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PhD Grad Program Research
7Jul2006 Filed under: right work Author: Marcia HansenI took a little bit of time this afternoon and linked PhD grad programs at del.icio.us that I’m planning on applying to in the Fall. This list is tailored to my personal interests in digital media, professional/technical writing and communication, rhetoric, and WAC. I’m sorry, I know there are other great programs out there that are not on my list.
However, if you look at the corresponding Yahoo map, you’ll notice that there is not a place that is farther north than Chicago. I’m sorry, but I just can’t bear the thought of spending 4-5 years of my life any farther north than that, even though it meant eliminating some really great programs.
What say you — given my interests and geographic preferences, is there a university with an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes digital media and/or professional/technical writing that I’m missing and should consider? Do you know of any academic bloggers who profess or study at the places on my list? Please let me know.
After spending 2 years at Mizzou and then traveling first to Texas Tech and then to Ohio State this summer, I’m especially aware of different graduate program cultures. If you can offer feedback, suggestions, or questions for me to be sure and ask to help me figure out the culture at different institutions, please let me know.
In addition to teaching, tutoring, and pet sitting this summer, I’ll be working on my writing sample, personal statement, and re-taking the GRE (argh!) with the goal of getting all my documents submitted in a timely fashion. Plus, I want to also submit a creative digital media project to improve my chances of getting accepted at some of these places.
Thoughts, ideas, etc. welcome in the comments below or to mmh989 AT mizzou DOT edu. Thanks!
- Tags: academia
7 Responses to “PhD Grad Program Research”
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About m2h blogsMarcia Hansen works by day as a marketing manager in social media. At other times you'll find her traveling about speaking, writing, and learning. And, if she's lucky, it's on her Honda Shadow 1100.
Please note -- the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent my employer's positions, strategies, or opinions. If you want to know more about me, you can visit my About Marcia Hansen page above, or my home page at MarciaHansen.com.
Yep,
George
July 7th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Check out the University of Maryland’s program. UMD has MITH, and digital studies guru Matt Kirschenbaum is on faculty in the English Department.
They also have a substantial program in Language, Rhetoric, and Writing.
Over half of the Wordherders are or (or were) grad students at Maryland.
John
July 8th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
There’s the University of Florida, which has produced Bradley Dilger, Jeff Rice, and Brendan Riley, among others. And while it’s a brand new program — begins this year — Virginia Commonwealth University’s PhD in Media, Art, & Text might be of interest.
PhilosopherP
July 8th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
I don’t know about the programs, but I live in the Twin Cities and I’ve lived in Nebraska and spent plenty of time in central Iowa (Ames) and Chicago. If you’ve elimintated Minnesota because it it is too far north, you should reconsider… the actual temp is sometimes a bit lower, but without the wind and the ice, the weather is actually often better here than in Chicago, Ames and Lincoln. We also get a ton of sunny days in the winter —
Faith Kurtyka
July 9th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
Hey Marcia! Thanks for posting your list – these all look really interesting. And don’t feel bad about eliminating the northern schools – PhD’s should be about sunshine as well as scholarship
Best of luck in applying!
Andrea
July 11th, 2006 at 10:24 am
A great list! I am looking at several of these same schools as well, but I’m actually looking more towards the Northeast (at half-past thirty, I don’t think I could move too far from the famil-dogs-bligations). I’ve never been test-phobic, but the mere mention of GRE’s (shouldn’t they be called “GRRRRs” instead?) makes me break into a cold sweat. It seems you have a lot already together here– a plan, great ideas, and some definite goals. Best of luck!
madeline
July 11th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
I wanted to second the hear!hear! offered above: it DOES matter where you are in terms of weather/geography/etc. Don’t feel bad about eliminating schools in places you just don’t want to be–or that are far from people you want to be close to, etc. It’s not superficial; it’s smart. A PhD program is hard enough; no point in making it HARDER than it needs to be.
Good luck on those GREs; some places put a lot of weight on them for fellowship consideration, and decent scores can get you some free money.
marcia
July 13th, 2006 at 5:34 am
Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. I really appreciate it.