getting full funding (ECF) and have only been offered "first-year teaching internship at a CUNY college for any student who does not receive an ECF. Students who teach at a CUNY college receive a salary as well as a fellowship that covers in-state tuition." I wrote back questioning whether the adjunct job (and tuition waiver) was for the duration of my PhD. She said "We will arrange a first-year teaching internship for the first year--and then after that you're on your own. Some people keep teaching at the school they are initially placed at, and others go elsewhere. We do not guarantee ongoing adjunct employment after the first year--but we do place you for the first year, and that does carry an IN-STATE tuition waiver." Always encouraging to hear someone asking you to pay for your PhD say 'you're on your own.' I'm worried about the mercenary nature of this. CUNY accepts a large class and put them all to work in non-guranteed positions, making them dependent not on any kind of living wage but the in-state tuition waiver which makes their studies possible (mind you, if you are moving to NY to start the program, you have to pay the difference between in-state and out of state for the first year until your residency takes). I'm from Jersey and am familiar with NYC, so that itself isn't an issue. I know the CUNY English Phd is ranked very well so I imagine I'm misunderstanding the crux of this somehow. None of this seems to be the norm, however, at least compared to the seven other schools I applied to (seven rejections). As this is my only acceptance, and after a dispiriting few months of rejections (some from worse-ranked schools), it's hard to fathom that I'd turn down an offer an admission with no guarantee for better luck when re-applying next year. However, it's also hard to fathom scrambling during my second or third year for possibly non-existent or unattractive adjunct positions all over the bureaucracy of CUNY. My professors at both undergrad and grad (I'm finishing my MA at American U.) cautioned against paying for a PhD anywhere that would ask you to, particularly when earning a pittance. And naturally I have two days to decide. I've perused the forums a bit and found some bits of info about CUNY's adjunct process but found nothing too helpful or encouraging. Any advice, ideas, thoughts, stories from CUNY, ANYTHING, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for your responses. I'd imagine I wouldn't take long to finish coursework if they accept 24 credits of my MA. 36 credits are 9 classes there. Who knows, though. I guess you can't assume anything. I'll post this to the lit forum to get some CUNY experiences and ask about percentages of students who don't get the tuition waiver and adjunct jobs in years 2 and beyond. Thanks again.

Hi, new to the forums, so thanks for any feedback you can provide. I was accepted off the wait list for CUNY's PhD in English for Fall 2011 yesterday. I have until Friday to make a decision, according to the email. However, I'm not getting full funding (ECF) and have only been offered "first-year teaching internship at a CUNY college for any student who does not receive an ECF. Students who teach at a CUNY college receive a salary as well as a fellowship that covers in-state tuition." I wrote back questioning whether the adjunct job (and tuition waiver) was for the duration of my PhD. She said "We will arrange a first-year teaching internship for the first year--and then after that you're on your own. Some people keep teaching at the school they are initially placed at, and others go elsewhere. We do not guarantee ongoing adjunct employment after the first year--but we do place you for the first year, and that does carry an IN-STATE tuition waiver." Always encouraging to hear someone asking you to pay for your PhD say 'you're on your own.' I'm worried about the mercenary nature of this. CUNY accepts a large class and put them all to work in non-guranteed positions, making them dependent not on any kind of living wage but the in-state tuition waiver which makes their studies possible (mind you, if you are moving to NY to start the program, you have to pay the difference between in-state and out of state for the first year until your residency takes). I know the CUNY English Phd is ranked very well so I imagine I'm misunderstanding the crux of this somehow. None of this seems to be the norm, however, at least compared to the seven other schools I applied to (seven rejections). As this is my only acceptance, and after a dispiriting few months of rejections (some from worse-ranked schools), it's hard to fathom that I'd turn down an offer an admission with no guarantee for better luck when re-applying next year. However, it's also hard to fathom scrambling during my second or third year for possibly non-existent or unattractive adjunct positions all over the bureaucracy of CUNY. My professors at both undergrad and grad (I'm finishing my MA at American U.) cautioned against paying for a PhD anywhere that would ask you to, particularly when earning a pittance. And naturally I have two days to decide. I've perused the forums a bit and found some bits of info about CUNY's adjunct process but found nothing too helpful or encouraging. Any advice, ideas, thoughts, stories from CUNY, ANYTHING, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!