UVA MA Program

[DJS]

Hi there,

So far, I have been accepted to UMD's MA and now UVA's MA program. I am trying to weigh my options here, and would like to hopefully hear from some UVA students (as I have gotten helpful advice from UMD students).

Here is where I'm at-- I will likely have to move from NYC one way or another. I am willing to take out loans but would rather pick up a small job on the side.

Could UVA students chime in? Is anyone out there in a similar boat? Did you fund yourself for the MA? How is the area around the school/ finding an apartment?

This post also welcomes feedback from people who earned an MA from UVA and now are off in other programs.

Thanks!

[igetstuffdunn]

Hey there I'm currently finishing up my MA at UVa (just that thesis to finish) so I thought I'd chime in here. Almost everyone in my cohort has taken out substantial loans (unless their parents are helping out) but similarly most of us have positions with the university either as RAs or at the Writing Center. The cost of living in Charlottesville is totally doable, especially with roommates, and as I'm from southern California the rent seems astronomically cheap. I know people who have used the loans just for tuition and made it work just working but I've used some loans for cost of living too.

As for the program, the MA students are totally integrated in with the PhDs doing their coursework to the point that most professors don't even know who is in which program. The faculty have been great, super supportive of research ideas, really generous with their time and recommendations, always willing to give advice to help get you into a PhD. I personally know people from my MA cohort who have gotten into Ivy PhD schools this application round and in all likelyhood I'm heading back to a great school on the west coast for my own PhD. I 100% credit my success this round on the academic focus that I've gotten at UVA and the way the program pushes you to get involved in conferences and publication opportunities. The other grad students are generally pretty welcoming and wonderful too. I've loved most of my seminars. It also helps we have a library system with amazing special collections and librarians who are willing to purchase all kinds of materials for you.

Having said that, Charlottesville itself is not my favorite place in the world. I'm from a very liberal area and moving here has been an eye-opener. It's a small town and while there's some decent food there isn't really much to do. It's also a place where you'll run into people you know everywhere, whether you want to or not. Don't believe anyone that tells you it isn't the South, it absolutely is and that shows in the undergraduate population as well. But hey, for the two years of amazing academic progress I've gotten, I would say it's been worth it.

[DJS]

@igetstuffdunn thanks for writing! I have some more questions. Could I pm?

[25or6to4]

20 hours ago, DJS said:

@igetstuffdunn thanks for writing! I have some more questions. Could I pm?

Hey! I am a peer of @igetstuffdunn - hai frand!!! - and I absolutely agree with everything they have said regarding UVA. 

I am from Philly and had to make the UMD or UVA decision a couple of years ago (and am now in the process of finishing this degree and waiting to hear from PhDs.)

Accordingly, if you want a second perspective on the UVA experience, please don't hesitate to PM me! Fwiw, I live on-campus (literally next to the Rotunda) so I can answer any questions you may have about on-campus housing/living. I am also 20th & 21st anglophone/global & transnational, if that falls anywhere close to your interests.

 

[DJS]

Hey all,

I was wondering whether anyone else has some more perspective regarding UVA's MA program?