Hi everyone,
I’m in the process of applying to PhD programs, and as I start to get a real feel of all the costs and effort involved, I’m starting to think carefully about where I would actually attend if accepted and where I should even apply in the first place.
My professors at my MA institution told me I’m basically guaranteed to be admitted for the PhD and that they really want to keep me. This is great because I love my program. There’s basically only a few other programs that might make me leave. My school isn’t an exact fit for my research (but is good enough for me to do what I’m doing), but there is one other program that’s almost PERFECT and that I really, really like. They offer less funding, though, and don’t have as many big name scholars as my current school, but it’s still wonderful.
With that said, then, should I treat my current school as my “PhD safety” and apply only to the other programs I’m most interested in? I have 4 on my list that I’d seriously consider attending, but they’re also top programs. My program is a top program, too, but I could also apply to a few lower-ranked schools to be even safer.
I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything here, but I’m told I’m a competitive applicant and that I should expect to get multiple offers. I’m also thinking that I could use other offers as leverage (so, if top school A offers me a fellowship, maybe I can get my current school to do the same if they don’t originally offer it or guarantee some kind of summer funding or position. This has been done here before apparently). Of course I can’t guarantee any of this, but I’m just thinking ahead a little.
I understand that a PhD program is a much larger commitment than an MA program, so I’m just trying to do this wisely. I wouldn’t want to apply to 5 extra schools and waste money/time if I won’t seriously consider their offers, but I don’t want to get shutout either.
I’d appreciate your thoughts! Thanks.
I only applied to one school, the one I was doing an MPH at. I was doing a drastic shift in programs (public health to history). I figured if I didn’t get in, I could work for a year while applying to a wider range of schools. (I got into both programs I applied for here so my alternative plans were moot.)
Caveats: everyone here gets exactly the same funding so no leveraging, the top scholars in my field are here, and the exact research I wanted to do at the time was here.
Take your MA out of the equation. If you weren’t doing the MA there would you be seriously considering applying there and only there? If not, then I think you should apply to a range. Professors know that a PhD is an enormous commitment and a launching point for your career. They’re not going to hold it against you if you seek out other offers.
Keep in mind that you are going to be asking your current professors to write recommendation letters to the other programs. That by itself may encourage them to make sure your current college makes a good financial offer to you.
I think it’s worthwhile in your case to make the other applications. Perhaps you’ll learn about departments/schools where you might eventually take a job. So treat this as your first exploration into the professional world.
In my case, in my era, it wasn’t common practice to make visits to doctoral programs after admission. I made my choice “cold” (UWis), but never regretted it. I was more concerned with the career direction: law school or PhD? I applied to 5 law schools and 2 doctoral programs, and thought I’d let THEM make my decisions for me. That didn’t work so well, as I got into every place to which I applied.
In my experience everyone gets the same fellowship so not sure all that strategizing financially is useful. Maybe it can very in some places- I don’t really know.
You have a safety that you are relatively happy with- where you are.
You have a school that is “perfect” for you, so apply to that. If you can afford the lower funding level. Is that one of the 4 you can see yourself at?
If so, then there are 3 others that you can see yourself at and if you really like them better than where you are, apply to those too.
That’s 4 schools total plus where you are.
I see no point in applying to lower ranked schools as safeties since you like where you are and can continue.
At the PhD level you pretty much know what work you want to do and have more of the knowledge needed to choose which schools are the best for that.
My kid only applied to two, with one clear favorite.
Maybe you need to talk to more people and do more research and narrow it down a bit, I don’t really know. I would focus on where you can best do the research you want, where/who is most supportive of that work and of course what you can afford.
If you imagine getting into all of them, where would you choose to go? If you know the answer, make sure to apply there!!
Thanks, everyone!
You are correct, @compmom: the one perfect school and three other excellent schools. So, five total counting where I am at.
I’m not exactly sure how funding works, either. I think the package is standard for every student admitted, but one of our PhD students (who was an MA at the time) got offered a fellowship when he told the director of grad studies he was going to choose another school. So, apparently it’s possible if they really want to keep an MA. But neither of the two continuing MAs this year had anything like that happen.
I think my plan will be to apply to the five total schools. I know the other four schools will receive a lot of great applications and it’ll be competitive, but that’s where I’d like to be if I had to leave my program (where, yes @romanigypsyeyes, I would apply even if I weren’t there now. That’s a really helpful way to think about it).
Many MA programs don’t have fellowships, but PhD’s generally do, so that explains it.
Does staying where you are save you time? I mean, if you change schools is there course work you would have to do over or do in addition to what you have done? In other words, where you are now, do any of the MA courses or work count toward the PhD?
Pretty sure harvestmoon means that they were giving to PhDs who had previously gotten their MAs there.
Harvestmoon, I’m not sure if you’re saying this is a possibility or not but ONLY go to a program that has guaranteed funding. No PhD program (IMO) is worth it if you don’t have guaranteed funding.
Yes, @romanigypsyeyes, that’s what I meant. The fellowship was used to keep the MA student as he was about to commit to another program. And duly noted about funding. I’m certain all the programs I’m looking at have guaranteed funding, so that’s good.
I’m not sure about time to complete the degree. I’d probably be able to finish my PhD in 4 years where I’m at since I’ve taken a lot of the required course work already and I had my language requirement waived, but a couple of the other schools may only accept a certain amount of credits for coursework. This is something I’d have to discuss with programs if I’m admitted.
Would taking 5 (funded) years to complete a PhD at a good program be a bad idea? Most people at my school even take 5, unless they have a fellowship that frees up their time or finished requirements sooner.
Depends on the field. Average time to completion for my program and our 2 closest related programs is 6-7 years.
At least here, MAs can only get you out of, at most, 1 class- if you did an MA thesis.
Important question to ask your programs.
Your PhD MUST be funded… AND because there’s such a dearth in humanities positions you have to choose the highest ranked programs that match your interests. Basically it has to be a top 10 program or ivy league+ (not always the same).
It’s a huge commitment, but also imagine what will happen if you end up in poverty after all that work…
@MYOS1634, yes: funding is a must. Thankfully the programs I’m looking at guarantee funding for all the students they admit.
My field (composition and rhetoric) is new enough that rankings in the traditional sense don’t really exist, but I know my current program (and the others I am interested in) are considered “top” or “well known” programs. They have big-name scholars working there, are well-respected in the field, have high placement rates of PhD students (100% or upper 90s across the board), are connected to each other (a professor at school A got their PhD at school B while another professor at school C used to work at school A type thing), and so on. One of my professors threw around that we were number 7 in the country, but I don’t know about that because we’re so ranking-averse.
Also, ivy league does not apply. 
The top schools are actually all state schools, and I don’t think the ivies even offer comp/rhet degrees.
^ that’s why I said “(not always the same)” because I know it depends on the fields.
But be very very careful studying placement in terms of tenure track v. Including Non tenure track for instance. It doesn’t matter if your field is rankings adverse. The universities doing the hiring are under pressure from their Deans and department heads and legislatures and boards to climb rankings, cite numbers, beat bench marks, etc etc etc.
So your current school does not offer fellowships to all PhD students?
They offer 4-5 years of funding in either teaching or administrative assistantships, and some PhD students have 4th year fellowships. It might be through the graduate school, but I know they had it spelled out in their funding package/got in writing from the DGS.
I know I’m risk averse, but I would also be careful about treating the current MA program as a Ph.D. “safety.” Priorities change, new sub-groups get preferred because of shifts in power and influence etc. within a department and within a College. Perhaps consider it a strong possibility, but be wary of assuming it is a done deal, especially just based on specific profs’ statements. They may not turn out to have the power, or the purse strings, come admission season.
echoing the reality that a placement statistic in the 90% range is meaningless unless the students are going to jobs that you would actually want to take.
I know two recent grads of top ranked PhD programs who won every honor in the book, early publication, etc. who are not currently in tenure track roles. One miraculously found a well paying job in industry (for an English PhD- he’s a versatile writer who has clips from various part-time jobs in a wide range of genres, formats and topics) and one is on his second post-doc but doesn’t know what’s going to happen after that.
They both show up as employed btw-- and employed in their field (which is technically accurate) but neither are working as tenure track assistant professors despite being stellar PhD students.
Thanks, everyone. Yes, I do understand that all “employed” graduates aren’t the same. My current university has a 100% placement rate, for example, but one person this year ended up getting a full-time but non-tenure-track position. They applied for well over 200 positions but had no luck. The others got tenure track jobs, but perhaps their specialities were more in demand.
I know it’ll be a long road, and I have a plan B and a plan C and a plan D. I’m also not entirely banking on my school accepting me, despite what everyone keeps telling me. I understand the competition is fierce.
I know all the risks and the realities, but I’m going to give it my best shot.
Sounds like you have a good plan.
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to pop back in and let you all know that I graduated with my Master’s degree this spring and will be starting my PhD in the fall 
I ended up applying to 7 programs (three reaches and four reasonable fits) and got in everywhere. I narrowed it down to my top three, and all three ended up offering me fellowships, too. In the end, I decided to stay where I’m at, since the research fit is great (my interests have evolved since I first posted), the faculty are amazing, my dream adviser is eager to work with me, the fellowship will help me complete my dissertation faster, and I’ll have opportunities here that I wouldn’t be able to have at the other schools because I’ve already established myself.
Thanks for all your support – for this post, and for when I posted here while I was in college. As those of you who followed my posts may recall, I didn’t have the easiest time, but I am doing great and am really happy. I love teaching and I love what I am studying