Master's in English Lit: UK vs US?

[onerepublic96]

Hello there! I'm currently an undergrad (graduating in 2018) with the ultimate goal of pursuing a PhD in English lit (specifically my interests are Romantic & Victorian studies). Unfortunately, it so happens that I am not majoring in anything related to English, so I am looking to complete a master's degree first. I have some interest in studying in the UK, but I wonder if there is any significant difference between US & UK master's degrees in the field that could potentially harm my chances at later pursuing a PhD in the US?

Ideally, I'd love to be able to get into one of the better programs, so to speak, though I know how insanely difficult that is. I am currently at a top 10 school for undergraduate, if that has any bearing, and specifically would like to pursue my master's at University of Edinburgh (I'm really interested in their Romantic & Victorian program). 

So I guess my questions are: does the name of the graduate institution matter a great deal in PhD applications? Would a UK degree put me at any disadvantage? 

 

Thanks in advance for your responses! 

[JessicaLange]

Well, you have to consider the cost and the strain on your social life. An MA will take 1 to 3 years and if you don't have the money to travel back home, you may miss weddings, births, deaths, and other important events. This is ultimately what made me decide to stick to the US. I have heard (and I can't list a source so I can't really speak to the validity of this statement) that US schools don't always take foreign graduate degrees as seriously as US degrees. However, I think that had more to do with PhDs. I don't know Edinburgh very well, but I think it's reputable enough that it would not be detrimental to get an MA from there. I personally would ask people from my undergraduate department (especially if I went to a top 10 institution). If you know anyone on the adcom or can get in touch with them, ask them if you would be shooting yourself in the foot by studying abroad.

[Axil]

I got offers from some really great UK MA programs this year and I especially like Warwick. I also like that they only last one year. While I didn't apply to Edinburgh, I've heard it's one of the very best in the UK. I only have a BA so I can't validate anything from personal experience, but I highly doubt that an Edinburgh degree would put you in any kind of disadvantage. You will have to gather funding of course. 

I am not sure where I will attend this fall but if I do go to the UK, I will probably apply for a research Mphil for the year following my MA, as this would give me time and preparation for PhD programs. In a one year programs, PhD apps prove difficult. 

[CaffeineCardigan]

12 hours ago, Diagon said:

I am not sure where I will attend this fall but if I do go to the UK, I will probably apply for a research Mphil for the year following my MA, as this would give me time and preparation for PhD programs. In a one year programs, PhD apps prove difficult. 

How do people go about that? I applied for Trinity and Edinburgh this cycle (no results yet) but I've been wondering about what it's like going to PhD when the Uk/Ireland masters programs are only a year. Is it common to go through two programs to give you more time? Is it just a mad rush of adjusting to your first semester of grad school while also applying for PhD programs? I haven't made any decisions yet but any insight is helpful. 

[Axil]

40 minutes ago, CaffeineCardigan said:

How do people go about that? I applied for Trinity and Edinburgh this cycle (no results yet) but I've been wondering about what it's like going to PhD when the Uk/Ireland masters programs are only a year. Is it common to go through two programs to give you more time? Is it just a mad rush of adjusting to your first semester of grad school while also applying for PhD programs? I haven't made any decisions yet but any insight is helpful. 

From what i have gleaned, admittance to a UK PhD is through a very specific research proposal, almost akin to writing an introduction to your dissertation. So most people go through this second year (Research Mphil/MA). In some cases, one is directly admitted to a PhD program in the Spring of their MA with an Mphil route, i.e. you do an Mphil with the full intention of continuing the PhD at the same institution. Once you hear back, you should clarify these things with the DGS at the UK institution. 

A stand alone Mphil after an MA would give you time to explore American programs, as you'd have already completed your MA. 

[onerepublic96]

Is it generally better for any reason to apply to PhD in the middle of MA? What about after the MA is completed? I'd think applying after completion would be looked upon best, as an applicant would have a more solid body of work/ performance to show for the MA degree. I may very well be wrong, though..

[Yanaka]

If you're okay with the gap year, maybe  

16 minutes ago, onerepublic96 said:

Is it generally better for any reason to apply to PhD in the middle of MA? What about after the MA is completed? I'd think applying after completion would be looked upon best, as an applicant would have a more solid body of work/ performance to show for the MA degree. I may very well be wrong, though..

 

[Caien]

There's a whole pile of things to consider here. While I've only got a BA, I got it in Ireland where we have the same system as the UK, so I thought a lot about the differences when deciding to apply to the states and discussed it with my professors who had experienced both systems.

I don't think you could say that a US MA is better or worse than a UK, they're just different due to the different education structures. In the UK, the students will for the most part have chosen English as their course before entering uni. The concentration of English courses they'll have taken will vary from uni to uni, but generally the UK students will have taken many more English courses at undergrad level that US students, as here we don't have general education requirements to fulfill. This causes a bit of an acceleration along the path to PhD. The Masters are then specialised (Victorian, Early Modern etc), so if you consider the students have a broader grounding in English studies than a US English major, the one year Masters is sort of more equivalent to the second year of the two-year US MA or even the first two years of a straight to PhD US program.

Most Masters programs over here will want you to have your thesis locked in before entry (you'll be allowed to change it if you want of course, but as you'll be often matched to a supervisor early on to help you based on your proposal, this is much rarer than in the US, often changes are minimal) - its the main part of the personal statement in the application. In the more competitive programs like Oxbridge, if you're intending to go on to PhD you'll be expected to mention this in your Masters application, and be ready to hit the ground running when you enter the program in order to progress with your thesis.

The time frame is tight yes, but it is the norm to go from the Masters to the PhD straight away. The application deadlines are a bit later for most unis in the UK than the US - spring rather than December - but you're definitely under pressure. This is why its more ideal to have you're Master's thesis progressing healthily in the first term of your Masters, as generally people will be proposing some extension of that as your PhD. As another poster mentioned, the PhD application here is centred on the research proposal. You'll be advised to get in touch with potential supervisors in advance of submitting the application - its more like the sciences in this way, as often you'll be admitted to work with a specific professor based on you research proposal. The other things that might be considered in a US statement of purpose - undergrad courses, personal motivations, more general interests - are not emphasised at all.

It would certainly be easier to take a year out in between the Masters and PhD, but that depends on whether you would personally be okay with that. I can tell you that its not the norm, so you won't be really disadvantaged in being rushed. It generally accepted over here that Masters years are a mad dash of insanity in 9 months, and all the other PhD applicants will be dealing with much the same thing. I applied to a Masters in the UK this year and had some of the same concerns as you, and when I asked my professors if it would be better to do a two year research masters rather than a one year taught masters to prepare for the PhD, they were universal in their recommendation of the one year taught program.

As far as going from a UK master to a US PhD, I went through many top-tier US programs current grad student list to investigate this, and almost every program had someone with a Masters from the UK or Ireland. Predictably, Oxford and Cambridge were the most common, but Edinburgh did crop up a few times. Their department is excellent. As someone who had to navigate the US application system by myself, I would also say that in a US MA you would have the advantage of professors who know the US app system and how demanding it is. On the other hand as the Masters here are specialised, you'll have the advantage of knowing your subfield in depth, and if you're focusing on British, Scottish or Irish lit studying over here might also be considered a plus in the adcomm's eyes.

There's also the cultural differences to consider. The writing style over here is more formal (some would say old-fashioned), and many of the more prestigious unis in the UK don't place a lot of emphasis on theory. Historicism is the norm. There's also less emphasis on professionalisation. While you may get to attend a conference or two, you likely won't have an opportunity to teach.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Caien

[Avalanched]

5 hours ago, Yanaka said:

If you're okay with the gap year, maybe  

 

One thing to consider is your recommenders if you hope to continue on to a US PhD-- will you have three people who can recommend you strongly from a UK MA, or will you have to fall back onto your BA profs? The latter is dodgy always, and I've heard that the former will definitely not be possible by the December of your entry year (if it's a 1 year program), so you'd have to wait until the following fall to apply (which would work better re recommenders if it's a 2-3 year MA program.) 

Recommenders are a small part perhaps, but a part that ends up affecting your PhD apps like crazy in the US! (I know from bad experience!) 

[crugs]

15 hours ago, Avalanched said:

One thing to consider is your recommenders if you hope to continue on to a US PhD-- will you have three people who can recommend you strongly from a UK MA, or will you have to fall back onto your BA profs? The latter is dodgy always, and I've heard that the former will definitely not be possible by the December of your entry year (if it's a 1 year program), so you'd have to wait until the following fall to apply (which would work better re recommenders if it's a 2-3 year MA program.) 

Recommenders are a small part perhaps, but a part that ends up affecting your PhD apps like crazy in the US! (I know from bad experience!) 

This is so true....To top it off, (I graduated from King's 3 years ago), none of my profs actually work there anymore...So I had a HELL of a time trying to get a LoR. Have one from BA, one from MA (who wasn't a prof but is a program advisor), and one from work....That's what is worrying me the most about my application and it just seems so urgent to get in somewhere this year because I'm pretty sure I can't go through that trauma of getting LsoR again. But, my focus at that point wasn't to move on to a PhD so I didn't have the foresight to ask for letters while I was there. If that's a goal of yours now I think you'll be better set to lay the groundwork during the program itself