And Speaking of Placement....

.....it seems time to present the updated placement statistics for graduates of the doctoral program. Despite the downturn in the job market the past two years, our overall placement rate is still very good:

WVU English Department PhD Placement Statistics, Past 15 Years:

Tenure Track Jobs: 31 (77.5%)
Full-time Adjunct or Visiting Positions: 4 (10%)
Administration: 3 (7.5%)
Alternate Career: 2 (5%)

And, while it has been taking our graduates a bit longer to move from adjunct teaching positions to fulltime tenure-track jobs, the placement rate is still good for the past five years:

2006 Graduates:
Tenure Track Jobs: 4 (100%)

2007 Graduates:
Tenure Track Jobs: 1 (33%)
Administration: 1 (33%)
Alternate Career: 1 (33%)

2008 Graduates:
Tenure Track Jobs: 3 (100%)

2009 Graduates:
Tenure Track Jobs: 2 (50%)
Adjunct or Visiting: 2 (50%)

2010 Graduates:
none

While it's a bit too early to tell what the 2011 job market will look like, the graduating class of 2010-2011 does have some reason for optimism.