Job Discussion Forums

[silent-noise]

just a couple of questions:

which universities offer MA programs taught in english? specifically, i'm looking for linguistics, journalism, communications, (mass) media, and/or advertising...i know there are the branch schools from temple and columbia...but are there any others? i'm not sure which of the native schools offer classes taught in english...

also, i may be heading to japan in march to teach english as an ALT....and i'm hoping that this may open up some other opportunities...what other types of jobs require native english language fluency? i'm looking for something related to the subjects in my first question above...but also open to any others....thanks!

[PAULH]

[Glenski]

Some non-teaching jobs for native English speakers can be found on www.jobsinjapan.com but don't expect much in the way of high quality positions. Some would just rather that you have a visa already in order to start.

Proofreading and translating/editing are in demand, but they are also very competitive.

Some IT and engineering jobs might require native English skills but might also require high fluency in Japanese.

[Doglover]

here are some more links to distance universities in Japan

[JaredW]

Is the modular ph.d program at Birmingham in Appl. Linguistic as prestigious as the regular ph.d? Does it carry the same weight?

Also, from my research on the internet Univ of Birmingham is pretty prestuguous (i.e. Best 100 in the world). Is that true?

[PAULH]

[abufletcher]

Jared, my own personal and therefore necessarily subjective impression is that the relative worth of a Ph.D. depends on what one intends to do with it. If the long-term goal is a tenured position at an American university, then I don't think there is any question that a US-based degree which includes a solid block of traditional coursework will be the most respected. Traditional research degrees from the UK or OZ (such as my own degree from the University of York) may be looked at somewhat askance and you may find yourself needing to assure people (specifically, US members of seach committees) that this is the SAME type of degree that every academic in the UK (or OZ) receives and so unless they would wish to make the outrageous claim that there are no serious scholars in the UK (or OZ) they need to accept that your degree is as respectable as a US degree. That having been said, I think US-based degrees do a much better job than UK universities of preparing doctoral candidates in the actual job of being a professor (e.g. grant writing, professional service such as journal editing, experience teaching graduate-level courses, joint conference presentations, etc.).

Those same people will be even more suspision of anything they perceive to be a "distance degree." There are many very respectable distance degrees out there in the world -- or perhaps better stated there have been many very respectable Ph.D. dissertations written by people doing a degree "by distance." Nevertheless, I do not believe "distance degrees" have quite gained the measure of respectability needed to make them truly competetive against a traditional degree in attaining a US tenure-track position. I think the term "modular program" is particularly worrying to search committtees in the US. The challenge is to somehow show that one's degree is not from a "degree mill" which is how "distance degree" is still viewed by many traditional scholars. If I were going this route I'd want to make sure I had a extremely solid dissertation along with several quality publications related to the dissertation topic before going to the considerable effort of applying for a US position. Who you know and who you can get to write (glowing) letters for you will be doubly as important.

Now of course, all of the above applies primaily to those aiming long-term at a faculty position in the US. If you intend to work overseas (Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong), I think many of these issues get leveled out and just the fact that you HAVE a Ph.D. in a desired specialty will be enough. For university positions in Japan, I'd say a solid publication record might be more impressive than "the right kind" of Ph.D. Though I have to say, I think landing a long-term Japanese university position is largely a matter of quirky luck. Japanese members of a search committee will not "read" an applicant's CV with the same eyes as a "westerner" might.

[abufletcher]

Also be aware that not all Ph.D.s are created equal in the sense that certain specialty areas are hugely more marketable than others. Reseach in the field of testing (dull as it may be to me personally ) is probably one of the "hottest selling" TESOL specialties at the moment.

[abufletcher]

Paul, I'll mention that the job I currently have was first offered to a woman (actually a past colleague from Oman) who did her Ph.D. at Birmingham. Several other ex-colleagues from Oman (Sultan Qaboos University) also did "distance" Ph.D.s at Birmingham and have gone on to have prestigious teaching positions, for example John Flowerdew at City University of Hong Kong and Allan Beretta at Michigan State University.

[JaredW]

[abufletcher]

Jared, I hate to say it but I would be even more leery of US "distance degrees" than a UK based one. The UK has a long tradition of degrees based on research alone. But I think many many US distance degrees really just come off as diploma mills. You'd probably be better off as an American doing a degree at a UK university if you can't go the traditional US Ph.D. route.

I wouldn't be too impressed by PR hyping a list of "famous alumni" and even less impressed by examples of "hiring one's own."

[PAULH]

[quote="JaredW"]

[abufletcher]

BTW, here's a very different perspective on the "respectability of a Ph.D." question -- and one probably more in line with the ways of thinking on search committees:

Think of the name of one of the leading researchers in your specialty field, for example, J.D. Brown or Lyle Bachman in the field of ESL/EFL testing. Or Rod Ellis or Dianne Larson-Freeman in the area of Grammar instruction. Now ask yourself how many "generations" removed from this person are the people you will have supervising your dissertation or otherwise directing involved with your research. A "generation" can be thought of in terms of who was whose "student." For example, if Lyle Bachman had been your superisor that would make you 2nd generation.

I figured my advisors at the University of York were something like "2nd and 3rd generation" specialists in my field (conversation analysis) and one of the program directors was a 1st or 2nd generation specialist (unfortunately his schedule for doing supervision didn't fit with the times I could visit the UK). He was however one of the people conducting my viva voce defence. Several of these York specialists had also spent time at UCLA which is a leading center for studies in this field in the US. York also has strong ties with a number of European universities doing this sort of work. Thanks in part to the connections available through York, I was lucky enough to have been able to spend my sabbatical at UCLA taking courses with 1st and 2nd generation researchers in CA. I can reasonably count on several of these "low-generation" researchers to write letters for me - which will, of course, only really be of value if I'm applying for a position in my specialty area.

The point here is that the name of the university may not matter very much. And it may not matter at all that a university is ranked "in the top 100" if that ranking isn't in your specialty area. My personal recommendation would be to not even consider entering a Ph.D. program until you already have a fairly strong idea of what you'd like to do. I started by writing up a 20 page research proposal that I then shopped around to several scholars in the UK until eventually I found someone that I felt comfortable with -- and who felt comfortable with me. That is, pick PEOPLE not universities.

[silent-noise]

thanks for the tips...

I've never been a big fan of distance classes via the internet...so i'll probably look into any in-class classes...do columbia and temple (and sophia) offer any one of their classes in english, or just the TESOL-type ones? i'd be interested in maybe taking some side classes as well...just out of personal interest...

also, if you already have a work visa, do u need a separate (student) visa for studying in japan?

[PAULH]