VANDERBILT

[tortugita]

Does anyone out there have Vanderbilt's placement statistics? They don't post them online...don't really give any indication of their %'s or even any examples of strong placements. Curious.

Any links or info out there?

Thanks!

[hinesaj]

On 3/15/2010 at 11:39 AM, tortugita said:

Does anyone out there have Vanderbilt's placement statistics? They don't post them online...don't really give any indication of their %'s or even any examples of strong placements. Curious.

Any links or info out there?

Thanks!

I don't have any exact stats, but I do have a conversation with the DGS. They placed most of last year's class, across a wide variety of universities. Traditionally Vanderbilt has been sort of a factory for producing professors for many of the big schools in the Southeast--think of all of the large public u's down there, LSU, UGA, etc--but that has changed in the past few years. The program has changed dramatically within the last decade. Seemed pretty clear in the conversation that I had that Vanderbilt is working very hard to "improve" its standing, and become one of THE places to go for English.

[callmelilyb]

I've heard similar information from the DGS that hinesaj has mentioned. I believe they will have "statistics" available for students during the open house next weekend. I was also told that last year two of the recent PhD's had to take non-tenure-track positions but that this was "not the usual pattern..." If you look on the website, last year there were nine people who completed their dissertation and conceivably went on the job market (though one or two might have done other things)...if that's the case then having only two students be forced to take visiting assitant professorships is quite remarkable given the current hiring climate.

There are a lot of resources devoted to helping recent graduates get placed in tenure-track positions, including a Placement Program headed by a Placement Director who works works individually with each student on all the materials that comprise an application package (in conjunction with the DGS, the Department Chair and the Dissertation Director).

Another thing to note is that Vanderbilt provides the opportunity to stay on in a post-doctoral lectureship which is a full-time faculty position with teaching and benefits. So if you're unable to secure a position this allows you to earn some money and improve your credentials and gives you an extra year to search for a job!

At any rate if we get some more solid information during the recruitment weekend I'm sure one of us will post it here!

[tortugita]

Awesome! Thanks for these responses and the details from working with the DGS. Being on the waitlist at Vanderbilt is such a sweet uncomfortable place to be that I have to be prepared to make a last minute decision--that is, possibly turn down other solid offers and accept Vandy's perhaps as late as April 14th. Given their recent faculty acquisitions (those folks can't be cheap) and the apparent influx of cash for graduate students, it seems that their claims to become even more formidable may be true.

Although, it still would be nice to have their placements in writing. Even if their statistics are only now on the come up, I wanna know their history!

I'll be grateful for any more info that's out there.

Edited March 16, 2010 by tortugita

[JackieW]

Sigh. I would have given my left foot to work with Carolyn Dever.

Oh well. Maybe I'll apply again after I finish my MA.

[callmelilyb]

Hello All,

I recently attended the visitation weekend (it was last weekend) and had a great time.

Regarding the previous questions about placement if anyone would like specific placement statistics they can PM me and I'd be happy to share them (we received a list during the visit).

I think there were nine of us at the visitation weekend (one person was not visiting and one person was coming separately)...I believe they accepted 12 people (didn't hear anything about the 12th person, maybe they already declined?). As far as I know they are shooting for a class size of 7-8. I'm not sure who has officially accepted at this point (I haven't but plan to soon). Out of the nine of us there it seemed that about five of us were pretty set on attending Vanderbilt, and perhaps 3-4 who were still considering other programs. I can't speak for the other admittances who were not there. Frankly, I think because Vanderbilt funding is quite generous that means that most people take the offer.

Nashville itself seemed like a cool city. I'm from California and therefore had some preconceptions about the South, which were basically assuaged...at least in the case of Nashville. Of course, almost all of the faculty and graduate students come from somewhere else (lots from the NE and the Midwest it seemed).

The university seems to haev gone through a complete revitilization over the past ten years and there has been quite a push to extend Vanderbilt's reputation both academically and geographically. This can be seen in the hoardes of faculty that have been brought in over the past 5-10 years from many top notch universities. I suppose only time will tell how successful this revitilization will be, but it seems that things are certainly going in the right direction.

I'm not sure what else you'd like to know....I'm basically in love with the program (for many reasons), and could go on and on about why I think it's a great place to be for a PhD in English...so maybe if people have specific questions I, or one of the other posters lurking around here who attended the visit can answer them directly.