Ph.D. in Eng vs. joint Eng and Comp Lit

[crazyhappy]

Hi,

I don't have the option to move; however, my perfect program is luckily in the same state.  I have a B.A. in French and an undergrad background in German and Italian, and I have an M.A. in English.  I am applying to WUSTL.  Does anyone know if it is better/easier to apply to the English Ph.D. program or to apply to the joint English and Comp. Lit program.  My interests lie in comparing the rise of the novel in French and English literature from a feminist perspective, and I have a strong app., but this is my only option for a school right now, so I need to stack the ever-daunting odds as much in my favor as I can.  If it helps, I did my undergrad (although not my grad) work at WashU.

Thanks for any thoughts or input!

[ghijklmn]

Hey! I was debating a similar thing when applying to WashU, but for German and Comp Lit. Ultimately I applied to straight Comp Lit for three reasons: 1) I figured my chances would be higher if only ONE committee had to like me. 2) My German writing sample sucked. 3) I was lazy. 

 

Perhaps not the greatest reasons, but it worked out in my case (am admitted for Fall 2013). You look perfectly set up for the joint program, though! The best thing you could probably do is talk to the department and see how joint admissions work exactly. Good luck!

[crazyhappy]

Thanks, if you do go to WUSTL, there were some great profs in the German dept, and I absolutely love the former chair of the Comp. Lit dept (she was my undergrad advisor and moved to Romance lang chair I think about 2 years ago).  I will definitely contact the department.