Can I teach college Spanish with only an MA?

April 24, 2009 9:43 AM

Can I teach college Spanish without a PhD? Resources?

After a lot of freaking out and overthinking, I've realized I don't want to finish my PhD - I am just burned out of school, constant poverty, not feeling like I'm living life... I suppose it's just confirmation bias, but I feel like I've noticed these sorts of posts more on askmefi in the last couple months.

I want to teach Spanish at the college level. I am somewhat interested in research but teaching is where my heart is. I earned my MA in Spanish and completed the coursework for a PhD, but have not taken the preliminary exams or done anything related to a dissertation. I feel as though I really ought to finish prelims, at least, but I am so burned out, and desperately don't want to. I have taught as a TA (first four semesters of Spanish) for six years.

The ideal outcome would be find a job with some security (employment not on a per-semester basis; benefits, like health care), preferably in the Pacific NW. So, can I teach at the college level with only an MA? Would I be stuck as an adjunct forever? Should I keep pushing to finish the preliminary exams? Finally, since I'm not a student anymore (I haven't been enrolled this year) where can I go for advice on how to find such a job, and how best to prepare myself for it? As far as I can tell, there aren't any available positions at the local CC's for the fall. Unlike this post, I don't have a background in education. I don't want to take any more courses unless they are tied to a job (the CC here requires x credits for instructors, for example, but you can do that and teach at the same time as an adjunct).

posted by queseyo to education (5 comments total)

You can certainly find work teaching, but it will be adjunct work. And the drying up of adjunct spots doesn't surprise me. We're on the tail end of two decades of decreasing numbers of full-time tenure-track spots, and the recent economic climate puts even that bottom-heavy model in peril. My guess is that things will look extra dire for a few years, with a good chance that they will stay that way or closer to it. Without a PhD, I think your chances of anything but occasional adjunct work are very poor in most places.

There are two exceptions, one not entirely practical and one more so. I have known people without PhDs in languages and the arts who got their positions because of their contributions to the field, e.g. well-published authors, musicians, etc. So if you were the next Alberto Fuguet, you might be in luck. That's not really a plan, though. The other thing I would note is that the California State University system has several tiers of full-time employees. Those who sign up as lecturers and are retained for a certain length of time (I believe it's three years) and at a certain number of courses enter into a semi-permanent status that's not unlike being tenured. They make less money and don't have the full protections of tenure, but it's far better than the usual purgatory of adjunct work. California isn't the Pacific NW, I realize, but you might check into Humboldt or Chico State to see what they could offer.
posted by el_lupino at 10:23 AM on April 24

Sure, you can teach at the college level, but you will probably need to be willing to move. Of course, you would probably need to be willing to move to secure employment even with a Ph.D. Most accreditation agencies require a Master's degree in a related subject (which you have) and an additional 18 credit hours of related graduate level instruction (which you have) to teach at the post-secondary level. Of course, you've hit the proverbial nail on the head when you say that you want security and benefits. Theoretically, you could be hired as a full-time non-TT instructor on a multi-year contract, but often those jobs go to people who are either very, very experienced teachers and/or who have Ph.D.s and not able to secure TT employment. The one place where you might do a little better is at a two-year institution. They often hire faculty who are in exactly your position, experienced teachers who are stalled or simply not planning to complete their Ph.D. dissertation. The pay is comparable to TT positions at certain types of four year universities as well, though you will be teaching a lot more classes for your money.

As far as resources, talk to your former advisor about mounting a job search this fall. That's your best bet. Of course, you can always check out the job postings at the Chronicle Online or HigherEdJobs, and trawl the job announcements of local universities, but the odds aren't with you.
posted by mrmojoflying at 10:31 AM on April 24

Even if you're burned out, I'd give some serious thought to finishing up while it's still relatively easy. I completed three years of coursework toward a PhD in Policy Analysis, and totally wish I'd sucked it up and got it over with.
posted by aquafortis at 11:07 AM on April 24

I think that every university level language instructor that I've ever had did not have a PhD.

I'd suggest getting a 2nd MA in teaching language...
posted by k8t at 12:15 PM on April 24

None of my Spanish professors has had a PhD. One of my Latin professors did and, of all my language professors, he was the only tenured one.

Nthing, yes, it's possible but probably harder to find a non-adjunct position.
posted by thewestinggame at 9:09 PM on April 26