English MA Acceptees 2015

[bgt28]

Hi! Just wanted to see if I could get people to coalesce around deep and heartfelt congratulations, MA/PhD planning/funding issues specific to people who are pursuing an MA, course selection, actually enjoying the program, and reapplication for the Fall 2017 cycle. How are you all doing? Looking forward to meeting (more of) my people. 

 

À bientôt,

Aron

[empress-marmot]

I'm one of your cohort, albeit in a different specialization, in a different part of the country. I spent my week looking through some of my professors' CVs to see what accomplishments I'll need to be competitive in the field. Then I narrowed down the list to ten goals to tackle my first year. It's boring work, but I like having a "checklist" of some sort to follow.

 

Congratulations to the other MAs! 

[ToldAgain]

Hi there! I will be starting a funded MA this year. I, for one, am starting to get my applications together for the PhD cycle already. Frankly, it's the last thing I want to do right now. But I think if I have a decent idea of where I want to apply, I can try to tailor my first MA year to fit my desired programs. 

 

A big part of my decision as to which program to attend has been the supportiveness of the program in general but especially the PhD students. The school I think I will attend has some of the most helpful and kind grad students I have been in contact with, and I think something like that is a great resource for getting comfortable in my new role as an academic and teacher.

[Dr. Old Bill]

Me!

 

Yup, I'll be starting a two-year M.A. at UMD in the fall. I have partial funding guaranteed at the moment (which will have be teaching freshman comp in three consecutive semesters starting next spring), and a couple of other fully funded opportunities on the table, but I'm trying to assess how manageable the workload would be to juggle TAships / GAships / coursework / teaching etc. I really like UMD's 1/2 TAship option, thanks to its emphasis on early teaching, but if I have a fully funded GAship option, do I go with that? Hrm. The one X-factor is that the 1/2 TAship is two years of guaranteed funding, whereas the other options I have on the table are both one-year options, meaning I would have to find something else in year two.

 

These are things I'll need to figure out on my own, of course. I recognize that it's a boon to have funding options at all at M.A. level.

 

ToldAgain's second paragraph is one I could have written myself. I felt extremely welcome at UMD's open house last week, and Ph.D. students, M.A. students, faculty and administrators alike were all incredibly supportive. In other words, doing an M.A. at UMD has gone from being a "consolation prize" to being an "alternate plan A" to being something I really want to do. Truly, at this point if I got a call from a Ph.D. program accepting me in, there is a strong possibility that I would turn it down...and I mean that sincerely.

 

Congrats to the three of you for getting your acceptances!

[empress-marmot]

Me!

 

Yup, I'll be starting a two-year M.A. at UMD in the fall. I have partial funding guaranteed at the moment (which will have be teaching freshman comp in three consecutive semesters starting next spring), and a couple of other fully funded opportunities on the table, but I'm trying to assess how manageable the workload would be to juggle TAships / GAships / coursework / teaching etc. I really like UMD's 1/2 TAship option, thanks to its emphasis on early teaching, but if I have a fully funded GAship option, do I go with that? Hrm. The one X-factor is that the 1/2 TAship is two years of guaranteed funding, whereas the other options I have on the table are both one-year options, meaning I would have to find something else in year two.

 

I'm nervous for you, Wyatt's Torch! I would hate having to make those sorts of choices. Are you saying that you can have a TAship and GAship at the same time?

 

Full funding from a GAship sounds wonderful, but not doing a TAship as soon as possible might set you back in opportunities to teach in the writing center (less grading) or teaching classes other than freshman comp. (Note: I like teaching freshman comp, but I will be a stronger instructor if I teach different classes.) 

Perhaps you could engineer that GAship to be for only one semester?

[cjmullis]

Hi all! Congrats on your MA acceptances and funding offers!

I will be attending Wake Forest's 2-year MA program this fall. So far, I have been awarded a partial (near-full) scholarship, but current grad students say there's a chance I'll get either a fellowship or a Writing Center assistantship in the next few weeks. TA positions are informal, so I have to approach a professor and ask to work for them for free (any advice on how to do that?!)

I haven't gotten much info about registering for classes or anything yet, but I've checked out the course offerings and decided to take Modern American Lit, Contemporary American Lit, and 18th C. British. I am looking ahead towards becoming an Americanist with an emphasis in postmodernism and critical theory, and I'm taking the Brit Lit just because professor is phenomenal and I know I'll need a little more British for the GRE subject test.

[empress-marmot]

I will be attending Wake Forest's 2-year MA program this fall. So far, I have been awarded a partial (near-full) scholarship, but current grad students say there's a chance I'll get either a fellowship or a Writing Center assistantship in the next few weeks. TA positions are informal, so I have to approach a professor and ask to work for them for free (any advice on how to do that?!)

 

Hey! Congratulations on your acceptance, and I hope that additional funding comes through for you. Fall class schedules should be up for most universities, so find three or four times/classes which work for you, and email the professor teaching the class. Be polite ("Dear Dr. Whoever: Dr. DGS directed me to email you regarding an informal TAship for your ENG 101-XX course...") and offer to send them a CV with your teaching experience/references. 

 

You could also see if a friendly student/professor contact within the department would be willing to make introductions. I've never dealt with asking a professor for a TAship, though. Good luck!

[cjmullis]

Hey! Congratulations on your acceptance, and I hope that additional funding comes through for you. Fall class schedules should be up for most universities, so find three or four times/classes which work for you, and email the professor teaching the class. Be polite ("Dear Dr. Whoever: Dr. DGS directed me to email you regarding an informal TAship for your ENG 101-XX course...") and offer to send them a CV with your teaching experience/references. 

 

You could also see if a friendly student/professor contact within the department would be willing to make introductions. I've never dealt with asking a professor for a TAship, though. Good luck!

 

Thank you! I've been lucky enough to meet all of the current first-year MAs and I've been emailing a couple recently. I think I'll take your advice and ask them about emailing/approaching professors for TA positions. When I visited campus, the students seemed to be suggesting that I wait until my second year to TA, but I really want to start right now and get as much experience as possible.

[ToldAgain]

...doing an M.A. at UMD has gone from being a "consolation prize" to being an "alternate plan A" to being something I really want to do. Truly, at this point if I got a call from a Ph.D. program accepting me in, there is a strong possibility that I would turn it down...and I mean that sincerely.

 

This is exactly how I feel. I will actually be turning down an MA/PhD offer in favor of my terminal MA degree (with the option of being funneled into the PhD, though). I definitely think it will be better in the long run, and I can see myself as a much stronger job candidate because I took some time to really explore the field before committing myself to a PhD program, and I am sure that I will be a better candidate for PhD programs in two years.

[empress-marmot]

I just accepted an offer last night! The DGS can't rescind admission because I didn't catch a typo in the email, right? I blame it on my shaking hands.

 

And I agree with what everyone's saying. Personally, as hard as it is to admit, I wasn't ready for some of the programs to which I applied. I think the director of my MA program recognized that, but the program is looking for scholars to brand. The professors seem interested in working with me, the cohort is small, and I'm really excited about the sort of research I'll be doing. Plus, I'm an hour away from my family. 

 

I'm tempted to laze about till August. I'm done!  

[ToldAgain]

I just got an email from Purdue; apparently I am being taken off their unofficial waitlist for their MA in Literary Studies, funded with a TAship. This complicates my decisions substantially, but in a good way!

[Dr. Old Bill]

I just got an email from Purdue; apparently I am being taken off their unofficial waitlist for their MA in Literary Studies, funded with a TAship. This complicates my decisions substantially, but in a good way!

 

Congrats!

[empress-marmot]

I just got an email from Purdue; apparently I am being taken off their unofficial waitlist for their MA in Literary Studies, funded with a TAship. This complicates my decisions substantially, but in a good way!

 

Ooh! That's really exciting. Congratulations!

[ToldAgain]

Thanks! I'm talking with the DGS tomorrow morning. I am really excited.