MA 2016 Advice to an Undergrad

[KWojciechowski]

Hi, everyone!! I found GradCafe a while ago, choosing to just lurk in the shadows and absorb as much information about graduate school as I could.

 

Right now, though, I'm halfway done with my sophomore year of my undergraduate degree and am looking for some advice from people who have been in my shoes. I am majoring in Communication & Sociology, with minors in Philosophy, Psychology, and Technical Writing. I work as a peer mentor at my university's writing center and know that I want to pursue a graduate degree in Rhet/Comp after I graduate in the Winter of 2016. I eventually want to teach introductory composition to undergrads, but my own personal research often focuses around how sociological and philosophical theories come to influence human interaction, specifically written texts and media communications.

 

That being said: am I pursuing the right thing? Am I studying the right subjects? I have quite some time before I actually apply to grad school, but I'm looking to make connections and begin campus visits in the next few months. With that, which schools should be on my radar? I'm looking specifically at the University of Illinois at UC (as some of my current research is being funded by their English department). Any other suggestions or scholastic advice or reading suggestions are most appreciated!

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

We're not so different you and I. 

I'd suggest forming relationships with your professors. Ask for book recommendations. Volunteer for special projects. 

I'm not sure campus visits are helpful as for getting in - but it couldn't hurt.

You want to teach in an English department but you are pursuing a major in Communications. Undergrad major isn't as important as your Master's or P.h.D. degree but there are some differences between Rhetoric in a Comm department and Rhetoric in the English department.

EDIT:

And find time to have fun. Application season is far away.

EDIT 2:

Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Have you read it? I think it'd be up your alley.

Edited December 29, 2013 by BowTiesAreCool

[Francophile1]

I am in foreign languages but I heard that composition is a tough market to get into. Try being flexible and maybe being more open to what you want to focus in for the MA/Phd

[rhetoricus aesalon]

You have many interests, but I'm having a difficult time seeing how these are culminating in graduate studies in rhet/comp. Though the field is certainly interdisciplinary, IMO your work sounds like it may be better supported by a comm graduate program. But perhaps I'm missing a link that you see?

 

You may already know this, too, but there are MA programs that fund students with TAships teaching first-year composition you might be interested in looking into. Though, these are less common than PhD programs that do the same. With that said, graduate students make up a good chunk (if not the vast majority) of instructors who teach most sections of first-year composition; adjunct faculty (who make around $18-$20k a year) will normally teach the rest of these sections, which is probably not the career you have in mind.

 

If introductory composition is your true passion, I'd recommend looking into writing program administration. Does your institution have a Director of Writing or Administrator of First-Year Writing or something else to that effect? I'd recommend connecting with her/him to see if this work is something that truly interests you. You can also check out the WPA listserv: http://wpacouncil.org/wpa-l