Thinking of Graduate Study

in English?

If so, you would do well to begin writing away for catalogs and information by the fall of your senior year. Professors here are ordinarily happy to advise you about selecting a range of schools to apply to that will satisfy your geographic preferences, competitive standing, and inclinations towards a specific area of concentration. Most schools require you to earn a Master’s degree before proceeding to the Ph.D., though a few admit applicants directly to a doctoral program. With an M.A., you can seek teaching positions in a junior college or pursue a variety of non-teaching occupations such as publishing or public relations. Certain institutions offer an M.F.A. degree for those interested in creative writing. You will need a Ph.D. to teach in a four-year college or university. Competition remains keen for such posts, though prospects may be improving some over the next few years. Successful applicants to English graduate programs are often able to finance all or most of their studies through a combination of teaching assistantships and fellowships.

To prepare yourself for graduate school, you should take courses that insure a solid grounding in the major authors and literary periods of English and American literature. A broad exposure to survey courses in our English 3111-3119 (220-226), 3177 (223), and 2201 (270), 2203 (271) sequences is highly recommended, as is study of figures like Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton. Because graduate work stresses the ability to pursue independent research, you should look to gain some experience working with critical scholarship as an undergraduate, particularly in our smaller seminar courses. Genuine proficiency in at least one foreign language is also advantageous, and you might begin studying Latin now if you have any thought of becoming a professional medievalist.

In reaching their final decisions, the Admissions Committees of most graduate schools consider the breadth and depth of the applicant’s course preparation, grades, letters of recommendation, the applicant’s personal statement, and scores on the Graduate Record Exam. Because letters of recommendation are extremely important, you should request these from professors who are best acquainted with you and your work. It often helps to provide your recommenders with copies of the best papers you had previously written in their courses, thereby refreshing their memories with specifics. Be sure to notify them also of precise deadlines and the nature of the schools and programs to which you are applying. Your personal statement should be carefully conceived to reflect something of your individuality and intellectual disposition. And by all means make sure this document is neatly typed and impeccably phrased.

Most schools require both the aptitude and subject area (English and American literature) sections of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Besides last-minute cramming with anthologies and review books, a course program of the sort outlined above is the only way to prepare for the subject exam. Practice materials are available for the aptitude section. For further information on the GRE Exams, consult with Career Services at 181 Auditorium Road (behind the Infirmary) or contact them by email at www.petersons.com or by mail to GRE, Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000.

When casting about for good graduate programs to send your application, you should of course remember the one right here at the University of Connecticut! For further information on this program, consult the Director of Graduate English or assistant in room 234 of the CLAS Building. You may also wish to telephone the Graduate Office at 486-2329 for an appointment or check out our web page

http://english.uconn.edu/Graduate/index.html

Revised 4/8/2008jm/rk

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