I got admitted into MAPH at UChicago, but I’m having second thoughts for the following reasons:
I’m hoping to do literature but I have zero experience in the field, haven’t even done A-levels. I do linguistics in undergrad which is on the margins of the proper humanities.
MAPH is one-year, and for someone with next to zero background in the humanities, I can’t imagine how I’m supposed to jump into graduate level humanities work and catch up.
I’m a slow reader (like 20 pages an hour) and English is my second language. I have only a couple months to prepare myself but can’t think of anything practical to do other than take an AP course in literature which in no way makes up for undergrad.
That said, MAPH is different than a typical masters program in two ways:
They were advertised as interdisciplinary. Their website used to say “some students completed their bachelor degrees in a field outside of the humanities and would like to learn more about humanistic study.” But curiously this sentence has been taken down from their website just this year, so maybe they realized that going fresh into the humanities at graduate level is NOT realistic for some of their students?
Their thesis requirement is 25-30 pages, half of that of a two-year program.
So my question is, is it realistic or doable at all to study an MA in a field of humanities without undergrad foundation? Is it going to be hell of a struggle?
Full disclosure: I don’t know very much about the MA Program in the Humanities at UChcago.
I do know a decent about Masters & PhD programs, and about their relative usefulness. And, I did do a Masters in a field that I had never studied before.
Based on that my first question is: why do you want to do any Masters, and why do you want to do this Masters? The ‘why’ is essential. Come back with that & we can go from there.
In practical terms, I think that your reading speed is going to be a bigger issue than your lack of Lit background. Learning reading techniques (such as scanning) would be a better use of your time than AP Lit (though reading an AP Lit study guide - especially one that focuses more on the content of the course than practice for the test- would give you some useful vocabulary and concepts).
Thank you for the useful advice. My reasons for doing this masters is that I feel like I’m not done with higher education before going into employment, and an MA under my belt could be an advantage. I have no career plans but I quite like teaching. Also, with linguistics I’m not satisfied with the work I’ve done in the humanities and hope to do more. I wish MAPH was two years that would be perfect, more breathing space and a better chance at catching up, but it is one year and looks super daunting.
Which field did you do your MA in? What’s a good reading speed I should try and aim for?
i certainly know people who’ve done their undergrads in one discipline and their graduate degrees in a different one – for example, moving from a STEM BA to a grad program in History, specializing in the history of science and technology. Or humanities undergrads who completed premed requirements to go to med school. Part of the point of doing an interdisciplinary program is to draw on methodologies from a number of disciplines, so I think anything in your background would be helpful for that.
I would second @collegemom3717’s question, though – what’s your purpose in pursuing this line of study? Is it to test the waters in new areas before making a bigger career or academic shift from your undergrad background? Is it personal interest? Academic MA programs (in other words, not professional degrees) will be unlikely to get you a job but could be used as a springboard for new opportunities. So your “why” is the most important question here.
As to your background, every grad student needs to learn to “gut” a book, and there are plenty of reading tips available online.
EDIT: You posted your response while I was typing, so I didn’t see your answer to the “Why” question. If you’re testing the waters in new fields of study, that’s fine. An MA is not a huge commitment, if you have the time and money (or are funded, which is not common in academic MA programs). But if you’re thinking of teaching in K-12 schools, you’ll need a specific program in teacher education to do that (at the very least, a non-degree post-BA program that offers teacher training and prep for certification). If you’re thinking of pursuing a Ph.D., you’ll want to think first about the very difficult academic job market. And then you’ll want to ask the folks at Chicago’s program whether their students are typically admitted with their MA degrees into Ph.D. programs, or whether you would likely need to get an additional MA in the discipline you decide to pursue in order to move on to the Ph.D. in that discipline.
Thank you so much! Would you please elaborate on an MA not being a huge commitment? Is it going to be more rigorous than undergrad? because I’m struggling in undergrad as it is. I don’t do very well with abstract things like theoretical text. Linguistics is so niche that it’s impossible to find interdisciplinary ground with the rest of humanities, especially literature (well I’m not so keen on translation). I really want to put in the work for this program but worry that without a foundation in the humanities or the field I hope to specialize in, I simply can’t make it in one year.
in terms of the commitment, I just meant that MA programs don’t last very long, and therefore, you can do one without redirecting your whole life. I didn’t mean that the program itself would not be a lot of work – it will be, but only for a year or two, right?
I have always considered linguistics to be part of the humanities (you’re dealing with language, after all), and at least tangentially linked to other disciplines because you encounter a lot of different kinds of texts and have to figure out how to analyze them. So in that sense, I would think it would set you up well for an interdisciplinary program that requires you to read widely.
if you’re considering going deeper into the humanities in some capacity, I would think that this MA program would give you a good sampling of various disciplines, so you could choose your direction after you finish.
Will it be difficult? I imagine so.
I don’t think a 1 year Masters program, in the humanities, will provide a significant advance in your literature skills. Literature is taught over the years and it builds with references to similar authors and techniques.
Teaching requires time, in the state where you hope to teach, for credential requirements, because the certification and teacher exams require hundreds of hours of working with students and recording student teaching hours with supervision and instruction in how to teach.
A lot of us, on this website, probably won’t have any experience or familiarity with this program. That being said, I’m wondering why you would attempt a Masters and Thesis, in an unfamiliar discipline. You’ve said that you’re not done with your education and mentioned possibly looking for teaching opportunities. Where will you do that?
If you don’t have permission to teach in the US, you wont be able to get a job.
The humanities majors tend to have more difficulty in procuring employment in the US. Immigration for non-residents is decades-long for wait times.
IMO, $100,000 is an expensive way to avoid choosing an adult path for a year.
The clearer you are about why you want to do a Masters the more likely you are to choose a program that will fit with that goal, and in turn the more value you will get from the program.
No matter what, a Comp Lit Masters will involve very substantial amounts of reading and writing. It is rare to fail out of a paid Masters, but it can happen.
No matter what, a Comp Lit Masters will not get you a teaching job, and in itself will not be an advantage for anything.
If you are an international student, an MA from U Chicago might have enough cachet that it will help you get a job. For example, International Schools in your home country might hire you as an English teacher- once you have at least some teaching experience. But: with that experience you could very well get the same job with your Linguistics BA.
If you are interested in teaching, getting credentialed for teaching is probably a better use of your time and money.
If you think that you might want to do academic research as your career, look for a job as research assistant in related fields (profs at your uni can probably help you get started). A year or two of that will tell you if that is your path, at which point you can apply to PhD programs, or to Masters programs that are a clear fit for what you want to do, not just a way to stay in school a little longer.
Thank you. That really hit a sore spot - the adult path I don’t even know where to start. I’m an extreme introvert. My undergrad is an ivory tower. I feel both socially and intellectually behind, what can I do? My mom has been teaching English for 30 years I just figure there’s no hurry if that’s what I end up doing. And if I gave myself a little extra time in education, who knows, I might find other paths.
This is probably oversimplified or irresponsible thinking, but my current goal is really just getting the education. I’m all for learning just for its own sake, not satisfied with linguistics, a fringe /niche subject in the humanities. If a new field is a challenge then I’m all up for it. I’d like to possess a set of rigorous academic skills in the humanities, plus a background in literature and culture if I want to teach English. So I guess I’m pretty clear on the why, it’s just at the moment there’s a lot of self-doubt about ability and maturity.
@aunt_bea Thanks for the input. At the moment I’m not thinking about a PhD, and working in the US does not appeal to me much more than in the rest of the world.
And if you have $100,000 / year to do that, more power to you!
Unless you are independently wealthy, it is still not the clear “why” that you think it is. If you are, then this whole conversation is moot and your plan is -generally - just fine. I am still concerned about you going for Comp Lit though, as the intensity of the reading and writing will be high even for strong readers.
However, if you are not independently wealthy, where is the funding for this coming from? Is your mother teaching English as a full time job, b/c the money is needed to keep the household going, or b/c it’s something she enjoys doing and she can do it more or less intensively as the rhythms of her life allow?
I don’t see ability as an issue for you - you were accepted to a MA program at UChicago, which is not nothing! - and I get how daunting the world can look to an extreme introvert who genuinely enjoys being a student. I had several years of work experience between UG and Grad, and I remember so clearly the delicious feeling when I realized that it was actually my job to immerse myself in the reading and research!
That’s why I suggested looking for a research assistant position. As an example, I know a recent humanities student who is now a research assistant for a big-name professor. The pay isn’t great, but it’s enough to keep her going, and like you, she wasn’t quite sure what direction she wanted to go. She is enjoying working with this professor, both the actual research but also all the things she is learning around that.
Again, if you are independently wealthy, nevermind. But if there will come a day where you have to earn your own keep, think hard about spending that $100k: will it be a good investment?