tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post3791671741278744242..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: The Little MA Program that Couldn'tBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-24028820757032994052015-05-21T10:23:52.850-07:002015-05-21T10:23:52.850-07:00Where I am the MA only people fall into two groups...Where I am the MA only people fall into two groups: local professionals (usually HS teachers, but not always) for whom the MA boosts salary; and our undergrads who are being prepared for phud programs elsewhere, but getting more theory, grad experience etc. We've had good luck with the second group getting into good programs. But it's a weird niche.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-5346454356466197352015-05-19T18:29:18.075-07:002015-05-19T18:29:18.075-07:00The predictions I've read say that M.A. progra...The predictions I've read say that M.A. program enrollments are likely to decline, especially among people who graduated in the last 5-10 years, who tend to be overloaded with debt, averse to taking on any more,and (understandably) skeptical of the idea that higher ed degrees lead to employment. Administrators are, indeed, still hopeful, but I'm not sure that hope is based on any even semi-solid information. I'd guess that there will be fewer, not more, M.A. and Ph.D. programs, especially in the humanities, in a decade -- and that that will not necessarily be a bad thing. Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-5852426730044743862015-05-19T18:25:02.547-07:002015-05-19T18:25:02.547-07:00Yeah, I get the feeling that what I'm seeing i...Yeah, I get the feeling that what I'm seeing is a "diversified revenue stream" and a way of boosting the impression that the university is dedicated to "research," but an underperforming MA/PhD program doesn't seem like something academia in general needs. sophylouhttp://girlhistorian.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-38511078160642696882015-05-19T18:11:55.387-07:002015-05-19T18:11:55.387-07:00I'm going to come back to this post next time ...I'm going to come back to this post next time some administrator tells us that a great way to "diversify revenue streams" is to add an MA program, with some upper-level classes serving both undergrad and graduate students. This would supposedly solve the problem of low enrollments in upper-level classes, but piling a weak MA program on top of a struggling undergraduate program does not seem like the right way to build something solid. Maybe there is a good reason for starting more small MA programs, but I haven't heard it.Bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05412883073330413390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-57813252936007426982015-05-19T14:46:43.042-07:002015-05-19T14:46:43.042-07:00This is something I'm always curious about -- ...This is something I'm always curious about -- what is the justification for the department's having an MA program at all? I have been surprised at the weakness of some of the graduate students I've encountered at my job, and I find myself wondering what the purpose of the graduate program is -- its ranking is quite low and I can't imagine the placement rate is great. Are you meant to be preparing them for PhDs elsewhere? Or giving them a credential to boost them at their current jobs? Or something else? sophylouhttp://girlhistorian.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com