CUNY Graduate Center Teaching Load

[Grad Minion]

I just received an Enhanced Chancellor's Fellowship from CUNY Grad Center for my PhD in English. I'm ecstatic but very concerned about the required teaching for years 2 through 4. The offer letter states that I will be teaching two 3 credit courses every semester during those years for a total of 5 hours each week, and this sounds really daunting. At present, I am a TA at my university for just one class each semester, and that in itself is demanding. However, it is possible that the kind of course I currently TA for (literature and not composition) is different from what CUNY expects. I'm also concerned about the time I will lose in traveling to different boroughs to teach these classes. I wonder how large these classes are, how demanding of the teacher, and also if there is a graduate teachers' union. Any information you can provide me with, whether from first-hand experience or something you have heard, is welcome. Thanks very much!

[shepardn7]

I just received an Enhanced Chancellor's Fellowship from CUNY Grad Center for my PhD in English. I'm ecstatic but very concerned about the required teaching for years 2 through 4. The offer letter states that I will be teaching two 3 credit courses every semester during those years for a total of 5 hours each week, and this sounds really daunting. At present, I am a TA at my university for just one class each semester, and that in itself is demanding. However, it is possible that the kind of course I currently TA for (literature and not composition) is different from what CUNY expects. I'm also concerned about the time I will lose in traveling to different boroughs to teach these classes. I wonder how large these classes are, how demanding of the teacher, and also if there is a graduate teachers' union. Any information you can provide me with, whether from first-hand experience or something you have heard, is welcome. Thanks very much!

When you say "teach," do you mean TA? Or head your own course? Teaching two "sections" would be a little less demanding than planning and leading two full courses. Then again, if the latter, you might have more freedom to structure the syllabus and schedule for your own convenience. I think if you've passed your quals by year four, all you really have to worry about is year two--that year will be miserably busy, especially if you have to travel far through NYC to each appointment you have. I wonder why they don't make the teaching more demanding for years 4 and 5 or 3 and 4? Year two will be more difficult because you will still be taking courses (2-3, I'm assuming, and each requiring you to write at least a 15-25 page paper around the same time you receive a mountain of student essays to grade) and/or preparing for your comps. Still, if you really want to attend CUNY more than another school, I'm sure it's doable once you fall into the routine of it. You should definitely email current students in the program about it; they'll know better than anyone.

Edited February 14, 2011 by sarandipidy

[diehtc0ke]

They do mean actually teaching your own course. I went to a CUNY school for undergrad and many of (even upper level) courses were taught by graduate students from the Grad Center and I find that for many that seemed to be a rewarding experience. One woman was teaching courses that directly related to her dissertation work and so being able to bounce ideas off of a willing audience once a week was very useful. Even if you're teaching a survey course, there are ways to gerrymander the curriculum to be tangentially related to your interests (and if you're a medievalist, they're not going to force you to teach American Lit II). On the other hand, it is very demanding and you're going to have to evaluate whether it's worth it. I didn't meet anyone who was in their second year so I can't speak to the rigor of that year in particular but it was running people in their dissertation years ragged because some were teaching three courses while also trying to finish their dissertation. I don't mean to scare you (and those that I've kept in touch with have either finished their dissertations and have gone on to great post docs or are in their final stages so it's definitely doable) but you'll really have to assess whether going to this (rather fine) institution in New York City is worth the hassle that will eventually come up.

I should also speak to that travel component. I'm not sure if you're from NYC or not (I hope that doesn't sound condescending; I don't mean it to) but the vast majority of the CUNY schools are fairly accessible by public transportation and I didn't know anyone who had to go to more than two sites--the Graduate Center and then the campus they're assigned to teach at. The only school I'd really worry about is the College of Staten Island but you get to pick schools that you're interested in so hopefully that will work out for you. If you have any directed questions about how CUNY functions or anything like that, feel free to send a PM. I did get into the Grad Center last year and like I said I went to a CUNY school for undergrad so I have at least a tenuous grasp on the bureaucracy that is the city public university system.