Suggestions for Doctoral Programs with these Emphases: 19th Century British Literature, Victorian Literature, Women/Gender Studies, Feminist Theory

[dorotheabrooke]

Hi!

I'm applying this fall to doctoral programs! Eek! I'm very excited but incredibly nervous. I'm an undergraduate, English major and Women's Studies minor. I have a 4.0 gpa in my major/minor and a 3.8+ overall. I'm working on the GRE (general and lit subject test) and SOPs/ writing samples this summer. Before I get too heavy into that, I've been checking my "fit" at certain doctoral programs.

Below is my ranking right now (based on my basic knowledge of fit, funding, location). Several of these are "tied," of course. However, I'm very intimidated by the *big* names on this list. Do any of you have any other suggestions for possibly solid fits for my interests? Have any of you applied or been accepted to any of these schools? (And if so, for which emphases, please?)

Thank you so much for reading this! Please respond with any advice!

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1. Indiana University- Bloomington

2. NYU

3. USC

4. Columbia

5. Cornell

6. Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL)

7. UPenn

8. Johns Hopkins

9. University of Chicago

10. Boston University

11. UC Davis

12. UCLA

13. UC Santa Barbara

14. UC Santa Cruz

15. UC Irvine

16. University of Oregon

17. University of Washington

[butalas]

Hey there! From your list, I applied to UPenn, Boston University and UC Santa Cruz and was only accepted by Boston University. Also, I applied for the MA program at each. My focus is in 19th C American lit and critical theory. Also, my undergraduate GPA was certainly below yours (3.6 in lit). But, I do need to state that I had a very strong writing sample, SoP and letters of recommendation--I really think these components of the application are the most important. UPenn would have been a great fit for me, but maybe they were a bit too prestigious for me anyway. UCSC, on the other hand, wasn't such a great fit. I really felt that it made sense why I didn't get into certain schools--my interests and the school didn't match up so well. So maybe that's my advice--work on your writing sample A LOT and find those schools which REALLY fit your intended program of study. Hope this helps!

[butalas]

oh, and good luck!

[margarethale]

middlemarcher

my interests are so similar to yours it's almost scary! Indiana University would be a great program for you. You should also seriously consider the University of Virginia. For Victorian Literature it's one of the best programs in the country (I think it's ranked #6 for 19th century British Literature). Of course, the biggest name in 19th century British Literature is Yale, but it will be extremely competitive. WashU and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor are also very highly regarded for their Victorian programs.

The other thing that you need to keep in mind: a program could have the biggest names in Victorian Literature, but that one specific professor that you want to work with may not be teaching any classes or taking on any students. If there's someone specific that you want to work with, send them an email and ask them about their plans (will they be teaching graduate courses, are they willing to serve as advisors, is there any actual opportunity to work with them, etc).

Butalas has it right though: your writing sample, letters of recommendation, and statement of purpose will need to be exceptional, even with your extremely impressive GPA, especially if you want to go directly from undergrad into a PhD program.

If you want to get your MA first, bear in mind that most of the programs that you have listed do not fund their MA students. Getting an MA from a top-tier university will be an extremely expensive investment. No matter how passionate a student might be, the thought of being $80,000 in debt is enough to dampen any potential Victorianist's spirits. I was accepted to Boulder's MA program and they actually offered me a rare funding package. I paid special emphasis to my interest in the Sepoy Rebellion and Mutiny Novels of the Victorian era in my SoP and writing sample. In the end, I ended up choosing to get my PhD elsewhere because the money was more competitive and the other program that accepted me was more prestigious. Also, the DGS at my school heavily influenced my undergrad thesis so it was kind of a no-brainer for me.

If you need an example of a statement of purpose for Victorian programs, shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to send you mine. Also, if you ever need an editor or just another pair of eyes on your writing sample or SoP, as one budding Victorian scholar to another, I'd be happy to give it a read.

[dorotheabrooke]

Great! Thank you butalas and margarethale! These posts are awesome!

Yes, I'm dedicating much time and energy to making these SoPs solid. My letters of rec will be very strong, especially since I've developed good relationships with my professors and was even able to work with my favorite professor as a research assistant---and she's a Victorianist. I have some good samples, but I feel they can always be better, so I'm in the process of editing them again...and again.

margarethale-- thank you SO much for your suggestion about emailing the professor(s) I'm most interested in working with in order to make sure that they will actually be available. I've found about 2-5 professors with my specific research interests at all the schools from #s 1-13, but emailing them is a great idea. Thank you also for your suggestions about other campuses. I will definitely look into other locations since my original (regional) plan has not worked out. I've given up on that since my interests clearly seem to be pulling me to the eastern U.S., which is totally fine Also-- I'll be PMing you soon because I'm doubly excited about your similar interests!

[pinkrobot]

PMing you.

[girlmostlikely]

I'm a 19th-centuryist (though I also sometimes trip into the early 20th century) and I do feminist theory and gender/sexuality. I applied to Columbia, USC, Chicago, and UCLA, and got into the first three. I can't speak to USC, as I received their acceptance the latest, by which point I had already limited my choices down to Columbia and Chicago. I will say that Columbia has a very vibrant and present 19th century community and overall one of the largest Victorianist faculties in the country (I think only Rutgers and Indiana can rival it.) If its not obvious, I will be attending their program, for both its strengths in the 19th century and in gender and sexuality, though I also have a strong interest in performance and that's why they've edged out other schools I was considering.

Your list looks good and I'd say your top 5 is, subjective though this may be, pretty accurate. (Depending on one's interests, though, one could rearrange the schools.) However, two other schools I applied to (and, incidentally, got accepted to) were CUNY and Rutgers. I'm very surprised that Rutgers is not on your list, as they are well-known for having a great Victorianist faculty! Both within and without their Victorianist facutly, they also have alot of great faculty who have worked on or are working on gender and sexuality (e.g. David Kurnick and Carolyn Williams in the 19th century contingent.) CUNY doesn't have quite as large a Victorianist faculty, but they do have Talia Schaffer.

Now, I am biased here, but you can't go wrong with any school in the New York City area--NYU, Columbia, CUNY, and Rutgers are all great for the 19th century. Plus, you can take classes at other universities, many of the schools are heavily represented in NVSA (Northeast Victorian Studies Assocation), and there are other institutionalized opportunities for cross-university correspondence specifically for 19th century scholars and students. That's the end of my pitch.

[dorotheabrooke]

Thank you girlmostlikely!!

I've actually been steadily working on my list. I haven't fixed my fit-rankings, but below is an alphabetized list, haha. (My top five is basically the same, except that I've shuffled around and even added Univ of Michigan to the mix.) I had just added Rutgers earlier this week! I'm glad you mentioned more about them. Also, thank you for bringing up CUNY--I hadn't yet looked at them, and now they are definitely on my list.

Thank you again for your post!! I *might* PM you to ask about some specific faculty if that's okay

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The most current list-->

Boston

Brown

Chicago

Columbia

Cornell

CUNY

Indiana Univ- Bloomington

Johns Hopkins

NYU

Princeton

Rutgers

UC Davis

UC Irvine

UC Santa Barbara

Univ of Arizona

University of Colorado

University of Michigan- Ann Arbor

University of Oregon

UPenn

USC

WUSTL

[girlmostlikely]

I'm glad I could help! Definitely feel free to PM me--I'm very familiar with the faculty at the programs to which I applied (and can even offer some anecdotes!) and a fair sense of faculty at other programs too.

[JeremiahParadise]

You might add New Hampshire and Vanderbilt to that list.

[literary_tourist]

OMG! Lots of Victorianists here. I'm also a Victorianist, but I fear my grades may be too low for some of those universities. I know I will have to do a lot of explaining in my SOP.

 

When one's Phd application is evaluated, do they look at one's cumulative GPA, or just one's MA if one has one? For instance, my grades during my undergrad were a lot higher than my MA grades. How do people in admissions convert grades anyway? I got both of my degrees outside the US (the Philippines and UK).

 

I have also started looking at sample SOPs, but I can't find anything in literature. Does anyone know where I can find one?

 

Thank you so much everyone. I am learning so much from your posts.