Oxford MSt vs Stanford MA in German (Studies)

[MalteXBrigge]

I've got the MSt in Modern Languages (German) at Oxford and MA in German Studies at Stanford. Does anyone know about these two programs? A little hard for me to make a choice.

I plan to apply to some US phd programs next year (which I did this year but it went pretty bad -<) and my main interest lies in poetry of modernism. (u.a. Rilke! )

Which do you think will be a better fit considering the climate or the focused research area? Have heard that Stanford is more "cultural"? Unfortunately these isn't much information about this program even in this forum... And the Stanford MA is just way too expensive... (well it's MA after all...)

Aaaaaand big Congrats to all that have been admitted and best wishes to all who are still waiting for the results!

[Glasperlenspieler]

I hadn't realized Stanford offered a terminal MA, which makes me think it's a relatively new program (although it's also possible that I was just unaware of it). In either case, the difficulty with a 1 year program, if you would have to be applying in the fall, before you've really had the chance to develop relationships with any of the professors. As a result, their letters of recommendation are unlikely to be particularly strong. With 1 year MA programs it's usually best to have a gap year between your MA and PhD, so that your letter writers can actually refer to an entire year of coursework, rather than half a semester (or half a quarter as would be the case at Stanford. Both Stanford and Oxford have strong faculty in German studies, so it will really depend on your interests. Take a look at the faculty and see where you see the most connections. Oxford is almost certainly the more traditional of the two programs, but I'm not sure that matters too much at the MA stage. 

All that being said, please don't go into debt for an MA in German studies. As I hope you know, the job market in German is terrible, so it's not a wise investment (even given the statistically improbable chance that you attain a tenure track position down the line, you're not likely to earn enough to pay off that debt anytime soon). 

[MalteXBrigge]

1 hour ago, Glasperlenspieler said:

I hadn't realized Stanford offered a terminal MA, which makes me think it's a relatively new program (although it's also possible that I was just unaware of it). In either case, the difficulty with a 1 year program, if you would have to be applying in the fall, before you've really had the chance to develop relationships with any of the professors. As a result, their letters of recommendation are unlikely to be particularly strong. With 1 year MA programs it's usually best to have a gap year between your MA and PhD, so that your letter writers can actually refer to an entire year of coursework, rather than half a semester (or half a quarter as would be the case at Stanford. Both Stanford and Oxford have strong faculty in German studies, so it will really depend on your interests. Take a look at the faculty and see where you see the most connections. Oxford is almost certainly the more traditional of the two programs, but I'm not sure that matters too much at the MA stage. 

All that being said, please don't go into debt for an MA in German studies. As I hope you know, the job market in German is terrible, so it's not a wise investment (even given the statistically improbable chance that you attain a tenure track position down the line, you're not likely to earn enough to pay off that debt anytime soon). 

Thank you Glasperlenspieler for your valuable advice! It's indeed strange that Stanford has this terminal MA...and yes I'm considering taking a gap year to make my application stronger, as you say, recommendation is a huge problem.

Oxford may be the better one for me when it comes to my specific interests. I guess what worries me is: Will an overseas Master be much more disadvantaged than a domestic one? (After all, if I choose Stanford, there might be chances that I can develop more connections with domestic professors, which may be more helpful for my phd application? ) I'm not sure if this makes a huge difference.

Financial situation is a vital question, and I've learned some cold facts about placement...Thank you for this reminder. (Such a cold world it is : [ )

[Glasperlenspieler]

1 hour ago, MalteXBrigge said:

 Oxford may be the better one for me when it comes to my specific interests. I guess what worries me is: Will an overseas Master be much more disadvantaged than a domestic one? (After all, if I choose Stanford, there might be chances that I can develop more connections with domestic professors, which may be more helpful for my phd application? ) I'm not sure if this makes a huge difference.

I wouldn't worry too much about a foreign MA for a couple of reasons. 1) What's valuable about an MA isn't really the MA itself, so much as the opportunity to produce a better writing sample, improve your language skills, gain greater familiarity with the canon, and become more adept at theoretical and methodological approaches to literature. You can do this anywhere. At the end of the day, a PhD program is more likely to accept you on the basis of your writing sample than on the name of the university attached to your MA. 2) In so far as the reputation of the university/program does matter, Oxford certainly isn't going to count against you. German studies is a small world, so it's not as if you'll be entirely isolated from the American academic scene and you'll have plenty of opportunities to connect with American scholars during a PhD program. I don't think those connections are as important at the MA stage.

In fact, one other possibility I might recommend is considering an MA in Germany. It's apt to be a two year program, meaning you wouldn't have to have a gap year, and it's likely to be less expensive than a degree at either Oxford or Stanford, and I think, assuming it's a reputable German Uni, it would be received by American PhD programs just as positively as an American or British MA, if not more so. It's probably not too late to apply for most German programs, since their semesters start later.

[MalteXBrigge]

10 hours ago, Glasperlenspieler said:

In fact, one other possibility I might recommend is considering an MA in Germany. It's apt to be a two year program, meaning you wouldn't have to have a gap year, and it's likely to be less expensive than a degree at either Oxford or Stanford, and I think, assuming it's a reputable German Uni, it would be received by American PhD programs just as positively as an American or British MA, if not more so. It's probably not too late to apply for most German programs, since their semesters start later.

Yep...A German MA seems to be a choice as well, and Germany is really the ideal place when taking a gap year! 

Many thanks to you Glasperlenspieler! I will definitely think it over!