Experience 3: Getting My Master's Degree

It took me nearly twelve years, off and on (mostly off) to finish my Bachelor’s degree. I started out like most people do, as a fresh-faced eighteen year old with no real idea what I wanted to do, even though I was “the girl most likely to go to college.” After two and a half years (and two schools), three majors, financial and home problems and the lure of the big money to be found in retail management (ha!), I dropped out. A few years later, I was married and working a series of unrewarding jobs (I was only beginning to dabble in writing professionally), so I decided to go back to school. Three years, two more schools and a bunch of lost credits later, I finally got a B.A. in English. It was one of the most rewarding moments of my life—not because the degree itself meant all that much, but because my self-esteem had suffered from not living up to expectations (not only others’ expectations, but especially my own). I also rediscovered my love for learning in the process: my initial college experience fell under the “something I’m supposed to do” category; the second time around, I was there because I wanted to be there. It made all the difference.

When I decided in 2003 that I wanted to return to college for my Master’s degree, I debated what to study. I was leaning toward a M.A. in English for a long time. I even went so far as to start the application process for the English degree. Something didn’t feel quite right about it and I dragged my heels for a year. The curriculum felt too restricted—and too familiar—the same literature I’d read as an undergraduate, several times in some cases, with very few electives. I wanted to go back to school because I wanted to learn and I like learning. I was afraid getting a Master’s in English would feel too much like repeating my undergraduate degree.

I stumbled into the M.A. in Humanities based on the catalog description. It was described as a “Do It Yourself” degree, meaning it was interdisciplinary with only a few required courses (three, in my case). The rest of the curriculum is based on the student’s individual interests, with classes as diverse as Art History, Theatre, English, Foreign Language, Music, International Studies, History and Communications. The idea for the degree in Humanities is to dovetail your interests into one cohesive course of study. The individuality of it appealed to me, along with the fact that I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do in the first place.

Not surprisingly, my two years of graduate studies included several literature classes. Despite the limitations of the English degree, literature is my first love and I was able to take classes that piqued my interest without worrying about meeting any requirements. I also took a lot of Humanities classes (though it’s not required for the degree) because the interdisciplinary nature of Humanities appeals to me. Many of the classes I took were cross-listed as English and Humanities or Women’s Studies. At the moment, I’m considering finishing the requirements for a certificate in Women’s Studies.

I graduated with thirty-seven credit hours. For the curious, these are the classes I took:

Humanities 601 and 602 (required)
Humanities: Capstone (required, takes the place of a thesis)
Language, Power and Gender (cross-listed as English and Women’s Studies)
Women Writers (cross-listed as English, Humanities and Women’s Studies)
English Seminar: Edgar Allan Poe (English)
American Literature 1810-1870 (English)
American Literature 1870-1945 (English)
Asian American Literature (English)
U.S. Popular Culture (cross-listed as English and Humanties)
Harlem Renaissance Literature (English)
Feminist Thought (Women’s Studies)
Theatre in London (Theatre; 1 credit hour; my second trip to London!)

I finished my course work for my degree on May 3 and graduation was on May 5, the day I arrived in London. I had decided not to attend graduation because it was more important to me to be in London a couple days before my 40th birthday, when I’d be over the jetlag, than it was to attend a 9 AM graduation (I have my priorities). Because I didn’t attend graduation, my degree was mailed to me. So, though I was technically finished with my Master’s degree before my birthday, I didn’t truly feel like I’d completed my goal until I saw this:





Do It Yourself

If you want to go to graduate school…

--Make sure the program is right for you. The best thing I did was apply for the M.A. in Humanities rather than English. It didn’t felt right to get another English degree and, though it took me an extra year to get back in school, it worked out for the best because I found a program that was perfect for me.

--Don’t give up on grad school just because you’ve been out of school for a few (or many) years. There are graduate programs for everyone, so if you need to take evening classes or can’t move to another state or don’t want to sit in a classroom, there is probably a program for you.

--Consider your undergraduate studies, but don’t be limited by them. While I took a lot of literature classes, I didn’t want to be limited to only that subject. I also didn’t have a foreign language requirement for my undergraduate degree and didn’t want to commit the time to getting one for my Master’s degree—something I didn’t have to do for the Humanities program.

--Just do it. The best thing about graduate school is that your studies are more focused than your undergraduate curriculum. So if you loved English and hated Math, major in English and you’ll never have to take a Math class again! Or vice versa. In theory, your graduate studies should be in a subject you are both interested in and good at. What better reason to go back to school?