Funded English MA programs

[perrykm2]

Blerg. My MA offer is from such a school. Anyone else heard this? I considered it a plus, in that faculty are able to direct all of their attention toward MAs, all professional/job development goes toward MAs, etc., without those PhDs to hog the resources.

I would ask them for the exit statistics into PhD programs, and that should probably tell you all you need to know. Don't worry about what I said; it's something I've HEARD on a few occasions, but I've gotten advice from so many different people that it can't all possibly be true.

[asleepawake]

It's interesting to see that others have been told the complete opposite of what I have heard, though I guess it makes sense, since different adcoms are looking for different things and have their own logic. I guess it really depends on how you feel about the program, its commitment to students, and whether or not you will be funded.

[Sparrowing]

I'd like to apply to "Top 50" programs with funding for MA students.

Any suggestions? I'm also open to schools in Canada.

Canadian schools whose English departments rank in the global top 50 include the University of Toronto (#7), McGill (#12) and UBC (#13). The University of Alberta is also a great school overall, and although its English department doesn't rank among the top 50, I know people who absolutely love it there. (Edmonton has nasty weather, though.)

U of T is the only Canadian school I've heard of that does not fund its MA students. Still, American students head there in decent numbers, because all the best Canadian schools are public and relatively affordable. Also, in Canada an MA is a basic prerequisite for a PhD, and US adcoms are aware of this cultural difference.

As a sidenote, I find it strange that when people research rankings by department or field, they often only look at US-published reports that omit international schools.

*typical Canadian protesting US-centricity*

*typical Canadian who thinks education should be publicly funded*

Edited April 21, 2012 by Sparrowing

[Leopold Bloom]

This has been a very helpful thread so far. I want to add that you may consider getting a Master's degree in Europe. Many universities offer a 1 year degree and if the school is prestigious enough (ex. Trinity University, Dublin), then you can easily jump into a top 20 PhD program in the US. Not to mention some of these degrees are already cheap to begin with. So it is a less expensive degree and you are only doing it for one year so you save again. You are also getting a unique experience in another country!

[nhswrestle]

Canadian schools whose English departments rank in the global top 50 include the University of Toronto (#7), McGill (#12) and UBC (#13). The University of Alberta is also a great school overall, and although its English department doesn't rank among the top 50, I know people who absolutely love it there. (Edmonton has nasty weather, though.)

U of T is the only Canadian school I've heard of that does not fund its MA students. Still, American students head there in decent numbers, because all the best Canadian schools are public and relatively affordable. Also, in Canada an MA is a basic prerequisite for a PhD, and US adcoms are aware of this cultural difference.

As a sidenote, I find it strange that when people research rankings by department or field, they often only look at US-published reports that omit international schools.

*typical Canadian protesting US-centricity*

*typical Canadian who thinks education should be publicly funded*

Where did you find a rankings database that includes schools outside the U.S.?

[Leopold Bloom]

-nhswrestle

Here is the list referenced: http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-english-language-and-literature

It is the most up-to-date English school ranking list. But keep in mind that this is not grad programs but programs in general.

[alistair0505]

I have done the math. Even you study at Stanford for a fully funded PhD, you still need to pay if you are an international student

[nhswrestle]

-nhswrestle

Here is the list referenced: http://www.usnews.co...-and-literature

It is the most up-to-date English school ranking list. But keep in mind that this is not grad programs but programs in general.

Thanks!

[Gwendolyn]

Just wanted to add The University of Alabama to the list which now stands as:

 

Arizona State University
Auburn University
Boston College
Bowling Green State University
Depaul University--Chicago
Georgetown
Kent State University
Lehigh University
Louisiana State University
Marquette University
Miami University of Ohio
Michigan State University
Minnesota State
Ohio University--Athens
Penn State - feeder to PhD
Purdue University
Texas A&M

University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa
University of Alberta (Canada)
University of Delaware
University of Colorado--Boulder
University of Connecticut
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Illinois--Urbana Champaign
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky
University of Maine
University of Massachussetts--Boston
University of Minnesota--Duluth
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska
University of New Mexico
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
University of South Carolina
University of Tennessee
University of Vermont
University of Washington
University of Western Ontario (Canada)
University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee
Villanova University
Wake Forest University
Washington State

[cicada123]

I've never heard this before, and this also hasn't been my experience by any means. I got my MA from a program that also offers a PhD, and the majority of the professors I had were very much involved and interested in working with MA students, particularly those of us who were working on theses and interested in moving onto PhD programs, whether in the same program or not (I can't think of one that wasn't, in fact).

I'm very glad I went to this particular program for my MA, as I think getting to work with the professors I worked with was a valuable experience that really helped me along in many ways. At the same time, I didn't want to stay there for my PhD, and the professors I worked with were totally understanding and were still very much willing to work with me, despite the fact that I wouldn't be around after the second year. While the school I got my MA from isn't a top 20, it is a respected program with some top-notch professors. I got into several of my top-choice PhD programs (many of which are more well thought of than the program I got an MA from), so I think to advise people to avoid getting an MA from a program that offers a PhD is misguided at the very least.

Yeah, agreed. I am graduating from a terminal MA this year at a school with a top PhD program, and so far, I'm getting a lot of positive results from this application round. I have no doubt that being in the MA is what made the difference. Use the MA for all it's worth, and don't listen to what people are saying out there about "second-class citizens." I went through that a couple years ago, and it really doesn't hold up to the test. Try to go to an MA program from a really good school if the opportunity presents itself, though, even if it isn't funded -- I took out loans, but since I'll now be fully funded for six years, my anxieties about that have very much decreased.

Edited January 31, 2013 by cicada123

[nhswrestle]

Kansas State University

[thestage]

 I took out loans, but since I'll now be fully funded for six years, my anxieties about that have very much decreased.

 

why would that decrease the loan anxiety?  it's not like a cent of your PhD stipend will or even could be spent on repaying the MA debt.

Edited February 1, 2013 by thestage

[1Q84]

why would that decrease the loan anxiety?  it's not like a cent of your PhD stipend will or even could be spent on repaying the MA debt.

 

I'm guessing because she or he meant that now there won't be 6 more years of debt to pile on top.

[Inez90]

Other funded MA English programs I didn't see on the list: Oklahoma State University, University of South Dakota

[squire_western]

I can't believe nobody has said it yet, but as a general rule, do not get an MA from a university that offers a PhD unless you are planning to also get your PhD there.An MA from one of these schools is like writing "Do Not Have What it Takes to Complete PHD" on your CV. Many of them hand MAs to the students in their PhD programs who are unable to complete their exams and/or workload as a sort of consolation prize. Also, at a research I or top 50 school, you may not receive the attention and feedback from professors that you need to grow as a scholar, especially if there are PhD students there as well.

 

The usual drivel from asleepawake. While it may be helpful vis-à-vis funding to study for an MA at a school with no PhD, it is almost always more advisable to study at a school with a PhD otherwise. My experience has been that talented, hard-working MA students receive equal attention to doctoral students and that MA programs that also offer PhDs offer an early focus on professionalization that is helpful when applying to doctoral programs. I've never heard of a school giving away an MA as a "consolation prize" to those unable to handle the workload; generally, departments don't want to put their name on unworthy candidates regardless of the degree. And speaking as someone who received an MA from a large research university, my personal experience has been the opposite of what asleepawake described; I was pushed early to present at national conferences and publish, and that certainly seems to have helped me in the doctoral application process and beyond.

[BrookeSnow]

I didn't see this on the list so....

 

Kent State 

[asleepawake]

The usual drivel from asleepawake. 

 

 

 

 While it may be helpful vis-à-vis funding to study for an MA at a school with no PhD, it is almost always more advisable to study at a school with a PhD otherwise. My experience has been that talented, hard-working MA students receive equal attention to doctoral students and that MA programs that also offer PhDs offer an early focus on professionalization that is helpful when applying to doctoral programs. 

 

First of all, my comment is a year old, and if you actually read my other posts you would see that I came around to the logic of other perspective. That post--which I certainly wrote, but which I no longer agree with--was me passing on the advice I received in a PhD-application workshop offered by a current PhD student at U of Iowa. She gave lots of good advice, and I believed most of it, but clearly she wasn't right on everything. Such is life.

 

I've never heard of a school giving away an MA as a "consolation prize" to those unable to handle the workload; generally, departments don't want to put their name on unworthy candidates regardless of the degree. 

 

Oh, if you haven't heard of it, it doesn't exist! It clearly isn't as widespread as I was lead to believe last year, but it absolutely does happen. It may happen when someone cannot pass their comps or put together a dissertation, and it probably only happens at certain schools. 

Edited March 30, 2013 by asleepawake

[squire_western]

Oh, if you haven't heard of it, it doesn't exist!

 

That's pretty thick coming from the person who previously recommended avoiding ALL MA programs that offered PhDs. Sorry I didn't check the date, though, and was therefore unaware of your conversion.

 

PS: Girl Who Wears Glasses you're the most consistent internet troll of all time.

[asleepawake]

That's pretty thick coming from the person who previously recommended avoiding ALL MA programs that offered PhDs. Sorry I didn't check the date, though, and was therefore unaware of your conversion.

Everyone said stupid things in 2012. It was a different time, a whole different era. I was young and free and foolish and we had the whole world ahead of us! Marijuana also wasn't a potent then.

 

PS: Girl Who Wears Glasses you're the most consistent internet troll of all time.

How is up voting and down voting trolling?

Edited March 30, 2013 by asleepawake

[champagne]

How is up voting and down voting trolling?

 

squire_western is mad because they won't be able to buy as many interwebs after being downvoted.

[practical cat]

That's pretty thick coming from the person who previously recommended avoiding ALL MA programs that offered PhDs. Sorry I didn't check the date, though, and was therefore unaware of your conversion.

 

PS: Girl Who Wears Glasses you're the most consistent internet troll of all time.

Honored. It's nice to be the best at something. You're not even in the top 1,000 nastiest people I've met on the Internet, sorry.

[Two Espressos]

While it may be helpful vis-à-vis funding to study for an MA at a school with no PhD, it is almost always more advisable to study at a school with a PhD otherwise.

 

[Portia]

I wonder if those MAs are more competitive as well.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Portia

[id quid]

Bumping this so people (like me!) who are looking for MA programs know where to start.

[Between Fields]

I'll do a little recruiting, since I happen to be in a funded MA program: Truman State University offers graduate assistantships for its MA English students, including a tuition waiver and generous (for such a small town) stipend. You're also actually teaching a class and you are the instructor of record, which is pretty rare for an MA program. They look favorably upon applicants who didn't get their UG degree here (since so many of us did), as well. Master's degrees are the highest degrees offered here, so there's no PhD population to compete with for funding, either.