applying to graduate school - life after americorps workshop presentation

Robert P. Connolly Director, C.H. Nash Museum Associate Professor, Depts. Anthropology & Earth Sciences rcnnolly@memphis.edu 901-785-3160 rcnnolly.wordpress.com  

My Experience in This Area

My own graduate education •  MA in Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, 1991 •  PhD in Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign, 1995 Working with Graduate Students •  Active in graduate admissions/committees at multiple

universities since 1994 •  In last 7 years, at the University of Memphis, chair or

serve on over 30 graduate student committees

h#p://www.idealist.org/info/GradEduca9on/GoodReasons  

h#p://www.idealist.org/info/GradEduca9on/BadReasons  

Bad Reasons for Going to Graduate School •  To avoid making life decisions •  Peer or family pressure to go to graduate school •  You don't know what to do with your life •  You think a graduate degree is necessary for your

desired career

Not so Good Reasons for Going to Graduate School •  You would like to study a particular subject to

satisfy your curiosity or general interest •  Consider other options such as MOOCs (see

coursera.org) •  Unable to find a job of interest •  Have AmeriCorps tuition funds to spend    

Good Reasons for Going to Graduate School

•  A graduate degree is required for your career interest •  A graduate degree may enhance your options to

progress in your career •  A graduate degree may improve the compensation in

your career

• Others??    

The Question

What are your top five factors when considering (or recommending) students for a graduate program?

29 – Total Responses from faculty:

2 – Urban Studies 2 – Medical 2 – Biology 2 – Business 2 – Museum 3 – History 3 – University Administrators 4 – Earth Sciences 9 – Anthropology

#1 – Interest Fit With Department, Campus

“Evidence student researched our program and that they see themselves working with a specific faculty member on specific themes we are known for. Also must have an awareness of what we do and don't teach.”  

History,  Egyptology  University  of  Memphis  

# 2 – Communication Skills Wri$ng  in  the  Sciences  was  taught  in  2012  at  coursera.org.    The  course  is  taught  by  Kris9n  Sainani  a  clinical  assistant  professor  at  Stanford  University.    I  par9cipated  in  the  first  two  weeks  of  the  course  and  found  it  be  quite  good  and  the  assignments  challenging.  Based  on  my  experience  I  recommend  this  course  to  students.    All  of  the  lectures  and  exercises  are  archived  and  available  online.    Of  course,  the  archive  does  not  provide  the  peer  interac9on,  review,  and  course  grading.    Here  is  the  link  for  the  course  archive:  h#ps://www.coursera.org/course/sciwrite          Here  is  another  coursera  course  on  wri9ng  -­‐Cra0ing  an  Effec$ve  Writer:  Tools  of  the  Trade.    The  course  is  considerably  more  remedial  than  Wri$ng  in  the  Sciences.    A  new  course  began  on  June  14th.  Here  is  the  link:  h#ps://www.coursera.org/course/basicwri9ng      Wri$ng  II:  Rhetorical  Composing  –  “Rhetorical  Composing  engages  you  in  a  series  of  interac9ve  reading,  research,  and  composing  ac9vi9es  along  with  assignments  designed  to  help  you  become  more  effec9ve  consumers  and  producers  of  alphabe9c,  visual  and  mul9modal  texts.”  A  new  course  begins  on  September  15.    Here  is  the  link:  h#ps://www.coursera.org/course/wri9ng2    Here  is  a  list  of  other  MOOC  wri9ng  courses  of  which  I  have  no  experience  or  direct  knowledge:  h#p://www.mooc-­‐list.com/tags/wri9ng    .    

#3 – Statement of Intent

“Write a meaningful letter of intent - this means take the time to think through what you're interested in studying, why you're pursuing a degree, what faculty you want to work with, and what you hope to get out of the program - and then clearly explain this in the letter.”    

Katherine Lambert-Pennington Associate Professor Department of Anthropology University of Memphis

#3 – Statement of Intent (continued)

The student's career goals, as currently perceived, must be clear, well-conceived, and an excellent fit to the target grad program. Every program asks its applicants to submit a personal statement. I want to see a statement that is well-written and aimed specifically at my department’s strengths.  

R. Barry Lewis Professor Emeritus Department of Anthropology University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Elizabeth Murray Professor Department of Biology College of Mount St. Joseph

#4 – Think Critically

“Creativity is essential in science/research in order to develop sound hypotheses and both explore and design methodology, as well as taking initiative.”  

#5 Grade Point Average

“An excellent GPA in the field the student is entering (If you are a History Major, we don't care if you got a C in algebra, but we do care if you got a C in Ancient History) – Suzanne Onstine Outstanding academic performance during the last 60 hrs of undergrad, including standard test scores, is very important. – Barry Lewis  

#6 – Commitment to Study

Ability to generate their own ideas and channel those ideas into independent research. – Cameron Wesson My experience is that PhDs tend to go to those who want them the most. Everyone who gets admitted to the program is bright enough to complete it, but those who walk away with the degree in hand never lost sight of their goal and what then need to do to finish. – R. Barry Lewis    

#7 – Letters of Reference/Support

Letter guidelines: • Make request at least one month in advance of due date •  Ask if individual can write a “strong” letter of support.

If they hedge, ask someone else. •  Letters need to provide a good balance of academic,

applied, and work experience. • Must have at least two academic references, ideally

three that speak to your total person. •  Do not ask a Boy Scout Leader, eight-week Team

Sponsor, local public official, athletic coach, etc. unless they are directly related to your field of study.

# 8 Teamwork, Humility, Ethics

And . . . Diversity of Skills, Able to Take Constructive Criticism, Language Skills

“Maturity – realism; understands failure, doesn’t expect perfection of self/others, well-grounded, understands and empathizes with others, recognizes obstacles and what can and cannot be tackled, can say “I don’t know” with a smile. “I don’t know” is essentially the foundation of science (and I like people who are excited and inspired by all the wonder of what they don’t know rather than look at that as a downfall.” - Elizabeth Murray

What You Should Look For in a Program . . . “How happy are current graduate students with funding situation/department culture?  How is the funding situation in general? Opportunities for exploration within the program?  Is there flexibility to gain skills but also try new things? What are alumni doing?  Are they going on to careers that you see yourself doing?”

Elizabeth Bollwerk Museum of Culture and Environment Central Washington University Burke Museum of Natural History University of Washington

And . . . “Students should research faculty members they want to work with and engage them.  Are they are taking new students? Visit campus to see the facilities and also to get a sense of the "vibe.”  Be sure the university is someplace you will want to spend several years.  Engage other students and see what they've liked and not liked about their program.”

Bonnie Pitblado Professor of Anthropology Robert E. and Virginia Bell Chair Anthropology Department University of Oklahoma

And finally . . . “Try to find out what graduates of the program do after graduation - do these kinds of things line up with what you see yourself doing after you graduate? Does the department offer assistantships or funding? My general rule of thumb is - don't go to grad school unless they're paying you to be there - it means the faculty/department is investing in you. Higher education debt is difficult to pay back with the current job market/salary situation.” - Katherine Lambert Pennington