Moving from UK to US to study for PhD

[Daniel_UK]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading these boards for a while now but have only just registered. I have a few questions about the US system for PhD applications and would quite like some opinions as well.

I am on a Masters/MA course at the moment - it's part taught, part research - half my marks come from the essays I write from taught units and the other half come from the dissertation (15,000 words) I write between April and September. I graduated with a BA in 2009, and (if the grade converters I have looked at are anything to go by) my mark is somewhere on the cusp of A-/A in US terms. Currently I am on for what I guess would be a "good" A in my MA program (although really the defining thing will be the dissertation). I want to wait to apply until I have finished my MA (and therefore for autumn 2012 application) because I think it will be a stronger application with the MA.

I know there is a language requirement for a lot of US PhDs; I studied French and Latin at High School but have not done so since, although I will be taking up Latin (again) and Spanish this month. I am keen to get good at these languages fast and hope that I will be at a reasonable level by next Fall when I apply.

Both my degrees are from top 10 (UK) Universities, and my interests are predominantly mid-late Nineteenth and pre-war Twentieth Century literature (particularly British and American).

I really want to live East Coast (a 5/6 hour flight home just seems so much more comfortable for me than 9/10 hours), but I have no idea how to go about selecting which schools to apply to. I know that a lot of PhD courses offer fee waivers / provide stipends if students take on teaching assignments; this is obviously something I am very keen to do, and it's one of the big advantages I see in coming to the US - that you get more direct contact with other people! I love research, BUT I also like talking about my ideas! There is not nearly as much opportunity in the UK, I believe.

I am certainly not aiming for the very top US schools - I was hoping to applying for something in perhaps the 25 - 75 range.

If anyone has any ideas they can offer me I would be hugely grateful!

Daniel.

[Medievalmaniac]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading these boards for a while now but have only just registered. I have a few questions about the US system for PhD applications and would quite like some opinions as well.

I am on a Masters/MA course at the moment - it's part taught, part research - half my marks come from the essays I write from taught units and the other half come from the dissertation (15,000 words) I write between April and September. I graduated with a BA in 2009, and (if the grade converters I have looked at are anything to go by) my mark is somewhere on the cusp of A-/A in US terms. Currently I am on for what I guess would be a "good" A in my MA program (although really the defining thing will be the dissertation). I want to wait to apply until I have finished my MA (and therefore for autumn 2012 application) because I think it will be a stronger application with the MA.

I know there is a language requirement for a lot of US PhDs; I studied French and Latin at High School but have not done so since, although I will be taking up Latin (again) and Spanish this month. I am keen to get good at these languages fast and hope that I will be at a reasonable level by next Fall when I apply.

Both my degrees are from top 10 (UK) Universities, and my interests are predominantly mid-late Nineteenth and pre-war Twentieth Century literature (particularly British and American).

I really want to live East Coast (a 5/6 hour flight home just seems so much more comfortable for me than 9/10 hours), but I have no idea how to go about selecting which schools to apply to. I know that a lot of PhD courses offer fee waivers / provide stipends if students take on teaching assignments; this is obviously something I am very keen to do, and it's one of the big advantages I see in coming to the US - that you get more direct contact with other people! I love research, BUT I also like talking about my ideas! There is not nearly as much opportunity in the UK, I believe.

I am certainly not aiming for the very top US schools - I was hoping to applying for something in perhaps the 25 - 75 range.

If anyone has any ideas they can offer me I would be hugely grateful!

Daniel.

I recommend firstly that rather than picking up Spanish or continuing with Latin, you go to German, or stay with French, for the areas of study you have chosen (19th/20th century Prewar American and English). German, or French, is going to serve you much better for this, and will probably be the recommendation made to you by your director of graduate studies if and when you enroll in an American University.

After that, you're looking for doctoral programs that are strong in Victorian Literature, Modern British Literature, Modern American Literature, and Twentieth Century Cultural Studies(those are terms that are often employed for those areas of study). That will get you started. I don't have time right this second to go into a rundown of possible programs; there are dozens, on the East Coast, for those specialties, at every tier.

Good luck!

[woolfie]

The best way to research a program is to read faculty bios and the faculty's work. That's a good starting place if you haven't done so already. I know nothing about twentieth century literature so I can't help you there.

One thing to keep in mind is cost of living. While most good programs will offer stipends and tuition waivers, the cost of living is going to really determine how much money you make. The East coast is much more expensive than the Midwest or the South and would probably add only a few hours to your trip. I would encourage you to keep an open mind about these areas- there are a lot of great schools in the Midwest from all tiers, Ohio State, Indiana University (great for Victorian lit), Wisconsion-Madison, U of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon just to name a few off the top of my head. And all those places are very affordable.

Edited January 5, 2011 by woolfie

[wreckofthehope]

Hi Daniel,

I'm a U.K. student applying this year so hopefully can be of some help. I found the sheer number of American universities overwhelming at first, especially since I had almost no clue about their general characteristics or reputation etc... it took many, many hours of trawling through university websites, wikipedia - (search "list of colleges and universities in the United States by state"...very helpful!), multiple rankings and this forum before I felt that I had even the slightest grasp of the shape of higher education in the U.S. - this process is definitely worth it, though, there is so much on offer outside of the few big-name universities that dominate the public consciousness back in the U.K. I'm still discovering new colleges and programmes every day that interest me, even after I've turned in all my applications.

I understand your desire to stick a little closer to home, but make sure that you're not excluding places that would be perfect for you just because of this... remember that being in a small college town on the east coast, you're probably a few hours away from an international airport - a large city further west could have just as short a total travel time to the U.K. Also, be sure to look outside of New England: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina etc are all East Coast and still within a reasonable flight time from the U.K.

A word of warning about your projected timescale -

You may have finished all your MA requirements by the time application deadlines arrive (early December 2011), but it's likely that you may not have your final marks back, nor your dissertation mark, so while the dissertation is obviously a huge part of your MA degree it's not necessarily going to factor in as heavily to any admissions decisions...it's a good idea to make sure your coursework is top notch because those are the marks they'll definitely see. It also may be worthwhile checking exactly when you'll receive your final marks - because you can plan your applications around that - I probably sent in a few applications a little earlier than I needed to which meant that they didn't get to see my final marks... I wish I'd planned that out a little better.

About GPA and U.K. grades:

I'm guessing you have a high 2:1 and are on track for a Distinction? - If so, your grades are fine, I haven't needed to convert mine for any of the applications I've done - most universities just told me to leave the GPA section of the application form blank, or to put a zero - they will probably do their own conversion from your transcripts.

I would echo Medievalmaniac's advice about languages - quite a few schools I've come across specify that one of your languages be either French or German; so, it's probably worth investing the time in French, since you already have some experience in that area.

A few schools that I can think of of the top of my head that possibly fit your (very broadly stated) interests: Brown , Boston University, maybe Temple, Virginia, perhaps Yale and Princeton? If you could be more specific about what you want to work on we could probably be a bit more helpful with suggestions? But there's no real substitute for the hard slog of reading through all the faculty bios and course listings on as many departmental websites as you cram into the next 7-8 months!

Feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything.

Hi everyone,

I've been reading these boards for a while now but have only just registered. I have a few questions about the US system for PhD applications and would quite like some opinions as well.

I am on a Masters/MA course at the moment - it's part taught, part research - half my marks come from the essays I write from taught units and the other half come from the dissertation (15,000 words) I write between April and September. I graduated with a BA in 2009, and (if the grade converters I have looked at are anything to go by) my mark is somewhere on the cusp of A-/A in US terms. Currently I am on for what I guess would be a "good" A in my MA program (although really the defining thing will be the dissertation). I want to wait to apply until I have finished my MA (and therefore for autumn 2012 application) because I think it will be a stronger application with the MA.

I know there is a language requirement for a lot of US PhDs; I studied French and Latin at High School but have not done so since, although I will be taking up Latin (again) and Spanish this month. I am keen to get good at these languages fast and hope that I will be at a reasonable level by next Fall when I apply.

Both my degrees are from top 10 (UK) Universities, and my interests are predominantly mid-late Nineteenth and pre-war Twentieth Century literature (particularly British and American).

I really want to live East Coast (a 5/6 hour flight home just seems so much more comfortable for me than 9/10 hours), but I have no idea how to go about selecting which schools to apply to. I know that a lot of PhD courses offer fee waivers / provide stipends if students take on teaching assignments; this is obviously something I am very keen to do, and it's one of the big advantages I see in coming to the US - that you get more direct contact with other people! I love research, BUT I also like talking about my ideas! There is not nearly as much opportunity in the UK, I believe.

I am certainly not aiming for the very top US schools - I was hoping to applying for something in perhaps the 25 - 75 range.

If anyone has any ideas they can offer me I would be hugely grateful!

Daniel.