MA Advice

[Hypnotoad]

So here’s my situation:

I want to teach history at a community college- though many CC’s now prefer PhD’s, I have done some research and talked to a lot of acquaintances I have “in the biz” and they assure me there are still numerous opportunities for MA’s (in fact all but one of these contacts have only an MA). Teaching (at least for now) interests me more than research- so the way I see it, why go through all the extra research to get a PhD if I can do what I really want to do with an MA? (And if I do change my mind and end up really liking research, I can always apply to a PhD program after finishing my MA- so there’s little downside.)

This probably makes my situation a little different from a lot of people on this board (and in most of the humanities fields) as most people seem to have a PhD as their end goal. Most of the info and advice I’ve read about applying to grad schools in non-applied fields is also geared towards PhD’s. So long story short, I have some questions about the specifics of my application process and I was hoping people on this board could provide some insight.

1. Does anyone know of history departments (w/ terminal MA programs) that have a strong emphasis on teaching and/or give out a lot of TA positions? The best one I’ve found so far is San Diego State- but that was by chance. I have no efficient way of finding other programs with a similar emphasis, but from what I’ve read it will make my life much easier after graduation if I’ve had at least one TA position.

2. Everything I’ve read says that the most important factor in picking which programs to apply to should be based on faculty members, i.e. which potential advisors would be the best fit for you. Is this really as important if my goal is an MA, not a PhD, and my primary desire is to teach rather than conduct research? It seems like the factors I asked about I asked about in #1 might be more important in my case.

3. If I am applying to a more “traditional” program (i.e. mostly turning out PhD’s who hope to work at major research universities), how much should I highlight my desire to teach (esp. at a community college) in my SOP? Chronicle of Higher Ed has a great columnist who writes specifically about CC issues, and he has pointed out more than once that (fair or unfair) there is a tendency for professors at big four-year research institutions to look down on their CC counterparts and their work. So I’m wondering if they might thumb their nose at an applicant who has that as their goal. Should I downplay this aspect in my SOP and talk about other things instead- or will focusing on that be a breath of fresh air for admissions committees due to its uniqueness?

I’ll stop there for now. Any info or advice (including opinion and even pure speculation!) is much appreciated. Thanks.

[Ganymede18]

I wouldn't talk about desire to teach at all in an SOP. It should be straight research interests. something also to keep in mind is that you may be able to adjunct with an m.a., but it might be more difficult to find tenured positions, even at a community college. i would still think it's pretty important to find faculty in your areas of interest, especially if the m.a. has a thesis component, but just my 2 cents.

[CageFree]

The CSU system in general is pretty geared toward teaching. If you're in California, there are a couple of UCs with terminal MAs - UC Irvine and UC Riverside are two that come to mind.

As far as PhD programs that emphasize teaching, Wisconsin and Pitt are two that I can think of... they believe you should be able to research AND teach.

[TMP]

Wisconsin does dole out TAships to students not on fellowships albeit they're paid at much lower stipends with lighter load of students. With that kind of stipend, I think it's pretty tough to life on in Madison.

OSU also does have a MA/PhD for those coming in with BAs. Everyone is guaranteed at least 4 years of RA/TAships and there is a lot of emphasis on teaching (in addition to research but everyone talks about teaching).

Honestly, you want to look at big public universities where TAs are essential. I think someone here got into University of Florida for PhD with 5 years of TAships. Top programs like Wisconsin, Michigan, OSU, Berkeley, UCLA, etc are very unlikely to admit students for terminal MAs as they aim to produce scholars. So, you'll have to go down the list a bit further and look into more regional schools.

As for the SOP, don't discuss it especially for PhD programs. Period. Faculty members see their PhD students as their "legacies" and pass their craft down to them, expecting them to become scholars. Whether in a PhD or MA program, It can be difficult to work with a faculty member who doesn't or can't respect your wishes to be a teacher, not a scholar. Worst that can happen is that they will simply ignore you and let you pass the MA (with potentially questionable quality) and that is a disservice to you and your future students.

The adviser fit is important- after all you will have taking a course or two with that person who will teach you all about that specific topic (and in general). MA theses aren't as demanding as PhD dissertations so whatever you decide to write about should at least be within the realm of your adviser's interests and abilities as well as at least one or two other members in the department to fill out your committee.

[Hypnotoad]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

My research interests relate to the experiences of African Americans in WWI, particularly black soldiers. There's been plenty of research on black soldiers in WWII and (obviously) the Civil War, but comparetively little on WWI (at least as far as I can tell). And yet this was at the time of heavyweights like WEB DuBois, Marcus Garvey, and Booker T. Washington. It coincided with the Great Migration of rural sharecroppers to the industrial centers of the north. A time of growing radicalization of black people. A time when Jim Crow, the Klan, lynchings, and dinfranchisement were at their worst.

Though many blacks opposed the war, many black men saw it as a way to get a piece of the pie. Wilson's framing of the war as one to bring democracy to the world led many to belive the war could help obtain a greater share of democracy in the US, and saw the service as a means of personal advancement. Early on recruitment stations were actually turning black volunteers away because the army had reached its black quota. There were that many eager volunteers. Only later did they reverse course, when the need for men was very high (in the spring and summer of 1918 the US was sending 10,000 men a day to France).

Some themes to think about and explore:

-For those who volunteered, what were their specific motivations for wanting to serve in the military?

-For those who were drafted, how eager were they to serve? What were their views on being conscripted by a government which ignored and oppressed them to such a degree?

-For those who resisted, why did they feel the need to do this, and how effective were they?

-To what extent did the US's use of black troops mirror the British and French's use of colonial troops on the Western Front? Especially France, which used thousands of West African soldiers.

-How did being in France (where they experienced much less racism than at home) affect soldiers' social and political consciousness?-

-What effect did they have on French and European society? I've read that the 369th Regimental band is what first introduced live jazz to European culture, a huge segment of which later became fascinated by African American music and culture.

-How were black soldiers' experiences of the war different from their white counterparts? Most were confined to manual labor jobs, as longhoremen, gravediggers, and materiel handlers, though there were two combat divisions that served in some of the biggest operations of the war.

-How did their changed consciousness affect American and particularly black society on their return home? This is especially important considering many of them had high hopes for a changed society and better personal fortunes as a result of the war, but in fact were greeted by a postwar period that saw an increase in oppression and violence, as evidenced by a significant increase in southern lynchings, and major growth of the KKK. But also a major growth of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and other radical black organizations.

So... anyone think they know of any departments (MA or PhD) where these research interest would be well-received?

[Sigaba]

So... anyone think they know of any departments (MA or PhD) where these research interest would be well-received?

@Hypnotoad--

University of North Texas

Kansas State

University of Kansas

TAMU (as much as it pains me to say it)

Penn

OSU

I strongly recommend against not disclosing that your primary interest is teaching. I think you should assume that your professors are going to figure things out sometime between the moment they read your SoP and the moment you ask them to write reference letters so you can get a teaching gig at a community college.

I am not saying that you should say "I want to teach and everything else is bunk." I am recommending that you find ways to make a compelling and balanced argument for your vision of yourself as a historian that fits within the ongoing debates among professional academic historians about the future of the craft.

Also, when you're looking at schools, take a look to see if they've got graduate programs in education. As a graduate student in history, you may well have to do work in an outside field. If your objective is to teach, you might benefit from doing your outside field in education.

Finally, you will need to think about how you will answer the following question: Are you a military historian who looks at the African American experience to gain insights into the history of war or are you an Americanist who looks at the history of war to gain insight into the African American experience?

HTH.

[Hypnotoad]

Finally, you will need to think about how you will answer the following question: Are you a military historian who looks at the African American experience to gain insights into the history of war or are you an Americanist who looks at the history of war to gain insight into the African American experience?

I'm glad you brought this up, becuase I haven't really been thinking about it. I have always been fascinated by military history, but judging from the current state of military history in academia, it would probably be quite detrimental to my graduate (and career) prospects to answer the question that way. Which is not the end of the world because African American history is easily the aspect of American history that interests me most, and I've always had a strong interested in the African diaspora too. My favorite historical monograph that I've ever read is The Black Jacobins by CLR James. And when I read Fanon early on in my undergraduate studies I was blown away by him. So there is certainly room to go in this direction too.

[Sigaba]

I'm glad you brought this up, becuase I haven't really been thinking about it. I have always been fascinated by military history, but judging from the current state of military history in academia, it would probably be quite detrimental to my graduate (and career) prospects to answer the question that way. Which is not the end of the world because African American history is easily the aspect of American history that interests me most, and I've always had a strong interested in the African diaspora too. My favorite historical monograph that I've ever read is The Black Jacobins by CLR James. And when I read Fanon early on in my undergraduate studies I was blown away by him. So there is certainly room to go in this direction too.

@Hypnotoad--

I don't know that you need (read: should) address the question from the perspective of career management. What ever path you pick, you will still need to demonstrate that you've wrestled with "big picture" questions. Yes, there will be historians who will burn you for not fitting into their mold, but there will be many others who will respect you for being able to provide a "big picture" that takes one or more discussions forward.