Suggests that graduate students in English take at least one course that will help them learn about, responsibly critique, and prepare to shape the profession they are entering. Notes that the aim of the course would be to contextualize pedagogy, scholarship, and the graduate and undergraduate curricula. (RS)

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…

Maintains that graduate and undergraduate students need to be taught how to read literature critically if they are to practice other forms of criticism successfully. States that job candidates who seem to enjoy reading literature and who demonstrate an ability and an interest in teaching reading are difficult to find. (TB)

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)

Contrasts the attitudes within the field of English taken toward the current job crisis, the utopian and the realist views. Discusses the recommendations of the MLA (Modern Language Association) Committee on Professional Employment. Suggests various actions to undertake in helping students decide whether to pursue a graduate degree. (CR)

The requirements for the doctoral degree in English and the need for college English teachers are discussed. Three possible courses of action are considered--(1) to do nothing, (2) to adopt an intermediate degree, and (3) to transform the Ph.D. into a more suitable degree for contemporary conditions. The value of the intermediate degree is…

Arguments are set forth to encourage continued use of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as supplementary information rather than as an exclusive criterion for selecting graduate candidates in English. The author predicts that the GRE will be increasingly used and will increasingly come to define and control undergraduate and graduate…

Offers advice to graduate students studying English and those studying foreign languages, covering issues relevant to candidates for master's degrees or doctorates. Suggests questions to ask when selecting a graduate program, including those related to investigating the program and inquiring about employment and financial assistance, teaching…