Feeling very overwhelmed. Distance PhD in Literature.

Hello all,

I've been perusing these forums for some time. I'm becoming incredibly anxious researching PhD programs and I've decided to finally pick your brains.

I received my BA from the University of Maine in 2012. I subsequently received my MA in English Literature from Southern New Hampshire University in 2014. Now I wish to pursue a PhD in Literature (I'm open to other areas of study as long as they can support my research ideas). I specialize in surrealist texts.

I was offered admissions to the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. However, it is an interdisciplinary PhD program and funding is only available for the first year. I'm already $30,000 in debt because of my BA and MA degrees. I looked into UK degrees but they too are expensive.

I cannot relocate due to familial and career obligations. Are the South African degrees my only option? I looked into the Doctorate in Literature at UNISA and I've read countless posts about UNISA on this forum but I'm still confused and overwhelmed.

Questions:

1) My ultimate goal is to teach at a local University or Community College. Will a UNISA degree be accepted by US institutions?

2) Is it possible to apply to the Doctoral program in Literature by myself? Or do I need to go through IACI Canada?

3) I want to start my degree as soon as possible. Does it really take an average of two years to get an admissions answer from UNISA?

4) Has anyone here attended UNISA for a doctorates in Literature?

I apologize in advance if these questions have been answered on other threads. I'm just exhausted.

 

The only DL PhD in Eglish Lit that I remember being in the USA is at Old Dominion. Otherwise, all I can say is that we hear it's very hard to get a teaching job in English Lit, even with a degree from a top school. No one should tell you it's impossible, but going the UNISA route may not put you on the fast track. Hopefully others will add their thoughts.

 

I think some UK/AUS Unis have PhD via publication.

PhD based on published works - University of Kent

PhD by publication - Griffith University

 

University of Westminster - Phd by Publication

Also, the Open University has a Phd by publication option which is significantly cheaper than their main program:

Open University

Open University also lists funding opportunities on their website, so maybe you can find something there that will help you.

If teaching at a community college is your goal, then you may not even need a Phd. I have taught at a community college in New York State in the business department. Our department has no faculty with doctorates. The English department only has one faculty member with a doctorate. The requirement for tenure track positions at this school is that you have a Masters. You can be an adjunct with a Bachelors. This undoubtedly varies from school to school (and likely from state to state) but it's just worth considering. Tenure at community colleges usually works much differently. While publication is still helpful, it isn't the primary focus (at least at the CCs where I've investigated the topic) like at four year universities. So while ongoing research would be essential to your career at a university, focusing on TOO MUCH research while teaching at a CC might not give you the desired result.

Also, $30k for a BA and an MA? Not terrible. You're doing well. My best friend owes Uncle Sam $100k for his B.S. alone. If you had to dish out some extra cash for a British doctorate, you could always bank on student loan forgiveness for any federal loans you used for your BA and MA.

 

If your goal is to be say, a clinical social worker, and you rack up $30,000 in debt getting your B.S. you may very well fear the additional debt that would come with an MSW (especially given the likely return on that investment). The alternative then is to give up on your goal of being a clinical social worker.

In the case of the OP, teaching at a community college generally does not require a doctorate at all. It is debatable whether having a doctorate would put you ahead of non-doctoral candidates if a full-time job came up.

My understanding was that the doctorate is to open up the possibility of finding non-adjunct work at four year colleges. There are certainly small four-year schools where you can find full-time work with an MA. But a doctorate is really going to be necessary just to be in the running for the most part.

If you want to do things that require a doctorate, you might need to pay for the doctorate. If you can't/don't want to, then you need to flex on the goal. It's fine to be reluctant to take on debt. It's fine to fear that debt. But at the end of the day, if the choice is "more debt or give up on my dreams" then I'm not going to be the one to tell a person how the odds are stacked against them for achieving their dream so they might as well just give up.

 

There are a couple of possibilities. I strongly suggest considering the phd by published works. Universidad Central de Nicaragua (which seems to be the only damn thing I post about) has a phd in humanities, which might be a good fit. It seems to have utility for community college level (at least, it has for this guy: Don Kirk Macon, PhD - Education Expert) and there are other people with UCN doctorates teaching at US community colleges.

If you'd prefer an English degree, Westminster (as mentioned above) is a very cost-effective route. The phd by published works costs £1,750. But, Westminster doesn't teach literature - if you could swing it to culture studies, they teach that.

Another cost effective phd is Sunderland, which comes in at under £4000. And they DO have an English department.

I should point out, none of the above schools are exactly oxford, but they're legit and would work for community colleges. Doubtless, there are many others in UK that would be similar.

Another option that I've toyed with is a dr.philos degree from Norway. Basically, you write a thesis, then apply to be examined by them (this will mean a trip to Norway and giving a couple public lectures). One bonus is that Norway doesn't charge tuition. But, your work would have to engage with Norwegian scholarship, competition to get in will be intense, and (because Norway has excellent education standards) your work will have to be really really good. It's probably overkill unless you want to teach in a good university, but still something to consider. I mean, who doesn't want to visit Scandinavia?

 

Have you looked at Old Dominion University ODU - Old Dominion University

 

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania offers a five-summer PhD in English, if that works for you.