New member, many questions

[maketeachwrite]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to apply to PhD programs for Comp and Rhetoric in the fall and I'm wondering about some of your experiences and backgrounds. I have an MFA and a Master's of Science in Secondary Education--I currently teach high school English. Before earning my second master's I adjuncted in creative writing, literature, and composition for about five years. I am hoping to return to college teaching by earning a PhD in Comp and Rhetoric. The programs I'm planning to apply for are all joint MA/PhD programs. What I'm wondering is whether I need to have as much focus and background (as demonstrated by coursework, writing samples, statement of purpose, recs, etc.) in comp and rhetoric going into what is essentially an MA program as I would for a PhD application. Also, do any of you have a similarly interdisciplinary background, and if so, how are you dealing with honing your application to emphasize a focus? Another question: what is the word on old GRE scores? How recent should my tests be? And last, does anyone out there have any experience meeting with faculty at prospective colleges to answer these kinds of questions?...

Thanks all!

[ProfLorax]

Hi there! I recently applied and was accepted to PhD programs in Rhet/Comp. My BA and MA are both in English; however, my emphasis was in Literature, so I was/am definitely a rhet/comp newbie. In fact, I had taken only one comp course at the time I applied. Still, I got into five awesome programs. My not-so-secret secret? In my SoP, I framed my literary research in a way that focused on the more theoretical aspects, the same theoretical concerns I plan on researching once I am in a rhet/comp program. Furthermore, I explained how my work had led me to rhet/comp, and I stressed my teaching experience. Fortunately, I had a writing sample from a lit course that, while focusing on literary works, asked questions about gender, disability, and writing. 

 

Even though I had only one grad course in comp, I was accepted straight into PhD programs, rather than MA/PhD programs, because of the number of English grad classes I had under my belt. Depending on how many English classes you have between your MFA and MS, you may be able to go straight into a PhD program, saving time and money. 

 

I believe the standard cut off for GRE scores is five years. 

 

I didn't meet with any faculty, but I did email some. I Skyped with one professor and had a phone conversation with another. In the end, I don't think this had any effect on my application decisions. Of the three programs I had the most contact with prior to applications, I was accepted to one, wait listed at another, and rejected from the last program. However, talking to the professors did help me refine my SoP; they gave me great ideas of what to emphasize (without me really asking for advice) and the names of other professors and programs at their university that would be of interest to me. 

 

Hope this is helpful, and good luck!

[maketeachwrite]

Proflorax, this is really helpful--thanks so much, and congratulations on your acceptance! I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about your statement of purpose--I'm really curious about how to gear mine towards comp & rhet (particularly if I have an opportunity to bypass the MA). Also, can I ask where you applied? Thanks again!

[ProfLorax]

Hi there! Sure thing. I applied to The Ohio State, University of Maryland, University of Arizona, Miami University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Purdue, UMass Amherst, and Penn State. I got into Maryland, Arizona, Miami, Illinois, and UMass; I was wait listed at Ohio. 

 

As for my SoP, I'm happy to share. PM me if you'd like to check it out! 

[ComeBackZinc]

I got a BA in English and philosophy from a non-competitive state school. Five years later, I got an MA in Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Rhode Island. I will be taking my comprehensive exams in the rhetoric and composition program here at Purdue next month. 

 

I am far on the empirical side of rhetoric and composition as a discipline. I have emphasized the importance of empirical investigation in rhet/comp both in terms of learning as much as we can about effective writing and literacy education practices, and because I believe that having those competencies will be important for defending our disciplinary identity in the future. I also emphasized the role that empirical investigation can play in political change and institutional critique. I only applied to a small handful of schools, with Purdue being my clear top choice. I got in because I was a great candidate, and also because my letter writers had good relationships with the faculty at Purdue. There's never any clear lines, there. 

 

I would echo Proflorax in advising you to ask schools about whether your MFA and MS work could allow you to apply directly into PhD programs.

[maketeachwrite]

Proflorax, I was trying to figure out how to send a message to you, and must have accidentally clicked the (negative) review button instead (ack--I'm such a newbie! So sorry...). I would be really interested to find out more about your SoP, but I'm not sure how to send a PM... ComeBackZinc--thanks very much. Believe it or not I was actually just reading the eloquent defense of comp/rhet that you posted over a year ago (in response to one writer's bitter rant). It was very helpful, as is your reply to my post! Since you mentioned URI, I was wondering if you would recommend their PhD program. I'm hoping to stay in the Northeast, and a mentor of mine suggested that I apply there. On that topic, what are your feelings about choosing schools? Is prestige important? What about schools that have independent comp/rhet programs versus concentrations within English? Thanks so much!

[maketeachwrite]

Apparently I also don't know how to get a line break to show up in my post...

[ComeBackZinc]

I really loved URI's program. I'll say this: it's quite small. You'll be limited in the number of courses you can take and teach. But they're set up wonderfully for mentorship, with a nice spectrum of faculty at different points in their career paths to help you. You'd get lots of personal attention, and their track record for placing candidates is very strong. Also, the new grad director is one of my favorite professors ever. That said, having such limited options class-wise can be a bummer. At URI, you'd really only have three or four legitimate options for classes to take in a given semester. Something to think about.

 

In rhet/comp, prestige of school matters very little compared to history and quality of the program. I'm sure you can find a hundred different lists for what the big programs are. Just understand that because rhet/comp programs tend to be smaller, you have to be careful that the program won't essentially die out if you have a couple of faculty defections and retirements. For that reason, history and departmental investment is important. Whether it's a concentration or separate department probably matters more to faculty and administrators than to you, although when it comes to funding and institutional autonomy, it likely does matter somewhat. I'm not really sure how that would be expressed in your individual experience though.