Name

Laura Gronewold

School

University of Arizona

Degree Program

Seventh year PhD student in English Literature

Previous Degrees

Master of Arts in English Literature from University of Montana; Bachelor of Arts in English from Michigan State University

Dissertation Topic

Chick Lit in the context of sentimental fiction

Research Interests

Women’s studies; Contemporary fiction

Advisor

Charles Scrugss; Caryl Flinn

Advisor’s Research Focus

American literature; Gender and women’s studies

Hobbies

Hiking, camping, travelling, cooking, working with films, singing

Graduate School – Application Process

How did you select your graduate school and program?

I chose University of Arizona for my PhD in English literature because I was looking for graduate programs that offered the opportunity for interdisciplinary coursework in gender and women’s studies. I wanted to earn a graduate certificate that reflected my studies in those fields.

Another factor in my decision was that I received the best financial offer from the University of Arizona. I was e-mailed by a faculty member from the gender and women’s studies department offering me a small financial fellowship for my first year. That was an extra incentive to come to the University of Arizona.

Did your application requirements include standardized test scores?

Yes, the University of Arizona requires its graduate applicants to pass the GRE. But the admissions committee has not set a minimum score requirement.

What kind of information did you include in your personal statement?

In my personal statement, I talked about my academic interests and what kinds of contributions I thought I could make in the field of English literature. I also had to provide a sample of my writing in order to be admitted into the English department.

How did you choose faculty to approach for letters of recommendation?

I chose to ask for recommendations from professors who I trusted and knew very well. You want to choose people who will have the time to help you with your materials, who will be willing to look at drafts of your work and who will confidently support you as you go on to pursue a PhD, so that requires some trust.

More specifically, I asked 2 different faculty members who were on my masters thesis committee and who had taught me in more than 1 class. In fact, 1 of them was also the graduate advisor from my masters program. I felt like he had the time to work with me on shaping the language of my letter.

Do you have any other tips for a student who is considering applying to graduate school in English literature?

One of the best ways to prepare yourself is by looking carefully at the research being done by the faculty at the schools you are considering. For example, if you are interested in cultural studies, check to see if anyone is doing that kind of work. This will help you to find faculty members who will be good mentors and whose work will help you shape the direction of your scholarship.

In addition, if I were to go through the application process today, I would look more closely at the kind of funding and packages that are offered at the state level. The state of Arizona does not support higher education the way that some other states do. For instance, University of Illinois funds its Champaign-Urbana campus so that its location can compete with private institutions like Northwestern and University of Chicago. I wish I would have done more research into schools where the state institutions had more stability.

Graduate School – The Program

How long is your program and how is the curriculum distributed?

A PhD program can take anywhere from 5 to 10 years. I am currently in my seventh year, which is longer than I thought I would be here.

Every doctoral program is different, but in mine, your first year is taken up with coursework. Starting with coursework is important because you get a lot of structure that you don’t have to impose on yourself. I found a pretty good rhythm in my coursework, but I had a masters degree and knew how to be a graduate student by the time I came here.

The second year is harder because you begin the exam process. You start taking responsibility for the direction of the reading. If you are not facilitating and setting up appointments with faculty members, they will assume that you are fine because you are an adult in a graduate program.

In the third year, you start to work on your dissertation research, which is time-consuming because you have to balance your own research with teaching.

What is the focus of your dissertation research?

My project is on the contemporary genre of women’s writing known in the popular media as Chick Lit. Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Devil Wears Prada are probably the 2 works that people recognize the most. I see it as a new generation of sentimental fiction that stretches back to the beginning of the novel.

In my project, I discuss the anxieties that the Chick Lit genre is expressing about women: anxieties about women’s sexuality, about women in the workplace, and about women’s identity in relation to consumer culture. Specifically, I am examining how the issues that are brought up by Chick Lit relates to the works of sentimental fiction written by some of the literary forefathers, like Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie.

Can you describe the process of researching for and writing your dissertation?

Compared to the extremely stressful experience I went through when taking my exams, I find working on my dissertation to be more empowering and less hectic. In this case, my dissertation is my pet project. I own it. I get to engage intellectually and work with ideas and texts that I find provocative and interesting. For that reason, my dissertation is something that I want to put my time and effort into.

How is the dissertation process different from working on a masters thesis?

A thesis does not require the same amount of work as a dissertation and it has less effect on your career. By that, I mean that once you start your dissertation, you have to start thinking about the job market and how your work will influence your future. With a thesis, the goal was different.

Does your doctoral program require comprehensive exams prior to graduation?

Yes, we are required to take exams during our second year. The exam process is incredibly stressful because you have to take responsibility for your studies without being overseen by faculty. If you don’t set up an appointment, the faculty will simply assume that you know what you are doing. And after I took my exams, I fell into a bit of a slump, which happens to a lot of people after completing that portion of the PhD program. I was very happy though to move onto working on my dissertation.

Graduate School – Paying for It

How much does your PhD program cost?

It costs around $10,000 per year to go to graduate school at University of Arizona if you are a resident. If you are from out of state, the cost of tuition more than doubles.

How are you funding your education?

I am funding my PhD through a teaching assistant position. We have to teach a fairly heavy load here in order to get funding. Most people teach 2 classes per semester. Sometimes you get a 1 class workload, which allows you more time for the research component of the dissertation.

There are a couple of fellowships and 1 assistant editing position available at the dissertation level as well, but the majority of people teach the whole time.

Graduate School – Living Life

What are the time commitments for a PhD in English literature?

It feels like I am working 24 hours a day for my PhD. In addition to the time I spend working on my dissertation, I teach 2 classes per semester, but even so, I love teaching. You just have to work at finding a balance between personal pursuits, relationships and all the aspects involved in graduate study.

How has graduate school affected your personal life?

Graduate school has definitely had an impact on the amount of time I spend with my partner and my friends. In order to have more of a normal life, I have to maintain space between my studies and my personal time.

I try to take 1 full day off each weekend. That doesn’t sound hard, but it is. If I go to visit friends for the weekend or take a week off to visit my family or go on a trip, I try to not check my work e-mail at all.

To help manage my workload I set an amount of time to work on things, so I am not dedicating an entire day to grading or teaching. I tell myself that I am going to work on my lesson planning for a certain amount of time and then I will write for 1 hour. I take time out of my day to go to the gym, which for me is important to maintain a personal balance.

It can be very easy to get stuck writing e-mails and doing online stuff, so I will turn off my internet connection so that I am not tempted to check something online. I try as much as I can not to work after about 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. I want that time in the evening in order to feel like I have a more normal life.

Graduate School – After Graduation

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Ideally, I would be at a small 4-year institution in a larger community, but not at a school focused on research. Although the teaching load is heavy, I love teaching honors classes and I really like the honor students that I work with now. I am definitely open to teaching at community colleges as well.

Most people that come into this program want to step into faculty positions. There is a sense that we are going to become faculty members and contribute to the field by publishing books. I thought I had a pretty good grasp of why I was doing this and what I would gain, but I really was naive when it came to applying for jobs. With an English PhD, you apply where jobs are available.

Graduate School - Advice

What insights can you offer a student who is interested in pursuing a PhD in English literature?

I would tell prospective graduate students to try to find a community outside of your graduate department. The people who seem well-adjusted are those who have activities and communities both inside and outside the department. I think interacting with people who are studying different things helps you to process your own work situation. The more that I have been able to form relationships and friendships with people outside of the English department, the more balance I have felt.