Post graduate study/teaching abroad

[Hendrix55]

I am nearing the end of an MA in English Lit and would like to go on to do a PhD, but am concerned about finding the funding.  I thought of teaching at university level but I don't think any UK universities would take someone with just an MA, but a supervisor suggested Japan.  Does anyone have any experience of this kind of thing? (I want to teach literature, not the English language). Thanks.

[Lillabet]

In my experience - which was in Law rather than English - most uk universities will not hire people who have not completed or are not close to completing PhDs to teach full time.

What is fairly common however is that if you get funding from either a funding body (I think it's the British Academy for arts subjects - also that the deadline for applications is usually May1st), a private fund or from the university then it is quite possible to pick up lower level teaching work on a casual basis.

Not so much the giving of lectures, at least at first, but more the leading first and second year tutorial groups.

Some PhD funds from individual universities may well be tied to your doing some teaching within your department.

Basically it depends on the university. I personally would suggest finding a deprtment you would want to do your PhD in and speak to them to see what funding options, including teaching would be open to you if you applied. I think you may be too late for the funding councils for September - as I said their deadlines are usually May 1st.

Can't help on studying abroad - sorry.

[Scarlett]

Several of my friends teach at University level with just an MA. I think they want to see that you intend to continue your studies and will be doing a PhD. Apply anyway!!

[Lucrecia]

A friend of mine who did Art BA, then took a teaching course (only to be greatly disillusioned) ended up going on the JET exchange programme. This is the link:

http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/index.html

She's still over there a year and a half later with little intention of returning! It's an exchange programme which takes (preferably) English Lang/Lit students over to Japan and gets them to teach English to school children