Story Versus Search

Writing Studies Graduate Recruitment Lessons Learned

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recruitment is an increasingly important part of program and graduate directors’ work and this paper combines a case study of one small, masters-only Writing Studies program’s work to thoughtfully and systematically craft digital content to help grow our program along with survey data from current graduate students and alums revealing what sorts of information, stories, and search terms prospective students seek and need to make decisions about applying and committing to graduate schools. Taking up a user experience approach, we sought to understand the ways digital recruitment tools (social media, emails, webpages, etc.) attract and inform prospective students with specific attention to ways social media story and online searches work together to engage prospective students. We found that students evaluate programs first based on funding/costs and curriculum, and if they think the program might meet their expectations, then they evaluate social media to see students and their experiences in the program. These findings suggest that social media stories build and sustain community, but these stories may not reach prospective students without an awareness of search terms and strategies used by those seeking a graduate program.