Asking for a gap year between MA and PhD?

[holi10]

I am writing because I was hoping to get some opinions from other graduate students on my current situation. I am a second-year MA student in Hispanic Linguistics and I will be finishing up my MA in the spring of '18. I have already been awarded a post-doctoral fellowship that will be granted to me after I finish up my dissertation in the PhD program. Currently, I am wanting to take a year after completing my MA to study in Spain for a year at the Universidad de Salamanca to complete a year Master in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, given that it would give me time to make some academic contacts abroad, take classes associated my areas of study (Second Language Acquisition and Spanish Pedagogy) and better my Spanish. In our program, a lot of students take a year before the PhD or during the PhD to study and work as an English teacher in Spain, Mexico or Costa Rica. I am interested in doing the same, however, my option or "program" would not be associated with the University.  In other words, I would be going about it on my own and asking to defer entrance into the PhD program. Many people ask me why I do not want to do one of the University programs and it is because you have to teach English. I taught English for a year in Spain and I truly did not like it. My passion is teaching Spanish and not English and I do not feel "comfortable" spending the majority of my time devoted to planning English classes when my goal of being in Spain is to better my Spanish.

I have talked to other graduate students in the department and they said that (they think) I would be allowed, but I have to gain approval from the graduate studies director. However, before going to do that, I was wondering if others have been in similar situations and if you have any recommendations or suggestions. My main concern is that I do not want the University to think that I am not wanting to continue on in the PhD program because this is simply not the case. I do not see myself completing my PhD in another University.

 

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks

[MarineBluePsy]

So the school that you'll be getting your PhD in is the same school you did your MA in?  If so, then would it be an option for you to take a sabbatical for that year before your PhD program in order to go abroad?  If this is even an option you'd have to clarify what happens with your current funding and health benefits.

[holi10]

It would be the same school yes. Even though I have been offered a post-doctoral fellow, I still have to "apply" for admissions into the program. After they accept you into the program, I believe (or so I have been told by other grad students in our department) that you can defer admissions for a year. In other words, they will hold your position (funding, health benefits, etc. 

[MarineBluePsy]

I'm wondering if maybe you mean a doctoral fellowship instead of a post-doctoral fellowship?  A doctoral fellowship would be funding to get your doctorate now while a post-doctoral fellowship would be funding you get to do research or some type of project in your field after you've finished your doctorate.  If you have not earned your doctorate and will not earn it for a few years it would be very strange to be awarded a post-doctoral fellowship.  Assuming there is a circumstance that allows you to earn post-doc funding before you have earned your doctorate I don't understand why they would care if your doctorate would take a year longer because you spent a gap year studying abroad?  It seems that would make you more valuable in your field and either way they aren't currently paying you anything so they lose nothing.

[holi10]

Thanks for the response! I understand that it sounds "strange," but they did offer me a post-doctoral fellowship due to their hopes of me completing the PhD with them and even went on to explain (what you explained as well) that I would be awarded the funding after I finish the PhD. I think that they would think that studying abroad would be valuable experience to help propel my research, however, it just makes me "nervous" to ask for a gap year or in the terminology of the graduate school a deferral.  

Edited May 27, 2017 by NicSpain16

[rising_star]

Have you asked the program if you would be able to do the year in Salamanca when you're ABD, rather than in between the MA and PhD?

[Concordia]

Sounds like they want you a lot.  Since you'll probably be a stronger student after a year in Salamanca, they are unlikely to think less of you.  Worth asking.

Of course, a term or two abroad while in the program might be normal and easily arranged.

[AP]

 

On 5/27/2017 at 11:40 AM, MarineBluePsy said:

I'm wondering if maybe you mean a doctoral fellowship instead of a post-doctoral fellowship?  A doctoral fellowship would be funding to get your doctorate now while a post-doctoral fellowship would be funding you get to do research or some type of project in your field after you've finished your doctorate.  If you have not earned your doctorate and will not earn it for a few years it would be very strange to be awarded a post-doctoral fellowship.  

Yeah, we already asked about this here. There was no definite answer, but I'm assuming what you did. 

Now, @NicSpain16 you own your time. You can do whatever you want. In the post linked above we suggested you got all the information in writing. Do you have an offer of admission to the PhD program? If you do, you should be able to defer entry under certain circumstances. Those circumstances usually are commitments that you took/appeared before the offer (a boy in my program was offered a Fulbright before he got the offer so he deferred) or events that you couldn't have anticipated like your parent's serious illness. 

If you have a "plan of going to Spain", I would talk about it ASAP with my advisor so that he can back you up in deferring. Remember what we said earlier: you should have everything in writing!