Where should I go for my PhD?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I’ve been admitted to various grad schools to pursue a phD program in French lit. I’ve reduced my options to three choices and am now trying to figure out which school I should attend next fall. I’m currently hesitating between Tulane, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and WashU.
Tulane’s program may not be as prestigious as the two other schools but Nola seems like an amazing place to live in! UIUC probably has the greatest program in French since it was designated center of excellence by the French gov, along with Harvard, Ucla, Columbia, Duke etc. but I’m an international student and have never really heard of that school before. Finally, WUSTL is greatly ranked and their program fits my research interests; however St Louis doesn’t attract me whatsoever… My main concern is about job placement. I’d like to work as a French professor in the states once I get my PhD and I’m afraid my chances at getting a great position could be reduced if I attended, let’s say, tulane and not washU. I’d be grateful if you guys could give me your opinion on that so that I can make a decision ASAP…thanks! This all gets me really confused!</p>

2

<p>I think that it depends on what you mean by a “great position.” I assume this means the college or university where you could become a professor. If so, you might go to the websites for several such colleges and see where their French Lit. professors got their Ph.Ds. If there are lots from WUSTL and UIUC, but none from Tulane then that tells you something… namely don’t choose Tulane. On the other hand if there is no pattern at all, then that tells you that it might not matter.</p>

<p>For starters, go to the websites for all three of these universities and see where those professors got their degrees. If most of the Tulane French Lit. professors got their degree from say UIUC then you might want to attend UIUC too. But if the reverse is also true (UIUC profs got their degree from Tulane) then it would appear that Tulane is great. This is not simple, and it might not actually tell you much… but it does not take much effort and is a great way to get a start. Probably can be done in about an hour or so. Time well spent.</p>

<p>By the way, congratulations. All of those schools are fine institutions. Also, I agree New Orleans is the best city among these three. Certainly it is the most interesting and unique.</p>

3

<p>Disclosure: French lit is not my field; I’m not even in the humanities.</p>

<p>I’m assuming that all three of these are equally great scholarship fits for you, with professors in every department who have the expertise necessary to advise you in your work. Otherwise the choice is obvious.</p>

<p>Tulane’s program must be new-ish (last 10 or so years) because it’s not ranked by the National Research Council. Its professors come from top places, though, so I’m assuming that it’s a good program. Wash U and UIUC are close enough on the rankings that the differences between them don’t matter - they are equally good schools as far as rankings go. (UIUC, since you have never heard of it, is actually a powerhouse research institution in the United States with excellent programs in many, many fields.)</p>

<p>Basically, you shouldn’t choose a PhD program based upon where you want to live, especially not in an impacted field like the humanities. Language and literature studies programs are under threat in the U.S. right now, which means that they are small and shrinking. Departments are consolidating - Michigan is a top 5 French program and their department is one of “Romance Languages and Literatures.” Thus, if you want to work as a French professor here you need to be a superstar in graduate school - come from a top program and have good, well-known professors who are willing to recommend you (in addition to having a great dissertation topic and a few publications).</p>

<p>I’m not saying to go somewhere you’ll be miserable; obviously rule out any of these locations if you think you’ll be said most of the time there (especially since humanities PhDs take 8-10 years on average). I’m saying that location should be a secondary concern to the quality of the program. But I have no expertise in this area. UIUC and Wash U are known quantities; they are both excellently ranked French programs. You yourself say that the Wash U program fits your research interests, probably the best. If you’ve never been to St. Louis, it could be a great city - you don’t know. It’s actually a pretty big city. But even if it’s not the greatest city, you only have to be there temporarily - and most graduate students put down roots and make friends and connections enough to make your time there enjoyable.</p>

<p>Also remember that the more flexibility you have on the front end, the more choice you will have on the back end. A person who goes to a top 10 or 15 school is competitive for more jobs, and perhaps has a greater chance of settling down somewhere desirable. But ALSO remember that given how extremely competitive the market is, you have to be willing to settle down pretty much anywhere if you want to be a French professor. Going to Wash U or UIUC might be an experiment in seeing if you are able to live in a place that doesn’t attract you as much.</p>

<p>None of the professors at Tulane got their PhDs at Tulane, and perusing a few other programs, I don’t see professors there from Tulane either. It’s possible that Tulane is still relatively new and so they don’t have many graduates, or it’s possible that their graduates mostly go to teaching institutions and public regional campuses without doctoral programs. Then you need to decide whether you are okay with that, or whether you really want to be a French scholar who teaches at a place with a doctoral program.</p>

<p>Another thing you can do is simply ask - call the department and ask what their recent placement rate is (last 5 years), and at which kinds of programs alumni work.</p>