PhD Program Recommendations - Victorian Literature

[eh92]

Hi, all—

 

I am a college senior, set to graduate next semester with a BA in English literature. I am planning to apply to a Ph.D. program at the end of next year, and I am trying to figure out which schools I should consider applying to. Generally speaking, I am interested in studying Victorian novels. So far, the schools on my “list” are: University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, UCLA, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Indiana University, Rutgers, and Brown. 

First, are there any schools with great Victorian programs/faculty that I have missed? Second, I know that these are all highly ranked schools. When I apply next year, I’d like to have a good mix of top and mid-ranked schools. Are there any lower-ranked schools that have sufficient funding and opportunities to contribute to the field that I should consider as well? Thank you in advance!

[HenryJams]

Hey there, I'm also interested in Victorian lit. I just looked back at my admittedly low-quality notes on faculty at highly-ranked schools. Your list matches up with mine pretty well. I think you might also consider CUNY (Agathocleous, Reitz, Schaffer, Yousef all touch on Victorian). And Columbia (Adams, Dames, Marcus). Also Northwestern (Finn, Herbert, Lane, Law). As for mid-ranked schools, I thought USC looked pretty cool, but that's because I have a specific faculty member in mind. Those are some schools that I found in my search; I'm sure others who've done more thorough research will chime in with great advice.

[Regimentations]

All of the schools listed are no-doubt excellent. (And there are a few more that haven't been listed yet) However, each school also has different areas of Victorian Literature that they're more interested in exploring. Likewise, some are listed in mega-metro areas while others are located in smaller towns. Would you be comfortable living in both? What about funding? Even if a school is ranked well, it doesn't always mean that students are giving up something to live there or living with multiple roommates. Weather is another factor. I urge you to consider all these when selecting your list because depression and mental health are leading factors as to why students drop out of their program.

[havemybloodchild]

I suggest looking at current scholarship you like and seeing where the authors graduated (if they did so somewhat recently). If they’re producing scholars who you’d like to emulate, you know they likely have the resources to support you. Good luck!

[Brown_Bear]

On ‎12‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 6:17 PM, eh92 said:

Hi, all—

 

I am a college senior, set to graduate next semester with a BA in English literature. I am planning to apply to a Ph.D. program at the end of next year, and I am trying to figure out which schools I should consider applying to. Generally speaking, I am interested in studying Victorian novels. So far, the schools on my “list” are: University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, UCLA, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Indiana University, Rutgers, and Brown. 

First, are there any schools with great Victorian programs/faculty that I have missed? Second, I know that these are all highly ranked schools. When I apply next year, I’d like to have a good mix of top and mid-ranked schools. Are there any lower-ranked schools that have sufficient funding and opportunities to contribute to the field that I should consider as well? Thank you in advance!

One option is to scaffold through US News's rankings of English PhD programs, like the top 100, and go through each program looking for Victorian specialists. You may find some lowly ranked that are excellent for your interests. If you have the time or energy, it couldn't hurt to look at a ton from a ready-made list. It would also give you ideas for schools you may not have looked at originally. Just one piece of advice, and strategy for defining possible programs.

Edited December 20, 2019 by HPurple