Graduate Professional Development
Annual Graduate Student Conference
Every May graduate
students organize and present a conference entitled Conversations in
the Community in which they present their scholarly work to the University
community. Sessions are chaired either by faculty or by the students
themselves. This conference is an excellent opportunity for young scholars
to present their work at an early stage in their careers to a supportive
and interested audience.
Dissertation Workshop
This year-long, faculty-led,
voluntary writing group has been enormously successful in helping students
through the sometimes difficult transition into a full-time writing
project. This workshop usually consists of ten or fewer students, and
topics about the dissertation process itself are the focus of early
discussions. Students also present their work-in-progress to the group
throughout the year, receiving helpful and intelligent feedback from
their peers. Most students leave the dissertation workshop with a completed
prospectus and first chapter.
Job Planning and Placement
The English Department
has, we believe, one of the most thorough job planning and placement
frameworks across the country. Every student entering the academic job
market has the following resources at his or her disposal:
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1. The department
produces a Job Search Reader every year which provides students with
lists of deadlines, sample CVs and cover letters, and articles on interviewing
at the MLA, managing on-campus visits, and teaching opportunities at
two- and four-year institutions.
2. The Associate
Director offers an initial workshop on preparing your written materials
for the job search. S/he also meets with each and every student individually
to go over drafts of letters and CVs.
3. In addition, the
Associate Director reads over each student's dossier to determine that
all letters are present and in order, and that the dossier represents
the student in the best possible fashion.
4. The Associate
Director offers a second workshop during the fall in which strategies
for interviewing at the MLA are discussed.
5. Every student
who is invited to interview for any position is offered a mock interview
by the department. The mock interview lasts approximately 35-40 minutes,
and is then analyzed and discussed with the student by the faculty-member
participants and the Director or Associate Director of Graduate Studies.
6. The Associate
Director meets with every student who is scheduled for an on-campus
interview to discuss what the expect and how to handle various scenarios.
Faculty members are also willing to discuss multiple job offers with
students and how to make the decision that is best for them at this
point in their lives.
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Our program has a
placement record that has ranged, during the past five years, from between
40-75% in tenure track jobs. Many of
our students also work in adjunct positions, and some have sought work
outside academics.
Students recently
graduated from our program have obtained tenure track positions at the
following institutions: Kansas State University, Truman State University
(MO), Colorado State University, Cleveland State University, Holyoke
Community College (MA), Bowling Green State University (OH), Western
Illinois University, Fort Lewis College (CO), Auburn University (AL),
Wheaton College (MA), James Madison University (VA), Montclair State
(NJ), University of Montevallo, Alabama, Dartmouth College (NH), University
of Central Florida, University of St. Thomas (MN), California State
University, LA, Florida State University, Vanderbilt University, State
University of New York at Albany, Knox College (IN), and Ohio State
University.
