¿Estudiar en Zaragoza, conmigo? - Uff...
Publicado en Departamento. com. José Ángel García Landa
Me preguntan desde la India sobre la posibilidad de venir a hacer una tesis doctoral conmigo a Zaragoza...
Dear Aishwarya,
I am grateful for your interest in pursuing narratological studies
in Zaragoza and for counting on me as a prospective supervisor. Up to
now we have had some international students from Europe, but this is the
first time we receive an application from India. The research line in
narrative theory you intend to pursue is quite valid and interesting to
me, so that would not be a problem in that respect. I must warn you,
however, that there are some practical difficulties which must be
carefully considered before you take a decision.
First
there is the problem of academic compatibility associated with the
admission of foreign students. There's some information in English about
the procedure here: http://wzar.unizar.es/servicios/ingles/insti/admis/docto.htm
I can give more information if you want once you read this, and I
can help you with the application proceedings, but it's a quite formal
process with lots of paperwork which may be irritating and even
discouraging (not that I want to discourage you! But I think you had
better have this in mind, not to be taken unawares). The most important
thing, however, is to determine whether a doctorate in a foreign
university is what you really need for your professional plans. I do not
know about the validity of foreign degrees in India, if you do plan to
live and work in India—certainly if you plan to live in the European
Union, a European doctorate would be most convenient, but then you might
need to validate your degrees here, which is a slow and (again)
irritating process, fraught with difficulties. If you plan to study
abroad and then return to India, you absolutely need to make sure
beforehand that the degree you are going to pursue will have official
validity in India—I am aware that perhaps you are not making such
specific plans at this point, but perhaps this is something you need to
do before taking such a significant step; certainly you don't want to
take a degree course lasting several years abroad and then find that
this is not the kind of degree you need in order to work in the country
where you want to live. So thinking this out is quite crucial before you
go to study abroad, in Zaragoza or elsewhere.
Then there
are the specificities of doctoral degrees here. I understand you are on
your way to your second master's degree: I am sorry to say that in
order to enter the doctoral programme here you would need to take yet
another master's degree in the English programme here (you can have a
look at this in the website, http://www.unizar.es/departamentos/filologia_inglesa/master/master.htm). This would take about two years of postgraduate courses and a master's thesis before
you can begin work on your doctoral dissertation. As I see it from
here, it is not your best option in order to obtain a Ph.D. I should
also warn you that students in our department take an inordinately long
time to complete their Ph.D. dissertations (about eight years on
average). And there is no financial aid to speak of unless you are a
Spanish resident at the moment of application.
And
finally there's no guarantee that you might get me as your supervisor,
since the way things stand here right now I am not a member of that
doctoral programme. This is due to a highly irregular decision taken by
the organisers of the programme and by my department, and it's under
appeal to the University authorities, I don't want to bother you with
the details– but the fact is that, illegal decision and all, at this
moment this is quite a real obstacle, and at this moment there is no
easy way for me to supervise a Ph.D. in my department. Not to mention
the unofficial difficulties, backstabs, etc., which might attend on the
process... the academy is the jungle, you see. I am sorry I cannot offer
better prospects, and to be so long-winded, but I think it is better to
give your a realistic picture of the difficulties I see. As you have
expressed a genuine interest in the kind of research you would like to
carry out with me here, I thought you deserved a fuller view of the
picture, rather than merely getting referred to the admissions office.
Therefore, on the whole, and taking into account your interests and
your personal situation as a postgraduate student, I am afraid I must
recommend you to undertake doctoral studies elsewhere, and to consider
carefully the convenience of getting a foreign degree before you make
your move. As to your research interests in narratology, I suggest we
can remain in contact if you think I can assist you in any way, exchange
ideas, suggestions, and so on. I would be delighted to do so. Only I
see too many difficulties along the way to make it worthwhile for you to
take a degree in Zaragoza. But again, that's only my point of view—and
it's up to you to take a decision! Thank you again for your interest in
working with me. Please write again if you have any questions about
study in Zaragoza, or if you want to keep up the narratological
connection. (By the way, was it you who wrote a review of The Constant Gardener in the web? I also liked the film!). I wish you much luck and success in your career.
All best wishes,
José Ángel García Landa
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