Canadian schools vs US schools

[steve3020]

Hey everyone. I've got a question for those of you who are already doing your phd, finished, or professors, etc.

So I've just graduated with a degree in politics, and I'm changing my field to comparative literature or english or media studies (Brown). There are a few schools in the US that I find ideal for my studies and interests. They got top scholars in the field and so on. Ok so my problem is that I got a gf who wants to move with me and I'm not American and neither is she so we'll need visas. But America doesn't allow your dependent to come and work there so she can't really come with me. 

On the other hand, Canada does allow you to bring your partner and give her rights to work there, so that'd be perfect for me and my gf. However, the problem is that there are fewer schools that match my interests there, and I can't really find the very top scholars in my specific field. 

Anyway I'm not asking here whether I should choose my personal life over career. I just wanna know what people think about doing grad work in Canada in English, Literature, Literary Theory, etc. Thanks! 

[EmmaJava]

I'm not your target audience (sorry) but can't help wondering: would it not be an option for your gf to get a visa independently? And also, is she really "dependent" in the legal sense if you're not married?  And even if so, wouldn't that be subject to all kinds of variables, tweakable upon your decision? You could be way out ahead of me on these things, but your post seems to assume certain things that I'm not quite ready to go with just yet! Good luck.

[EmmaJava]

Also, meant to say that Arthur Kroker at University of Victoria (BC) is in political science but has pioneered ctheory.net and would be a perfect bridge to those other theory-heavy disciplines that you mention. Their English department, for example, offers a "special concentration" in Cultural, Social, and Political Thought (CSPT): http://www.uvic.ca/interdisciplinary/cspt/, which is one of the main reasons I applied there. Kroker does a lot of McLuhan-type stuff, and so the potential media studies focus that you mention is strong.

[Dr. Old Bill]

Like EmmaJava, I'm also not your target audience...but just remember that Canadian schools don't waive tuition. It's a shame, as there are one or two programs I would seriously look at applying to if that weren't the case (especially since I myself am Canadian), but even though tuition is generally lower in Canada, that's still a consideration.

 

[steve3020]

9 hours ago, EmmaJava said:

Also, meant to say that Arthur Kroker at University of Victoria (BC) is in political science but has pioneered ctheory.net and would be a perfect bridge to those other theory-heavy disciplines that you mention. Their English department, for example, offers a "special concentration" in Cultural, Social, and Political Thought (CSPT): http://www.uvic.ca/interdisciplinary/cspt/, which is one of the main reasons I applied there. Kroker does a lot of McLuhan-type stuff, and so the potential media studies focus that you mention is strong.

Thanks a lot for the information on the course, it sounds great. 

About the visa, if I'm right Canada acknowledges your partner as 'dependent' if you lived together for more than a year I think, which we have. I heard it's very difficult to get a work visa if you are not super skilled in some specialist area. So that's the main reason I'm considering this route. Anyway thanks and good luck to you too.   

[steve3020]

1 hour ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Like EmmaJava, I'm also not your target audience...but just remember that Canadian schools don't waive tuition. It's a shame, as there are one or two programs I would seriously look at applying to if that weren't the case (especially since I myself am Canadian), but even though tuition is generally lower in Canada, that's still a consideration.

 

Hey there. From my research it seems some of them do? For example, i'm gonna apply to Comparative literature at U of Toronto and it says they guarantee funding. Well I might be wrong, I'll have to look at it again. 

[Dr. Old Bill]

Just now, steve3020 said:

Hey there. From my research it seems some of them do? For example, i'm gonna apply to Comparative literature at U of Toronto and it says they guarantee funding. Well I might be wrong, I'll have to look at it again. 

Yup...they guarantee funding, as in a stipend...but that doesn't include tuition. So they pay you, but you still have to pay to attend, if that makes any sense.

[steve3020]

Just now, Wyatt's Terps said:

Yup...they guarantee funding, as in a stipend...but that doesn't include tuition. So they pay you, but you still have to pay to attend, if that makes any sense.

Oh shit haha. Actually I asked a question about funding in Canada and one Canadian member told me that outside stipend (which is usually smaller than US schools) other expenses are usually covered by TAship. Isn't that the case? 

[erosanddust]

13 hours ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Like EmmaJava, I'm also not your target audience...but just remember that Canadian schools don't waive tuition. It's a shame, as there are one or two programs I would seriously look at applying to if that weren't the case (especially since I myself am Canadian), but even though tuition is generally lower in Canada, that's still a consideration.

 

If you're Canadian, you could consider applying for a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship! In fact, you can even apply to use SSHRC funding in non-Canadian programs at the PhD level.