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6. Graduate Studies |
| Many English majors enter
graduate and professional schools in preparation for such
careers as law, business, management, journalism, and
public service. Other English majors continue their literary
studies in graduate school in preparation for teaching
and research. Selecting an appropriate graduate school
according to your interests and career plans requires
thought. For further information and tips on applying
to graduate school, see the Introduction
to Graduate School page on the Department website. |
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6.1 Preparation:
Course Selection
If you are considering graduate
studies, see the Academic
program adviser for recommendations on courses offered
at the undergraduate level that will effectively prepare
you for graduate study. Important courses include Chaucer,
Milton and Literary Theory and Criticism.
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6.2 Should
You Apply to Graduate Studies in English?
How can you tell if you should
apply to graduate studies in English? Be sure that you are
significantly committed not only to reading literature, but
to learning about how the academic community analyzes and
teaches literary texts. Indeed, in entering graduate school,
you are making a commitment to enter a community of scholars
and thinkers who have chosen to work towards uncovering new
and exciting ways to read and understand written texts, social
movements and cultural events. Once you enter graduate school,
you will be asked to become a contributing member of that
community. Deciding to apply to graduate school in English
involves its own significant commitment in terms of time and
energy. Think of the application process as another course-one
that runs from about June to December. To best prepare your
application, you should focus on four elements: Letters of
recommendation, GRE exams, Researching Programs, and Statements
of Purpose/Writing Samples. Following is a brief discussion
of how to best prepare those elements.
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6.3 Teaching
Credential Program
If you plan to pursue a teaching
career, you should discuss your plans as soon as possible
with the credential adviser in the Graduate School of Education,
which maintains various advising programs for your differing
career plans. The Graduate School of Education offers a program
of graduate studies leading to a Single Subject Teaching Credential
in English or a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and a
Master of Arts in Education. Admission to the program requires
completion of the Bachelor of Arts Degree in English.
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6.4 Letters
of Recommendation
Most programs require 3 letters
of recommendation with your application. Letters should come
from faculty, not from a TA (though a TA is sometimes asked
to assist in providing a faculty member information for a
letter). Letters of recommendation should ideally come from
faculty who are familiar with your work and who are enthusiastic
about your chances in graduate school. One way to make sure
that this is the case would be to visit professors in their
office hours on a regular basis, discuss with them your interest
in graduate school before you ask them for letters of recommendation.
Have them help you in deciding which schools would be best
for you considering your interests. Provide your letter writers
with lots of time to complete a letter-do not give them forms
a week before the application is due. Provide your letter
writers with samples of your written work from classes here,
a copy of your statement of purpose, a copy of your writing
sample, and a copy of your transcript. You will want to ask
them if they need anything else from you well in advance.
Again, meet with your letter writers early and often to ask
about their suggestions for programs, to talk about your statement
of purpose, and to generally establish a good rapport. Always
provide a stamped, addressed envelope for your letter writers,
fill in recommendation forms with your name, etc., and present
materials in an organized way. It is a good idea to remind
them of application due dates well in advance. Getting a good
letter of recommendation is a privilege, not a right.
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6.5 GREs
You will likely need to take
both the GRE general and the GRE subject test. Each
school is different though, so make sure you know what exams
are required for each application. In some cases, schools
do not require the exams at all, though that is a rarity.
Check the GRE web site (www.gre.org) for information on dates
and scheduling. In some cases, the exam will not be offered
near you. You need to be ready to travel to take the exam.
The general test is very similar to the SAT in that it has
a verbal and a math section. In addition, the GRE also includes
a logic section. It is very useful (but costly) to take a
preparation course. If you cannot take a course, do be sure
to buy one of the preparation books and practice ahead of
time. The subject exam is now only given on the computer,
so make sure you are comfortable with that environment. The
subject test is still paper-based. It is very important
that you take the exams on time —otherwise your
scores will not be sent to the schools to which you are applying,
and your application will be void. (The general test must
be taken by October of the year you are applying; the subject
exam may vary, check with GRE on this.)
Be sure you prepare yourself
for both exams as best as possible. The subject exam is a
comprehensive exam, which covers British and American literature
(prose and poetry), as well as a significant number of questions
about literary theory. A good strategy, if you have the time,
would be to take elective courses in the major that increase
your breadth of knowledge. Realize as well that these exams
are costly; the general exam costs $99, the subject exam costs
$130. You can take each of the exams more than once. The most
recent score will be reported to schools.
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6.6 Researching
Graduate Programs
Researching programs is one
of the best and most useful things you can do to prepare a
successful application. You want to make sure you end up at
a program that fits your interests and strengths-one at which
faculty is enthusiastic about you as a student and as a future
colleague. If a program doesn't seem interested in what you
have to offer it, you should not be interested in spending
your time and money there. Begin by asking faculty members
here about their recommendations on programs. Visit web-sites
and give yourself lots of time to look at them. Ask lots of
questions! Try to talk with faculty and current graduate students
in each program. Find out about program requirements (exams,
language requirements, teaching duties, course work). Ask
about recent graduates: What is the job placement rate? Ask
schools how many new students they admit every year. This
will give you a sense of what the faculty/student ratio is.
The lower the ratio, the better chance you have for the sort
of personal attention you will need in finishing the degree.
Does the department seem friendly? Do they sound excited about
you and your interests? Do they put you on hold a lot? Find
out about the area. Is it a place you could imagine living?
Remember that you will likely be spending a good number of
years of your life there. Find out about funding options.
Will you be expected to teach? How many years of guaranteed
funding do most incoming students get? Find out how much applying
to the program costs. Application fees range from $30-$60.
Find out about admission requirements. Some schools are very
clear about GPAs and GRE scores. Don't apply if you don't
qualify. Finally, explore the research faculty with whom you
might be interested in working. Read what they have written.
Does their work seem to fit with your interests? Again, you
want to end up at a program that will nurture you and your
individual project. Be sure there is someone there who you
might like to have as a mentor in that respect.
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6.7 Statements
of Purpose and Writing Samples
All schools will ask for both
a statement of purpose-a one to two page explanation of your
interest in graduate school in general and your expected specialization-and
a writing sample-a 10-25 page formal essay you have written
while getting your BA. Spend lots of time on both!
The statement of purpose is one of the things in your application
that will set you off from the other applicants. You should
think hard about why you want to go to graduate school, and
why a particular program seems to be a good fit. In general,
you should avoid the "I love literature" statement. Be ready
to outline your interests as closely as you can. Explain what
you want to work on and why a particular program's faculty
is exciting to you. If possible, have current faculty members
(especially those writing your letters of recommendation)
read your statement. Begin working on it early so you can
revise! It might be worthwhile to ask a TA you trust to read
it over as well, be sure to give them plenty of time to do
this. Your writing sample should be a research paper from
a class you have taken here. It should usually be from 10-25
pages long (again, check the requirements of each individual
program, as they all differ) and should represent your best
intellectual work. If it is in the field you want to pursue,
all the better, but it need not be. Revise that writing sample
substantially! Again, the revision is best done with the help
of those faculty members writing you letters. You may want
to ask (well in advance) what sort of changes might move the
paper towards graduate level and work on those revisions for
your applications.
Finally, you should be extremely
organized. You might want to plan a 6-12 month schedule for
this process. Also, be aware that each program has different
requirements and different due dates for applications. Be
sure you are aware of the nuances and are prepared to present
your best application.
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