French PhD/MA - 2022

[sportengels]

Hi all,

I may be a bit early, but I wanted to open a thread for anyone interested in applying for French PhDs/MAs for 2022. Knowing that graduate admissions last year were fairly brutal (though previous threads seem to offer a glimmer of hope!), I anticipate that many potential applicants will try their luck this go-around. 

I'm still deciding on a list of schools, but my research interests lie primarily on the 20th century novel, urban studies, postcolonial studies, and histories of emotion in contemporary French political life. Admittedly, this will be my first serious foray into the graduate admissions cycle, and so I'm anxious to hear from those who may find themselves on the same boat.

One question: there seems to be an understanding (though perhaps I'm mistaken) that unfunded French MAs are, on the whole, poor investments of time and money that offer minimal advantages when applying to PhD programs. Does anyone have any experience doing a French (or other humanities) unfunded MA and can speak to this ? They seem to be increasingly common ways of enriching cash-starved departments (UChicago's MAPH being an example), but I'm also anxious about the prospect of applying to a PhD program without previous graduate experience. Curious as to what others have to say!

Wishing everyone all the best

[frenchphd]

You do not need previous graduate experience. Three-four years of graduate coursework (MA + MA in the PhD program) is EXHAUSTING and completely unnecessary for writing a dissertation—this is something to think about. If you must, look at funded MA programs in French. You'll also gain teaching experience, which will be good if you are ever on the job market, and it will give you insight into whether you want to teach French as a career, whether at the college (if you're lucky) or high school level (contrary to popular belief, it isn't easy to switch to other kinds of jobs, so lots of people end up teaching high school).

Just go directly if you can. I went directly, and so did lots of people I know. People with MA's aren't really "better." They have more experience, but you tend to catch up quickly. If a PhD program admits you, they believe you can do the work. Trust the judgment of these professors—they have admitted and supervised countless students.

[sportengels]

Thanks for this - that was my impression, too, but I suppose it's good to have those impressions confirmed. I've been fortunate enough to have some teaching experience in my current position (I assistant direct a Writing Center), and so I feel not totally unprepared in that respect. I'll continue looking at PhDs and go from there. 

[MonsieurHonoré]

@sportengels Hey there! French PhD here who hasn't been on this site in a long time. Wanted to check to see how everyone was faring now that applications and programs were opening up again after COVID. Late to this party, but I thought I'd offer my perspective in case you're interested. 

I went through this process twice, once in 2017 (ended up choosing a wonderful PhD program that allowed students to finish with a terminal MA if they chose to leave after the 1st prelim) and again in 2019 before all hell broke loose (I'm now at an Ivy and I love it here). So, I basically "PhD program hopped" and many programs allow you to do this. There are people here that came straight from undergrad, which was the case for me in the first PhD program I was in and left with the MA. If you have a clear idea about what your research interests are and can make a good argument about why the school is a good fit for you (mention a professor or two and specific resources), then that's fantastic. The coming straight from undergrad business has no bearing. 

My advice : DO NOT choose an unfunded MA program. I know someone who did and they doubled the student loans that they had out. 

Your teaching experience that you have will help, make sure to mention that in your application essays. 

Best of luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! 

[sportengels]

@MonsieurHonoréthanks so much for this information! I will definitely take your advice about the unfunded masters programs, as I'm now looking only at PhD and one or two funded MA programs. I've spent more-or-less every day doing some kind of work to prepare and refine my application materials, so I'm hopeful that this will be a successful year (and if not, no big deal). 

One question I do have regards the interview process. I know that many programs will invite potential candidates for an interview if they feel that they might be viable. I'm curious, since you've gone through this process twice, what those interviews might be like and to what extent that gave you a clearer sense of if the program may be a good fit. I'm sure that this varies greatly, but any insight would be helpful.

Thanks again! 

[MonsieurHonoré]

@sportengels Of course! More than happy to help others demystify this process - I have indeed done several interviews.

When I went through the process a second time, I actually went to the person that did my original interview for my first PhD program (the one I left with the MA) to ask them what they were looking for during the interview. Most of the interviews that I did were in half French, half English - they all started with French. Different schools obviously look for different things, but one of the main points is to obviously check your French to see if your spoken matches the level of your writing sample and if you'd be able to teach in French (most TAs teach in the language), but I'd say a close second is to see what your general 'vibe' is. Be charming and jovial and enthusiastic - this is supposed to be your passion after all :) Many people find the interview process daunting, but I actually had a really wonderful conversation with the interviewers of the school that I'm in now. 

Be able to justify why you want to go to the school that you want to go to and do your homework on the school to say how their resources will aid you in your research  (some of these points apply to the application essay as well). Not only do the universities want to make sure that you will be able to thrive in their program and have someone to work with but I also think that they want to see that their values and views on academic scholarship align with yours. I personally think that my current school accepted me in part because I value creativity above all else in my research (niche topics, whacky analyses, etc.). 

Some schools really care about teaching experience and I advise everyone to go to an interview prepared to say what their teaching experience is (whether that's tutoring or teaching classes, or just enthusiasm because you've had a certain experience - DO have an answer). Be prepared to give an explanation if you had a career change, major change, switched disciplines at some point and just in case, if you had an episode where your grades were less than stellar. I definitely had one such episode in undergrad in a different discipline, but it didn't affect me at all and I wasn't asked about it. Put a positive spin on things if you did have a difficult time with something - there's a huge difference in saying "I had a difficult time and came out of it" vs. "even though I had a difficult time, I learned x, y and z and it influenced my research in a certain way" .... I've always said that these programs aren't just looking for what you have done, but what you can make from the precious resources that are given to you. 

"Why do you want to go here?" was always a question ... I'll think of others and send another post. 

Only one time did I get a strange question that took me off guard, but I handled it well à l'improviste : "Where does our program stack up against the other programs you applied to?" ... I honestly think that the interviewers just wanted to hear their school get talked up, which is exactly what I did LOL. 

Some programs accept without an interview - based on my own experience, I know for a fact that UConn in 2017/18 didn't do any interview with my acceptance and Cornell didn't do an interview during the 2019/2020 cycle. 

Also, ask them questions when they ask you what your questions are at the end - I remember asking "what classes will be offered next semester?" and I'll think of others I asked as I remember a bit more. 

[sportengels]

@MonsieurHonoréThank you so much! This is definitely demystifies some aspects of the process that were less clear before. I appreciate that it seems to be a somewhat engaging, sensible opportunity to talk about why you want to do the PhD at that particular institution, which is a question that I don't think some folks (myself included) spend enough time considering in detail. Also lol at the idea of checking where your program "stacks up" - bold move on their part to ask someone that in an interview (what are you going to say, "this is my back-up program?").

I'll definitely keep some of these questions in mind as I continue to submit applications. 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by sportengels

[hoelandbarthes]

Hi!

So, this is a little random, but just in case anyone who has experience with Oxford's MML DPhil sees this...

I completed the MPhil in ELAC at Cambridge and weirdly enough it was taught in English with only the relevant quotations in French. Even my thesis supervisor meetings were like this.

I was wondering if anyone could speak to their experience at Oxford, their interactions with their thesis supervisor, and if they had a similar experience as I did at Cambridge?  

Kind of curious about the differences in the approach to teaching, as coming from an undergraduate institution where everything in the French department was taught in French, it kind of threw me through a loop. (Though, if the point is research and not to teach you the language, I guess it kind of makes sense?)

[MonsieurHonoré]

@hoelandbarthes Love the name btw ... I check periodically on here to see what's been going on, so I'm a bit late here ... I did not go to Cambridge for my MA - did mine here in the US and it was a heavily French speaking program - however, the fact that some programs used French in their departments much more than others was a major factor in my decision the second time I applied to PhD programs (left the first with a terminal MA). When I was visiting schools after being accepted and even before, I found that programs varied widely on this (I'm assuming that this is what you're asking). 

Many programs, regardless of this difference will have wonderful opportunities to get you some type of job somewhere, however, practically speaking, at least here in the US, your job interviews are very, very likely going to be in half French, half English ... and on another level, I just felt like a piece of my identity would be lost had I chose a program where French wasn't spoken regularly. Nothing wrong with those programs, I just knew that it wouldn't be right for me. It would have bothered me, I would have felt anxious (I feel very anxious when I'm not speaking the language, especially if I'm asked to do it after a long period of time of being lax about it. I didn't want that). 

Are you applying this year to another school ? 

Cheers!

[sportengels]

Just circling back here to see if anyone has heard from Penn or NYU's French Literature PhD programs, or if interviews are still being sent out.
Had my first interview this morning with a few faculty from Harvard's Romance Studies department. I think it went fine - tough to get a sense of these things over Zoom, which tends to heighten my stress levels for these kinds of high-stakes conversations. They said they would reach out in a few weeks with final admissions decisions, in case that's useful to anyone. 

Hopeful for good news for everyone soon. 

[flowersandcoffee]

Hi! An oddly specific question - any Australians on here, who applied to Harvard and received an email this morning about the Robert Gordon Menzies Scholarships?? 

[sportengels]

(assuming this thread is vacant at this point) 

Had a totally mediocre, borderline awful interview at Columbia this morning, one in which I seemed like an inconvenience rather than a candidate. Bummer! Hope the process is going well for other folks. Good luck et bon courage ! 

[Eponine]

On 2/15/2022 at 9:17 PM, sportengels said:

(assuming this thread is vacant at this point) 

Had a totally mediocre, borderline awful interview at Columbia this morning, one in which I seemed like an inconvenience rather than a candidate. Bummer! Hope the process is going well for other folks. Good luck et bon courage ! 

I just sent you a dm!! Feel free to contact me I'd love to talk about this.

[frenchphd]

Feel free to dm me if anyone here wants to talk about programs, cultures, finances, and/or the question of "where should I go?"

[ThousandsHardships]

Hey guys! I'm popping back after years of inactivity after a Google search led me here. My current program is with Indiana University, though I've had other grad school experiences before that, so feel free to message me questions!