Comp Lit Advice

[StayAbove50]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum, thought I would throw some questions out regarding my future--just a few days of lurking and browsing has proved extremely helpful, so thanks already, GC, but a little bit of more specific help would be great in guiding me forward.

I'm not actually going to be applying until next fall, but, being the meticulous researcher/worrier that I am, I've been putting a lot of time into looking for the right programs for me in Comparative Literature over the last several months. Here's the issue I'm running into (obviously, I'm neither the first, nor the last...): MA first? Or go straight for the jugular, PhD??

I'm an English major and Philosophy minor (fingers crossed for a French minor as well) at a decent private school (DePaul). My GPA should come in around 3.75-3.8ish, with 3.9+ in both English and Philosophy. My practice GREs have been putting me in the mid- to high-700s. I should have solid LoRs, and I'm confident enough in my writing abilities to apply with a great writing sample and SoP. I'll be just about fluent in French, through intermediate Spanish, and have taken both French and Spanish Literature courses taught in those languages. For what it's worth, I'm working on a way to at least crack into either Latin and/or German on my own/outside of my school over the course of this last school year.

I know that ultimately getting my PhD is definitely what I would like to do, but (there's no end to these buts...) in my opinion--feel free to disagree, please--going to a top-20ish or so (ballparkin' it, obviously) PhD program and getting a good job afterwards, or at the very least being confident in the likelihood of such an outcome, is the best way for me to do it. In addition, for me, I know that, given my all-things-considered financial situation, I can come out of 1-2 years at an M.A. program doing alright debt-wise, if not entirely unscathed. So: questions. Will I be at all competitive for top-notch PhD slots come application time? Is the added time in an M.A. program going to help me more easily reach those top tier schools (given that I do very well there)? Is it a viable option to apply to a bunch of PhD programs AND M.A. programs (just sounds like a logistical nightmare)?

For the sheer sakes of thoroughness and not starting another useless thread, my main interests lie in Modernism, its precursors, its 'successors'--in English (long list), French (mainly poets, Camus, Beckett, theorists), and Spanish (Latin American: Borges, Boom lit, poets, Bolaño)--gah, German (Kafka, Rilke, Sebald, Theory) and Russian (Dostoyevsky, Chekov, Pasternak) as well. I love love love theory/criticism...everything...Continental, Critical Theory, Postcolonial, and even Wittgenstein. My kind of...encyclopedic approach to the field and current lack of specificity is obviously a factor to be considered in this ordeal. I'm a little interested in the M.A. in humanities programs at U of Chicago & Duke for that reason.

I'm gonna shut up for now. Any and all advice in terms of program type and specific universities' programs is very, very much appreciated...look forward to discussion. Thanks.

Edited August 17, 2011 by StayAbove50

[chaussettes]

I'd say none of your stats would preclude you from getting into a top PhD program, although of course you certainly shouldn't count on it. It'll all come down to your SOP and writing sample, mostly. But there doesn't seem to be any reason why you shouldn't be trying for PhD programs, if that's what you want.

On the other hand, it actually wouldn't be that much trouble at all to apply to MA programs at the same time as PhD--the process is pretty much identical, so applying to X number of MA programs and Y number of PhD programs wouldn't be more work than applying to X + Y number of PhD programs. That is what I did in order to hedge my bets during the last application cycle. Even though you've said you can afford to pay for it, though, I would advise giving your most serious consideration to MA programs that offer some sort of funding, which tend to be more prestigious and offer better preparation for doctoral work. In the current climate, it seems like a bad idea to pay for any humanities degrees beyond the bachelors (and even the bachelors itself, I'm sure some would say); also, unfunded MA programs are often just convenient ways for a university to make more money, and students in unfunded programs are often neglected in favor of funded doctoral students. It isn't a coincidence that several of the better MA programs (for instance, Comp Lit at Darthmouth and French at Bryn Mawr, both of which offer funding on a competitive basis) belong to departments that do not offer a PhD. Alternatively, you might consider pursuing a masters abroad, maybe in the UK or France; I don't know very much about specific programs, because I wasn't willing to apply internationally, but I do know that the masters in the UK is often a more serious and rigorous degree than its equivalent--especially unfunded--in the States. I don't know what that application process would entail, though.

I'm sure you'll be a fine candidate for PhD programs, but if you can afford the extra time and application fees, it doesn't hurt to hedge your bets by applying to a few MA programs as well, especially if you're set on top 20 programs. Good luck with your applications!

Edited August 19, 2011 by chaussettes

[Origin=Goal]

I'm in a similar position to the OP and can say with certainty that I have never gotten advice to do a masters in any humanities-related field (languages included), both in terms of funding and career practicality (assuming you want to continue in academics). Talk to any faculty you're on decent terms with, as well as any GSIs you're on good terms with, they've been through it already.

Edit: While "Modernism" may be an imprecise interest (no less so than "Theory" as such), Pericles Lewis at Yale is one of the bigger Comp Lit names that deals with Modernism as a genre: http://modernism.research.yale.edu/about.php

Edited August 29, 2011 by Origin=Goal