The worth of master’s degrees, MFA degrees and PhDs in the humanities has been a long-debated topic. As an English literature major who is about to graduate, I have entered into the internal and external debate of whether MFAs or PhDs are worth the considerable trouble and money they cost to obtain.

The typical drone about these advanced degrees is that they are expensive, time-consuming and may not yield coveted university teaching positions. All are valid points, but having had thought about them further, I’ve found that they are not as compelling or factual as they seem to be.

Money can definitely be a factor, but people who are considering graduate school should not be too quick to change their plans based on limited finances. An article from US News & World Report outlines a number of options: getting your place of employment to pay, taking out loans carefully, working for the school and getting scholarships. There’s even a nifty federal credit called Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, which allows students to subtract 20 percent from their annual tuition and reimburses them for other educational expenses.

Teaching assistantships, research stipends and fellowships allow for a great number of programs to be partially or fully funded. Of the 50 schools included in the 2012 MFA Rankings given by Poets & Writers, 70 percent of them give full funding to all their students. Not only is tuition waived, but the students also receive a living stipend, which is not enough for any sort of extravagance, but it is enough to get by.

Many graduate school hopefuls are concerned about finding work as a professor after graduate school. Many newly graduated students, after a lifetime of praise, are surprised and offended to not have a tenure-track position lined up immediately. Articles that warn students of this generally do not mention the other job possibilities available to MFAs or PhDs if they do not find a university teaching job right away.

The job market of community college teaching jobs is much easier to break into than university teaching jobs. Community colleges generally do not require a professor having published books before he or she is hired. They also do not have nearly as high a rate of turnover, meaning that the newly-hired professor would not have to live in fear for his or her job safety.

Working at a publishing house is also a great way to use a graduate degree in the humanities. More and more of the applicants applying to entry-level positions at publishing houses have advanced degrees. The ability to communicate knowledgably about texts, recognize literature that is at a scholarly level and write successful literary criticism are all skills needed at publishing companies.

There’s also the question of the large time commitment required by these programs. People think they are going to be cut off from the job market for 7 years and will graduate with no work experience. For me, this seems like a nonissue. What could be better than doing what humanities students love to do: read, write and teach, for as long as possible? Most graduate students gain a considerable amount of teaching experience and can work other jobs on the side as well.

No one needs to put their life on hold to pursue a graduate degree. Plenty of people do this while working, dating, getting married and having kids. This is not to say it doesn’t take up a lot of time, but if you’re creative and manage time well, it should be quite feasible.

The sheer number of factors surrounding a graduate degree in the humanities can make it a daunting prospect. However, approaching these facets one by one makes it seem infinitely more manageable. Taking all of this into account, it seems to not be a question of whether you can afford to go to graduate school in the humanities, financially or otherwise. The question is: In today’s competitive job market, and with all the possibilities that come with a graduate degree, can you afford not to?

Julia Wagner ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in English literature.