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[mr_55]

Yes, there are tons and tons of MA programs that are not "hang out" or "pay as you go programs." I can name off the top of my head quite a few where, as an MA student, you will receive full funding and teach in the first-year writing program each semester. Some of these are at R1s they also have PhD programs but need to fill writing courses, and others are at smaller schools or schools that simply don't offer the PhD in English, offering it instead in rhetoric, composition, or similar.

[pink_]

As mr_55 has said, there are MA's that offer funding.
These tend to be large state schools with composition requirements.  Ohio State, Illinois, Penn State, Wisconsin, South Carolina all have reasonably good programs.

The problem, if it is a problem, is that most of these programs see the MA as the first step in a ph.d., either there or elsewhere. 

I only wanted an MA when I first started grad school many, many moons ago.  I was the only person out of an entering class of 22 who had nno intention of going on to ph.d.  After a year, pretty much everyone had changed their minds, including me.  5 of us continued on.  Did the other 17 waste those 2 years?  I don't know.  You'd have to ask them.

But I do know that only a couple of them, those who went on the teach at the secondary level, went on to do things that they couldn't have done previous to having the MA. 

So the question to ask yourself is why you want this degree.  What do you hope that it will do for you?  On a pragmatic level, the answer most likely will be that the degree probably won't get you anywhere you couldn't already go.  But even had I not got on to graduate study, I would have really valued the two years I spent reading and writing and teaching.  Maybe that's enough.  Maybe not.  But that's something that you have to decide for yourself.

[gekko]

Are there any "non hang out" programs? It depends on what you're ot to do. From what I've seen, about 75% of ALL humanities students are just hanging out, maybe even more so at the Ph.D. than M.A. level since they tend to string it out to an almost laughable extreme. (I've seen some of the "dissertations" they take 8 years to write...)

Some of them seem to be attempting to have their grad school fellowship end when social security kicks in so they can avoid ever growing a pair and finding something to do rather than using their English or Art History studies (code for getting up at noon and gossiping with other late 20s/early30s do nothings at the coffee shop) as an excuse to infinitely prolong adolescense.

Why do I think this? Because despite how "interested" in their fields these people are, very few end up publishing anything anyway. If they found the process of becoming a researcher so enthralling for 10 or 15 years, you think they would actually do it.

My irritation is not geared toward anyone in a humanities field who actually wants to teach, conduct research or perform whatever other task the training would afford but when I hear someone talk about how "interesting" the field is they're going to enter, I know that what they're interested in is avoiding the workforce, getting up late, having zero responsibilities and wasting a lot of their own or more likely their parents money.  This is very easy to do when you can simply point ot how "unenlightened" someone is who qeuestions the value of sitting around for two years talking about a Foucault book with a bunch of other yankers. If you have some reason to be there great, otherwise why waste so much time.

[imawakenow]

Gekko: You're a bit caustic, but you're my new favorite poster.

[gekko]

Perhaps I could use the English M.A. as well. Had to go to dictionary.com for caustic. But regarding the OP, what do you want to DO? What's the point? No right answer but no one can really make a useful statement without that. It isn't teaching, isn't getting the Ph.D., isn't some other desire that can only (or would best be) served by those ends?

[bonhomme_richard]

To the contrary, there have been a lot of useful statements in this thread, in my opinion. I'm very glad people have found the discussion worth commenting on. To be candid, I can't answer gekko's latest question. I thought, maybe too idealistically, that some graduate study could be rewarding for the education alone. Note, I'm really not just trying to prolong schoolboy la-la land because I don't know what else to do. I'm genuinely concerned that undergrad left me academically unfulfilled, and that to give up study might somehow be a retroactive waste of the last three years of my life. I've realized from these comments and from other academic blogs that even an MA is probably not the best plan if not intended as a career decision, and am leaning away from it at the moment, but might apply anyway to give myself some time to really think it over. I've already taken the GRE, so perhaps I might as well.

[gekko]

You have nothing to loose by sending in applications, but ultimately I'd avoid using graduate school as a time to figure out what you want to do and hold the meter. If you haven't decided on something (or at least against all but a few limited number of things) then don't underestimate the commitment that might be unwise. Look at other options as well such as travel, volunteer work, additional career opportnities, working internships, etc.

[goingcrazy]

You might want to look a little bit harder. There are TONS of MA programs in English. In fact, most of my colleagues have both a terminal MA and a Ph.D.

[miss_m]

And, OP, feeling "academically unfulfilled" may be the best reason to go to grad school, as the best way to get through a Ph.D. program--and an academic career--is with a curiousity about a subject.  I don't know when I became Pollyanna (not at all normal), but you may find yourself drawn to the academic life after all--and like pinklady staying on beyond the MA.

And as for schools with terminal MAs, someone mentioned Georgetown, but several DC schools have them--American, Catholic, George Mason, and Maryland (I think we heard that one, too).  UPenn in Philly also has an MLS that lets you design your own program broadly in the Humanities, though I don't think they fund.  I did my master's work in the DC area, so I have looked around--and the truth is that many schools don't want to admit folks to Ph.D. who already have a master's, so be prepared for that, too. (Clearly some do, and I know I am just one example of many.)

(And while we are on funding, many schools will admit MA students without funding even though they DO FUND some MA students, so watch out.  Few schools will do that for Ph.D. apps.)

[elsie]

Part of the problem is that the universities people are mentioning are ones that offer the PhD program, and so you're either headed for that or you're relatively unimportant within the program.

You might consider a comprehensive university instead. Regional comprehensive universities will offer only the terminal master's degree, and graduates can decide from there what they want to do. Some go on to PhD programs, while others become secondary teachers or professional writers. I had lunch with one of our alums a couple of weeks ago. When he graduated, he got a job managing a Sylvan Learning Center, and he is now planning to go for an MBA in Finance. It was very gratifying to hear him talk about the analytical and rhetorical skills he'd gained from our Master's in English. Regional universities also offer funding for MA students who teach or are research assistants. (We certainly do. It isn't full tuition remission, but we do have stipend.)

[bonhomme_richard]

The worst thing about thinking of applying to grad school is probably the anxiety of indecision it has produced in me. I don't want to change the course of this thread to a Should I Go to Grad School topic, because there are plenty of those already, but I would like to give an update of my position since beginning the thread.

I think I've realized that the MA, while a viable option for those on their way to a doctorate or to a job that specifically requires this degree, will not provide me the consolation I'm looking for. If and when I do apply, it will be toward a PhD program, as these are generally the more respected and rigorous, and if I'm going to commit to academe, I'm going to commit to academe.

I've decided to take more time away from the university before thinking about grad school. This will give me time to judge whether I'm really passionate about the field, and time to really focus my interests. (As of now, I couldn't write a very convincing statement of intent.) I plan on working, traveling, perhaps even relocating to a city better suited to my career interests.

Unless anyone can offer a legitimate reason why taking extended leave from school will actually hurt my chances of getting into and succeeding in grad school, I think this is the best decision I can make in my situation. Thanks again for the discussion. It has been very helpful.

[scheherazade]

I think you're making the best decision.  Grad school is hard enough without being totally committed, and it's expensive enough without changing your mind partway through.  I think some time off will help you chances, if anything, because "real world" experience gives students a better perspective, and this usually comes through in the application materials.

A piece of (hard-earned) advice, though - make sure that you have letter writers lined up in case you do decide to go to grad school, and keep in touch with said letter writers!  The biggest problem with going back to school after a break is locating rec writers.

[captain_obvious]

Oh for goodness sake, don't worry about "opportunity cost."  You're what?  21 years old?  You could spend the next year traveling the world.  You could spend the next year tending bar.  You could spend the next year working in a bookstore.  If you want to spend the next year in school studying something just because you like it, go right ahead.....  as long as it doesn't cost you anything (and it sounds like you're looking at programs that fund their MA students, which is key).

That said, don't delay the inevitable: school should not be a refuge from making decisions about your future.  If you're going to do this, fine.  But then go out in the world and see what it's like out there.

[oedipusrex]

Hi,

This is not directly applicable to OP, but to give a different take on the terminal MA, as an international student, the two-year stint at a major research university in the Midwest (with full funding) helped me tremendously. I already had an MA in English from my home country, but the difference in terms of expectations, goals, and work ethic was night and day. I feel much, much better prepared to enter a PhD program. The second MA also helped me find my focus after meandering in the first year. Most universities, particularly humanities departments in my country receive abysmal federal money/grants, so we don't have the luxury of hiring a lot of people with specialized interests. The critical conversation in the US has proved to be a lot more exciting and engaging.

I agree that an MA without funding is a bad idea, but with a good financial package it seems like a good bridge to graduate school culture.