Grad School Awesomeness #2: Some Things to Do Before Applying

This is a second in my "Grad School Awesomeness" (GSA) series, and it too is a modified excerpt from the same email conversation as the first post on whether to Ph.D. or not. Today's post talks about things one can do to prepare to apply for Ph.D. programs in (comparative) literature. (I sound like a total jerk in these emails, but such is life...)

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I think past experiences and interests, however related they are (or not) to the Ph.D. field, are integral to who you are, as well as to your thought process on applying to Ph.D. programs. To be honest, I encourage the Ph.D. path with anyone who is interested, even given the caveat that I mentioned in my previous email...but that's because I believe that anyone who is interested in higher education should have access to it and the opportunity to succeed in that environment, regardless of what happens after graduation.

You know, having a foreign language or not isn't a big deal—of course, I imagine most Ph.D. programs want you to have English plus at least one foreign language, but it's also good to know one foreign language well rather than two only so-so. You can also apply to English lit Ph.D. programs and not really have to worry about foreign language skills as much; it's with Comp Lit programs that foreign language skills become crucial for the admission process...

I'm gonna take the liberty to suggest a few things to put on your to-do list this summer (if you aren't teaching and have time).

1. Read some good books, both for "academic" reasons and for fun
2. Read some "theoretical" texts
3. Read some books from academic presses (Duke University Press, University of California Press, University of Minnesota Press, etc.)
4. Write a "seminar paper" as a writing sample

I should explain a bit:

1. Read some good books—I imagine you already like to read, so this shouldn't be too painful. But think of all the books, classics and pop fiction, that you've been wanting to read—and read them! Considering those you've read in the past and have liked, start a list of the texts and writers that appeal to you. These can be texts that become your objects of analysis later on.

2. Read some "theoretical" texts—Grad programs will vary on how much they emphasize "theory"; my department REALLY emphasized theory (as do many other programs in the UC system), and programs develop reputations on their theoretical/intellectual approach in this way. (This becomes crucial in your professional development, because it determines your (perceived) intellectual "fit" at different departments when you're applying to jobs.) At UCSD, all first-year Ph.D. students take a three-quarter theory sequence: first quarter is about Marx and other "big name" theorists; second quarter is about gender and sexuality; third quarter is about postcolonial theory. (That's a gross oversimplification of the sequence, but so be it.) You can probably find reading lists for "theory" courses that give you an idea of what you might want to read. Something like this list from UPenn is a place to start, though it's somewhat skewed...

3. Read some books from academic presses—In any Ph.D. program, you'll be "reading" both primary texts (novels, short stories, film, etc.) and secondary texts. How well you know your secondary texts (the stuff from "academic" presses and others (Routledge, Verso, etc.)) will define how rigorous you are as a scholar. Given your research interests, you can visit the Websites of some of the presses (those three are pretty top-notch) and see if you can find books that interest you. Check them out from the library and flip through them. Take notes as you read, note the primary and secondary texts they analyze and cite, and see if you notice any texts that get mentioned repeatedly (and try to read those if you have time). Your initial questions and musings provide a great place to start reading. (Also, as you start narrowing down your choices for programs to apply to, try to read the books by professors that you'd be interested in working with.)

4. Write a "seminar paper"—As you read these books, if you decide that you need a writing sample as part of your application package, check out the guidelines for the applications and figure out the number of pages you might need for such a writing sample...then write a "seminar paper"! (You can google "how to write a seminar paper" to get some suggestions.) As a grad student, you'll be writing a number of things—seminar papers, project proposals, fellowship applications, dissertation chapters, journal articles. But at least during your coursework years, for each seminar you take, you'll most likely be expected to write a seminar paper. In my department, since we're on the quarter system, they tend to be pretty short—10–15 pages. (My friends in other departments write 20+ page seminar papers, though, so I'm not sure what's up with that.) But pick the number of pages you want to aim for (with standard formatting: 1" margins, 12 pt. font, double-spaced) and write! You can always cut the paper to make it work for schools that require fewer pages. But take all the good books, theoretical texts, and academic books you read over the summer, and try to come up with your original thesis/argument. It doesn't have to be a ground-breaking thesis, just something to show your application reviewers that you know how to read texts, synthesize information, and output an intelligent paper. Whether or not you enjoy this process of writing the "seminar paper" is crucial—because that's essentially what you'll be doing your whole time in grad school (in addition to teaching) . . . :)