Thesis vs Nonthesis track. Help please!

[absinthexfaery]

I'm having issues. =/ (cross posted in applyingtograd )

I'm in the MA English program at Clemson and we have an option of doing a thesis or nonthesis track.  Now the thesis track only involves taking 8 classes which seems shoddy to me, because you can be finished after a year but then have to hang around for orals and thesis dense.

I concentrate in creative

Comments

[seasontoseason]

it really depends on what you want to do next-- do you want to apply for creative writing programs or lit/english phd programs? If the former, you should concentrate on getting creative writing samples, and workshops are probably the way to go. If the latter, then you probably should do a thesis. The fact of applying to creative programs is that your creative writing samples are most important, and the face of applying to phd lit programs is that your academic writing sample is very very important.

[maggiedacatt]

Wow. Given the diversity of opinions you've already heard, it sounds like it's a gamble either way.

Some programs/professors consider a no-thesis MA to be less worthwhile, because it doesn't require you to engage in any sustained research/writing. To some, it's basically like a couple more years of undergrad. (Of course, that totally overlooks the fact that grad classes are way more challenging than UG).

So I guess it depends on what programs you want to apply to for PhD. Look up what the MA is like at those programs, and do whatever is most similar.

(BTW, I don't want this to sound like an attack, but why do you want a PhD in creative writing? You can teach with a MFA, and most creative scholarly positions focus more on what kind of published work you have than your academic credentials--not to even mention that there aren't any jobs. And to publish creative work you just need to write it.)

[absinthexfaery]

Thanks for the advice! =]

I know I have a bunch more research to do, I just thought I would put my feelers out here.

As for the PhD in creative writing? It's a personal thing. I want my PhD and I want that structured aspect that I have a hard time replicating myself. I know it will not necessarily help and I don't wish to teach, so it kind of comes down to personal goals. =]

[maggiedacatt]

Well, you can't be in school forever, so you'll have to learn to structure your time yourself at some point. Join or start a writing workshop club?

It's your life. :) I really don't mean any disrespect. I think a lot of people who get to my stage think that they wish someone would have come along and talked them out of it early on--but honestly, if someone tried to tell me not to go before, I wouldn't have listened. It's a decision that has to come out of personal experience, I think. When I was in my early 20s, I couldn't imagine the situation of being 30 and having a small child, yet still not having a real job yet, and not having very good prospects of getting one (that actually uses the degree I've toiled away for).

[absinthexfaery]

Nono, I appreciate your response, I truly do. You are right in that it comes from experience, and I'm fully aware of that and maybe by the time I get out of this MA program I'll see the light, so to speak. =]

[venetia]

I'm not in creative writing within academia, but I think thesis if you really want to do a PhD, for three reasons:

1. it proves to the PhD programme you are capable of a bigger piece of sustained research/writing.

2. you will still be doing some papers, so this is more varied and frankly will be good for you. It's a separate skill set.

3. although they're two different things, the MA thesis will at least give you some sense of what a PhD thesis is and whether you want to put yourself through all that.

The universities where I am won't actually accept people to do a PhD if they haven't written an MA thesis.

[nexrad]

In my unrelated academic area (social sciences) it's very common for Ph.D. programs to require that you complete a thesis regardless of when you're admitted. I'd carefully scrutinize the Ph.D. programs you wish to apply or go to and see what their requirements are. It'd be lousy to skip the thesis-track only to have to slog it out through an extra year or two of grad school just to do a thesis during your Ph.D. program period.

By the way, why is the number of courses you take an issue with doing the thesis track? Most departments don't limit the number of courses/credits you can opt to take during your program. You could complete the thesis while taking some extra classes to get the knowledge/experience.