Rhetoric and Composition PhD. Where did you apply?

[ProfLorax]

Just got the call from Arizona! Sounds like they are accepting six RCTE students this year. Anyone else heard from Arizona yet? Crossing my fingers for my GradCafe friends!

[Pranayama]

Just got the call from Arizona! Sounds like they are accepting six RCTE students this year. Anyone else heard from Arizona yet? Crossing my fingers for my GradCafe friends!

Hey Ploroflax, congrats I received a phone call acceptance from the RCTE director over the weekend. I really want to visit if possible, to get a better sense of the program's environment. But it seems fantastic. What are your thoughts on the GTA load?

 

Also I see that you are considering Miami of Ohio as well, which is my other option thus far!

[ProfLorax]

Hey Ploroflax, congrats I received a phone call acceptance from the RCTE director over the weekend. I really want to visit if possible, to get a better sense of the program's environment. But it seems fantastic. What are your thoughts on the GTA load?

 

Also I see that you are considering Miami of Ohio as well, which is my other option thus far!

Hey there! Congrats! I am going to visit Arizona April 4-5. When do you think you'll visit? I am really drawn to the program, especially its emphasis on praxis. My friend is a current RCTE student, and he just raves about the classes, faculty, students, and sense of community. I was a bit heartbroken when I heard about the stipend and teaching load, which I believe is the same amongst the entire cohort. The three course load reductions seem to lessen the impact of the 2/2 load, so that's good? 

 

Will you be attending the Miami event on March 21-22? Their load isn't much better that Arizona, but the stipend is much larger. Plus, it's the only program that I have been accepted to that also offers summer funding, which is nice! 

[muchado]

Congrats you guys! Arizona and Miami both seem like fantastic programs! Arizona was one of the last programs I took of my list of schools. 

 

I can't wait to see where everyone ends up.

[Pranayama]

Hey there! Congrats! I am going to visit Arizona April 4-5. When do you think you'll visit? I am really drawn to the program, especially its emphasis on praxis. My friend is a current RCTE student, and he just raves about the classes, faculty, students, and sense of community. I was a bit heartbroken when I heard about the stipend and teaching load, which I believe is the same amongst the entire cohort. The three course load reductions seem to lessen the impact of the 2/2 load, so that's good? 

 

Will you be attending the Miami event on March 21-22? Their load isn't much better that Arizona, but the stipend is much larger. Plus, it's the only program that I have been accepted to that also offers summer funding, which is nice! 

Yes, I will be at the Miami event! My partner's schedule is pretty tight up until April 15, so there is a chance that we will visit Tucson this weekend. Crazy, I know. I could theoretically go on my own later, and I might, but I want him to get a good feel for the cities we might live in before I make any decisions. But yes, U of A seems like a phenomenal program. Also in regards to the load, Dr. McAllister mentioned some fellowship opportunities, so hopefully those could help? Ahh I have many, many questions.... I am just a bit worried about doing the kind of quality research and writing I want to accomplish while juggling a heavy teaching load. 

[ProfLorax]

Yes, I will be at the Miami event! My partner's schedule is pretty tight up until April 15, so there is a chance that we will visit Tucson this weekend. Crazy, I know. I could theoretically go on my own later, and I might, but I want him to get a good feel for the cities we might live in before I make any decisions. But yes, U of A seems like a phenomenal program. Also in regards to the load, Dr. McAllister mentioned some fellowship opportunities, so hopefully those could help? Ahh I have many, many questions.... I am just a bit worried about doing the kind of quality research and writing I want to accomplish while juggling a heavy teaching load. 

I totally understand! I wanted my partner to come to each school with me, but he is unable to take off much time from work; fortunately, he should be able to come to Arizona and Amherst with me. 

 

I am crossing my fingers for one of those fellowships at Arizona! I am pretty sure I won't be eligible for any of the need-based grants, given that both my husband and I have been working full-time for a while now. I'm excited about the Miami event! A friend from undergrad is currently a student at Miami; she raved about the program and the faculty (less so about Oxford itself). 

[Pranayama]

I totally understand! I wanted my partner to come to each school with me, but he is unable to take off much time from work; fortunately, he should be able to come to Arizona and Amherst with me. 

 

I am crossing my fingers for one of those fellowships at Arizona! I am pretty sure I won't be eligible for any of the need-based grants, given that both my husband and I have been working full-time for a while now. I'm excited about the Miami event! A friend from undergrad is currently a student at Miami; she raved about the program and the faculty (less so about Oxford itself). 

Yes the faculty at Miami seem absolutely lovely.

 

I just spoke with a colleague who is ABD at CUNY, and she told me about the 3 or 4 course teaching load that many CUNY students take on for financial reasons. Comparatively speaking, that made me feel a lot better about the 2:2 at Arizona. 

[KenAnderson]

Anyone else hear back from the English Rhet and Comp. program at  Univ. of Arizona?    Washington State?   Louisiana - Lafayette?

[KenAnderson]

Just received an acceptance to Louisiana - Lafayette, but on the wait list for a GTA position funding..... Nice to be accepted, but if there is no funding....not going to happen. Still waiting on Washington State and Arizona.

[ProfLorax]

Just received an acceptance to Louisiana - Lafayette, but on the wait list for a GTA position funding..... Nice to be accepted, but if there is no funding....not going to happen. Still waiting on Washington State and Arizona.

Congrats, Ken! I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for that GTAship!

[KenAnderson]

Proflorax: Thank you! Finally got an acceptance! Feels good....just hope funding comes through! - Ken Ps: just gave a paper presentation on Dr. Seuss! "Reassessing Dr. Seuss: War Propaganda and the use of Racist Caricatures in Political Cartoons During WW II." Also presenting the paper in October at the Rocky Mountain MLA conference.

[Google Me]

Just got the call from Arizona! Sounds like they are accepting six RCTE students this year. Anyone else heard from Arizona yet? Crossing my fingers for my GradCafe friends!

 

I got accepted to Arizona! Have you heard anything regarding funding? I was told they would know in a couple weeks.

[KenAnderson]

Arizona is on spring break this week....so the next 2 weeks Arizona and most of the other programs will start with the shake down of offers and acceptances....received an email from Sharonne Meyers yesterday. There has to be a better system of sorting all these multiple applications....but it's money money. I think the medical school application system is much better..third party and it is sorted...based on your order of preference .....

[La Boca del Pozo]

Just got an email from Penn State replying to my inquiry about when I might be hearing back:

 

‎"While our admissions process isn't over, you should know that it is unlikely that we will be extending an offer of admission to you. This isn't because of any weakness in your application, but because we admit very few students directly into our PhD program. Most of our students enter at the MA level and then apply to our PhD program in their second year."

 

So that's that. Now, Purdue or Iowa St? Decisions decisions.

[ProfLorax]

Okay, I need some perspective from rhet/comp folks. Right now, I am leaning towards Maryland. While the lit folks are supportive, my rhet/comp friends think I'm crazy to choose an up-and-coming rhet/comp program over a well-regarded, established program like UMass, Miami, Illinois, or Arizona. Here are the facts:

 

-Maryland is my only program that has offered all incoming students a first year fellowship.

-Maryland has kick ass rhet/comp faculty: Jess Enoch, Shirley Logan, Jane Donawerth, and Melanie Kill (not to mention MITH).

-Maryland recently reconfigured their program, so I wouldn't have to take any lit courses. 

-Maryland only offers 1-2 rhet/comp grad seminars each semester. Boo. But I can take rhetoric courses from Communications, and the three courses for the WGS certificate would count towards my nine required courses.

-Maryland, like the others, has a near 100% job placement rate into TT jobs. 

-It's a very small cohort (1-2 new students each semester). This has pros (less competitive for rhet courses and admin positions) and cons (smaller community).

-Maryland is super close to DC, which is awesome for personal reasons AND academic reasons (I am interested in activist rhetoric.)

 

So, what do the rhet/comp folks think? Am I crazy?? 

[damequixote]

I think you should go to Maryland. All of your choices are good ones and as a result, I think you need to go where it feels right. The prestige or history of a program matters, sure, but what really matters on the job search (professors have suggested to me) are 1) the quality and breadth of your work and your ability to talk about it, 2) the prestige of those who'll end up writing your recommendation letters when you're looking for TT jobs,  and 3) your teaching experience (in that order). Lots of other things matter too, of course, but I don't think the prestige of the program matters (if that's what you're worried about) as much as the prestige of the faculty who will write your letters. Lastly, though, take a look at where students of this program have ended up. If they've ended up at the kinds of places you'd want to end up, go for it. 

[ComeBackZinc]

I think your mind is already made up, and you should celebrate! You clearly like Maryland the best, you have well-articulated reasons for choosing to go there, and your instinct is matching up with those reasons. It's true that I would name both Illinois and Arizona among the top handful of programs, and I would not name Maryland. And prestige and program reputation certainly matter. But if you genuinely believe that Maryland is a program that's coming up, and I think you make a good case, then it's better to get in early than to get in late. And coming home from CCCC just the other day, I can say with great confidence that people come from outside of "name" programs, or outside of explicit rhet/comp programs at all, and are taken just as seriously. (As well they should.)

 

For myself, I would probably go to Illinois, given your choices-- which are awesome, by the way. But that's kind of irrelevant! I do think that having a broad choice of courses is one of the best things I like about my program; my old peers at URI love the program with the exception of the lack of choices in course load. But if you know you can mitigate that by taking courses from outside of the department, or in classes in linguistics or SLS or similar, then that's not a big problem. As fall as the small cohort, I agree that it has its good sides and bad sides. The most important thing is that the department set up the structures so that you feel included and respected, and I'm sure they will.

 

Go to Maryland. I look forward to reading your work in the near future. 

[ProfLorax]

I think you should go to Maryland. All of your choices are good ones and as a result, I think you need to go where it feels right. The prestige or history of a program matters, sure, but what really matters on the job search (professors have suggested to me) are 1) the quality and breadth of your work and your ability to talk about it, 2) the prestige of those who'll end up writing your recommendation letters when you're looking for TT jobs,  and 3) your teaching experience (in that order). Lots of other things matter too, of course, but I don't think the prestige of the program matters (if that's what you're worried about) as much as the prestige of the faculty who will write your letters. Lastly, though, take a look at where students of this program have ended up. If they've ended up at the kinds of places you'd want to end up, go for it. 

Thanks! And for all of the reasons you mentioned, Maryland does have a good placement rate. I talked to two graduating rhet/comp students, and they both had offers for TT jobs. 

 

 

I think your mind is already made up, and you should celebrate! You clearly like Maryland the best, you have well-articulated reasons for choosing to go there, and your instinct is matching up with those reasons. It's true that I would name both Illinois and Arizona among the top handful of programs, and I would not name Maryland. And prestige and program reputation certainly matter. But if you genuinely believe that Maryland is a program that's coming up, and I think you make a good case, then it's better to get in early than to get in late. And coming home from CCCC just the other day, I can say with great confidence that people come from outside of "name" programs, or outside of explicit rhet/comp programs at all, and are taken just as seriously. (As well they should.)

 

For myself, I would probably go to Illinois, given your choices-- which are awesome, by the way. But that's kind of irrelevant! I do think that having a broad choice of courses is one of the best things I like about my program; my old peers at URI love the program with the exception of the lack of choices in course load. But if you know you can mitigate that by taking courses from outside of the department, or in classes in linguistics or SLS or similar, then that's not a big problem. As fall as the small cohort, I agree that it has its good sides and bad sides. The most important thing is that the department set up the structures so that you feel included and respected, and I'm sure they will.

 

Go to Maryland. I look forward to reading your work in the near future. 

Yes! And this coming from the resident pessimist. Thank you for your support! Speaking of Cs, most of the Maryland rhet/comp students and faculty presented at Cs last week, so it's nice to know that they are actively engaged with the discipline on a national level.

 

Thanks, all! I am pretty sure I'm going to accept today. Ah!

[tie]

I agree that you should go to Maryland. If you don't, you will always wonder what if....  It is a good program and a good fit. Plus you are super excited about going there.  Accept and enjoy that you are done with this stage of the process!!

 

Oh, and congratulations!

[KenAnderson]

Proflorax: Go with your heart! Good luck and Congrats!! 

[KenAnderson]

Anyone else make a decision??

[YesPhDinHumanities]

Yup, going to Pittsburgh. Great fit, great city, loved just about everything I learned/saw/heard during my visit. Looking forward to working with Bartholomae et al. Everyone else want to chime in? I'm interested to hear where people are deciding to go. 

[Sursie]

UT Austin!

[muchado]

I said it elsewhere, but I'm officially heading to Louisville! Hooray!

[ComeBackZinc]

Congrats to all three of you! Can't wait to read your work.