This comes from something called the “Doctoral Consortium in Rhetoric and Composition:” A list of “current members,” which basically means a list of places where one can earn a PhD in composition and rhetoric.
I was just talking with a grad student in our program the other day about PhD studies in comp/rhet, so that’s one of the reasons why I’m posting this now. It seems to me though that some of these places aren’t really comp/rhet programs so much as lit or education programs where you can sort of/kind of sell yourself as a comp/rhet scholar. Sort of.
Anyway, one of the things I told this grad student is that if I had to do it all over again, one of the things I would do different is I would have done a lot more research on my options than I did. I mean, I have no complaints: things have worked out well for me and Bowling Green State (where I earned my PhD) was a great program for me. At the same time, I don’t think I did enough research about my options before I started my PhD studies.
The diversity of rhetoric and composition PhD makes it important to follow Steve Krause’s advice and research programs and the options they offer. Considerable variety marks the goals and curricula of the 65 or so rhetoric and composition doctoral programs in the United States. Here, for instance, are a half dozen broad emphases I found by reviewing program descriptions when I was writing the article “Reviewing and Refocusing Doctoral Education in Composition Studiesâ€� (JAC, Winter 2002). Some programs emphasize research and composition theory.
Some programs emphasize writing pedagogy.
Some programs stress cultural studies in research and pedagogy.
Some programs blend rhetoric and preparation to teach literature.
Some programs blend rhetoric and preparation to teach linguistics.
Some programs stress technical and professional communication.
This diversity in central program concerns is important for MA students who are interested in doctoral study in rhetoric and composition. It means that they can look for a good fit between their own scholarly interests and professional goals and those of potential programs and of the faculty with whom they would work in those programs. I made some further comments about this in my program’s newsletter Rhetoric & Writing Notes http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/english/rcweb/pages/old%20news/NEWS10.HTM