Humanities Phd Orientation

[adamjsh]

I'm currently a junior in college and considering my options after graduation. I'd be interested in pursuing a Phd in the humanities (ideally, in comp lit, continental philosophy or religion). Ideally, I'd like to apply to a program that is in a major English-speaking city (New York, Boston, LA, Chicago, London, Toronto, Sydney, etc) and is somewhat interdisciplinary. How can I start to figure out which schools offer funded PhDs in these areas, admissions rates, which field are more/ less competitive, etc.

Any guidance to help orient myself would be very much appreciated! 

[fuzzylogician]

1. Figure out what your research interests are (this is a process, and a hard one at that. Take your time thinking this through; before you know why you want to apply for a PhD and what you'd study, you should not consider applying for a PhD).

2. Find the researchers who work on exciting problems in your area that you think you might enjoy having as advisors (browse prominent journals in your area, look at who is presenting at conferences and what they are talking about, track down workshops, invited talks, etc.).

3. Find out where the researchers you identified teach (this is straightforward, affiliations are easy enough to find, or you can google the names).

4. Read up on those programs to find other potential advisors at the same schools, information about funding, etc.

5. Repeat until you have a reasonably large set of schools that are in locations you'd want to live in, seem like a good fit for your interests, and whose requirements you meet. 

6. Show the list to a professor you trust. Ask for his/her opinions about each school, and if they have other suggestions based on your interests.

(Ranking, admissions rates, competitiveness, etc. are a lot less important than fit. I would not worry about those. You are much likelier to get into a higher ranked school than a lower ranked one if you have a better fit with the former than the latter. But if you're really concerned at least some of this info you can get on the schools' websites, and more info will come from bringing your list to a trusted advisor and asking for advice about these choices and others that they might suggest.)

[juilletmercredi]

What is your major? It would be the uncommon individual who is equally qualified for a PhD in comparative literature, continental philosophy AND religion...if you're a literature major, for example, you are probably competitive for comp lit PhD programs but not necessarily philosophy or religion. Exceptions would be if you are a double major, are in some interesting individualized major or if your research is at an intersection of the fields (i.e., a philosophy major may get into a PhD program in religion if his research interests are in philosophy of religion). That said, I'd consider not only what your interests are but also what you are qualified to do. If you want to switch fields you may end up having to take additional coursework; you could do that during your senior year or as a post-baccalaureate student if necessary.

Secondly, how important location is in your search probably depends on your goals for the PhD and your own personality. IMO, location should be lower on the list if your goal is to be an academic - i.e., a professor at a university or college - with your PhD. The reason is that the humanities are already very, very difficult to find academic employment in, and you greatly raise your chances if you attend one of the top programs in your field (top 25-30ish or so). But the best programs that fit your interests and also have a good reputation in your field may not be in one of those really major cities. For example, Brown is a top-ranked school in comparative literature, but Providence is a rather small city. Purdue, Penn State, and Indiana are also all excellent comp lit programs that are located in small college towns. Obviously you don't want to be anywhere you are going to be miserable (and looking at the comp lit programs, actually most of the top ones are located in or nearby a large city in the U.S.), but consider fit and reputation and program placement alongside location when choosing a program.