chloeolivia

@persynanōm Yes, I'm planning to attend the open house. Very excited!

Hello! I've been lurking for a while, but think it's only fair to claim my posts on the results page. I was waitlisted by Duke Lit yesterday after interviewing (one of the most terrifying experiences of my life) on Wednesday. I was also accepted by USC. Still waiting to hear from 10 other programs!

Hi everyone! I found this forum incredibly useful and supportive (despite my lurker status) while applying to MA programs last year, but want to join the conversation now that I’m beginning the more arduous (and infinitely more confusing) process of applying to doctoral programs. I hope I can be as generous as I found others last year, while also getting some much-needed advice about my own problem: I’m trying to determine whether I belong in an interdisciplinary and/or cultural studies program or could work successfully in certain English departments. I don’t think I have enough perspective or knowledge of the discipline(s) to gauge whether this is necessary. A bit about me: I’m about to enter my second year of a Joint MA program in English and WGS, where I’m very happy (I applied to six MA programs last year and would be glad to talk to anyone who wants advice about the process/funding/my decision to do a Master’s before a PhD). My undergraduate degree is also in English and WGS. Broadly, I’m interested in British modernism, queer theory, and childhood studies. Some of my more specific interests are queer temporality, the coming of age novel/bildungsroman, disability/critical age studies, the history of sexuality, and psychoanalysis. My strongest work focuses (as will my writing sample, most likely) on queer temporality in the novels of Virginia Woolf, but I’ve also written on topics as diverse as queer counterpublics on Instagram, the postcolonial bildungsroman, and Peter Pan. My disciplinary quandary: I feel a bit uncomfortable with (but could probably adapt to) the idea of committing to a historical period and am definitely more interested in questions of identity than those that are conventionally literary. This is reductive, but one way I can explain my approach is that while I like to “apply” queer theory to literature, the theory is not just a useful but secondary apparatus for me – it comes first and isn’t a means to an end. Indeed, I’m definitely comfortable working with non-literary texts, and am not certain that I would be happy working exclusively with literature, which might rule out some programs. In addition to some interdisciplinary programs, I’ve included some (comparatively) more traditional ones that seem like places I could work on my more discipline-appropriate interests, such as gender and modernism. I hope to narrow this long list down to about ten programs after I have a clearer idea of where my work belongs: UPenn Duke Literature UT Austin NYU CUNY Michigan: Joint PhD in English and Women’s Studies Rutgers Pittsburgh: Critical and Cultural Studies UC Berkeley, Irvine, Davis, Riverside, and LA Vanderbilt Washington University in St. Louis Northwestern USC UC Santa Cruz: History of Consciousness Stanford: Modern Thought and Literature (Possibly) Emory WGS I'm aware of the fact that finding programs that "fit" will be easier once I define my interests and goals with more precision. Nevertheless, I'd really appreciate feedback on some questions about my provisional list: 1) I’ve heard conflicting opinions about interdisciplinary programs both here and from professors. Job-suicide or preparation for imminent disciplinary dissolution? What about doctoral programs in WGS? 2) Does it sound like I belong in a cultural studies program? Are there ones I should know about? 3) Can anyone who is enrolled in or has experience with any of these programs offer advice as to whether they fit with the sort of work I do? I’ve done a great deal of research, but still can’t get a sense of what some programs are really like. Please speak up if you think a program wouldn't work for me! It would also be a major relief to know if any of these programs sound like a good fit :-) 4) Finally, I’d love to connect with people who have similar interests or have grappled with the problem of interdisciplinarity. List aside, I’d be grateful for any kind of feedback on this post! I know its length merits an apology -- but I want to give a full sense of the situation to the wonderful people who take the time to consider my questions. Thank you!

I believe that this is possible depending on the department. While attending an open house on Monday I was told that although the program can be completed in a year, most students take 3 or 4 semesters. The department apparently ensures that those students retain full-time status (for scholarship purposes) during the semesters when they're technically part-time. I'm not sure if this is true of all departments though. If I chose this program, I'll definitely extend it to 3 or 4 semesters to give myself enough time to form relationships with profs and produce a decent writing sample for PhD apps.

Hi, I've been lurking for months, but this is my first time posting here. I was just accepted into the MA program at NYU with a tuition scholarship of $10,000. I had no idea that they offered aid of any kind to MA students and never seriously considered attending until now (I already live in NYC and would love to stay here). According to the email I received, a limited number of students receive partial funding through the Wickham Moore Scholars program. Just wanted to share this bit of information considering the recent discussions about NYU and other unfunded MAs. I hope this helps those who are still awaiting a decision.