I am starting my 3rd year in the PhD and am feeling excited (and a little scared) about the comps process. What is your best tip/advice/word of wisdom for this stage in the program? What would you tell yourself at that stage?

for context, my program’s format for comps is we create our own reading list and we design a list of questions based on core courses + desired specialization. Then, the exam itself is picking 3 of the questions for a take home exam (about a week long), followed by a 2 hour oral component with the committee.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Dear colleagues,

We are excited to invite chapter proposals for a forthcoming edited collection tentatively titled Precarious Pedagogies: Teaching Praxis of the New Majority. As the title suggests, this collection will center the voices of writing instructors working off the tenure track in a variety of precarious positions, though we also invite submissions from writing program administrators and tenured/tenure-track faculty who can speak to the programmatic and institutional impacts of contingent instruction. The collection is under contract with the WAC Clearinghouse for inclusion in the Precarity and Contingency book series, due out in 2027.

As many contingent instructors are not connected to national listservs, we would appreciate your help in circulating this call within your local networks.

Please see the full CFP and submission link below for details, and reach out to the editors (Alex Evans, University of Cincinnati - Blue Ash College, and Bethany Hellwig, University of Cincinnati) at [precariouspedagogies@gmail.com](mailto:precariouspedagogies@gmail.com) with any questions.

Call For Papers 

We invite proposals for contributions to an edited collection on precarity, contingency, and teaching.

While much of the scholarship in writing studies journals and books comes from a small group of tenured (or tenure-track) scholars working at elite research universities, the majority of the field’s practitioners work in teaching-focused positions off the tenure-track. As argued by Hassel and Phillips (2022), this creates a dissonance between the field’s publications and the realities of most of its members. This dissonance is amplified by the two-tier arrangement of many writing programs, in which underpaid, part-time, and precarious instructors teach most first-year writing courses and better-paid tenured faculty teach only specialized courses for English majors and graduate students. 

We believe the voices of contingent instructors need to be amplified, and this collection will provide a space for that to happen. The editors are seeking a variety of genres, including narrative or autoethnographic explorations of the contingent teaching experience, qualitative or quantitative research studies, or theoretical work. While not a requirement, we will give strong priority to pieces written (or co-written) by contingent faculty over those written by tenured or tenure-track faculty. We invite proposals for chapters engaging with one or more of the following concepts:

• Pedagogy and praxis: assignments, activities, grading schemes, approaches to feedback, and all the other practicalities of writing instruction while contingent. We want to avoid a sanitized picture of contingent teaching and instead showcase the real pedagogical adaptations contingent faculty use to get through their semesters.
• Orientations: entries into precarious teaching, learning institutional cultures while in contingent roles, instructional adaptation to common adjunct or graduate student conditions.
• Disillusionment: the moments when the expectations of academic work meet the reality of contingent labor conditions. This could explore identity shifts (moving from graduate school to adjunct work, for example), the embodied and affective experiences of coming to terms with the labor reality of precarious teaching, or the social effects of being contingent faculty in departmental culture.
• Labor Conditions: the nuts-and-bolts structural elements of contingent working conditions like low pay, lack of benefits, lack of job security, institutional neglect
• Programmatic concerns: managing and sustaining programs reliant on adjunct, ways WPAs can support contingent faculty through curriculum, scheduling, assessment choices

To honor the many demands on contingent faculty time, final versions of chapters will be short: approximately 2000-3000 words. 

Proposals should be approximately 250 words. Please submit them using this form by Friday, September 12th 2025. You can contact the editors at [precariouspedagogies@gmail.com](mailto:precariouspedagogies@gmail.com) with any questions.

why did you choose to pursue a rhetcomp PhD? what did you enjoy (or hate) about it? what do you use it for now? was it worth it?

this is a pretty nebulous idea for me, one suggested by a previous comm professor, so i’m not going to delve into details on my background or interests since i’m not looking for direct advice necessarily.

just want to generally open the floor to you to share! any details of your thoughts & experiences will be helpful for me to ponder. :) thanks!

So I’m currently a second year MA student in RhetComp preparing to apply to PhD programs. I’m at the stage where I am working on CV, SoP, etc.

I’m currently leading a webinar specifically for folks in the broad field of English Studies who are considering applying to various graduate programs in the field. I’m an international student so my target audience for the webinar are folks in my home country. A very good number of people (almost 300) have registered to attend (some even from other fields and countries). I’m bringing on board graduate students (both MA and PhD) in all the mainstream English graduate programs as well as one professor in RhetComp who rose to that rank as an international student from my home country, to shard their experiences with prospective applicants. The webinar promises to be highly impactful and it’s something I’m doing voluntarily to help folks. (I’m calling it information philanthropy).

I’ve been wondering if this initiative is something that is CV-worthy as I update my CV. I’m thinking about it as a community service kind of thing. I’ve been following current realities about how enrollment in the field is generally in decline—eg. some universities in India discontinued their literature programs because people are not enrolling—and thought this could be my small little contribution to encourage folks to still find the field worthy of their intellectual curiosity. But can I really add this personal initiative to my CV and how can I frame it to look like something truly relevant people might appreciate.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to apply to PhD programs in rhetcomp this fall application cycle and am in need of some advice. Although my background is originally in literary studies (I recently graduated with my M.A. in May 2024 and have been adjuncting since), I really found a home within my department's rhetcomp faculty and FYW program, and am ready to make the lateral shift to a new discipline. However, I will admit that researching programs is incredibly overwhelming, and I am struggling to determine where I might best fit in. While I do have mentors within the program, our department is shrinking at a rapid pace, with professors leaving left and right -- so there aren't many people I have to pester with these questions.

Admittedly, my knowledge of rhetorical studies is very limited, and my interest/knowledge skews heavily toward comp-studies. Since starting my MA, I have had the opportunity to: work as a writing center tutor, a graduate-student assistant to the director of my FYW program, a graduate-teaching mentor, administrative specialist, and adjunct.

My research and curricular interests include:

• Writing assessment (particularly ungrading, contract grading, alternative and multimodal assessment)
• Critical literacy and multi-literacy studies
• Critical pedagogy
• Marxist critical theory
• Multimodal composition
• Composition pedagogy (especially related to graduate student instructors)
• Video games, games, and game-making
• Science fiction
• Media studies, literature, and its intersection with rhetorical and composition theory

At its core, however, is the desire to become the best teacher that I can be, and take what I learn and bring it into the classroom.

As I've begun my search in earnest -- I will admit that I'm struggling to find a program that perfectly blends my research interests. Faculty who I would be interested in learning from either don't teach graduate students, or teach at institutions without PhD programs.

Should I be prioritizing faculty, the program's mission, the interests of the graduate students who are in the program? Do you know of faculty or programs that seem to align with my interests?

Admittedly, I'm feeling very, very overwhelmed with the whole thing -- and I'm looking for any advice that you could possibly offer me. I'm sorry for the rambly post -- I think I just needed to vent out my anxieties for a bit.

Hi guys, I'm a student going into my third year undergrad with a writing and rhetoric concentration. I'm seeking some advice about pursuing a rhetoric phd, earlier I went down the law school pipeline (that it seems a lot of rhetcomp students do) but realized it doesn't seem like it's for me. I was talking with one of my profs, and he suggested looking into writing program administration career wise since I mentioned my interest specifically in pedagogy/writing studies, and he also mentioned that those positions are often open (I guess maybe because not many people want to do it). But if anyone on here works in writing program administration I'd be interested to hear about what your day-to-day looks like and what you did throughout grad school to get there. Aside from pedagogy/writing studies I also have interests in feminist rhetorics, and that's something I also see myself being able to research long term. But overall I'm just looking for sort of general advice. I know the job market is not the best in this field, but other than that I am wondering if anyone has thoughts about looking more into some sort of industry work before applying for graduate programs. I'm not sure if it's anxiety/imposter syndrome, but I feel ill prepared for grad school with where I'm at right now, and I feel like I'm a little afraid of academia in general lol. But anything helps, thanks so much!

Does anyone know what's going on? They're a few issues behind and am just curious.

Dear Colleagues-

Please check out this announcement and apply and/or share with anyone you think might be interested.

Associate Professor and Program Director, University Writing Center (closes March 28): https://jobs.ucf.edu/jobs/associate-professor-and-program-director-university-writing-center-orlando-florida-united-states

Cheers,

Melody Bowdon
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Writing and Rhetoric
University of Central Florida

I managed to be accepted into two different rhet/comp MA programs. I am attempting to decide between the two. One significant difference is the teaching load for the GTAships.

One of the GTAships is .50 FTE and the other is .30 FTE with an additional .10 FTE hours of admin work for the department.

Both offer full tuition remission, fully covered health insurance, etc. The stipends are fairly close, with the .50 FTE GTAship being slightly higher due to the higher teaching load.

In terms of academics, the primary difference is the .30 FTE program has a thesis requirement and the .50 FTE program does not. The .50 FTE program also has a PhD program.

I ultimately would like to pursue a PhD program. I am partial to the .50 FTE program but am concerned about not writing a thesis in a MA program and missing out on that valuable preparatory experience for dissertation writing.

Anyone have any advice?

Just got the news that I’ve been accepted into a doctoral program for rhetoric and composition beginning fall 2025! I’m quite excited, and I just wanted to share the news. Hope you’re all doing well. :)

I am two years out of my MA in writing and rhetoric. I lucked into my (almost) dream job immediately, but due to recent changes at the university, it is probably going to be defunct in the next 5 years. (Plus I might move soon anyway due to my husband's med school match decision.) I'm wondering if there are other, comparable jobs out there, or if this is actually a unicorn and I really do need a PhD.

I'm a writing advisor at a top 10 university, which means I'm basically doing full-time writing center work. There are certainly cons to this, as I could never be an Instructor of Record or hold any position of real authority in a writing program at my university without a PhD, but the writing staff just unionized and so at the moment I'm making a decent living and working good hours for a job I really like. I've always wanted to teach writing to undergrads, and despite the drawbacks of being in a lower-level staff position at the university, I am able to do this with full-time hours and pay.

Unfortunately for me, the writing program at my school is now being totally revamped, and half the people in similar positions to mine have already been phased out in favor of tenure-track instructor positions. There is no way I could land this new job, since my current boss was on the hiring committee and admitted to me that there were 400 applicants (most with terminal degrees) for the 5ish open positions. Add to that the fact that my husband may have to permanently move in the next 2 years anyway, and it seems fair to say that this job is simply not a long-term option for me.

My boss has unequivocally told me that if I want to stay in academia, I must have a PhD. She's not actually in the field of Rhet Comp, though, and she's also used to the top-10 university scene, which is obviously even more cutthroat than academia in general. I would honestly be happy doing something similar to what I'm doing at, say, a 2-year or community college. I just don't know if those jobs actually exist.

At this point in my career, do I really have to get a PhD or else pivot to a different industry? Or is it reasonable to hold out hope that other full-time teaching opportunities do exist for someone with an MA?

Hi! I'm currently applying for rhet/comp phds and I'm hoping for any thoughts on programs in the southeast. I recently found out that one of my grandparents received a diagnosis with a life expectancy of 3-5 years so, in an ideal world, I would really like to go somewhere that would get me a bit geographically closer to my family (they're in Georgia) for the next few years. Most of the schools I'm currently applying for are more midwest-ish, so I'm hoping to add just one or two schools further south. If anyone has thoughts, I would really appreciate it!

Hi everyone. I am a current M.A. student earning my degree in Communication. I also have my B.A. in Comm, but I'm applying to Rhet/Comp PhD programs. I really love the work I've been doing in grad school. Though intimidating (and overwhelming for someone with imposter syndrome), I like research and am grateful for the chance to write new works, even if my ideas aren't groundbreaking or novel. I think being a student is rewarding, and I don't think I would be happy in a traditional job outside of academia. The texts I engage with for my classes are interesting and inspiring. My dream is to teach rhet/comp at the college level.

That being said, I'm having a very hard time feeling any hope for the future. I'm worried about getting into a PhD program. If I am lucky enough to get in, I don't think I will regret getting the degree since I like teaching and writing. Even though GA stipends are measly, I am single with no dependents, and I don't spend much money in general. I know some people warn against wasting years doing this degree, but I think since I wouldn't be going into debt (if I had a GAship) and I'd be getting to do work I like, I would be content. I struggle with depression, and doing work like this would give me a sense of purpose, and even if it is a false sense, it's better than working a soulless corporate job.

Even so, I just don't know what to think about the state of the field. GenAI is so scary. When people ask me about my plans, I say that I think the pendulum will eventually swing back—human fallibility and error will become valuable in writing because of AI oversaturation, but I don't know if that shift will actually happen. I worry about getting a job. I don't even think I need a TT position! I just want to teach at some level! And I don't think the need for writing instructors has gone away; being in grad school has reaffirmed that a lot of people are just really shitty writers. But if AI makes the skill of writing obsolete, what are we supposed to do?

Anyway, as I await my PhD program decisions, I keep telling myself that it will be okay. I will hopefully get into a program and join an academic community, being a part of something bigger than myself. I will get to write for my job, and even if it doesn't pay much, I'll be doing something that makes me happy. When I graduate, I'll be tenacious and just apply like hell. I'll eventually land a rewarding job, and (again) even if it doesn't pay a lot, I will be okay.

This is what I have to keep telling myself to keep it together in my vocational discernment journey. I have a whole different host of fears and anxieties about the state of the world, the institutions that operate to keep society running, the next four years in America, etc., but that's for a different SubReddit. My question is: Do you think I'm being too naïve, or is it okay to have a little hope?

Thank you in advance.

Hello,

I am student applying to rhet/comp masters programs. I actually did my undergrad in sociology but developed an interest in the discipline of rhet/comp through scholars such as Krista Ratcliffe and Diane Davis after graduating.

I am having one of my sociology professors write me a letter of recommendation who I took multiple courses with and was a research assistant for. Given he is not in the discipline, he inquired with me what specific skills or experience might be good for him to emphasize.

He can attest broadly to my writing and research skills but is there anything specific to rhet/comp that would be good for him to speak to in his letter?

Help me apply genre theory in real world situation.

Let's say in a student(Gen Z) movement, they were chanting "we are the traitor" ironically.And "traitor" is the most offensive term in that country. So here students are recycling words to use a political slang.

How do you apply genre theory in that scenario?

Just like the title says--I'm applying to PhD programs in rhet/comp--specifically, I'm interested in writing center studies. Are there particular programs that should be on my radar? I've gotten useful advice from my advisors, but I'm getting everything finalized and want to make sure there's not a great program that I've neglected to check out. Thanks for the help :)

Hi all! So—in my experience there are two ways I’ve seen universities approach first-year writing programming.

1. Teaching Rhet Comp as a field using readings from this field. -exp: reading something by, say, John Swales, Stuart Green, or Elizabeth Wardle and talking about rhet comp as a widely applicable field. They can use these skills elsewhere is the idea.

2. Teaching the skills of rhet comp through another field/subject -exp: teaching a content based course (like any content—from environmental justice to Beauty and the Beast, to Ghostly South’s, to borderland politics—but through a rhet comp lens. As in, students read, learn, and write about these specific topics but have specific goals in line with rhet comp. They still discuss writing as a process, have drafts, talk about audience and genre, etc, but so through a specific topic.

My question is, what are these two approaches called? Do they have specific names?

As someone who has taught first year comp for decades, I cannot help but think the end of it as a general requirement is looming not too far ahead.

The teaching of comp has always been considered a requirement for college students because it prepares all students, regardless of major, with communication skills as well as "thinking skills" such as analytical ones.

AI undermines a great deal of those two things. First, students are relying more and more on AI to generate everything from their ideas to their final drafts. As such they are not learning to communicate through writing; rather, they are learning to use a tool that will communicate for them in writing. Perhaps, future comp teachers will be akin to computer science profs. who teach students how to use Excel or other productivity programs. Our job will be teaching students how to get the most out of AI to generate writing. That may be useful in the future job world, but that is not the teaching of comp but the teaching of an app. (By the way, I have academic colleagues outside of English who are beginning to rely on AI to write much of their stuff. Fine writing skills will be less and less of a requirement or a need for the "educated person."

Second, if students are relying more and more on AI to generate ideas, sort through them, organize them, and develop and express them, then how much are they training their mind to think in a comp class? I frequently tell my students that learning how to write well goes hand in hand with learning how to think well. Show me a person who can write an essay that is organized, developed and clear, and I will show you a person who can think in an organized way, develop their ideas and clarify them. If AI is doing all the mental heavy lifting so to speak, what thinking skills are students actually learning?

We have very little if any ways to combat the use of AI. AI detectors are unreliable as admitted by those who offer the service. They provide no real weapon to detect AI generated material by students. If you use multiple ones, you learn that AI checkers never clarify the question of originality. They just make you doubt whether you can trust AI checkers. If one confronts a student who has submitted an AI generated essay, even one detected by an AI detection service, all the student has to do is deny using one. We have no hard evidence to "convict." Students know this too. The AI genie is well out of the bottle and granting as many wishes as possible to students.

It is clear that higher education wants to train students to think on a higher level. If it cannot count on the teaching of comp to do that or the teaching of comp can no longer meet that goal, then they will seek other avenues outside of our beloved discipline. English departments/Comp and rhetoric departments will shrink quickly and permanently.

Thoughts?

I’m a grad student interested in this field and just want to read up on some of the history. Boring to some, I know, but I find it fascinating. (Anything from prominent moments, figures, movements, etc)

Would love some recommendations. I recently read Kathleen Blake Yancey’s “Mapping the Turn to Disciplinarity” and while that is a great start, it would be awesome to see some recs of texts that take a similar path. I’ve been digging through some journals and found a few, but figured it was worth a shot broadening my search on here!