Trinity College's MPhil in Irish Writing

[Atlas313]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here so apologies if I'm breaking any (un)spoken posting rules...

I've just applied this year to Trinity's MPhil in Irish Writing, and I'm wondering if anyone has intel or thoughts on the program?

My long-term goal is to do some kind of MPhil or MA and then head on into the whole PhD thing (unique, I know), but I'm still unsure whether I'll have a good shot. Is the Trinity MPhil well-regarded? Assuming I'm not an idiot and actually do well, would it give me a good chance at respectable PhD programs? I ask mainly because the Trinity program is one year and seems somewhat less rigorous, from the outside, than comparable MAs in the US. 

I also have a few other general questions, though I'm not sure how appropriate they are for this forum. (I imagine tons of people post this kind of thing and that the general answer is "who cares" or "we don't know"...) All the same:

I want to do a PhD focusing on Beckett and Kierkegaard, but I'm not sure how viable this is? I'd try to do a dissertation on the sublime, absurd, faith, nonsense, etc. in their writing. I did philosophy in undergrad and literally never took an English class. I'm very close with my phi professors, but have never even spoken to an English prof. So, I'm sure it's obvious, I'm in the dark here. 

I did well in undergrad -- graduated in three years, 3.9 GPA with honors' summa, awards, and also played D.1 basketball for a spell -- but I don't know how this looks to an English adcom considering I, again, took 0 English classes.

Beyond this, I did Peace Corps and have spent the last five years living abroad. So I can speak a couple languages, two fluently and one poorly, but I'm unsure whether any of this matters to competitive PhD programs.

I've also had some stuff published in lit mags, though nothing terribly prestigious... 

How "valuable" are these things? I imagine not very, and assume that the writing sample is the big thing. But, again, I have no idea.

Any thoughts on any aspects of this would be much appreciated. 

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Atlas313

[Byssche]

On 3/28/2020 at 8:55 PM, Atlas313 said:

Hi everyone,

I'm new here so apologies if I'm breaking any (un)spoken posting rules...

I've just applied this year to Trinity's MPhil in Irish Writing, and I'm wondering if anyone has intel or thoughts on the program?

My long-term goal is to do some kind of MPhil or MA and then head on into the whole PhD thing (unique, I know), but I'm still unsure whether I'll have a good shot. Is the Trinity MPhil well-regarded? Assuming I'm not an idiot and actually do well, would it give me a good chance at respectable PhD programs? I ask mainly because the Trinity program is one year and seems somewhat less rigorous, from the outside, than comparable MAs in the US. 

I also have a few other general questions, though I'm not sure how appropriate they are for this forum. (I imagine tons of people post this kind of thing and that the general answer is "who cares" or "we don't know"...) All the same:

I want to do a PhD focusing on Beckett and Kierkegaard, but I'm not sure how viable this is? I'd try to do a dissertation on the sublime, absurd, faith, nonsense, etc. in their writing. I did philosophy in undergrad and literally never took an English class. I'm very close with my phi professors, but have never even spoken to an English prof. So, I'm sure it's obvious, I'm in the dark here. 

I did well in undergrad -- graduated in three years, 3.9 GPA with honors' summa, awards, and also played D.1 basketball for a spell -- but I don't know how this looks to an English adcom considering I, again, took 0 English classes.

Beyond this, I did Peace Corps and have spent the last five years living abroad. So I can speak a couple languages, two fluently and one poorly, but I'm unsure whether any of this matters to competitive PhD programs.

I've also had some stuff published in lit mags, though nothing terribly prestigious... 

How "valuable" are these things? I imagine not very, and assume that the writing sample is the big thing. But, again, I have no idea.

Any thoughts on any aspects of this would be much appreciated. 

 

TCD’s English program is very good and an MPhil In English there would certainly fill in the gap of English classes. I know somebody who went there and is in a top 20 program. Philosophy to English is not a crazy jump and experience in programs like the peace corps, as well as numerous languages, and small publications, stand out. If you can come up with a solid writing sample and a personal statement that ties your experiences together and paints your qualifications, you will be a competitive applicant.

[Atlas313]

15 hours ago, Byssche said:

TCD’s English program is very good and an MPhil In English there would certainly fill in the gap of English classes. I know somebody who went there and is in a top 20 program. Philosophy to English is not a crazy jump and experience in programs like the peace corps, as well as numerous languages, and small publications, stand out. If you can come up with a solid writing sample and a personal statement that ties your experiences together and paints your qualifications, you will be a competitive applicant.

Thanks so much for your feedback! Very helpful