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[mcfawn]

I am a  MFA in Poetry who is going back to school to get a Phd in Lit.  My degree was 45 hours (w/several lit electives), and I have presented a paper at the 06 MLA on a literature topic. 

Some schools I've looked at don't even want to give me MA credit for my MFA, while other schools treat the MFA like an MA and admit me directly into the Phd program (actually, one school I found so far does this).  My question is, what schools make going from MFA to Phd in lit easiest?  Experiences?

[asteria]

I was in a similar position, though my degree was an MA. All I can tell you is to contact the schools, that's what I did. Most told me it didn't matter, and I did not apply to those who wanted me to redo my MA. Whether a doctoral program admits BAs, MFAs or MAs can also change from year to year, so beware of relying on others' experiences.

Don't go to the program that will make your transition easiest. (The amount of coursework for BAs and MAs might not even differ in some programs, and some won't give you credit for courses that you put towards a degree. Check the websites for this) Seek out the program with scholars whose work you admire, or the program that best fits your interests. Then ask these questions.

Good luck.

[pink_]

Don't go to the program that will make your transition easiest. (The amount of coursework for BAs and MAs might not even differ in some programs, and some won't give you credit for courses that you put towards a degree. Check the websites for this) Seek out the program with scholars whose work you admire, or the program that best fits your interests. Then ask these questions.

Good luck.

This is good advice.
I assume that you are getting a Ph.D. because you want to get a tenure-track job teaching literature in an English Dept.  If this is the case, you should be applying to the best programs in the field that you wish to study.  Where you go really does matter when the job market rolls around, and you'll be glad that you have the strongest possible application.

I did an MA before getting my Ph.D. and was able to transfer credit for about a year's worth of classes, but to do so I needed to submit copies of the syllabi to the grad committee for review.  Not everyone in my program got such petitions approved.  But I was glad that I didn't have to jump straightaway into the Ph.D. work--I needed time to figure out which faculty I would work well with, and which ones I wouldn't.  I learned a lot, and I am still grateful that I got the chance to study with the faculty of my alma mater, even those (especially those) who weren't in my eventual field of study.

Anyway, when making this decision, don't look for the easiest path.  Look for the one that will help you become the best scholar that you can be. Often those are not the same thing.

[msparticularity]

MrP went through this also. In his case he was able to transfer 24 credits from his MFA into the doc program, but they were evaluated on a case-by-case basis (with syllabus) to determine how they fit his program of study. For schools that will allow some transfer of credits, that's still the bottom line - how do they fit into your doctoral program? If they don't, you won't get credit for them, which I would argue is a good thing. After all, the PhD is supposed to be awarded for a coherent program of study that has prepared you to work and do research in your field.

[litcrittr82]

I did two terminal MAs (one in English, one in an interdisciplinary subfield) before applying to PhD programs, so I was pretty turned off by the possibility of taking two or three more years of MA-level coursework as part of a doctoral program.  As a result, I applied to a UK school who takes (as many UK schools do) applications directly to the doctoral program from people who already hold MAs.  I'm starting my doctorate at that UK school this fall, in part because I'm not keen on waiting another 3 years to really start working on the dissertation.  But my decision to do my doctorate overseas, even at an Oxbridge college, is both complicated and controversial.  Assuming that going overseas is not a good option (more on this below), you'll probably have to come to terms with the fact that most English PhD programs worth attending (ie those who consistently place graduates in some kind of gainful academic position) will require you to do the MA coursework and earn the MA en route.  You may get a few credits, but likely no more than that.

The thing is, as you likely know, there's a considerable difference between an MA in English and an MFA in Poetry, or, more specifically, a degree in literary criticism and a fine arts degree in writing.  Regardless of what you covered in your MFA, there are lots of people who run graduate English programs who would see the MFA as a productive supplement to MA-level training in literary criticism, but by no means an adequate substitute for that training.  So it's both whether schools typically take transfer credits from master's-level work, and whether administrative English faculty would accept philosophically that what's covered (and how it's covered) in the MFA is comparable to what's covered (and how it's covered) in MA portion of their program. 

This is a real question that goes well beyond transfer credits policy; and this is why I assumed above that the UK route wouldn't be a good idea.  All other complications aside, hiring committees down the line may ask questions about someone whose master's work was on the creative rather than critical side of the discipline.  For that reason alone, regardless of where you do your doctorate, I would think it's a good idea to do the MA coursework and get your MA in literary criticism.

One last note: I'm not trying to sound like I'm diminishing the MFA as a degree.  It's probably more rigorous in a lot of ways than a lot of MA programs out there.  It's just a very different degree than the MA, which is of course of the same subject matter as the doctorate in English/literature.

[mcfawn]

I think all this advice is good--I guess I should have included that my MFA program was quite "MA-like" in the total number of credits (45) and the ability (which I took) to take all my elective hours in literature classes, including Phd level courses such as Lit Crit etc. Some are not at all like this--i.e. Low-res 36 hour programs that are workshop dominated. 

I suppose I'm looking for a program that will look closely at MY MFA (and not just have a general policy about them) and will give my independent pursuits some credit, too (I presented at the MLA on a lit topic completely on my own my first year after being awarded the MFA).  I think my plan is to look at programs that see my background as valuable,  rather than "literature-lite"   Let me also add that I want a phd to be more competitive on the liberals arts school circuit--I'm not looking to set the world on fire at ivy league/research institutions.  So that's a factor too--I'm getting the degree to be a teacher/novelist/critic, not just a scholar. 

Thanks for all your help!

[pink_]

Most programs worth their salt will evaluate petitions for credit from a previous institution on a case-by-case basis (so don't lose the syllabi).

It's no easier to get a job at an SLAC than it is to get hired by an R1.  I'm on the tt at liberal arts college, and the year I was hired, there were over 200 applications for my job.  I don't say that to toot my own horn.  I say that because 200 was actually one of the less-competitive positions.  Some of the schools I applied to had close to 500 applications.  For ONE job.

So the point here is that no matter what the kind of job you think you want in the long run, you need to go to the program that will help you become the best thinker, writer, scholar, teacher--in short the most competitive candidate that you can be.

[mfaer]

One last note: I'm not trying to sound like I'm diminishing the MFA as a degree.  It's probably more rigorous in a lot of ways than a lot of MA programs out there.  It's just a very different degree than the MA, which is of course of the same subject matter as the doctorate in English/literature.

MFA programs vary widely.  Many MFA programs today are "studio-academic," take three years to complete, require as many lit hours as CW hours, and readings in the third year.  Such models are completely different from the traditional Iowa studio model.

To the OP--have you considered a PhD in English w/ a creative writing emphasis? If creative writing is still your primary area, you might want to consider this option; if not, ignore the rest of this post.

Currently, I'm enrolled in such a program.  I still have to take the same number of exams as  lit students (from the same choices) and still have to take the same number of core lit hours (from the same choices). I will be qualified for many of the creative writing/lit combo jobs that are now advertised.  Why would I want to write a dissertation outside of my primary area? I’d lose valuable writing time.  This degree allows me to take lit exams and lit hours while still producing "scholarship" (for lack of a better word) in my primary area.

What a lot of people fail to realize is that most "creative writing" jobs today are not 1/1's at Iowa or Irvine; most creative writing jobs are gigs at SLAC's and regional universities, where the person is hired to teach creative writing, generalist lit, and some comp.

Basically, the PhD in English/Creative Writing will qualify a creative writer as a generalist.

Are you going for a PhD in Lit to specialize in a particular area because you're truly interested in that area and could see yourself specializing in that area, or to improve your chances on the job market? If it’s for the latter, you might want to consider a PhD in English/Creative Writing. 

[achylles]

While I agree with an earlier poster regarding program quality over ease of transition, that doesn't mean you should ignore the latter.   There are other practical considerations for you to review, such as your stage of life (not necessarily age), your debt, and an honest look at what you hope to accomplish by getting a Ph.D.

I think the financial consideration is a large issue.  Your choice of program may be mitigated by the financial package a school may offer its doctoral students.  This could offset course applicability.

You might also look at programs with a heavy focus in interdisciplinary activity.  The School of Arts & Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas would likely accept many of your MA and MFA hours.