Why Graduate School?
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Transcript Why Graduate School?
GRADUATE EDUCATION:
Benefits & Opportunities
Nura Dualeh
Graduate College – McNair Program
Spring 2012
TAKE CHARGE!!!!!
Preparation for Graduate School–
Begins with You
Time Matters
Note deadlines
Develop a multiyear plan
Apply to graduate school and national
fellowships - Start 1 year early!
Write/Re-Write your personal statement.
It’s one of the most important essays
you’ll ever write!
Look into a Summer Research
Opportunity
Provides an in-depth look at your field
Investigate a research question that matters
Get to know faculty
Learn how to read research literature
Design and carry out a research project
Learn what is expected in graduate/professional
school
Increases your confidence when applying to
graduate school
UROC:
Graduate College’Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Consortium
PROGRAM BENEFITS
Faculty Mentoring
Summer stipends: $3,000-$5000
6 credit hours – free!
GRE prep class – free!
Graduate Admission Workshops
Poster sessions/research conferences
Network with faculty/staff graduate recruiters
Think Summer Research
in Social Science & Humanities
UA’s Summer Research Institute:
http://grad.arizona.edu/sri
UA’s McNair Achievement Program:
http://grad.arizona.edu/mcnair
UA’s Undergraduate Research Portal:
http://ur.arizona.edu/
University of California, Irvine – the UROP Database:
http://www.urop.uci.edu/frame_opportunities_off_ca
mpus.html
Think Summer Research
in Social Science & Humanities
NSF REU (research experiences for undergraduates):
List of REUs by
discipline: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_sea
rch.cfm
IBP: Institute for the Broadening of Participation:
http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/
Office of Undergraduate Research
webportal: www.ur.arizona.edu
UA Career Services website:
http://www.career.arizona.edu/Students/default.aspx
?s=1&ss=50
Additional Resources
GRE
Applying to Graduate School
Financing Graduate School
Master’s, PhD, and Professional degrees
Fellowships and beyond
How to find a graduate program
Additional Resources Cont’d
Finding the ‘right’ program
Nationally competitive fellowships
Letters of Recommendation
Curriculum Vita (CV)
The Statement of Purpose/Personal
Statement
Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
Begin preparing for the GRE exam your
sophomore year – why?
Acceptable scores vary by field
Some fields require a “subject” test
Is a GRE preparation course necessary or
affordable? Prepare! Prepare! Prepare!
Develop your own prep schedule – use
study groups, online programs, cds, etc.
Studying/preparing will improve your
scores!
Financing Graduate School
Master’s, PhD & Professional degrees
Teaching Assistantships
Research Assistantships
Fellowships
Grants
Tuition waivers
Loans
Submit the FAFSA annually
A PhD can be cheaper than other degrees
How to find a graduate program?
Web search
Ask professors and graduate students
Brochures, catalogs, professional guide books
Contact Graduate College staff
Contact the Graduate Advisor (faculty)
Contact the Graduate Coordinator (staff)
Email professors you are interested in doing
research with
Ask if you can talk to grad students in the
program
Campus Visits - make appointment first
Apply to 5-10 universities: 1/3 reach schools,
1/3 very possible, 1/3 sure admission
Graduate School Game Plan
Summer: Write draft statement of purpose (why
you want to be admitted to this specific program).
Browse directories/websites of graduate programs.
September: Meet with faculty to discuss your
statement and possible programs. Ask for letters of
recommendation. Sign up for required standardized
tests, i.e., GRE, GMAT.
October: Take standardized tests. Request
application materials from programs in which you
are interested. Search the Web. Look through
Peterson’s Guide, ask your professors and program
staff.
Graduate School Game Plan – Cont’d
November: Order transcripts from all undergraduate
schools attended. Ask if the Registrar can send a
transcript w/your fall term grades in time to meet the
deadlines of programs to which you are applying.
December: Complete application forms – most are
online (do a draft on a photocopy of the forms first).
Give your recommenders the forms to fill out or the
addresses to send their letters & copies of your
statement of purpose or your response to specific
questions asked by the program. Submit applications.
Even if deadlines are later, apply early to be
considered for funding.
File a FAFSA.
Graduate School Game Plan – Cont’d
January: Contact programs about the
possibility of visiting. Make trips if possible.
(Be sure to brush up on your interviewing
skills – work with Career Services on this.)
March/April: Follow up on your application.
Is your file complete?
Check on funding opportunities.
File the FAFSA for the next academic year.
Prepare Yourself
Conduct undergraduate research
Provide voluntary service in the field
Join a professional society (student member)
Present & network at conferences/publish
in undergraduate journals
Get to know 3 solid faculty who can give
you excellent recommendations
Prepare Yourself
Identify awards: self-nominate or ask
faculty
Keep up your grades: Transcripts count!
Take standardized tests:
If low scores, study some more and take
again
Build technical skills for resume or cv.
Keep a file of possible graduate schools
and fellowship opportunities
Get Lots of Information!
Meet with your faculty mentors & discuss
interests
Read about the interests of the field
Define 1 or more topics of interest
Search & read funding guidelines
Ask for Help!!!
From mentors, peers, program staff
What about Funding?
Maintain a Great Attitude
Focus your passion
Overcome fears
Do the worst thing first
Be persistent
Practice optimism
Repeat after me :
self-worth has nothing to
do with whether or not
you receive a grant
Institutional & Extramural Funding
Employment: GA, RA or TA
Graduate, Teaching or Research Assistantships
Usually offered as part of admission package. Tuition waiver and
healthy insurance is usually included.
Tuition scholarships
Institutional Fellowships & Training grants
National Fellowships: Ford, Javits, Mellon, Sloan
Fellowships
Federal Fellowships: NSF, Dept. of Education
Teaching Assistantships
Payment to teach a discussion section, sometimes
a class, and/or grade papers/tests
Stipend: $12,000 - $15,000 for 9 mos.
Tuition (in-state and out-of-state)
Health Insurance may be covered
Provides teaching experience but does not further one’s
research
Useful credential for academic positions and practice in
public speaking
Research Assistantships
Faculty member/department pays you to do
research to fulfill a grant awarded to
him/her
Stipend: $12,000 - $15,000+ for 12 mos.
Tuition (in-state and out-of-state)
Individual Health Insurance
Work obligation (assisting professor with
research)
Often constitutes one’s dissertation research
Scholarships
Usually refers to tuition scholarships,
i.e., free money that pays for your tuition
GET HELP!!!
Form a writing group or get a buddy.
Work with an advisor. Feed “forward.”
Let others read and critique.
Find student who already got a national
fellowship: ask to read his/her application
Develop Basic Building Blocks
Define research
interests
Build bibliographies
Build technical skills
Conduct pilot studies
Personal goals
Previous experience
Resume/c.v.
Transcripts on file
Proposal Writing Resources
Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal, S. Joseph Levine, MSU, 2009
http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/
How to Prepare a Research Proposal: Guidelines for Funding and
Dissertations in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, David Krathwohl
NSF Grant Proposal Guide
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf09_29/gpg_index.jsp
Practical Research Planning and Design, Paul Leedy & Jeanne Ellis
Ormrod
Proposal Writing Short Course – Foundation Center http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html
Research Proposals: A Guide to Success, T. Ogden & Israel Goldberg
"The Art of Writing Proposals: Some Candid Suggestions for
Applicants to Social Science Research Council Competitions“, Adam
Przeworski & Frank Salomon. Social Science Research Council
http://fellowships.ssrc.org/art_of_writing_proposals/
University of California at Berkeley Grant Writing Resources
http://ls.berkeley.edu/?q=graduate/grant-writing-resources
University of Michigan Proposal Writer’s Guide, Don Thackrey
http://www.research.umich.edu/proposals/pwg/pwgcomplete.html
What are Your Next Steps?
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Questions?
UROC Contact Information:
Donna Treloar, Graduate College - Summer Research Institute
621-7808
[email protected]
Stephanie Adamson, Assistant Director, Graduate Recruitment
626-0095
[email protected]
Nura Dualeh, McNair Achievement Program
626-7475
[email protected]
Andrew Huerta, McNair Achievement Program
626-6961
[email protected]