Thinking about grad school

When considering whether or not to go to graduate school, particularly a doctoral program, I would highly recommend Phil Agre's article on thinking about graduate school. Professor Agre's essay does an excellent job outlining the nature of an advanced degree and what you need to do in preparing yourself academically and mentally for doctoral work and the sometimes mystical application process.

There are a number of people, however, that are interested in graduate school, but for various reasons, some we will explore later, are not willing to make the full commitment to a doctoral program or are interested in obtaining a professional degree. When I use the term professional degree, I am referring to a broad range of programs from clearly defined programs (e.g., law, medical, business, social work) to more mixed programs such as a one or two year general master's program.

For the purpose of this essay, I am going to focus my remarks toward those individuals who are unsure about entering a doctoral program or those who are interested in an advanced degree with a professional or applied focus from an arts and humanities type program. (Translated: This text is not oriented toward giving advice for medical, law, or business schools although much of the advice would still apply.)

People make the decision to attend a Master's program for a variety of reasons. In my experience, the seven most frequent reasons seem to be:
I need to improve my educational record in order to be accepted to a professional program (law, social work, etc.)
I am not sure if I want to teach at the college level, so I will use this year with an assistantship to experiment.
I want to return to school in order to give my career a boost and to improve my chances for advancement.
Retraining. I am in a dead-end occupation or I am burned out and I want to do something new.
I waited too long to apply to other programs or for employment after graduation.
I'm not prepared to leave school yet. I'm scared to leave school and frightened of the unknown.
I enjoyed learning about the topic and I want to learn more.
My parents want me to go to graduate school.

I do not claim that any of these reasons are right or wrong, good or bad. Ultimately your reasons for going to graduate school are your own. What is important is that you know why you are going to graduate school and that reason is not based upon false assumptions. Several of these falsehoods are:

Graduate and undergraduate education are the same. Graduate school is just more of the same.
A graduate education will have an immediate payoff (e.g., advancement, salary increase, job).
Graduate school is like a job.
Graduate school learning is classroom based.
I was a good undergraduate student so I will be a good graduate student.
A graduate education teaches useless skills so I can kill time.
I will be free to study what I want.
Graduate school is an open community of scholars without politics, rules or regulations.
I will get all the answers in graduate school.

The point to both lists is that people choose graduate school for many different reasons. Some are good and others are not as good. Ultimately, why you choose graduate school is your personal decision. Just make sure you know why you made the choice. Knowing why will help you in selecting schools, programs, courses of study, and specific classes.

Once you know why you want to go to graduate school, you should use this knowledge to guide your choice of programs. Putting aside the issue of acceptance to a program, making a program choice is probably the second most important decision to make (after deciding to go to graduate school). The reason is simple. After you make a program choice, your options become much narrower. Major flexibility in MA programs comes from the choice of a program rather than choices within programs. Most MA programs have a predetermined course(s) of study (read this as limited choice) that you will be expected to follow in your education.

Whatever your reasons for going to graduate school, faculty will expect certain behaviors from graduate students. Remember (particularly in MA only programs) that many faculty teach at the institution because of the graduate program. Unlike your undergraduate education, there is more room for individual focus and direction. Instead of competing for attention, instruction, guidance, or feedback with 300 or 400 other students, you are in a pool of 30 to 50 students. The potential for more contact and guidance is there if you are willing to be assertive and take advantage of the opportunities as they are presented. It is the ability to work with faculty that makes the graduate experience worthwhile. On the downside, you are also more closely scrutinized, as one instructor once described it, "everything is done for a grade in graduate school but, not everything is graded." Or, as another faculty member put it, "impression management is everything." Faculty will expect a set of behaviors from graduate students and visa versa. Find the model for the program and ask yourself if you are comfortable with it.

One way that you can identify the model is to ask the graduate program for a list of graduates that you can contact (references) and find out what students typically do after graduation. If the majority of the graduates continue for a Ph.D. at the same or other institution, you can bet that the program is primarily a doctoral studies preparation program. If the majority of graduates worked concurrently or enter/reenter the workforce after graduation, the program probably has more of an applied focus. Talking with recent graduates or current students will give you a sense (probably different from each other) of the program from an insider's perspective. This information may assist you in getting a sense of the culture of the department.

Specialized graduate programs have standardized lengths (e.g., law three years full-time, medicine four year full-time, social work two years full-time.) Graduate programs in most arts and humanities present the student with a range of choices. Most typically are one or two year programs. In Communication both options are available (at different schools.) Making this choice should not be taken lightly.

Many two-year programs are focused on doctoral preparation. The programs tend to offer more in-depth courses, allow more time for consideration and decision making, a less stressed course load, and expectation of more complex scholarly work (read this as thesis or other project.)

One year programs have both their advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, you can move onward or outward more quickly. Your time commitment is much shorter and as a result your range of choices are shorter and it will cost less. On the downside, your decision making time frame is much shorter. You need to quickly make thesis and course of study program decisions. A one-year program is less forgiving, you can get into trouble much more deeply and much quicker and it is harder to get out. If you decide on a one-year program it is critical that you stay organized and be aware of rapid deadlines. In the long-term, one or two year programs really don't make a difference in your acceptance to other graduate programs. The quality of your work and the reputation of the program are bigger factors. Thesis or non-thesis options are also less important than the quality of your research experience and your grades in your MA program. Thesis and program length are factors when making a final discrimination between two candidates

One question that is typically asked is what is the nature of a particular program. This question may not always be easy to answer. What may be included as a description of the program in the graduate catalog of the university may not be the program in flesh and blood. In a limited amount of time you can only take so many courses. You need to consider what courses are required and what restrictions are placed on the other classes (prerequisites, limits to non-departmental programs, divisions or course sequences, course categories, credit and noncredit courses, required but not counted courses, etc.) may all limit the true options you have available. You might want to ask the program director or department chair to provide you with a sample of actual student schedules so that you can compare what is marketed to what is reality.

Trying to a fund graduate school is usually difficult. Many graduate students string together assistantships, part-time jobs, some have even sold blood. Many of the grant and loan programs that were available to students at the undergraduate level are not available for graduate students. Graduate students tend to fund their education in one of six ways.

1. Graduate assistantships which pay for tuition and sometimes fees and carry a stipend. In return you will be expected to perform some duties for the department (research assistant, teaching assistant, production assistant, etc.) Although you will never get rich with a graduate assistantship (and most graduate students find other part-time employment) you can usually survive this way. Although there is a reason why people talk about someone living the life of a graduate student (no furniture, old clothes and car.)

2. Scholarships -- Some programs may have some additional financial aid money available in the form of scholarships or grants-in-aid.

3. Student Loans -- The guaranteed student loan program does make loans to students for graduate work. The amount is roughly twice what the loan is for undergraduate study. Your financial aid office would have more information on this area.

4. Employer Benefit -- Many graduate students actually work full-time and have their employer pay for their courses. If you choose this route, you need to be aware of two things. First, the employer will probably pay for tuition and books and you will have to cover other expenses. Second, the employer may place some limitations on the nature of the classes you can take. (a typical limitation is that classes must be related to your current job or to a potential future job.)

If you are married and/or have children, making the decision to go to (or return to) graduate school carries some additional issues you need to consider. You may struggle with the time and money battle. The battle goes as follows:

Many graduate students are married or married with children. Either or both of these conditions may need to be factored into your decision making. It is not unusual to have total spousal support for completion of your undergraduate degree and a change of outlook when you start to talk about a master's degree. You may find yourself dealing with an attitude of less than strong support. The phrase may be something like this. "I have put up with you going to school for five years and now I expected to settle down and begin a normal life, now you want to start over, what about me and your son/daughter?"

Graduate school will also require more time commitment than an undergraduate education. You may quickly find (especially if you continue to work full-time) that the only contact you have with your family is via notes on the refrigerator. It can be depressing when the image in your mind of your spouse becomes a silly face over time.

It seems that each family confronts these issues and many seem to work out ways to deal with it. What is suggested here is that you recognize that it might happen and talk about it before it becomes a problem.

As an undergraduate student your circle of people you socialized probably reflect a cross-section of the University. Housing arrangements, hometown, organizational memberships, and classes are all sources for friendships. In graduate school you will find that things change. You will live with your peers day-in and day-out for a year. You will get to know each others likes and dislikes, good and bad habits. You will begin to pickup and mimic the behavior of others and you will come to rely (or not rely depending on the person) on them. It is not unusual to loose contact with those you did your undergraduate work with while developing new relationships with those who share your program and interests. You will need to rely on the people that are in the program with you for survival. Although graduate school is supposed to be an individual activity, the success or failure of many students is a result of the relationships they have with other graduate students.

The advantage to these relationships is that they are long-term, tend to be deeper and stronger friendships. Most people who go to graduate school will maintain closer contact with those who were in the same program than those associated with an undergraduate education. There is also a downside. If you are already in a relationship, the new closeness of others may put pressure on you and them. You many not like the behavior mold that the graduate students create. It is very difficult to swim upstream all year fighting the socializing pressure of any close group. You might want to consider whether or not the people you observe in the graduate program are the type of people you enjoy being with and would like to develop long term friendships with them.

In watching many undergraduate students struggle with this question, you can tell when a decision is made. The stress and anxiety is gone, replaced with a sense of peace (translated into "I know what I am going to do next year" and lasts until the first day of classes, but that is a different discussion.) The answer to this question is simply. "I want to, that is why." This may seem selfish to many, but if you go for any other reason, you are probably fooling yourself and/or you will not finish.

The comments made in Agre's essay are worth reviewing in regard to the application process for these programs. The specific content of your materials may change somewhat, but the process should be similar. Always gather input and have people review your materials prior to submission.

The answer to the question may depend upon where you have applied and how good your academic record looks and your expectation of financial support. If you want a free ride into one of the top programs in the country, you will need excellent credentials and a little luck. As you move down each level of the ladder, your chances probably improve. One advantage to an MA only program is that the admission criteria might be a little different. In programs that have both MA and Ph.D. programs, MA candidates are often evaluated as potential Ph.D. candidates. The evaluation criteria is likely to be a little more strict.

Perhaps the best advice to give is the old employment advice, if you don't apply, your chances are zero. If you do apply, your chances are better than zero. If you are not sure, apply. You can always say no later.