MLA Says Job Market for English Ph.D.s Holding Steady

The Modern Language Association reports that the number of faculty openings at US colleges and universities remained steady in 2005-2006. Approximately 1,728 positions in English were advertised with the MLA for 2005-2006, only slightly fewer than the 1,739 positions advertised for 2004-2005. Over 57 per cent of the openings advertised for 2005-2006 were for full-time, tenure track positions.

The MLA noted a modest increase in the number of openings for foreign language faculty. 1,391 faculty openings in the foreign languages were advertised in 2005-2006, compared to 1,369 in 2004-2005. 45 per cent of the 2005-2006 openings in the foreign languages were for full-time, tenure-track positions.

US Grad School Enrollment Increased in 2004

The Council of Graduate Schools has reported that the total population of graduate students at US universities rose to 1.5 million in 2004, marking a 2 per cent increase over 2003. The fields showing the greatest increase in enrollment were health sciences (up 7 per cent), public administration (up 5 per cent), and biological sciences (up 3 per cent). Administrators were pleased to see an overall increase in the number of minority applicants, especially in scientific fields that historically have lagged in attracting a diverse body of applicants. The report also expressed concern that international enrollment in US graduate programs continues to decline, with a 3 per cent drop in foreign graduate student enrollment from 2003 to 2004.

Changes to GRE Coming in 2006

The Educational Testing Service will introduce a significantly revised version of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) beginning in October 2006.

The revised GRE General Test will revert to a computer-based format that presents all test takers with the same questions. This will be a major change from the computer-adaptive test, in which a computer program selects questions for each test taker based on their performance. (In other words, if you answer a question correctly on the computer-adaptive test, the program presents you with a more difficult question; if you get that one right, it presents an even more difficult question; and so on. The computer-based format is essentially the same test that could be given on paper, presented on a computer.)

The fact that all test takers will answer the same questions raises test security and fairness issues that were not a major concern with the computer-adaptive format. To ensure that test takers do not see the same questions on different dates, ETS will administer each edition of the GRE only once. It will therefore limit the number of days that the revised GRE is given to 29 per year, instead of allowing continuous testing.

The revised GRE will be significantly longer than the current GRE -- 4 hours instead of 2 and 1/2 -- and will involve more verbal and quantitative questions, and different question formats. It will have a shorter analytical writing section than the current GRE does, and will drop the analogy and antonym questions in favor of additional critical reading questions. The point scale will change to reflect the change in the number of questions.

For more information, see this ETS press release.

Is a Dual Degree Right for You?

Are you considering a joint degree? Click here to read a very informative article on the subject.

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