English Programs with the Best Academic Climate for Grad Students

[Rrandle101]

I was wondering if any current/former graduate students had any input on English programs with really great academic/professional climates for their students and others that maybe aren't as friendly/cooperative for them. I know all of us this cycle are a long ways off from accepting/declining offers (at least that is what it feels like) but I think a thread like this might be really useful not only for us but also other people applying in the next 5 years or so.

[WildeThing]

I haven’t been here long but so far UVa has been a really great environment. The DGS is amazing and sweet, most of the profs have been very kind and the people, in my cohort at least, are generally great. Between the fairly generous funding and requirement set-up, I am excited about being able to work here for the next few years.

I also had a great experience at UMBC if anyone is thinking about there.

[poetryislit]

I'm interested in hearing about UChicago, UPenn, Stanford, and Columbia if anyone has had experience with those departments.

[S_C_789]

Adding to this thread, could anyone please comment on the programs and atmospheres at Emory and UMass Amherst, specifically in the literature departments?

Will be really grateful, thanks! 

P.S. extra gratitude for commenting on Druid Hills/Atlanta and Amherst/Northampton as places to live in! And for inputs on the cafés, bookshops, and libraries in the areas, too!

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by SheCyborg

[Lblack]

On 1/24/2020 at 1:05 AM, Indecisive Poet said:

I have a friend at Notre Dame who has told me fantastic things – very kind and supportive faculty and cohort members, generous stipend, excellent pedagogical and professional resources.

I’ve heard the same thing from my friend! She loves it.

[TiredStressed]

Long-time lurker, first time poster. I'm trying to focus on good things in this period of waiting. Does anyone have any ideas about the climate at OSU? It's my one acceptance so far.

[meghan_sparkle]

Would love to hear anything about the climate at Chicago. 

[Rrandle101]

33 minutes ago, TiredStressed said:

Long-time lurker, first time poster. I'm trying to focus on good things in this period of waiting. Does anyone have any ideas about the climate at OSU? It's my one acceptance so far.

I'm not sure about professors outside of the Medievalists specifically but I've had four professors tell me that the people I want to work with are absolutely fantastic people and that OSU has a reputation for having a friendly climate in general 

[merry night wanderer]

I've heard from numerous folks, as well as on this board, that Maryland is especially (this is the word they usually use) collegiate. I got the impression in my interview that they are very proud of that. Apparently people will even get together to apply to the same fellowship, which is an amazing level of mutual support. 

[NowMoreSerious]

In asking this question, I would make sure you hear out not just people in their first stages of the program, but people at the end of the program. Usually the first several years of the program are the smoothest, since funding is often guaranteed and committee drama hasn't developed yet.  Many programs will roll out the red carpet for you, but it is the programs that will help you finish and professionalize that really show their worth.  And yes, this includes the collegiality of your fellow graduate students as well since they are often a crucial part of this by reading/workshop your drafts,  attending your practice talks, etc. 

Let's say you are a bit behind to due life reasons, is the program going to support you through this, or turn the screws on you? This is crucial information and you need to ask latter stage ABD students how their program handles them. 

I'm ABD at UCLA, and I still feel I am being supported and the program has gone to bat for me when it comes to things like funding.  My committee reaches out to me and tells me about fellowship opportunities, etc. 

I would say this extends to questions about programs in general.  Don't just ask 1st, 2nd and 3rd years how they are doing. Ask 1) People who have been there a while and are behind 2) People who finished really quickly.  

You'll get a some different perspectives, believe me. 

[Glasperlenspieler]

I couldn't agree with @NowMoreSerious more. I would also add, that while I very much appreciate the impetus behind this thread, the sort of answers you want to these questions are not always the sorts of answers people will be willing to post on a public message board (especially at the level of detail needed to be truly informative).

[Rrandle101]

@Glasperlenspieler I totally get that. I mostly made this because I know not all of us will get the opportunity to go on the campus tours and talk to the grad students at their prospective schools in person. I thought that if people wanted more in depth information from anyone who posted on here about their experience at a school that they would just DM them and ask more privately. 

[NowMoreSerious]

I should also mention the Collegiality/Funding paradox that is present in some schools. Some schools try to make up for their lack of funding by promoting and formalizing all kinds of "team building" type practices.  But believe me, nothing kills collegiality like bad and uneven funding.  

In other words, choose adequate funding 100% all day, not cookies or sandwiches in the front office every week, or a retreat once a semester.  You want everybody to be close to each other because they believe in mutual and communal support, not because an entire cohort was forced to live in a two bedroom apartment due to lack of funding. 

Not trying to be snarky, but sorry I've seen it. 

 

Edited February 11, 2020 by NowMoreSerious

[caffeinated applicant]

13 minutes ago, NowMoreSerious said:

I should also mention the Collegiality/Funding paradox that is present in some schools. Some schools try to make up for their lack of funding by promoting and formalizing all kinds of "team building" type practices.  But believe me, nothing kills collegiality like bad and uneven funding.  

In other words, choose adequate funding 100% all day, not cookies or sandwiches in the front office every week, or a retreat once a semester.  You want everybody to be close to each other because they believe in mutual and communal support, not because an entire cohort was forced to live in a two bedroom apartment due to lack of funding. 

Not trying to be snarky, but sorry I've seen it. 

This is giving me flashbacks to my job search in the nonprofit industry lmao 

Sometimes I think I should've sold out and done finance... 

[Regimentations]

Note: I attended Washington University in St. Louis. I now am on the tenure track at an Ivy League institution. One of my friends recently accepted a postdoc at Cornell University; others have accepted postdocs and assistant professorships somewhere else. We've all worked hard to get to where we were but were offered tremendous support to get to where we are. Some people in my cohort decided to stay in St. Louis and decided against entering the job market.

While funding is something everyone wants more of, I think the attention the faculty provides could be matched by very few people. WashU often goes under the radar because they tend not to make noise and because the department is smaller. However, the undergrads are ambitious as are the grad students. Ambition plays itself in a different way though. Because cohorts are small, they also believe in friendship and applying to fellowships together. It would be unsurprising to see cohorts hanging out on multiple times per semester. WashU's undergrads are also notorious for double-majoring. I think those who decide to do the same here at the grad level find themselves to be most likely to enter the job market and do well because of the connections they formed both inside the English department and outside the department.  American Culture, Early Modern Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies are of particular strength at WashU. I'm sure there are some programs I'm missing but I'm not as familiar with them as I have gotten to know some other departments. The departments above (along with the English department) have really done a lot to ensure that people are aware of additional funding opportunities. Through the mentored teaching experience, students are able to explore additional interests through multiple departments. I knew several people explored their interdisciplinary interests through the programs listed above as well as the History, Philosophy, and Political Science departments.

The stipend here does allow for students to have their own apartments/house while living as close to the university as they want without the need for roommates. Writing 101 is also limited to 12 students to ensure you're able to provide students with the proper amount of attention. The nice thing about the stipend is that you're not required to teach during your first two years because they want to ensure that you're able to concentrate on your coursework. This has allowed many to later turn some of those papers into published pieces in later years. The fifth or sixth year is also service-free which allows you to concentrate on your coursework.

Also, the program coordinator is the most organized person I know. She really has everything together and does an amazing job of letting everyone know of jobs and fellowships that might be of interest to you.

[nideaqui]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster! I was wondering if anyone had any insight into the climate at Cornell? Or just general comments on what it’s like to live in Ithaca?

[Indecisive Poet]

8 hours ago, nideaqui said:

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster! I was wondering if anyone had any insight into the climate at Cornell? Or just general comments on what it’s like to live in Ithaca?

Ithaca is so, so cool. I can't tell you anything about the English program there, unfortunately, but a good friend of mine attended the university for undergrad and I've spent some time there. It's an absolutely stunning location nestled away in the country, with loads of hiking, walking, swimming, etc. within reach of campus. But the town itself is also really nice – everything you need re grocery stores, etc., and great restaurants. The culture there is interesting – the town's population seems to be made up half of students and half of older "hippies" who were active in counter-culture circles in the 1960s? Really cool. I think the area is affordable and the buildings you would likely be renting in are old and leafy.

One thing to consider, though, is that you will need a car if you plan on ever leaving Ithaca. The campus and surrounding residential areas are walkable, but if you want to get anywhere else, there isn't much public transport to be had – although perhaps that's self-explanatory. I think this tradeoff generally comes with the rural idyll. (I think there is bus you can take to/from NYC, but it's quite long, as one would expect).

Edit: Oh, and you probably know this, but COLD. The summers are really hot and great for spending time outdoors, but during the winter there are usually feet of snow on the ground at all times, and the campus/town are very, very hilly.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Indecisive Poet

[jm6394]

11 hours ago, Indecisive Poet said:

Ithaca is so, so cool. I can't tell you anything about the English program there, unfortunately, but a good friend of mine attended the university for undergrad and I've spent some time there. It's an absolutely stunning location nestled away in the country, with loads of hiking, walking, swimming, etc. within reach of campus. But the town itself is also really nice – everything you need re grocery stores, etc., and great restaurants. The culture there is interesting – the town's population seems to be made up half of students and half of older "hippies" who were active in counter-culture circles in the 1960s? Really cool. I think the area is affordable and the buildings you would likely be renting in are old and leafy.

One thing to consider, though, is that you will need a car if you plan on ever leaving Ithaca. The campus and surrounding residential areas are walkable, but if you want to get anywhere else, there isn't much public transport to be had – although perhaps that's self-explanatory. I think this tradeoff generally comes with the rural idyll. (I think there is bus you can take to/from NYC, but it's quite long, as one would expect).

Edit: Oh, and you probably know this, but COLD. The summers are really hot and great for spending time outdoors, but during the winter there are usually feet of snow on the ground at all times, and the campus/town are very, very hilly.

@nideaqui

 

I went to Cornell undergrad and will start by saying I absolutely love Ithaca—the scenery, Ithaca Farmer’s Market, Cornell’s Johnson museum. However, it can be super isolating as a grad student in a place like Ithaca, as Cornell can become intense and there are few distractions during the long winters (really, the spring semester is almost entirely winter, and then summer is absolutely beautiful). I know grad students struggle more than undergrads with this, since the social life is very different. Ithaca has steep rent for upstate NY. Happy to answer questions about Ithaca or the english dept in particular if you want to PM me!

Edited February 18, 2020 by jm6394

[nideaqui]

On 2/18/2020 at 3:46 AM, Indecisive Poet said:

Ithaca is so, so cool. I can't tell you anything about the English program there, unfortunately, but a good friend of mine attended the university for undergrad and I've spent some time there. It's an absolutely stunning location nestled away in the country, with loads of hiking, walking, swimming, etc. within reach of campus. But the town itself is also really nice – everything you need re grocery stores, etc., and great restaurants. The culture there is interesting – the town's population seems to be made up half of students and half of older "hippies" who were active in counter-culture circles in the 1960s? Really cool. I think the area is affordable and the buildings you would likely be renting in are old and leafy.

One thing to consider, though, is that you will need a car if you plan on ever leaving Ithaca. The campus and surrounding residential areas are walkable, but if you want to get anywhere else, there isn't much public transport to be had – although perhaps that's self-explanatory. I think this tradeoff generally comes with the rural idyll. (I think there is bus you can take to/from NYC, but it's quite long, as one would expect).

Edit: Oh, and you probably know this, but COLD. The summers are really hot and great for spending time outdoors, but during the winter there are usually feet of snow on the ground at all times, and the campus/town are very, very hilly.

Thank you! I think the plan right now is to drive up from my state, so covered on the car part, thankfully! I've lived in the south for a majority of my life so the winter part is making me a little nervous, we'll see how I fare with little to no appropriate winter clothes lol.

On 2/18/2020 at 2:56 PM, jm6394 said:

@nideaqui

 

I went to Cornell undergrad and will start by saying I absolutely love Ithaca—the scenery, Ithaca Farmer’s Market, Cornell’s Johnson museum. However, it can be super isolating as a grad student in a place like Ithaca, as Cornell can become intense and there are few distractions during the long winters (really, the spring semester is almost entirely winter, and then summer is absolutely beautiful). I know grad students struggle more than undergrads with this, since the social life is very different. Ithaca has steep rent for upstate NY. Happy to answer questions about Ithaca or the english dept in particular if you want to PM me!

Thank you! I'm hoping that the open house will give me at least a head start on trying to establish friendships among the graduate students since that was something I struggled with in my first year of my master's degree, but one or two days can only do so much. 

[caffeinated applicant]

@nideaqui: I'm fairly ill-informed on Cornell, but from what I do know about the campus climate via a Cornell undergraduate acquaintance I met at Oxford, the housing situation is a huge pain in the ass. From their telling, people lock down leases nine or ten months in advance, and it's stupidly expensive considering Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere (i.e., not a major city or adjacent to one). I'd definitely encourage you to ask around about the housing situation while you're there--how folks found their apartments, what kinds of units they're living in, what rent is like, that kind of thing. This is a good idea anywhere IMO, but perhaps especially relevant for Cornell. 

[nideaqui]

On 2/20/2020 at 12:48 PM, caffeinated applicant said:

@nideaqui: I'm fairly ill-informed on Cornell, but from what I do know about the campus climate via a Cornell undergraduate acquaintance I met at Oxford, the housing situation is a huge pain in the ass. From their telling, people lock down leases nine or ten months in advance, and it's stupidly expensive considering Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere (i.e., not a major city or adjacent to one). I'd definitely encourage you to ask around about the housing situation while you're there--how folks found their apartments, what kinds of units they're living in, what rent is like, that kind of thing. This is a good idea anywhere IMO, but perhaps especially relevant for Cornell. 

Yeah, I’m definitely getting that impression from my adventures in internet apartment hunting, so I’m crossing my fingers that people at the open house will be able to give me advice on that front.

[VincentH]

On 2/17/2020 at 12:22 PM, Regimentations said:

Note: I attended Washington University in St. Louis. I now am on the tenure track at an Ivy League institution. One of my friends recently accepted a postdoc at Cornell University; others have accepted postdocs and assistant professorships somewhere else. We've all worked hard to get to where we were but were offered tremendous support to get to where we are. Some people in my cohort decided to stay in St. Louis and decided against entering the job market.

...

Thank you for this insight, @Regimentations ! I've heard these same sentiments about WashU echoed elsewhere from other mentors/folx I trust... This is going to be a tough decision, for sure!

[medievalbotanist]

On 2/22/2020 at 12:07 AM, nideaqui said:

Yeah, I’m definitely getting that impression from my adventures in internet apartment hunting, so I’m crossing my fingers that people at the open house will be able to give me advice on that front.

Hey @nideaqui, I'm a current student at Cornell (not in English, though!). I've found that people's impressions of Ithaca housing market are rooted in where you're moving from. I'm from Silicon Valley so when I first visited Cornell people kept telling me 'oh, the housing prices are INSANE' and I was like 'you can rent a one bedroom apartment in downtown for the same price as a room in a house shared with 8 other people in my hometown' so ymmv. (Not an exaggeration, btw, and that cost is also an actually reasonable percentage of your budget based on what Cornell pays you. And my friends who moved here from NYC or London have similar stories!) For your first year talking to people at the open house is usually the best way to go, but you can find good places on Craigslist/FB Marketplace. Also current grad students are usually more than willing to do viewings/walkthroughs on your behalf.

Slightly related also but take undergrad impressions of grad life with a grain of salt! Most grad students I know at Cornell think exactly the opposite of what I've seen people saying in this thread: we think our undergrads are super isolated and have few social outlets, but I've literally never had a more active social life since starting grad school here. I honestly only know like...one or two people who are genuinely unhappy living in Ithaca, most people I know love it here. (I'm like 90% sure that the undergrads I teach think I'm a miserable shut in, though, haha!) In particular, the English Department Grad Student org has really been revived this year and has reportedly become a bit of a social hub for the department.

Good luck, and congrats! 

[Regimentations]

On 2/22/2020 at 6:00 PM, VincentH said:

Thank you for this insight, @Regimentations ! I've heard these same sentiments about WashU echoed elsewhere from other mentors/folx I trust... This is going to be a tough decision, for sure!

Best of luck on your decision! Please let me know if I can out in answering any questions. (Also, I'm not sure if you visited last weekend, but I heard current graduate students say that they really enjoyed meeting potential cohort members.)

[VincentH]

On 3/4/2020 at 9:10 PM, Regimentations said:

Best of luck on your decision! Please let me know if I can out in answering any questions. (Also, I'm not sure if you visited last weekend, but I heard current graduate students say that they really enjoyed meeting potential cohort members.)

I had such an amazing time during my visit! Everyone I met was so warm and welcoming, and I so enjoyed getting to know the students who attended meals with us, shepherded us to and fro, and let us sit in on their seminars.