ProfLorax

I totally get this. I definitely received two rejections on and after April 15, and was perturbed. But before you send out any email demands, just remember that that DGS or graduate coordinator could very well be sitting on a hiring committee for your dream job in five years time. Still, it does suck that we hold so little power in this whole process.

Great idea! I'm all about making exercise fun and easy. A few months ago, my husband and I splurged on buying an exercise bike, which I use while watching TV or reading for class. I had an awesome routine going on for the first two weeks of the semester, then BAM! The common cold hit, which I used as an excuse to completely stop. I'm gonna try to get back on the horse soon, but starting back up after a long break (two weeks +) is the hardest. But I am determined to try again!

I'm also all over the place! But I imagine I have an undercurrent in all my interests, which is social movements. So far, I've been doing some research on writing in online spaces, contemporary feminist rhetoric (especially in online spaces and non-traditional circulation), disability and writing, and the rhetoric of the disability rights movement. It's early in my journey, but I already have a sketch for a dissertation focusing on how the body was represented/complicated in text and visuals in the disability rights movement (1977-present).

I love meaningful resolutions. I posted a few back in August on my blog, right before my classes started. For this semester, I made a few goals about keeping to a reasonable schedule (so far, check!), developing interests and commitments outside of academia (check!), and maintaining a consistent exercise schedule (huge, blatant failure!).

We did a funding spreadsheet via Google Docs last year in the Lit/Rhet/Comp forums; we filled in the info as we received our offers. It may be useful as a model for your own.

Holla to the pupusa love! Coming to DC from California, I was initially devastated by the lack of good Mexican food. Then, I discovered pupusas. Omgsogood. Salvadorian food is my new love. (But burritos will always be my first.)

Join away! The list isn't notified when new members join, and you don't have to participate. I've been more of an active observer. Plus, regardless of how this app season goes for you, you are one of us! (ONE OF US! ONE OF US!)

God, this. This is perhaps the best advice I've seen here. I am an extravert, and even I felt overwhelmed by all the scheduled socializing during visits. Find moments to take a breath in the frenzy of the visit.

These are amazing! Thanks for the suggestions. I added myself to GWPA, TechRhet, and WAC-L.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. I remember how infuriating it is waiting... oh the waiting! Since you're local (I think?), if you are shut out this year, take advantage of your physical proximity to the programs! Go to UMD English Department events that align with your interests, and maybe see if you could take or audit a literature course with a professor with whom you'd like to work. It couldn't hurt to make your face and name known for when the adcomm reads through a pile of applications! And for you and purpleperson: group hug time!

Ah, shucks! I'm sorry you had no luck with Maryland (and with our tiny teeny cohort, luck is truly required). Still, we should introduce ourselves via PM, so we can meet up at or even collaborate for future conferences!

I've never known anyone to pay for a professional consultant. In my experience, the best consultant is a trusted professor who knows the expectations of ad comms and the language and state of your field. Also, I was shut out of PhD programs when I applied right after my BA. I applied again after my MA, and I was accepted into five. Perhaps think of an MA program as a consultant: you'll get to work on a strong writing sample and you'll make deeper connections with professors who can guide you through the process. Good luck!

Explain your situation to the DGS. Be honest and direct. You never know. If you are a top choice candidate, they may be willing to overlook the lack or perhaps allow you to take the subject test in the summer, not as a consideration of admission but so that all incoming students went through the same hoops. Fingers crossed for you!

The best advice I received was from a professor who reminded me that visits are all about the student. You are interviewing them to see if you're a good fit, not vice versa. You want to be courteous and professional, but also be sure to ask any pressing questions you have. Enjoy this brief moment when you have the power! I don't think you'll need a CV or your SoP, as you already have an offer. Rather, just enjoy yourself and strike up conversations with future colleagues. Also, I'd suggest making connections with current students who you really vibe with and have similar interests. Even if you don't end up choosing that school, knowing the other rising scholars in your field makes putting together conference panel proposals much easier and attending conferences much more fun. Keep your eye out for possible collaborators on your visits!

I'd also suggest not just emailing with professors and students at Cornell, but also Skyping with as many as possible. Video chats can give you a clearer impression of the communication styles and how you'd get along with fellow students and professors.

Also, speaking of the WPA listserv, which I just learned about in this convo, what other rhet/comp themed list servs are out there, waiting for me to join? I recently joined the Disability Studies in the Humanities listserv, and I love hearing about what's going on in DS in other departments.

Most def. If you have the stomach and time, take Route 1. If not for this trip, at some other point. Gorgeous. I lived in Monterey for three years, and I loved driving down 1 for a few hours and just taking in the cliffs and ocean views.

Last year, I took the jump after teaching for three years and applied to rhet/comp programs. I ended up getting into five. Of those five, four were big name programs with big cohorts (Illinois, Miami, Arizona, UMass Amherst), while Maryland was a small program. Long story short, I chose Maryland, but not because of its size. In fact, the size of the student cohort was the only con on the Maryland list. Fortunately, despite the small group of rhet/comp students (we have six. Total.), we have as many rhet/comp faculty as the big programs. Faculty size is important, because you will want your choice of faculty to work with, and you don't want to have to choose between three professors, and then one retires. Now that I am here, I still better the pros and cons about a small program. The cons are the lack of rhet/comp community and rhet/comp coursework. However, I have found ways to work around this challenges. The six rhet/comp students in the English department are tightknit and supportive, and I am very close with my fellow first year English PhD's. And thanks to an interdisciplinary, cross-campus seminar last semester, I also have close colleagues in the UMD Communication Department and Penn State. As for coursework, I quickly discovered that most grad departments don't offer a wide array of coursework, regardless of the focus. I have worked around this by taking every single rhet/comp class offered by the English Department, doing independent studies, sitting in on rhetoric-focused undergrad classes, and taking classes in the Communications department. There are the pros of a small program. You certainly don't get lost in the mix! As the only rhet/comp PhD student enter last year, I got so much wonderful attention from the faculty. I imagine some large programs also manage to shower their incoming students with attention, but I imagine it's harder for the faculty to show consistently focused on six students. Also, we get our choice of classes to teach, once we are further along in our career, we can easily choose to do an administrative position, like Assistant Director of the Writing Program, without much competition. I'm at a small program and am quite happy, but ultimately, I don't know if I can weigh in on small versus large. There are good and bad, and even though size of the program was a consideration, it wasn't a deciding factor. I chose UMD despite the small size because of the funding, teaching load, faculty, resources, and great environment. I was just like you! My BA and MA are both in literature, so even though I had taken one class in composition and taught comp for three years, I felt desperately behind from the day I got my first acceptance letter. The good news is that many people come in with little to no training in rhet/comp. The other good news is that most large programs will offer or even mandate introductory coursework that will quickly put everyone on the same page. I noticed quickly that rhetoric and literary study are not that different, in terms of methodology. Lots of close reading, though with different vocabulary and a slightly different lens. Composition, however, is another beast, and there are so many qualitative and quantitate methods that will be new to you. Last semester, I took the required Introduction to College Composition course that all teaching grad students are required to take; then, I met with the professor every other week to do extra readings on methods and methodology in composition. It was immensely helpful. Your program will most likely provide this sort of education, and if it doesn't, you can most likely find opportunities to get this experience and education like I did. If you are anxious about not having read enough material, was posted here last year; I've kept in bookmarked. I also asked my main point of contact for a reading list before the semester started, and she sent me a small rhet/comp starter kit. I still have so much to learn (I just read Aristotle for the first time!), but I am definitely getting the hang out of it. I'm presenting at Computers and Writing in June, and I'm working with a professor to turn a seminar paper into an article. So, it's definitely possible to come from a literature world and succeed in a rhet/comp universe.

Shahed: I actually grew up and lived in California, so I searched desperately for a California program that focuses on rhetoric. The sad truth is that California really lacks rhetoric programs. UC Davis has an PhD minor in rhet/comp, but you still have to focus on literature in your primary research. UC Irvine has Jonathan Alexander, who focuses on rhet/comp, and I believe they have a small small small rhet/comp concentration for their PhD. UCSC and Stanford both have interdisciplinary programs (History of Consciousness and MLT), but neither really seem to touch on rhetoric. Even Berkeley's program is less of a Rhetoric program and more of an interdisciplinary, critical theory program. Arizona and Oregon are the closest I could find for real, solid rhetoric programs. ETA: However, depending on your specific interests, you may be happy also in Communications or Education programs.

The most helpful tip I've received from my current and former professors is that I should learn what to read, what to skim, and what to skip. Several professors pointed out that at the PhD level, assigned coursework reading is secondary to my own research. So, when I'm reading for class, I look at the abstract, closely read the introduction. From there, I decide if I am going to just skim through and find the main ideas, or spend more time really absorbing the article and thinking about how it applies to my own research questions. Also, I annotate the crap out of anything I read. That may take up more time in the initial read, but it saves time during class discussions and my writing.

It's da bomb. I actually found an email describing rhetoric and composition at Maryland to a friend from last semester, so I'll just paste that here. Updates/corrections are in brackets. "I am in the PhD in English program, but I'm on the rhet/comp track. Maryland gives all English students tons of freedom when it comes to creating our course schedule, so I am able to take classes that interest me. Right now, I'm taking Digital Rhetoric, Approaches to College Composition, and Engendering Rhetorical Power. Next semester won't be as awesome-- an admitted fault is the lack of course offerings in Rhet/Comp. [However, you'll find that this is a problem even at bigger rhet/comp programs.] I think I'll take a Women's Studies course (it counts towards my English course requirements AND the WGS Certificate), history of rhetoric, and potentially a course in the communications department. So, I have to be creative. [Note: this semester, I am taking Visual Rhetoric (a seminar in the Comm department), an independent study on the history of women's rhetoric with Shirley Logan (!!!!), and Foundations of Rhetoric (an undergrad class I'm sitting in on and doing extra work for graduate credit.] So this brings me to the crux of your questions: why Maryland? Even more importantly, why a school with a small Rhet/ comp program [we accept 1-2 rhet/comp PhD students each year, and 1-2 MA rhet/comp students] over four other schools with established, recognized Rhet/comp programs? The answer is complex, but I'll try to keep it brief. First off, Maryland had the most faculty with whom I wanted to work. And even better, the faculty I was most interested in were all in the early parts of their careers. I say this because some of the draws to other programs were either retiring or starting to retire. I wanted to work with faculty who weren't going to retire and who were still actively working on their research. You'll notice that even though Maryland's rhet/comp program is smaller than others, they actually have a big faculty. This semester, I am working with Scott Wible, Jess Enoch, and Melanie Kill. My chief mentor is Jane Donawerth. Shirley Logan is the Associate Chair of the department, and we also have Vessela V., who is on leave through a grant from NEH. [Note: we also just got a new hire with an emphasis on cross-cultural rhetoric and writing program administration. He's amazing.] I want to work with all of these people in some way, so that was an obvious draw to the program. And even though everyone has different interests, there is a common thread of pedagogy and social change that runs through the group. I met some faculty during the visit, and Skype with others who were at C's during the visit. They were all brilliant and friendly at the same time. I just felt an instant connection. Also, Maryland has great resources. All [PhD] students have a first year fellowship, so I can take a bunch of classes and not worry about teaching. This helps me stay on track with the five year plan. They had the biggest financial package, but of course, that is off set by the high of living here in DC. In addition to the first year fellowship, the English Department here offers $800/year for conference travel for up to two years, plus the College also kicks in funding after that. Maryland is also in the DC Consortium, so I can take classes at Gallaudet, Georgetown, or George Washington, if I wish. [i am currently taking ASL courses at Gallaudet, and will continue to in the summer. I just applied for summer funding, so I'm crossing my fingers that my language study will be covered!]. Another perk of living near DC is the Library of Congress. [i'll be going there next week to access their news photos for my visual rhetoric class.] Okay, so that's faculty, funding, and teaching load... Additionally, Maryland had a high placement rate for their rhet/comp grads; it was comparable with the larger name rhet/comp programs. Also, the perk of having a small cohort is that administrative opportunities aren't competitive. Assistant Directing the Academic Writing Program, the Professional Writing program, or the Writing Center are gigs that are open and available to any rhet/comp students who want to partake. Plus, I feel like I'm part of two cohorts: the tight knit rhet/comp folks and the larger PhD in English cohort. I spend lots of time with the lit students in my cohort, and they are great." Lemme know if you have any questions! Also, although the MA is unfunded, some of the MA students have graduate assistantships through other programs, so it is possible to get funding-- just not guaranteed. ETA: The English Department website is notoriously difficult to navigate, so here is a list of rhet/comp faculty. The new hire is super new, so it hasn't been updated yet.

YAY! CONGRATS! Southern Illinois University Press publishes so many great rhet/comp books.

I follow ProfHacker and GradHacker, which are great lifestyle blogs for academics.

Congratulations all around!

Well, then, you get a gif too! Congrats!