English Department Resources and Opportunities

Director of Graduate Studies (DGS)
Graduate students are encouraged to meet the DGS during office hours or by appointment. The DGS also runs the Issues in Academia course each fall. Andrew Albin is the DGS.

Director of Placement and Professional Development (DPPD)
The DPPD leads an annual program to prepare doctoral students for the academic job search and organizes various workshops throughout the year on topics such as academic publication, conference participation, and external fellowship applications. The DPPD also runs the Dissertation Workshop in the fall. Maria Farland is the DPPD.

Faculty Advisers
Each student is assigned a faculty adviser with whom to consult on questions about succeeding in coursework, developing intellectual breadth and/or specialized expertise, improving writing or bibliographical skills, compiling reading lists in particular fields and sub-fields, giving conference papers and publishing, and pursuing other kinds of professional activity.

Orientation
Each year, before classes begin, we provide a comprehensive orientation designed to make the transition into the University as smooth as possible. The morning presentation is by GSAS, followed by lunch, then the English–specific orientation is held, followed by the President's Reception.

GSAS Guidebook and the GSAS Academic Calendar
Graduate students should consult these two resources for up-to-date information and important dates. 

The English Graduate Student Bulletins
Published approximately every other month, the Bulletin includes important time sensitive announcements and information.

Opportunities

Area and Department Sponsored Reading Groups
Graduate student organized historical or theoretical area reading groups.

Creative Writing and POETS OUT LOUD (POL)
All graduate students are encouraged to take part in the Creative Writing program at Fordham and POL. Readings feature renown authors and poets and there are opportunities for students to win Writing Prizes.

GSAS Distinguished and Summer Fellowships, and Research Support Grants
Annual opportunities for graduate students to apply for competitive based funding.

GSAS Cornell School of Criticism and Theory Award
Each year, GSAS will provide funding for one PhD student in English to attend the Cornell School of Criticism and Theory (SCT). The award covers tuition and also provides a small stipend for living expenses (in the recent past, awards have totaled $4000). To receive the award, students should contact the DGS and express interest in being considered at least one month before the deadline to apply for the SCT. If students receive the GSAS award, they must then submit a full application directly to the SCT by the SCT’s deadline (usually Feb 1; see the SCT’s website for more information about the deadline and the application process).

GSAS Santander International Internships Fellowship
The Santander International Internships Fellowships provide support for graduate students who wish to spend the summer working with an international non-governmental organization (NGO). The amount of the award varies, depending on the details of the proposal. Students who have completed at least one semester of full-time graduate study (9 credits) in GSAS by the time the fellowship begins are eligible to apply. The deadline is usually in April. 

GSAS Student Achievements
We celebrate the scholarly achievements of our graduate students. Via this survey, students submit their achievements (publications, conference presentations, awards, etc.) for acknowledgement and for listing in the annual report.

Inter-University Doctoral Consortium
The Doctoral Consortium is a program that gives Fordham PhD students who have completed one year of study an opportunity to register for courses at select regional universities, including Columbia, Princeton, NYU, CUNY, and Rutgers.

Rhētorikós
Graduate students in English serve on the editorial board of this online journal that publishes the most outstanding student writing composed in Fordham University’s core writing classes, Composition I and II. Published once each fall and spring semester, the journal provides undergraduate students with the experience of preparing prose for publication and the prestige of publishing writing early in their academic careers. This project promotes the Ignatian concept of eloquentia perfecta, or the ability to make clear, rhetorically persuasive, sound arguments, by encouraging students to achieve excellence in the art of writing. For information on this opportunity, email, [email protected].

The English Graduate Student Association (GEA) and the GEA Bi-Annual Conference
The Graduate English Association (GEA) is a student-run group that hosts various social and academic events for students. Its purpose is to foster cohesion and collegiality within the graduate-student community, and to address student needs and concerns. The Graduate English Association (GEA) also organizes and hosts the Bi-Annual Graduate English Association Conference, an Interdisciplinary Conference that features submissions from undergraduate, graduate students, and professors from Fordham and other universities.

The Graduate Student Council (GSC) and the Student Support Grant (SSG)
The GSC is a student run organization representing all graduate students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). Its purpose is to promote academic excellence, provide a forum for the expression of graduate student opinion, facilitate communication and activities among the various departments of GSAS, and enhance the graduate school community. The GSA works with the GSAS to promote and help with GSAS Futures.

The Student Support Grant (SSG) is a graduate student funding opportunity jointly administered between the GSAS and GSC. The SSG is a merit-based award that provides funding for expenses related to research travel, dissertation work, or alternative learning experiences.

3 Minute Thesis Competition
A competition in which students strengthen their communication skills by explaining their research and its significance in a three minute speech before a panel of judges. Cash prizes are awarded to the winning students.