CUNY PhD in English

[allaboutmedieval]

Hi, new to the forums, so thanks for any feedback you can provide. I was accepted off the wait list for CUNY's PhD in English for Fall 2011 yesterday. I have until Friday to make a decision, according to the email. However, I'm not getting full funding (ECF) and have only been offered "first-year teaching internship at a CUNY college for any student who does not receive an ECF. Students who teach at a CUNY college receive a salary as well as a fellowship that covers in-state tuition."

I wrote back questioning whether the adjunct job (and tuition waiver) was for the duration of my PhD. She said "We will arrange a first-year teaching internship for the first year--and then after that you're on your own. Some people keep teaching at the school they are initially placed at, and others go elsewhere. We do not guarantee ongoing adjunct employment after the first year--but we do place you for the first year, and that does carry an IN-STATE tuition waiver."

Always encouraging to hear someone asking you to pay for your PhD say 'you're on your own.'

I'm worried about the mercenary nature of this. CUNY accepts a large class and put them all to work in non-guranteed positions, making them dependent not on any kind of living wage but the in-state tuition waiver which makes their studies possible (mind you, if you are moving to NY to start the program, you have to pay the difference between in-state and out of state for the first year until your residency takes).

I know the CUNY English Phd is ranked very well so I imagine I'm misunderstanding the crux of this somehow. None of this seems to be the norm, however, at least compared to the seven other schools I applied to (seven rejections). As this is my only acceptance, and after a dispiriting few months of rejections (some from worse-ranked schools), it's hard to fathom that I'd turn down an offer an admission with no guarantee for better luck when re-applying next year. However, it's also hard to fathom scrambling during my second or third year for possibly non-existent or unattractive adjunct positions all over the bureaucracy of CUNY. My professors at both undergrad and grad (I'm finishing my MA at American U.) cautioned against paying for a PhD anywhere that would ask you to, particularly when earning a pittance.

And naturally I have two days to decide. I've perused the forums a bit and found some bits of info about CUNY's adjunct process but found nothing too helpful or encouraging. Any advice, ideas, thoughts, stories from CUNY, ANYTHING, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Edited April 13, 2011 by akrizel

[renster]

First of all, congratulations at getting in!

I understand your disappointment about the lack of funding, but given your belief that you may not have a better shot next year, you should consider the offer if this is what you really want to do (i.e., nothing else would make you happy). It may work out if you are willing to kiss some butt and really work hard to stand out in your internship placement. However, it does sound like the continuance of your teaching internship is almost completely dependent on your ability to impress the college you are placed with, which is dicey because there are so many variables involved, many of which you will have no control over - such as the personality of your boss, location of the school you will have to teach at (NYC is huge - this could really be an issue if your program is in midtown and you are placed in an outer borough, for example), NYC / NYS budget concerns, and the quality of the students. Also, I would ask about how the teaching placement works - i.e., very specific details as to what you need to do to satisfy the institutions. You also may consider how well you work with various populations of students, and how happy you would be if you got stuck at a college with difficult students.

Can you accept at this school and initiate a transfer application during your first year in case you do not get funding for the second year?

Finally, you should consider the costs of living in New York City - surf craigs list to get an approximation of rents, etc. It can be pretty expensive if they aren't offering you student housing.

Tough decision - good luck!

Hi, new to the forums, so thanks for any feedback you can provide. I was accepted off the wait list for CUNY's PhD in English for Fall 2011 yesterday. I have until Friday to make a decision, according to the email. However, I'm not getting full funding (ECF) and have only been offered "first-year teaching internship at a CUNY college for any student who does not receive an ECF. Students who teach at a CUNY college receive a salary as well as a fellowship that covers in-state tuition."

I wrote back questioning whether the adjunct job (and tuition waiver) was for the duration of my PhD. She said "We will arrange a first-year teaching internship for the first year--and then after that you're on your own. Some people keep teaching at the school they are initially placed at, and others go elsewhere. We do not guarantee ongoing adjunct employment after the first year--but we do place you for the first year, and that does carry an IN-STATE tuition waiver."

Always encouraging to hear someone asking you to pay for your PhD say 'you're on your own.'

I'm worried about the mercenary nature of this. CUNY accepts a large class and put them all to work in non-guranteed positions, making them dependent not on any kind of living wage but the in-state tuition waiver which makes their studies possible (mind you, if you are moving to NY to start the program, you have to pay the difference between in-state and out of state for the first year until your residency takes).

I know the CUNY English Phd is ranked very well so I imagine I'm misunderstanding the crux of this somehow. None of this seems to be the norm, however, at least compared to the seven other schools I applied to (seven rejections). As this is my only acceptance, and after a dispiriting few months of rejections (some from worse-ranked schools), it's hard to fathom that I'd turn down an offer an admission with no guarantee for better luck when re-applying next year. However, it's also hard to fathom scrambling during my second or third year for possibly non-existent or unattractive adjunct positions all over the bureaucracy of CUNY. My professors at both undergrad and grad (I'm finishing my MA at American U.) cautioned against paying for a PhD anywhere that would ask you to, particularly when earning a pittance.

And naturally I have two days to decide. I've perused the forums a bit and found some bits of info about CUNY's adjunct process but found nothing too helpful or encouraging. Any advice, ideas, thoughts, stories from CUNY, ANYTHING, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[lyonessrampant]

You might want to also post this in the lit forum where you may get some more responses from other CUNY folks. I wouldn't gamble on the CUNY system, personally. They have some great profs, which I think is why they are ranked highly, but I've heard that a lot of their Ph.D. candidates take quite a bit longer (7 or more years) to finish because they are teaching 2 classes, sometimes at different schools (so factor in commute), each semester. I think it generally takes 3 years to get through the coursework alone, opposed to two years at most other programs. That said, if it were my only option, I can't say I wouldn't go. How much do you have to pay for the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition? What would your stipend be for teaching? I do know that it is really common for everyone to get teaching appointments in years 2 and on, but I think a loth of people work other part-time jobs to make ends meet. If you accept, I think you're looking at being pretty well abused while getting your Ph.D., but you'll get your Ph.D., have LOTS of teaching experience, and leave pretty savvy about getting teaching appointments, not to mention have contacts with a ton of respected people in the field. If you decline, you can work on strengthening your application and trying again next year. Maybe apply more widely as well. I applied to 14 schools, some ranked in the 60s by USNWR (if you care about that sort of thing) to be safe this time around. Maybe that would be a better option for you as well? If you got waitlisted at CUNY this year, maybe taking a year and strengthening your application will get you in with the ECF to CUNY next go around or to other schools with better funding packages. This is a tough decision! Best of luck!

[allaboutmedieval]

Thanks for your responses. I'd imagine I wouldn't take long to finish coursework if they accept 24 credits of my MA. 36 credits are 9 classes there. Who knows, though. I guess you can't assume anything.

I'll post this to the lit forum to get some CUNY experiences and ask about percentages of students who don't get the tuition waiver and adjunct jobs in years 2 and beyond. Thanks again.