Applying to Phd at your UG school

[Romanista]

I apologize if this has been addressed elsewhere but I could not find such a thread.

I am considering pursuing a Phd in English, with a specialization in Modern British literature (though I am also considering Rhet Comp). I went to Temple University and double majored in English and Italian, graduating in 2011. My GPA was something like 3.3 overall and at least 3.5 within my majors. What I would like to know is how a Phd admissions committee weighs the fact that I went to their UG school. I recall that a couple of my instructors at Temple went there for UG before applying to their Phd program. Temple is really the only school that I could consider without funding, as I could live with my family since I'm from the Philadelphia area.

Thank you for your time.

[Cactus Ed]

From what I've been told, graduate programs often discourage students from their affiliated undergraduate from applying to the same school for graduate study. Apparently, this is for the sake of branching out, networking, diversity of opportunity, etc. However, this might be more true of terminal MA programs than PhD programs. I went to the same school for my BA and MA in English, and just as I was finishing, the program was launching a brand new PhD program. They were adamant that no one from our program apply -- they said they would only accept applicants from other institutions.

[Chai_latte]

Yeah, it is frequently discouraged for the reasons Cactus stated. BUT, apply...you know what's right for you. Clearly, the precedent has been set (w/ some of your instructors) at Temple. TU's English program isn't against admitting its own graduates. Go for it!

[practical cat]

While an institution may admit a former undergraduate as a PhD student, that doesn't mean it won't hurt on the job market. Further, you're better off with a funded program for a PhD. If you're thinking about doing an unfunded master's at your undergrad institution, that's another thing entirely but I would not do an unfunded PhD anywhere but especially not at my undergrad.