Problem
Jane has five coins totaling 35 cents. Each coin is either a penny, a nickel, a dime, or a quarter. After using two of the coins ...
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You're an artsy type. You love cafes, books, and discussions about art and social theories. College is almost over and you're thinking: What's next? Why not get a Ph.D.? Here's the lowdown on what it takes to put those three letters after your name.
You Are What You Study
Students going to graduate school would be wise to choose their departments carefully. The lives of graduate students center around one department. Graduate students may be discouraged from pursuing other interests since they are expected to be loyal to their major subject and not to share intellectual affection. To many people in academia, students and professors are what they study.
In the humanities and social science Ph.D. programs, first year students become acquainted with faculty members and peers. Second year students conclude taking courses, choose a research advisor, and start research. Third year students take the infamous oral exams given by a committee of five to seven faculty members.
While extra effort may be needed to meet advanced graduate students, it is definitely worth it. Advanced students can be mentors and can advise new students through their first year. Many students find mentors who may be too busy to talk with them, but from whom they learn by example. In other words, students can look for professors they admire and might want to emulate.
The First Year
Humanities and social science departments often have a graduate seminar in which students take turns presenting their own work. Papers are often the only graded assignments and excellent writers will find their talents rewarded. Some graduate students attend the same upper level classes of undergraduates to help fill gaps in their knowledge. An ideal background includes study of all major figures and movements and all key texts in the discipline. Typically, discussions in some courses may become heated as egos collide. Some students attempt to blast other student's arguments to show the validity of their own.
In the first year, students become a fixture of the department, and they are advised to be polite and to maintain good relationships with departmental staff. The graduate school's handbook of regulations should be studied and all deadlines should be met. Graduate advisors frequently complain of students unfamiliar with graduate school policies.
Most programs require students to pass language proficiency exams and submit an M.A. essay or master's thesis at the end of the first year. As in the sciences, some departments admit many more first year students than they will allow in advanced courses or continue to fund. These departments view the end of the first year as a time to select those who can continue to A.B.D. (all but dissertation) status.
Weeding-out students seems cruel to some people. However, rather than feel compassion for new students, professors tend to think that they were put through the same survival tests and that the tests are an initiation into the culture of academia. Discussions with other students can clarify scholarly arguments and lead to supportive friendships that can help students weather academic pressures.
To move on to the second year, students should avoid incompletes and strive for at least a B+ average. Students should have already filled most gaps in undergraduate work.
The Second Year
In the second year, humanities and social science Ph.D. students transition from taking courses to doing research. For most students, the second year will be the final year of courses. Students must think carefully when choosing a subspecialty and deciding on a dissertation topic. Examples of subspecialties are American Social History or Southern Women Writers. (If these topics sound interesting to you, you are definitely graduate school material.) Students consider the available theoretical approaches, topics, or genres and the faculty expertise available to them. The dissertation topic is extremely important as it not only impacts the award of the Ph.D., but also affects career opportunities. Many faculty committees make the quality of the dissertation topic a major consideration in hiring new faculty.
Students are encouraged to attend brown-bag lectures and seminars to meet people outside their department during their second year. This is also a great time to join professional organizations such as the Modern Language Association. These organizations usually have low student rates and offer networking opportunities.
Choosing Dr. Right
Choosing a major advisor means considering both personality and subspecialty. The ideal advisor has the following qualities:
- Has expertise in student's research area
- Meets the socio-emotional needs of the student (for independence vs. guidance)
- Is admired by the student
- Is someone with whom the student feels comfortable
- Has availability
- Has funding opportunities
- Gives feedback quickly
- Gives helpful feedback
If such a person existed, there would be a graduate student heaven. Students must do their best to look for an ideal advisor within the constraints of the department they are in. Students are obligated to keep in touch with their advisor and other professors on a regular basis. Professors like students who follow through on commitments they have made and show up for every appointment. Students can discuss the composition of their oral exam committees with their advisors.
Getting to know faculty other than the major advisor is beneficial. For example, working with a mix of junior and senior faculty has distinct advantages. Senior faculty members are established scholars who have power in funding decisions and academic policies. In addition, established faculty members tend to have powerful nationwide connections that can help in a job search. Working with junior faculty members connects the student with emerging scholars. Students and junior faculty members can remain colleagues for the remainder of their lives.
The Third Year- The Oral Exam
Graduate students agonize over oral exams that were actually intended to help them. Oral exams were created as a way to let students review their fields, to read things they would not otherwise read, and to focus on their research. Assuming the exam will be fair and remembering its pedagogical role may help reduce tension. Some schools give a written exam as well as an oral one.
Oral exams are frightening because all disciplines are vast and because there are usually few rules regarding what can be asked on the exam. Students often feel like flies subject to powerful gods who can kill them for their sport. In some departments, nearly all students pass. In others, oral exams are used to carefully select future scholars. Orals are usually over in a few hours and not as bad as the students had imagined. Passing the oral exam promotes the student to the coveted A.B.D. (all but dissertation) status.
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