Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Question to those already enrolled:

 

When do most programs ask you to start teaching courses? I had one professor who said he had to teach his first year as a grad student, while others said they didn't teach at all. Is it all determined by funding packages, or are there departmental requirements for teaching?

Programs vary. One school wanted me to teach all five years, one gave the first year off, one had varying levels of commitments depending on the package offered (two years without for a few, more commonly one year without), and one school only required two years of teaching at some point during the five year degree. Nearly all programs require you to do teaching at some point in your degree, if only for pedagogical purposes, but there are exceptions.

Posted

Dream school? Strong American, good methods, and above all, one that can help me get a tt job after I'm done. I don't care if I have to live in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere and eat shit for 7 years, I can take it.

 

and @chaetzli: Princeton's campus is, indeed, absolutely gorgeous.

Posted

Dream school? Strong American, good methods, and above all, one that can help me get a tt job after I'm done. I don't care if I have to live in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere and eat shit for 7 years, I can take it.

 

and @chaetzli: Princeton's campus is, indeed, absolutely gorgeous.

This is the credited response. Period lol

Posted

Dunno, my program's cohort is really close, and not very competitive. I think people's interests are different enough that nobody feels like they're in direct competition with anyone else. I think there's a lot of random variation though; one or two people can throw off the dynamics of a cohort, and I hear from people in different years that the dynamics were less pleasant for them.

 

Am at a different school than RWBG, but I would have to second this. Within my cohort research interests vary so vastly, both in terms of theoretical affinity and geographical focus, that it seems futile to have a sense of competitiveness. This seems to be the experience of older cohorts as well. Obviously this will not hold true for all, if even most, departments, but when I was applying I would have found it comforting to know that grad school in the US does not necessarily imply a hypercompetitive working environment. Granted, once people start preparing for the job market dynamics might change.

Posted

Question to those already enrolled:

 

When do most programs ask you to start teaching courses? I had one professor who said he had to teach his first year as a grad student, while others said they didn't teach at all. Is it all determined by funding packages, or are there departmental requirements for teaching?

 

My funding package stipulates teaching obligations throughout the second to fourth years.

Posted

Dream school:  Rochester weather, don't care about the rest.

 

But the geographic isolation is a bonus, right?

Posted

Question to those already enrolled:

 

When do most programs ask you to start teaching courses? I had one professor who said he had to teach his first year as a grad student, while others said they didn't teach at all. Is it all determined by funding packages, or are there departmental requirements for teaching?

 

It varies depending on fellowships, research assistantships, and the needs of the department. I expect that I will be teaching probably a little over half the time that I am here, but who really knows.

Posted

This is unrelated to grad school, but I was so excited about this that I wanted to share with somebody. I am guessing any Americanist on this thread will find this at least somewhat intriguing - it's an infographic about the history of american political parties.

http://xkcd.com/1127/large/

Posted

Thanks to those who responded about teaching. I think I'm just  scared of teaching people who are close to my age. Hopefully, if I get in somewhere, I won't have to teach immediately...

Posted

Thanks to those who responded about teaching. I think I'm just  scared of teaching people who are close to my age. Hopefully, if I get in somewhere, I won't have to teach immediately...

 

It is an interesting adjustment. I am came straight out of undergrad, so I guarantee that I teach students that are close to my age and some that are older. The trick is always staying one step ahead and making sure that you know the most in the room. If you don't, figure out a way to fake it til you make it. 

Posted (edited)

how much time do you spend prepping for lessons? that seems super demanding to me.

Well, I can't speak for the PhD students, but I taught while in my MA program and now I'm a lecturer for this academic year.

 

How much time you need to spend preparing really depends on how much effort you want to put into teaching. If you hate it and just want to get the lectures over with you might not do more than the night before. If you're more serious about it you probably want to spend at least a few hours preparing for every class.

 

I enjoy teaching though, so the time spent preparing and coming up with discussion topics and things to do in class isn't too boring.

Edited by Lemeard
Posted

Well...another week down

Yes!! Haha kind of sad to be living this way - just waiting for the days and weeks to be over until "results time".... But we're almost there!

Posted

Yes!! Haha kind of sad to be living this way - just waiting for the days and weeks to be over until "results time".... But we're almost there!

 

When do you think we should be realistically expecting responses? First week in February at the earliest?

Posted

Everybody I spoke to said Mid-Feb.

 

I'm expecting most of mine to come around the second week of February, but it looks like a few of my schools may start contacting around the 1st or even the week prior.

Posted

I'm expecting most of mine to come around the second week of February, but it looks like a few of my schools may start contacting around the 1st or even the week prior.

 

That is what I was thinking as well. Originally I thought I would have to wait until March to start hearing back, but I have heard back from one already. I have heard similar things about programs getting back sometime soon/around February. 

Posted

When do you think we should be realistically expecting responses? First week in February at the earliest?

Well i think most acceptances will be out over the first two weeks of Feb, based on the results board of last year. Seems as though most rejections come out later... end of Feb or early March. So I'm definitely hoping for at least some action in early Feb!!

Posted

That is what I was thinking as well. Originally I thought I would have to wait until March to start hearing back, but I have heard back from one already. I have heard similar things about programs getting back sometime soon/around February. 

Was your North Texas admittance official...or did you hear it from a POI or through the backchannels?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use