Graduate School

Considering Graduate School?            

What You Need to Know

    1. THE MASTER’S DEGREE: TYPES OF PROGRAMS

M. A. (Master of Arts): For those who want to continue their love affair with literature and writing by studying at a more advanced level; for secondary teachers who wish to extend their expertise in the field; and for those who are thinking about going on for a Ph. D. Several specializations are available here in WKU’s master’s program in English:  literature, creative writing, rhetoric and composition, high school teaching, and teaching English as a second language. The M. A. program in English also accommodates candidates seeking Rank II/I certification. At other universities, you will find programs in such related fields as comparative literature and cultural studies, as well as in professional, business, and technical writing.
http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Academic/AHSS/English/ma.html
    
M. A. E. (Master of Arts in Education) with Initial Certification: At WKU, this degree is for those who already have certification at the undergraduate level.
http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Academic/AHSS/English/ma.html

More intensive and therefore more quickly completed is the one-year program at the University of Kentucky that leads to both a master’s degree and a secondary Kentucky teaching certificate. The program requires 33 hours: 12 from a common core of education courses, 12 of pedagogical theory and practice teaching in subject matter, and 9 of electives in English.
http://www.uky.edu/Education/NCATE/progmic99.pdf

M. F. A. (Master of Fine Arts): For writers of poetry and fiction who wish to continue working with a mentor and for those who are thinking about going on for a Ph.D. (This degree used to be the route to teaching creative writing at the college level, but most English departments now require all candidates to have terminal degrees.)        

    2. THE PH. D.: THE COSTS AND THE REWARDS

The terminal degree required for most college and university teaching positions, the Ph. D. is a goal many dedicated students start toward during their M. A. programs. If you are drawn to this field, you are probably quite aware of its intangible benefits: intellectual stimulation, creative opportunities, a flexible schedule, and the rewarding experience of mentoring students. However, you should also note that there is a significant attrition rate among students who begin graduate studies with intentions of earning the Ph. D., and that the percentage who earn the degree but have difficulty finding tenure-track teaching positions is also substantial. In today’s market, one should not embark on this journey for job security or money.
If you enter a program that takes you from the undergraduate degree to the Ph. D. without stopping off for an M. A. (increasingly popular), you will still spend 6-8 years earning the degree. If you begin with an M. A. program, you should count on spending 2-3 years earning that degree and another 5-6 years for a Ph. D. Be sure to carefully research specific programs to examine their requirements, timelines, and opportunities for fellowships, and other financial assistance (see #4 below). If you do not land a teaching assistantship or fellowship and/or you choose to pay high tuition costs for a degree from a prestigious university, you may find yourself graduating into a field with uncertain employment future while burdened with a substantial debt load. Like medical students, Ph. D. candidates almost certainly will have to ask their partners to sacrifice some of their emotional and financial comfort while they are working on the degree. But of course, the expected salaries for assistant professors of English–typically in the low $40s–do not compare with those in medicine.

In other words, the most important reason for launching your boat on these seas is for love of the journey itself, and to undertake that requires psychological resiliency, scholarly commitment, familial support, and long years of hard work.
            
        The following websites include advice for those considering the Ph. D. in English:
        University of Iowa Department of English
        http://english.uiowa.edu/undergrad/gradschool.html

        University of Pennsylvania Career Services
        http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/grad/gradenglish.html

        University of Minnesota’s “Is Graduate School Right for You?”
        http://careers.d.umn.edu/grad_school/right_for_you.html

        
    3. BASIC ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS    
Admission to graduate school in English is competitive, requiring good grades at the undergraduate level, adequate scores on the Graduate Record Examination, and excellent recommendations.
        
        State universities like WKU usually require a minimum gpa of 3.0 and GRE scores
above the 50th percentile level. More competitive universities may have a threshold gpa of well above 3.5 and expect GRE scores above 75th or even 85th percentile. Some universities, including WKU, set threshold entrance requirements by a formula called the GAP (total undergraduate gpa X GRE score). For admission to graduate school at WKU, your GAP score must be 2200.


    4. RESEARCHING THE SCHOOLS
Before deciding which schools to apply to, use the following sources to research their programs. Some things you will want to know about: How good is the school’s reputation? The department’s? How long does it take to complete the degree? How available is financial aid? Who are the faculty members in your intended area of specialization? What are their reputations? How accessible and helpful are they? What is the normal load for graduate teaching assistants? Are there tuition benefits for teaching assistantships? How successful is the department in placing their graduates?

Peterson’s Guide to Graduate Programs
        http://www.petersons.com/

College catalogues on microfiche
        http://www.collegesource.org.libsrv.wku.edu/ (available through Topcat)

U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools 2008
http://search.usnews.com/index_library/search?group_rankings=facet_best_graduate_schools&keywords=graduate%20schools

Association for Departments of English
        http://www.ade.org/reports/index.htm

Check the WKU Undergraduate Catalogue to determine whether any of our faculty have degrees from the schools you are considering. If so, interview them about their graduate school experience.
        http://www.wku.edu/coursecatalog/index.php?subcategoryid=111


        5. A FEW WORDS ABOUT CLASS
        As you begin you approach to graduate school, you need to be aware that there is a definite, though often unspoken, class structure among universities. Fortunately, most schools recognize that exceptional students may emerge from excellent regional programs such as ours. Undergraduate and graduate majors from WKU have gone on to graduate programs at Emory, Tulane, Southern Illinois University, MIT, and University of South Florida, and Boston University, just to name a few.

To some degree, these class considerations will also shape your future employment prospects. Career Services at the University of Pennsylvania goes so far as to warn their students, “It is important to do your Ph. D. at one of the top 12 schools. These schools will position you better for the future. Usually, you receive full tuition benefits and a five-year stipend.” No doubt this is excellent advice for a student whose goal is to land an assistant professorship at a research institution. However, while being aware that you should attend the best graduate program you can gain admission to, you should also remember that many satisfying and productive careers begin with Ph.D.’s at mid-range state universities.


    6. PREPARING FOR GRADUATE STUDY
Ideally, you should begin planning for graduate school at the beginning of your college career. Remember that a good breadth of coverage in the major authors and periods is essential to your performance on the Graduate Record Examination. In other words, your undergraduate years are not a time to specialize in a period, an author, or a genre. Things you can do to prepare include the following:
•    Take additional upper-division literature courses.
•    Spend the summers reading to fill in the gaps. Read! Read! Read!
•    Since most graduate programs require reading proficiency in at least one foreign language, your studies should include 2-4 semester of a foreign language.
•    Because literary criticism is an integral part of most graduate programs, it is important to take at least one literary criticism course during your undergraduate program.         


    7. GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION (GRE)
Most schools will require both the general test (verbal, analytical, and quantitative) and the English subject test. In preparing, you will want to consider the historical spread:

            Continental, Classical, and Comparative Literature through 1925   5-10%
            British Literature to 1660                                                           25-30%
            British Literature 1660-1925                                                       30-35%
            American Literature through 1925                                               5-25%
            American, British, and World Literatures after 1925                      20-25%

        The following is the distribution of skills that will be measured:

            Literary analysis (genres, allusions, tone, rhetorical strategies, etc.)  40-55%
            Identification (of author, work, date, style, etc.)                               20-25%
            Factual information (literary history, biographical information, etc.)    20-25%
            History and theory of literary criticism                                             5-10%

Both portions of the GRE are long, and to ensure an optimal performance on both the general test and the subject test, you should plan to take them on different days. Because it is quite common to take the GRE three times before getting a competitive score, it is crucial to begin taking the test early, probably in your junior year. To prepare for the test, use available study aids and take practice tests. You will also want to spend a considerable amount of time reviewing the author and period introductions in standard anthologies (Norton and Longman, for example).

To register for the GRE general or subject test and for further information, visit the ETS website:
http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.fab2360b1645a1de9b3a0779f1751509/?vgnextoid=b195e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD


        8. BUILDING THE RESUME
Your undergraduate years are also a time for building your resume in a way that will distinguish you from other applicants to graduate school.
•    Complete the honors program in English.
•    Complete a summer internship.
•    Study or travel abroad.
•    Join an honorary society.
•    Compete for scholarships and prizes.
•    Consider a double major.
•    Work on a literary magazine.
•    Work as a tutor.
•    Present a paper or read from your creative work at a conference.


    9. DRAFTING YOUR CRITICAL WRITING SAMPLE
As you near the end of your junior year, you should have chosen and begun refining the 10-20 page critical writing sample required as part of the application to most literature and many writing programs. Since the writing sample can be a deciding factor for your application and you will want it represent your best scholarly prose, it is well to begin with a graded paper, which you then substantially revise. It would also be a good idea to ask one or more of your professors to read it and make suggestions for revision. In addition to being free of grammatical errors, the best critical writing samples engage the reader and demonstrate familiarity with the techniques of literary criticism.

    10. DRAFTING YOUR STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Well in advance of the January application deadline required by most graduate programs, you should be working on a draft of your statement of purpose. It is important to remember that good graduate programs in English are very competitive and gaining admission requires that you market yourself effectively, in effect explaining why the program should want you as a student. The statement of purpose is your chance to go beyond the information available in your transcripts, accounting for your interest in graduate study in general as well as in a particular program; detailing your motivations, goals, and talents. For further information about the statement of purpose, see the University of California at Santa Barbara’s website:
        http://www.english.ucsb.edu/undergrad/aftermajor/statement-of-purpose.asp

    11. CULTIVATING MENTORS
Developing very good relationships with several of your professors should be an integral part of your undergraduate English major. Those most likely to succeed at the Ph. D. level are exceptional students, “over achievers,” whose initiative, expectations for themselves, and concern for improvement usually exceed stated class requirements. Beyond excelling in the classroom, one key to demonstrating that you are “exceptional” is to talk to your professors, whether informally or in scheduled conferences. Give them a chance to know you. Ask for guidance in developing your expertise in the discipline of English. Talk about your studies. Make your career goals known.

    12. SECURING EXCELLENT LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
       Over the past three decades, as the market has continued to be tight, fully-elaborated letters of recommendation have become increasingly more important for students who are planning to enter graduate programs. In order to prosper in the competition for graduate fellowships and teaching assistantships, you will need at least three letters from faculty members who are very enthusiastic about your academic promise. Successful candidates will have teachers who can attest to their intellectual ability, knowledge of the discipline, integrity, emotional maturity, etc. in specific and persuasive terms. Typically, the person writing the recommendation is also required to rank the student in comparison with other students (the chart below from the University of North Dakota is provided as an example of what you may expect to find in most application forms).
        
        When it is time to ask for letters of reference, it is helpful to provide your professors a brief resume of your accomplishments, a description of your goals, and copies of graded papers. If it would be helpful to have your professors include key terms or descriptors or to detail pertinent experiences that you had in their classes, a brief note of explanation may ensure that the resulting letter touches those bases. As a courtesy, you should give your references a list of schools you will be applying to, along with their deadlines and details about the method of application (whether forms are to be filled out in hard copy or online, for example). Be sure to provide a stamped, addressed envelope for each letter they are to mail. Since really good letters of recommendation take time to compose, you will want to request letters several weeks in advance. Once your references have agreed to provide letters, it is an excellent idea to send an email reminder at least a week in advance of the due date. In addition, even after the letters have presumably been sent, you will want to check to see that they have been received by the graduate schools to which you are applying. Finally, it is important to send a thank-you note to each of your references.

For more information on securing great letters:
http://greatrecs




    13. TIME LINE FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATIONS

    Junior Year
•    Talk with your mentors about your interest in graduate school.
•    Study for, take, and retake the GRE general and subject tests.
•    Begin looking at graduate programs and requesting materials from them.
•    As you write critical or creative pieces in class, keep in mind that you will need one or more writing samples to include with your graduate school applications.
•    Make an initial draft of a “Statement of Purpose” (this portion of the typical graduate school application requires that you outline your disciplinary interests and career plans.

    Senior Year
•    Early fall: Request application materials, detailed information about programs, financial aid applications from several schools. (Since most will charge application fees, you will want to narrow your list to 8-10 before actually applying.)
•    Post all application deadlines on a calendar (anticipate the actual deadlines by at least two weeks). Because admission committees often begin accepting students and awarding financial aid and assistantships in advance of the actual deadlines, it is important that your application and all supporting letters arrive early.
•    Meet with your mentors. Ask their advice on your “Statement of Purpose” draft and check to see if they are willing to write you strong letters of recommendation.
•    If you have not yet taken the appropriate capstone course (Eng 492 for literature; Eng 406 for writing), do so in the fall. Use this opportunity to further polish your writing sample/s. Literature majors will need a well-researched and impeccably documented essay that demonstrates skill and creativity in literary analysis; writing majors will need pieces that demonstrate their best creativity and most thoughtful work, as well as stylistic sophistication and understanding of contemporary form.
•    November: Complete all application forms (where paper copies are involved, use a photocopy first to ensure neatness). Give your recommenders copies of your “Statement of Purpose,” recommendation forms, and stamped, addressed envelopes.
•    December: After grades are posted for the semester, have your transcripts sent to the programs you are applying to. In cases where the deadline is early, send a partial transcript, and then have the last semester’s grades mailed later.
•    Mail applications at least 2-3 weeks before the due dates, making sure that all materials are included. Check with recommenders to make sure letters have been sent.
•    Call departments and graduate schools to make sure all materials are in your file. Follow up with recommenders whose letters have not yet been received.
•    March: When acceptance and rejection letters begin arriving, compare the programs and any offers of financial aid, tuition remission, teaching or research assistantships. Contact schools you have not heard from, and make them aware of offers from other programs.


    FOR MORE INFORMATION--    
        On applying for graduate school:
Modern Language Association “Guide to Graduate Programs”
        http://www.mla.org/resources/gdp_intro

        On the GRE:
Advice and online courses from Princeton Review
http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/gre-test-preparation.aspx

Karen Lurie’s Cracking the GRE, 2nd ed. (Princeton Review Firm).
http://www.randomhouse.com/princetonreview/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375765506
    
        On writing the application essay:
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_perstate.html

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