Acacia Group monthly meeting 2/26/06

Agenda

 

Applying for Doctoral Programs

 

Introduction and welcome:

 

Christopher A. Black M.A. Candidate in English California State University, Fullerton

Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics CSUF

(949) 830-9203 HM.

(949) 370-0824 VM.

cablack1@student.fullerton.edu

 

Colleen Davis M.A. Candidate in Linguistics California State University, Fullerton

Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics CSUF

 

Introduction to PhD programs:

            As a graduate student at Cal State Fullerton you have been exposed to the essential skills of reading, writing, and critical thinking that are vital to your success in advanced study. Many of us have various career goals. Some of us want to pursue careers in publishing or editing. Others want to pursue teaching at the high school or junior college level. Many of us want to pursue advanced study at the Doctoral level. Like any career choice, applying to graduate school takes careful thought and dedication.  Successful completion of a PhD program takes considerable time and effort. Before you even fill out applications it is important to ask yourself what you hope to accomplish through further study. Below I have listed a series of questions that will help you as you consider if a PhD program is right for you.

What are my ultimate career goals and how will they be furthered by an advanced degree?

What experiences in my personal or professional life have led me to consider pursuing advanced study?

Am I ready to devote several years of my life to an advanced program?

What have I learned in my M.A. program that will contribute to my success in a PhD program?

How will my research interests be furthered in a Doctoral program?

What schools and programs have faculty members that will be able to facilitate my research interests?

How much time will it take me to complete my applications?

Now that I have identified schools that I would like to apply to what are their application requirements and when are the materials due?

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:

 

            Perhaps the most important piece of the PhD Application is the statement of purpose. Because the graduate committees at many schools do not have the time to interview all the applicants, they want to get a sense of your research interests. They are also very interested in how you will fit into their program. Like a job interview, the statement of purpose is your to chance to sell yourself to the committee. Test scores and Grades are important, but they cannot give the committee an overall sense of the applicant’s qualifications.  Therefore it is very important that you take the time to think and reflect on what you want the committee to know about your experience. The statement of purpose is also helpful when asking your professors for letters of recommendation. I have found that it is easier for an instructor to write you a strong letter of recommendation if they have a copy of your statement of purpose. Your letters of recommendation will be stronger if you references can back up your assertions in the statement of purpose.  You should look upon your personal essay and your letters of recommendation as complementary. Depending upon the particular school’s requirements, the Statement of Purpose is a typed essay of about four pages or 1000 words. Some institutions have specific questions they want you to address and others want a general statement of your goals and qualifications. Here are a few examples:

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX:

Department of English PhD program options in English and American Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, and Applied Linguistics

 

Statement of 500-1000 words.  In this statement, please indicate the reasons for your interest in graduate study and explain your career objectives.  Define your research interests if you can. You may include other information that would be helpful to those considering your application.

 

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK:

Department of English PhD program options in Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, and Creative Writing

 

Applicants must submit a written statement of approximately 250 words which identifies a proposed area of study, reasons for undertaking graduate study in this area, relevant work experience, and future career plans.

State University of New York, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.

Department of English PhD program options in Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, and Creative Writing

 

The Personal Statement. This is a very important part of the application and therefore it is worth spending a considerable amount of time conceptualizing, revising and proofreading it. The statement should also be reviewed by someone who is a good editor and (ideally) familiar with the protocols of the genre. It is the first document we read and the first indication we have of who you are. Typical statements weigh in at about 2-3 typed, double-spaced pages.

We recommend that your statement address three points. First, it should give us an indication of what you will pursue at the graduate level in terms of field. This can be articulated in the form of theoretical inquiry, methodological approach, specific authors, historical period (i.e. contemporary U.S. multicultural literature, Victorian, Medieval, Renaissance), and/or genre. There are also many other modes of intellectual specification, such as World Literature, Anglophone Caribbean fiction, etc. Second, the statement should explain to the committee the reasons for your choice of field. Why pursue your intellectual interests at a graduate level? If you do not have a specific project in mind, then give us a sense of the questions that you will ask and why they are important. You can take this opportunity to explain how you became interested in pursuing a graduate degree and/or your interest in the specific field. Third, the statement should also answer the question: why the Buffalo English Department? What resources (human or otherwise) and programs do we offer that would help develop your intellectual interests?

Let me add that your statement does not commit you to a specific project if you are admitted. You can arrive wanting to study the Black Nationalist poetics of Gwendolyn Brooks, and then decide after three years of coursework that you would prefer to write about the eco-politics of Thoreau. It is entirely up to you. The objective of the statement of purpose is to demonstrate to the committee that you can define intellectual parameters of inquiry and articulate a field of study (though not necessarily a specific project). Avoid lengthy autobiographical and anecdotal details about how you came to love literature. Such general statements are a disadvantage in an increasingly competitive applicant pool.

 

Before you start writing you may want to take a look at a couple of samples. For your convenience, Colleen and I have given you copies of our respective personal statements. However, you can find more samples through the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. Search Yahoo for OWL and you should find their website very easily.  They have a database of writing samples for various graduate programs in various fields.

 

GRE Basics Subject Test vs. General Test and what is required

           

            All programs will require you to take standardized tests. Depending upon your program you will be required to take the general test (verbal, quantitative, written) or the Literature in English Subject Test. Some schools require that you take both exams. Please check with individual programs as to their requirements. The general test is taken at local testing centers on computer. You can register for the test and find test centers at the GRE website. The URL is www. GRE.org. CSUF offers GRE preparation courses through extended education for a fee. These courses provide an overview of the exam and various strategies for tackling math and verbal problems. Please check with University Extended Education for the schedule of classes.

GRE Disclaimer:

            While the GRE is a requirement and a necessary evil, it is not the sole determining factor in admissions for PhD programs. There are multiple factors that determine student success. Grades and test scores are one measure of success. However, strong letters of recommendation, clear writing samples, focused statement of purpose, and scholarly activities are all factors that contribute to a successful application. Cut off scores for the exam like 500 or 600 are only benchmarks. It is more typical to find schools that consider the applicant as a total package. For example, consider this statement from SUNY at Buffalo.

The Committee reads every application folder, then discusses them at long and contentious meetings. Mostly we find ourselves discussing the personal statements, the writing sample, and the letters of recommendation. While we do gauge grades and GREs, we are not number driven and we trust our judgments. We have accepted candidates with modest GREs and have rejected candidates with stratospheric scores. Furthermore, we do not place any particular emphasis on the schools you have attended. It is not the prestige of a school that produces interesting applicants. Brilliant students dwell in strange or obscure places, and they interest us.

 

BOTTOM LINE- Take the tests and do as well as you can. However, keep in mind that the exam is not the end all of an application. Do not allow your tests scores to keep you from applying to a program that you really want to attend.

 

How to identify an appropriate program

           

Before you can start filling out the paperwork and asking for recommendations, it is important that you think about what areas you are going to emphasize. It may seem obvious, but a school that is emphasizing renaissance drama is not going to be appropriate for a candidate who is interested in nationalism the works of Herman Melville. While it is important to make a list of possible schools, you really need to narrow your list down to school that have strong departments in your area of research. There are several ways to do this. You can talk to faculty members about their experiences, you can write letters of introduction to perspective schools, and you can use databases on the Internet to research graduate programs. However you choose to proceed, you need to take time to make informed choices about where you are going to apply. Here is a list of online resources that I found helpful.

            Gradschools.com is a free database of graduate programs listed by category. They provide information on program options and research emphasis. Faculty Graduate advisors are also listed for each individual program. The site also has information on recruitment events around the country and free information that you can receive by mail from perspective schools. The MLA also has a guide to doctoral programs online. It can be found at their website mla.org. While the MLA guide is comprehensive resource be advised that it is a work in progress and does not include information on every program out there. However, it is a particularly good resource for admissions statistics and information about teaching assistantships and other important information for perspective applicants. Lastly each individual program website is a valuable resource for prospective students. You should not apply to a school before looking at their own website. Graduate programs provide information about tests required, application deadlines, and other criteria on their websites. You wouldn’t write a seminar paper without doing the necessary research into your topic. Consequently, you cannot put together an effective application without doing research into programs.

           

What I did for my applications

 

            In total I applied to six schools. Since the focus of my M.A. degree at CSUF has been in American Literature and Early American Studies, I was primarily interested in finding schools that emphasized my particular field. I want to work with scholars who are interested in the Early National Period. After spending quite a bit of time looking through websites and searching gradschools. Com, I found that there were several schools in Texas that were emphasizing Colonial Literature and the Early National Period. In the summer of 2005, I was able to attend a recruitment event at the University of Texas, Arlington. This visit provided me with an informative introduction to the resources available in their program, and was an opportunity to meet with the English Department Graduate Advisor. Beyond the general academic requirements of the school, I was able to get a sense of faculty members that I could work with and the research areas of the department. I had a forty five minute interview with the graduate advisor in which we discussed what I was currently working on at CSUF and what resources were available for a possible dissertation topic. Visiting programs and talking with faculty members are an invaluable source of information. Face to face contact helps to give you a better sense of the school and its emphasis. If possible visiting a faculty member and getting a sense of a program is an excellent way to add to your research.

            Just like job hunting, networking is an important factor in meeting faculty members from prospective graduate programs. Professional conferences provide excellent opportunities to meet with other graduate students and faculty members. Conferences are also an opportunity to present your work and gain feedback on your research. We are fortunate in the Los Angeles area that local conferences are readily accessible. My first conference was at the University of California, Riverside. It provided me with the opportunity to present my research on Melville. It was also an introduction to their program and their resources. This conference helped me to decide to apply to UCR when the time came. Conference presentations are an integral part of your CV and are evidence of your ability to express yourself verbally and in writing. They also provide evidence that you can conduct research at a high level. I have presented papers at local conferences and nationally. My work has been well received in Texas and that has helped me in my decision to emphasize graduate study at Texas Universities.

Questions to ask a perspective program

            Here are a few questions that you should ask when approaching a perspective school.

What are the minimum application requirements and when do I need to apply?

Do you accept applications in the Fall, Spring or both?

Where do I send my supplementary materials? Important- Make Sure you get the exact address!!

What is your GRE code for the computer test scores? (You will be required to provide this when you take the general test to send your scores electronically)

Does your school have letter of recommendation forms that need to accompany each instructor’s letter?

What financial support is available for graduate students in your program? (i.e teaching assistantship, research assistantship etc. . .)

Are tuition waivers available?

Do you provide health insurance for TA’s/ RA’s?

What type of training program do you have for new Teaching Assistants?

Is there subsidized Graduate Housing available for students?

 

Finally here is a checklist of materials that should accompany an application. This is a general list. Please check with each school to see what they require.

Three Letters of recommendation

Statement of Purpose

CV (good idea even if they don’t ask for it)

Writing sample (usually about 15 pages)

Seminar papers and conference papers are ideal for this

 

Thank you for your time and participation. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks,

Christopher Black and Colleen Davis