Presents six responses to an article in the same issue of this journal. Recommends closer contact between baccalaureate institutions and doctoral programs. Expresses a "hope for the new" in the form of more inventive candidates for assistant professorships. States that the conventional admissions process does not work as well for…

Addresses the question of what graduate students should know about fields of English in which they are not specializing. Finds the best answer is to teach "the classics." Illustrates with the example of a course on "The Faerie Queene" and "Paradise Lost," to show students how to work with texts and what can be…

Suggests that when applying for graduate school, students should begin with careful research, including talking with faculty members and counselors at their undergraduate institutions; then speak to faculty members and students at the schools under serious consideration. Discusses the degree program and the expectations. Considers employment and…

Discusses numerous solutions to enlarging the pool of interested and qualified undergraduate students of color, attracting and retaining graduate students of color and helping them in the job search, and increasing the numbers of faculty members of color. Notes that these include funding, mentoring, and coverage and validation of interdisciplinary…

Offers an overview of the information prepared by the MLA (Modern Language Association) Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Rights and Responsibilities. Discusses recruitment and application, advising and course work, standards for teaching and other professional experience, and grievances. (CR)

Lists for comparison the average of pre- and post-MA salaries and stipends per course paid by 68 universities. (CRH)

Suggests that unemployed English graduates and career changers need information, careful long-term nurturing through support groups, and lessons in marketing and extending the abilities they have. (AEA)

Cautions that the economic woes faced by many colleges involve the risk of losing many graduate programs. Describes a scenario in which primarily research-oriented staff are forced to teach, thus forcing the collapse of graduate programs at all but a few institutions. Discusses a typical workload at many universities and its implications. (PA)

A survey of the 928 1979-80 English doctorate recipients revealed that 62% had full-time teaching positions, although only 45% of males and 37% of females received full-time tenure track positions; 11% had part-time teaching appointments or postdoctoral fellowships; and 13% had alternative work. (AEA)

Among the results of a study of the employment of the 955 English doctorate recipients in 1978-79 were that 60 percent found full-time teaching positions, although only 46 percent of males and 35 percent of females received full-time, tenure-track positions; 12 percent found part-time teaching appointments or postdoctoral fellowships; and 16…

Identifies the slippage that often occurs between graduate school in English and the actual classroom realities of professional life. Suggests six areas of professional development for graduate students in English. Claims that such development might help teachers achieve greater happiness and success in their new surroundings. (HB)

Examines how English department faculty might demystify the job placement process for graduate students by providing candidates with a way of imagining their professional identities. Asks whether faculty expectations and fantasies escalate student anxieties and induce elitist, overbearing prose. (TB)

Presents data on trends in the academic job market, placement rates for PhDs inside and outside the academy, and levels of job satisfaction for those with doctorates. Includes samples of information available from the Modern Language Association and a bibliography of print and online publications that they recommend for planning a career in…

Makes a series of recommendations for dealing with the problem of the number of PhD English candidates versus the smaller number of college teaching positions that are available each year. Asserts that far too many new PhD candidates are being admitted. Suggests, for example, guidelines for assessing PhD programs and the use of apprenticeships.…

Raises a number of questions about the direction of the English department in light of its fundamental transformations. Asks whether the profession wants to replace the study of literature with the study of culture or critical methodology, i.e., semiotics and semantics. Looks at graduate education and the place of literature in it. (TB)