ProfLorax

If you're heading to CCCC, check out WPA-GO's Mentoring breakfast! I'm helping to organize it; it's an awesome event, and you'll be matched with a mentor from another institution. Plus, breakfast!

Solomonski: Take as much time as you need (well, until April 15). This is a big decision, and don't let worries about politics or wait lists force you to rush. Once you are 100% sure you don't want to attend a program, let them know-- there's no reason to wait. But until you know, take your time to really process the pros and cons of each program. Heck, for most schools, visiting day hasn't occurred yet. Unless the DGS inquires on when you will have an answer, you don't owe them an explanation of why you haven't accepted their offer yet. Sure, if you haven't chosen by April 1, you could email and let the DGS know what factors are preventing you from saying "YES!" But really, this is your time. Take it! DGS's are familiar with the process and expect students to wait until they receive all their offers, visit all the admitted schools, and weighed all the risks and rewards of the options.

Congrats! I've been following Crip Futurities on Twitter, and it seems like it was an amazing conference. I wish I could have been there! I imagine we have some mutual colleagues: I presented with two UM English/Ed grad students on disability and writing last year at CCCC's, with Melanie Yergeau chairing our panel.

After last year, in which I only attended one conference (and presented at two others via Skype) due to le bebe, I overcorrected! I'm going to FOUR conferences: presenting at CCCC, Rhetoric Society of America, and Computers and Writing, and going to CWPA for service stuff. I'm trying to gather more funding, as I'm stretching the $800/year travel support my department offers. How are you all funding your travel?

Agreed with everyone. You didn't commit any major faux pas! But also, I agree with Tybalt: my own chair has a philosophy that every student's committee dissolves immediately after passing exams. Then, the student has to re-ask people to be on the dissertation committee. The thought is that as you preparing for exams, two things happen: (1) your project takes shape and (2) you realize which professors you work well with-- and which you don't. By having to start from scratch after exams, there are no hard feelings if you decide you actually don't want Professor A to be on the committee because Professor A never replies to emails and gives vague feedback. This way, you don't have to remove Professor A from your committee; you just don't ask Professor A to be on your dissertation committee once exams are completed. I wonder if your professor comes from a similar school of thought? That could explain the surprise and the perceived the reluctance. In other words, any awkwardness from this professor was likely not directed at you; instead, it seems he was just working out his thoughts aloud, wanting to say yes but also wanting to give you an out down the road in case you change your mind.

Others can chime in, but I don't think this is wise/possible, for several reasons. A colleague and friend who is from NYC often travels to NYC to visit friends and family, and the commute is awful. I can't imagine doing 4+ hours each way multiple times a week. If you're taking the bus, then it's often much longer than 4 hours (one time, this friend was stuck on the side of the road for hours because of a bus malfunction). But also, why do an MA with an eye toward PhD applications if you aren't going to go all in? What if the one day you commute to campus is not the day your potential advisors/letter writers come to the campus? Are you going to never attend any lectures, conferences, or reading groups outside of your one or two commute days? Will you be rejecting the funding offer as well, as a TAship requires 10-20 hours of on-campus work (and if you're teaching, likely a MWF schedule)? If it's the city life you love, many folks live in DC or Baltimore. I live in DC and love this city.

Great program, congrats! UW-Milwaukee was recently re-categorized as an R1, much to the excitement of my friend who is currently there. I imagine the program will just get better and better.

Just wanted to echo Wyatt's Terps: yes! Check in with Ralph about being housed with another grad student. I would offer my guest room, but I have a fourteen month old daughter who doesn't sleep, so I feel like staying with us is actually a punishment! Perversions is absolutely free, as is all the wonderful food and drink that will be supplied. One of my readers, Chanon Adsanatham, will be on the plenary panel and talking about blood protests in Thailand--super interesting!

I was in a similar position, and I asked my now-advisor for some suggestions, a starter kit of sorts. That was really helpful. After I devoured her suggested readings, I moved onto YA novels! Because I love them. Once your program starts, you'll be knee-deep in theory and criticism for five solid years (and then after that, too!). So make sure you spend time reading for fun before your program starts. Congrats on your transition!

Congrats, and you're welcome! Please let me know if you have any questions. And I'll see you next month!

AudreLorde: you can find more info about the DS reading on the departmental calendar online, but our email list is our most active source of info. If you PM me your email, I will forward you our schedule for Spring!

AudreLorde: My disability studies reading group is reading The Cancer Journals in April!

Good, important questions. Let's go! Immediate area surrounding campus: WT's nailed it. College Park isn't the greatest city, but Route 1 (the street in front of campus) has some good restaurants and bars. Down the street, Hyattsville has a small downtown with the AMAZING Franklin's. But really, the best asset is that you're close to DC, which is just a fantastic city. Negotiating stipend: I wish I could give you more input here. I did not try, which is one of my bigger regrets. The stipend was higher than my other offers, but mostly, I was intimidated by the DGS (not Ralph: faculty rotate the DGS role every three years). This thread offers some good tips. You're in a good position to negotiate, I think, if you have multiple offers. Living alone/with roommate: I have a hard time answering this; I'm partnered with a kid, so I have a different experience. That said, I have some friends who live alone and without a car. The trick is, it seems, to find a place that at least has access to a shuttle. UMD runs a bunch of free shuttles to neighboring areas, and the shuttle can also connect you to a metro station, which opens you up all of DC. Are you coming in March? When I visited, I asked every single person I met where and how they lived. I think some students have luck in Laurel and Greensbelt. Silver Spring and Takoma Park are great but can be pricier (but still cheaper than DC). Hyattsville is another popular place to live, but most of the people I know who live there are couples or have roommates. Diversity/Social Justice: I answer this question as a white, cis, straight woman, so please PM me if you want me to put you in contact with students of color in the program. In each cohort (usually between 8-10 students), there are 2-3 students of color. The faculty is also diverse, in terms of gender, race, and sexuality. With our renovations, our main building now has a gender inclusive bathroom and a permanent lactation room. For an elite flagship, the undergrads are pretty racially diverse as well (especially in comparison with other Big 10 schools). The main difference I can speak to based on personal experience is gendered: When I was pregnant and then a nursing mom, I felt very included and supported in the department. Re: a racial conflict in the classroom. That's an excellent question, and really, I have no idea. I want to say that such a conflict would be remedied through an anti-racist, social justice approach, but I know that our heroes can disappoint us sometimes. I haven't heard of any incidents in the department (but again, I think students of color could probably speak more directly and thoroughly to this question). We have an activist strain in our program. When students were charged a surcharge in the middle of the semester, English grad students came together to draft this letter to President Loh, and many faculty signed. There's also an active effort, spearheaded mainly by American Studies and Communications, to unionize grad workers. That said, UMD is just like other universities. We are facing the threat of increasing privatization and corporatization, and there's lots of rage but not a lot of sustained organizing. Faculty are progressive and supportive of students, but they are also invested in growing the English major and getting more tenure-lined faculty. Many grad students participate in one-off rallies re: BlackLivesMatter, grad student stipends, and bathroom justice, but it's hard to really organize when we are overworked and underpaid. I don't think we are necessarily more overworked and more underpaid than other programs: that's just an unfortunate reality of grad student workers in this country (see, I'm getting all activist-y talking about activism). ETA: Lemme say this: I chose UMD over other programs because it was more diverse and more social-justice oriented than others. But I've increasingly become cynical about diversity and social justice in the academy--not because anything that has happened at UMD. Just because of the way some faculty speak of racism and ableism in professional organizations (I'm thinking recent critiques on MLA and NCTE). So, in my experience of UMD, I would say it has an emerging activist culture, but I'm reluctant to paint any segment of the academy as a utopia of progressive, inclusive ideals (which I see happen alllll theeeee timeeeeee). Keep the questions coming!

Follow the best program for you! I know that's vague, but once you have the two options in front of you, I'd look at a bunch of factors: MONEY! being the most important Placement: where are these MA programs placing? Thesis/comp/capstone/portfolio: what is the final project for the MA, and how does it figure into your goals? Feedback from current students: are they happy there? How are they doing on the stipend? What do the students who work with your POI have to say about your POI? Faculty: Which program has the most people you want to work with? Coursework: an MA program is primarily coursework, so which program offers the coursework that excites you the most? You'll notice I didn't mention rankings because MA programs are not ranked. Instead, pick the program that you believe puts you in the best place for your future goals.

Hi DJS! As for discipline diversity, that's definitely a thing here. Just within our department, we have MFA, Comp Lit PhD's, Lit and Rhet/Comp PhD's, and MA's, so there are always diverse perspectives and approaches in seminars, even if there aren't outside students present. Because of our certificates, we do get lots of people from outside the department in the courses: I know of folks from Comm, Kinesiology, Education, American Studies, and Women and Gender Studies who have taken courses in our department. It's reciprocal too. We are encouraged to take classes outside the department, and many do. I took two grad courses in the Comm department; friends have taken courses in Education, History, and Women and Gender Studies. Student support: We are definitely a supportive group. I don't feel any sense of competition among students. We share syllabi, proposals, prospectuses, reading lists, etc. Everyone is intellectually generous. As for more socially, we have a strong sense of community, but I don't think it's as strong as other schools. One of the challenges of UMD is that no one lives in the same town. I live in DC, and my closest friends in the program live in Mt. Rainier and Hyattsville. I don't see them as much as I'd like, but that's largely due to the fact that I have a toddler, so socializing in general is difficult these days! That said, I have made some of my best friends here. Some folks in my cohort recently formed a writing group (Writing Wednesdays!!) where we meet and write in a coffee shop once a week. It's great because ABD-life can be pretty isolating. We write, we chat, we write, we chat. So while people can live pretty far from each other, we still manage to have a real sense of friendship and connection, especially within cohorts. Our Graduate English Organization also hosts a few social events each semester, and I hear there is always a good turn out. On stipends: not gonna lie; the cost of living here is high (oh I rhymed!). Not NYC high, but still pretty tough on a grad student stipend. Most folks make it work by living in MD, far from metro stations, in cities like Hyattsville, Laurel, or Greenbelt. The commute to campus isn't so bad from those places, and they tend to me cheaper. Some live with roommates and closer to DC; others live solo but farther. I don't know of anyone doing side work during the school year, but some students will teach an extra class in the Spring or Summer for money. If you (or anyone) gets an offer, I absolutely think it's worth negotiating with the DGS for more money. It's possible to live off the stipend here, but it takes some flexibility and creative thinking.

I know Ralph is busy matching admits and waitlisters with students and faculty, but in case you felt more comfortable asking questions here, please go ahead! I'm a third year PhD student in the program. I am on the rhet/comp track but am an English student, so I can answer most questions about the department and program in general. Also, I can try to answer questions about where the heck to live, probably the most common question current students get.

This question is asked at a monthly basis it seems, haha. There is no ranking for MA programs. Funding is a good and rare thing. Take the money and take advantage of all the things your MA program offers (make connections with professors, write your writing sample, teach, attend whatever professional development stuff you can, etc). You can always ask the graduate office about placement: see where recent grads have gone.

No idea! I'm not privy to those conversations. Sorry, and hold tight! If you don't hear by March, I suggest emailing Ralph or Manju; they usually are forthright with people's standings. Good luck! Let me know if you wanna talk about UMD! I have some friends in early modern (one just passed his exams; Amanda Bailey is his chair). Wyatt's Terps also works with early modern faculty here.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the program! I'm happy to answer. We don't usually have deep wait-lists, so if you have already been contacted, that likely means you're pretty high on the list. Per a conversation with my advisor, I don't think decisions about cohort size have been finalized. So the first wave of acceptances and wait list notifications went out yesterday, but I don't think that will be the last round

I know UMD has started notifying! Any acceptances yet? ETA: I also know that decisions are still in process, so you're still in the game if you haven't heard yet!

Go! You'll want to gather as much intel about the program in case you are admitted. And if the program is inviting you to visit, that's a good sign you're high on the wait list.

So excited to read all the good news! Congrats y'all! And the party is just getting started.

As someone who has been there (yes, twice!), let me point out that it is January! There is still SO MUCH TIME. I know it's so hard to wait (really, I do), but unfortunately, that's all you can do right now. It's so far from being over. But to answer your question: yes, many people have successfully applied multiple years. I did (once with only a BA and the second time with an MA), and so have several others. I feel like we have some threads devoted to re-applying in the forum, where people have talked about what they did the second time around and to great success. It's not over 'til it's over.

Have you seen this?