Texas A&M Department of English: Just Don't Go

[anonymouse222]

This is an FYI to anyone thinking of applying here for graduate school.

 

Teaching assistants here are no longer instructors of record.  We are basically glorified graders.  We are not allowed to make lesson plans or syllabi.  The courses are all "canned" (made for us).  This will severely affect your chances on the job market.

 

 

The recent changes here are not good.  They've moved to trying to teach writing in a lecture hall style (writing?  seriously?), and grad students are not allowed to teach courses over the 200 level.  If you want to go into a teaching career, this is not a good place.

 

The administration is hostile to graduate students, and we have very few rights.  Any complaints are met with threats to take away our tuition waivers or stipends.

 

Cheers.

 

 

[BookReaderPerson]

I blame Johnny Football.

[ComeBackZinc]

So look, I know nothing about Texas A&M's program, and I have no vested interest in protecting that program, and maybe this poster is totally right. However, there's been a post or two like this about different programs in the last couple of years, and generally, there's some underlying story that comes out about why they're unhappy with their program. I think people should bear in mind that every program has people who are unhappy and feel underappreciated. That doesn't mean that this person is wrong, but it does mean that you should seek more opinions.

 

Also:

 

We are not allowed to make lesson plans or syllabi.  The courses are all "canned" (made for us).  This will severely affect your chances on the job market.

 

While I'm lucky enough to teach in a writing program that gives us great leeway, I have to point out that "canned" courses are very much the norm in freshman and introductory writing nation-wide. Many, many programs simply hand you a syllabus and a textbook and a list of assignments. I obviously prefer the alternative of instructor freedom, but it's not the norm, and I don't know that it's true that this will hurt you on the job market.

[ExponentialDecay]

The administration is hostile to graduate students, and we have very few rights.  Any complaints are met with threats to take away our tuition waivers or stipends.

 

Our administration attempted to sack a tenured professor the other day because they were liquidating her department. Grad school is where it starts, bro.

[despejado]

For the record, I'm an undergrad at TAMU (no experience as a grad student here, so I can't speak to that), but the department has some wonderful faculty and offers some great classes. I've had grad students teach my English courses before, so I know they are not all just "glorified graders".

Edited April 9, 2014 by despejado

[ishmael]

I hope this post hasn't dissuaded anyone from choosing A&M. While there are some departmental transitions going on, TAs are NOT simply glorified graders (though the department does have a few "grader" positions), nor are all available teaching opportunities "canned" classes. Overall, there is simply not a hostile environment for grad students-- and due to some recent developments within the politics of the department, I think things are on the upswing. To my knowledge, no one has been threatened with loss of stipend-- that is contractually illegal.

 

All departments have issues and all departments have grad students who are unhappy with policy, professors, etc. Unfortunately, you all were privy to one of those unhappy grads. 

 

EDIT: If it wasn't clear, I attend A&M as a PhD student.

Edited April 16, 2014 by ishmael