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Placement

As you probably know, the academic job market for people with advanced degrees in English is highly competitive, especially at the level of the PhD. In part because of our consistent efforts at solid academic training and help with job search advice and placement, our graduates have fared well in a competitive market. To help students in this endeavor, two graduate faculty work with students nearing graduation by offering group workshops and individual help with career decisions and the job search itself. Other departmental resources—our Career Advising and Job Search page, for example—are also developed to support current students and alumni.

Recent graduates of the MA program were accepted into MFA and PhD programs at several prominent schools, including the following (drawn from our annual survey):

  • Boston University
  • Cornell University
  • Emory University
  • Louisiana State University
  • Purdue University
  • Tufts University
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Maryland
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of North Carolina-Greensboro
  • University of South Carolina
  • University of Texas-Austin
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Ohio University
  • West Virginia University
  • University of Alabama

Our MTPC program had its first graduates in May, 2002, but some graduates of our MA program have already embarked directly on careers in publishing, technical writing, or other professions appropriate to their training, including teaching in secondary and in higher education, in the US and abroad. It is difficult to get a full listing here, but some of our graduates have found employment as:

  • Production Manager, Alabama Public Television
  • Legislative Aide, Alabama State Legislature
  • Technical Writers, Editors
  • Writer, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC
  • Reference Librarian
  • Director, Chamber of Commerce
  • English teachers in secondary schools and higher education, in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, and throughout the US

Half of our recent PhD graduates have found tenure-track positions within a year of graduation; just under half have taken full-time positions as instructors at colleges and universities. The balance of our PhD graduates have chosen alternative careers in publishing, libraries, arts and humanities programs, and information technology. (According to recent national statistics, only a third of English Ph.D.s get a full-time, tenure track position within a year of taking their degree).

Over the past ten years, we have had a strong record of placement in tenure-track positions:

  • Auburn University-Montgomery
  • Georgia Southwestern State University
  • Coastal Carolina University
  • LaGrange College
  • St. Louis University
  • Oregon State University
  • Savannah College of Art and Design
  • Stephen F. Austin University
  • Troy State University
  • Troy State University at Fort Benning
  • Tuskegee University
  • University of St. Thomas
  • Gonzaga University
  • LSU - Shreveport

Our graduates have also had success in finding instructor-level positions at universities around the country:

  • Alabama A&M University
  • Auburn University
  • Christopher Newport University
  • Ohio State University
  • Troy State University
  • Troy State University at Montgomery
  • University of Alabama
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of South Alabama
  • University of Virginia
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Last updated April 18, 2005