General dvice on French Ph.D programs

[TruFranco]

Hey everyone, this is my first post on the website so hopefully it's in the right section, if not just point me to the right place. I've got a few questions on Ph.D programs, some related, some not. I'm currently a senior French major at my university with minors in linguistics and international study. I'll just get right into my questions though. 

 

First off, I've seen a few people mention that, when applying to/looking for a Ph.D program, you need to have research interests pretty clear in mind. I'm currently working on my capstone which has to do with Franco-Asiatic writers. Pretty much anything France/Asia is fascinating to me. 19th & 20th century lit. are two topics that get me going through a nerdfest as well.  Are there any grad schools in you guys would suggest I look at? For the asian topic in particular? I've tried finding specific concentrations in that area but haven't had any luck, the closest thing I can find to Asia is post-colonial studies.

 

 

I guess the next biggest thing is, what're my prospects on actually getting into a Ph.D program with funding (full?) I have yet to take the GRE, but I'm about as involved with the French department as is possible at my university. I have experience with education clinicals, years of university sponsored tutoring, a few terms in France. I'm asking for future planning (one more semester of classes to plan out) because I'm actually planning on being an English language assistant in China for a year (to work on my Mandarin) then in France through the T.A.P.I.F. I could be wrong, but I figure the numbers are more important...

 

3.2 cumulative GPA

3.92 Major GPA

 

 

Basically, I've always had the idea that Ph.D applicants are the 4.0 cumulative people and now I'm trying to find out if that's actually true or if I would actually have a chance.

[Vincenzo Salvatore]

Ann Arbor has a great program in French Studies where you could pursue your French/Asian interest with Prof. David Caron. They do not require GRE anymore, offer full funding to every accepted student and are really pushing their search for interdisciplinary and innovative projects. I strongly suggest you to contact him.

[TruFranco]

Ann Arbor has a great program in French Studies where you could pursue your French/Asian interest with Prof. David Caron. They do not require GRE anymore, offer full funding to every accepted student and are really pushing their search for interdisciplinary and innovative projects. I strongly suggest you to contact him.

First off, thanks for the response! I had the impression the no one was paying any attention to my post. Anne Arbor is actually a university that's been on my radar for awhile as it's highly talked up at my UG university for French and I have family who have attended. 

Since you're already in I should be able to ask you, what exactly does one say when contacting a professor about their program? I just feel like I wouldn't know where to start. I also did some research on the professor you mentioned and the closest thing I can find relevant to Franco-Asiatic studies is his interest in culture studies. Does that specifically span into things asian? Lots of questions, feel free to respond to some and not all. 

 

Thanks

[Vincenzo Salvatore]

First off, thanks for the response! I had the impression the no one was paying any attention to my post. Anne Arbor is actually a university that's been on my radar for awhile as it's highly talked up at my UG university for French and I have family who have attended. 

Since you're already in I should be able to ask you, what exactly does one say when contacting a professor about their program? I just feel like I wouldn't know where to start. I also did some research on the professor you mentioned and the closest thing I can find relevant to Franco-Asiatic studies is his interest in culture studies. Does that specifically span into things asian? Lots of questions, feel free to respond to some and not all. 

 

Thanks

 

Nowadays non-Spanish languages are a little bit underepresented (here as in universities). Ok, first thing you have to consider is that online biographies are not exhaustive at all, lol. Last year David offered an undergraduate course called "Indochina and the Power of Loss", you can find here the synopsis: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/cg/cg_detail.aspx?content=1920FRENCH350001&termArray=f_13_1960,w_13_1920,f_12_1910,w_12_1870,f_11_1860

 

As I told you, they are longing for good students with innovative projects (trust me, I am in the Graduate Committee of the RLL department ), so they would love your request of informations. Basically, write him the same thing you wrote here. Or even better, you can write a mail to Peggy McCracken, she is the Director of Graduate Studies and a professor of French: she will solve every doubt you have. You can also tell her you spoke with me, for what it is worth... but, really, just write them.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Vincenzo Salvatore

[Zeugma]

Welcome to the forum!  I also wanted to throw in my two-cents here! For Franco-Asian studies, which is a pretty rare course of study in North American graduate programs of French, there is Dr. Jack Yeager of LSU who has published extensively on France and Vietnam in post-colonial contexts. To my knowledge, Dr. David Caron has not published on Asia. Interestingly, looking at Michigan's website, it seems as if there is a graduate student of French who is focusing on Franco-Asian Studies. If you are looking to do Postcolonial-related work in the French-Asian context, Dr. Yeager is an authority figure on French-Vietnam literary studies in the United States (I believe he even lived in Vietnam years ago during the war). There is also Dr. Ching Selao of the University of Vermont who has recently published on French-Vietnam literary studies that "updates" a lot Yeager's work. Best of luck with your search! In any case, Michigan, LSU, and Vermont are some great choices to consider!  

Sincerely,
Z

[ouibeque]

Northwestern is also a great program (I almost went there--they're good in person as well as on paper), and Christopher Bush is a youngish but up-and-coming and brilliant scholar who is particularly focused on interplay between France and Asia... Rather than doing an inadequate job of summarizing his work, I'm just going to direct you to his faculty page, here : http://www.frenchanditalian.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/bush.html

 

In any case, I'm thinking with a field of interest this specific and this unusual, you're probably going to be looking for very particular faculty members rather than for programs as a whole, and I think Bush might be a good option. The department is also pretty strong across the board, and they're very nice and close-knit.

 

As to your chances--a huge amount of this is up to chance. I graduated from a good (not great) school with a really good GPA, French-dept. involvement limited to taking classes (no French club, no thesis, etc.). My GRE scores were good (but they really only matter if you do terribly, and even then not necessarily), and I'd spent a good bit of time in France. The first time I applied to grad school, I got accepted NOWHERE. The following year, I applied again and got in EVERYWHERE. I didn't reapply to all the places I had the first time, but I did reapply to 3 and got into all 3 (including 2 top-10 programs). Not to be snotty, but I'm at a very well-regarded program at an Ivy now (not as friendly as Northwestern, though!). All I changed was my SOP, and not even that drastically. So it's impossible to say, based on your numbers, what your outcome will be.

 

That said, a few things can be really important: pick schools that are well suited to your interests. Research department. Research the faculty and know why you want to work with them. Mention this in your SOP and in any interviews you might have. And make sure that you have professors who will write you EXCELLENT letters of recommendation. If you're buddies with any profs who have connections, leverage that. Study for the math GRE so that your scores are respectable. Select your writing sample carefully--make sure it shows your best work, and edit it if need be. Basically, make sure your dossier is as good as it can possibly be in every respect. Finally, and this is the best an most important piece of advice anyone can give you, DO NOT ENTER A PHD PROGRAM UNLESS YOU HAVE FULL FUNDING. PERIOD. The job market is too horrendous to saddle yourself with crippling debt in order to earn a degree that might very well never earn you any money. Full funding means tuition reimbursement, stipend, health insurance, and preferably at least some type of summer funding, all for at least five years (preferably 6. If you teach a lot, like we do in my department, you'll need 6 years. That's getting hard to come by, though). In fact, the job market is so horrendous that you should think long and hard about even applying to programs in the first place--and if you do end up choosing to do so, make sure you get a full ride.