Life in Academia Part 1 Grad School reasons for going to grad school You enjoy the prospect of conducting research You enjoy learning new things Youve realized that a BABS isnt enough Youre ambitious and enjoy pushing yourself ID: 762761
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Life in Academia Part 1: Grad School
reasons for going to grad school… You enjoy the prospect of conducting research You enjoy learning new things You’ve realized that a BA/BS isn’t enough You’re ambitious and enjoy pushing yourself You like the university “atmosphere” What are some of your reasons?
Reasons for not going to grad school You want to get rich You simply don’t want to get a job yet You’re doing it only for the prestige You don’t like hard work Your not a self-starter
Who is successful in grad school? Gritty people Growth-oriented people Emotionally resilient people Organized people Can you think of any other traits?
Grittiness “Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007). Self-control is the voluntary regulation of impulses in the presence of momentarily gratifying temptations (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005; Duckworth & Steinberg, 2015). On average, individuals who are gritty are more self-controlled, but the correlation between these two traits is not perfect: Some individuals are paragons of grit but not self-control, and some exceptionally well-regulated individuals are not especially gritty (Duckworth & Gross, 2014).” —Angela Duckworth https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8
Growth-oriented Growth-mindset: “The understanding that abilities and intelligence can be developed.” Fixed-mindset: “The belief that ability and intelligence is static.” The Upshot What you believe about yourself and your abilities will greatly impact your success.
Emotional resiliency Grad school (especially the PhD) is emotionally challenging for the following reasons: You will experience conflict with professors/peers You will confront your own weaknesses There will be times you feel like an imposter You will doubt your ability You will hit brick walls in your research You will have to slog through writing a dissertation You will need an iron will!
Organization You absolutely must learn to manage your TIME and RESOURCES well. Especially your TIME
An overview of grad school: Coursework 60 – 96 hours for PhD (very rough, depending on discipline) Your first 2-3 years will be spent completing coursework Major milestones: Selecting a thesis advisor With your thesis advisors “help”—selecting the remainder of your thesis/dissertation “committee” Preparing for comprehensive exams
An overview of grad school: Comprehensive exams Before being allowed to enter “candidacy” status, you must complete “comps.” The comprehensive exam is generally given in 2 parts: A written exam An oral defense of your written responses This is (in my view) the single most stressful point in graduate school.
An overview of grad school: Dissertation proposal Once you have successfully (hopefully) completed comps, you will the schedule a meeting with your committee to give your “dissertation proposal” A 15 – 20 minute presentation A time for faculty to ask questions Approval or disapproval
An overview of grad school: The Dissertation! This will likely be the first book you’ve ever written. MA/MS thesis: 40-120 pages long PhD dissertation: 120 – 400+ pages long Generally divided into 5-7 chapters Usually takes about 2-3 years to complete (but can be done quicker) Must be defended successfully with your advisor’s signature and a majority vote from other committee members.