美国对研究生教育的调查及对申请读研的建议

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美国对研究生教育的调查及对申请读研的建议

整理自http://www.phd-survey.org/

1999年春夏，一些机构和学者对美国国内28个高校，11个专业的超过4000个博士进行了调查。调查报告 "At Cross Purposes: What the experiences of today's doctoral students reveal about doctoral education," 于2001年1月完成。该survey主要调查了在读博士的就业目标，对研究生教育的意见，研究生教育存在的问题等。分析了美国研究生教育的现状和存在的问题。

此调查报告下面有下载，但内容与申请关系不太大。但此调查报告出台后，他们针对所发现的问题，对博士申请者提出了一系列非常实用的建议，包括如何寻求学校信息，选校选系选导师注意事项，对读博还是就业的思考等。整理如下：

目录

Introduction: Questions To Ask When Thinking About Pursuing a Ph.D.

Section One: Questions to ask to determine your goals and what the Ph.D. is all about

Section Two: Questions to ask to investigate the program

Section Three: Questions to ask to help select an advisor

Section Four: Quotes from students 在读博士对各自专业的申请者所提建议，专业包括 Art History, Chemistry, Ecology, English, Geology, History, Mathematics, Molecular Biology, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology。

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Introduction：Questions To Ask When Thinking About Pursuing a Ph.D.

Copyright 2001,  Chris M. Golde

The decision to attend graduate school to get a Ph.D. is an important one, and not one to be made lightly or without consideration. Typical doctoral programs take five to seven years to complete; by the time you are done, you will have spent about one-quarter of your life in graduate school. In many fields your training will not be done; in most science fields students then spend 2-4 years in postdoctoral training before beginning their professional career. Committing to a Ph.D. also means some sacrifice. Doctoral students are generally not well paid. You may increase your personal debt. Relative to your peers, you will forego many years of income. Furthermore, you may sacrifice personally, as doctoral training is a "job" that requires perseverance and very hard work.

Research shows that up to half of the students who begin doctoral study never receive the Ph.D. One culprit in attrition is a poor match. Doctoral study may be a poor choice in the first place, or there may be a poor fit between the student and the program.

But take heart! Doctoral work is usually an exciting and positive experience. Most students would earn their Ph.D. all over again. Most report being pushed and challenged, and growing personally and intellectually in positive directions.

Everyone is best served if prospective doctoral students take the time to research the graduate school option thoroughly – and relative to other options – and making the best possible choice of career path and graduate program.

The questions that follow stem in large measure from the advice of thousands of doctoral students who were asked to give advice to new students.

Information Sources

You have a variety of sources of information available as you narrow your choices and move through the application and decision process. When you ask questions, be prepared to hear things you do not want to know!
Remember, no person or place is perfect. But take heed of the warnings that you get.
To understand the possible programs you can apply to, read widely: university and program catalogs (paper and internet), rankings and guidebooks. Ask your current faculty or other faculty you know.

To investigate particular programs there are a lot of steps to take. Talk to graduate students at your own and other institutions; they can help you think about questions to ask and they probably know about other programs. It is very, very helpful to visit the campus and department and develop your own opinions. While you are there, talk to faculty and staff at those programs. Talk to students who are enrolled there. Visit classes and labs if you can.

To investigate particular advisors: talk to their students, talk to other students in the program, talk to the advisor (on the phone, in person, via email), observe their lab or group in action.

How to ask

Asking these kinds of questions, particularly those in the second two sections – questions about the program and questions about an advisor – can be a difficult process. For many people, it is uncomfortable to ask probing questions. It can seem like you are skeptical and untrusting. It can feel aggressive and inappropriate. One strategy for overcoming your fears of asking difficult questions is to practice asking. Role play with friends and trusted advisors. Consider who are the best people to ask about various things. Faculty members have limited amounts of time, and may prefer that you ask some questions of staff or students. Some questions can be asked via email, others are better asked on the phone or in person. Put yourself in the place of the person you are questioning: an email with 15 questions may well not be answered. One or two general and open-ended questions may yield fruitful answers.

When talking with faculty, remember that they have very little spare time. Most faculty members do not respond to email messages that seem to be sent to many people. ("Dear Professor X, I am interested in being your advisee. …) Do your homework in advance. Read their work. Ask a question of them or one of their students at a conference. Determine if you have common intellectual interests before you contact them. If you are in a field in which it is the norm for faculty and students to match prior to and during admissions, find out who students typically meet faculty members. Some departments have funds to bring prospective students who are strong candidates to campus in order for faculty and students to meet. In some cases this takes place on a predetermined date, in others it is arranged individually.

Below are forty one questions that you should ask before you select a doctoral program. In some cases the question is followed by some elaboration or additional questions. They are divided into three categories. Click on the section to read those questions. Or, finish reading this page, and then use the link at the end to go to the first set of questions.

Questions to help you know yourself and what the Ph.D. is all about,
Questions to ask of a specific program that interests, and
Questions to ask a specific faculty member that you are interested in working with.

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Section One:  Questions to ask to determine your goals and what the Ph.D. is all about


The most important questions you can ask yourself is why you really want to attend graduate school. Too many student enroll because they have been encouraged by others and because they haven’t explored other options. This is not sufficient! You should be very clear about why you want to devote the necessary time and energy to developing specialized expertise in this area. Many students counsel taking at least a year off after undergraduate studies to explore alternatives and to develop clearer focus.

You should also develop a clear idea about what doctoral studies entails. Doctoral work is very, very different from undergraduate, master’s or professional degree programs (MBA, JD, MD). It is much, much less structured. Typically, students take classes for 1-3 years, and then spend the remainder of the time solely pursuing research and scholarship. Often, students begin working on research from the very beginning of their time in school. The duration of the degree is unpredictable, but typically runs 5-7 years. The goal of the Ph.D. is to train students to be independent researchers and scholars, and so learning how to think, to theorize, and to conduct research is more important than learning more facts. Much of doctoral work is solitary and autonomous. It is also relatively flexible and individually determined. One student’s course of study and time table may be radically different from another student’s. Furthermore, doctoral training differs among disciplines. Be sure that you understand what the conventions and norms of your chosen field are.

The five questions you should be able to answer before you begin to look at specific programs are these:

1. Why do you want the degree?
Why a Ph.D. instead of work or a professional degree? Are you getting the degree to please someone else or at someone else’s suggestion, such as a family member or a faculty member? What other options have you seriously considered? One way to learn more about doctoral studies is to do research in a lab or with a professor, in the summer or during the academic year. Another good strategy is to take a year or two off between undergraduate and graduate school and work in or near your field of study in order to experience the realities of doing the work.

What is your driving passion? Why do you want to study in this field? What attracts you to this area of study? Are their other areas of study which would be good alternatives? Can you describe what you love about your discipline? What questions and aspects of the discipline arouse your passions? Is this passion sufficient to sustain you in difficult times?

2. What are your career goals?
It may be noble to consider graduate study for the sake of knowledge, it is important to consider what career you want to follow after the Ph.D. What career options does the Ph.D. give you? Can you enter your chosen career without a Ph.D.? What do you know about the day-to-day lives of the people who are in the careers you aspire to? What personal characteristics does a successful person in this field possess (persistence, enjoying working alone, marketing skills, etc.)?

3. What is the job market?
As you consider your career goals, find out what the job market is like in that area. For many fields the academic job market, that is the number of jobs as professors, are very small. There are many more people who are seeking faculty jobs than there are jobs available. In some fields there are many jobs in government or industry.

4. What is doctoral study like?
As described above, doctoral study differs from undergraduate studies. Be sure that you spend some time learning what doctoral study is like. Talk to graduate students at your current institution (or a nearby institution) about the realities of graduate school. Seek out graduate school-like experiences: write an honor’s thesis, work in a lab, take a graduate level course. If you have not spent time at a research-intensive university, you may want to learn how faculty-student interactions differ at such an institution.

You also should consider the work settings and challenges that will face you and determine whether you are suited to doctoral study:

What kind of work settings are most conducive for you (lots of people, very quiet, juggling many projects, working on one thing)?
Are you a persistent person? Do you finish things in spite of adversity? Did you have a lot of incompletes or dropped courses as an undergraduate?

What kind of relationship do you envision with an advisor? Would you talk about personal matters or would you want solid boundaries between work and personal life?

To what extent do you like being in charge of your own life? To what extent do you want your advisor determining your research agenda and your future career path?

What other aspects of your life are important? How do you imagine balancing family, friend and personal responsibilities with graduate school?

What if you don’t finish?

5. What is it like in that field?
Not only should you consider what graduate study is like generally, but you should consider what it is like in your field of choice. What are characteristics of the research? Do they suit you?

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Section Two:  Questions to ask to investigate the program


Although rankings and reputation are important, they are only some of the things that you want to investigate about a program. Many less highly ranked programs are home to faculty doing exciting work. Many programs embrace innovative strategies and forward thinking components that provide students with an excellent, well-rounded education. The key is to discover if the program you are considering suits you and matches your goals.

General Information

6. What is the reputation and ranking of the department?
This is the most common question that students ask. It can be a useful starting point. What is the reputation of the department? How will the department’s reputation affect your experience? A highly ranked department may imply a high caliber of fellow students, research production pressures on faculty, and little time for people to spend together.

7. What is the mission of this department?
Some programs are geared to training future faculty, some to provide students with a broad education, and others to train practitioners. Does the department agree on its mission? Although doctoral education is primarily located in the department and program, you might also consider the institution as a whole. What is the institutional mission? Is the emphasis on graduate or undergraduate students? Does it have a religious affiliation or specialized in other wise that matter to you? What is the overall reputation of the institution?

8. What is the location? Does it suit you?
This is another common question. What is it like to live in this part of the country? Do you like the climate? Do you like the location of the campus (rural, suburban, urban)? What opportunities are there for your spouse/partner to find satisfying work? What opportunities are there for you to meet a spouse or partner?

9. Who are program faculty whose work excites you?
This is another common and important question. Which faculty members in this department would you like to work closely with? Have you read their work? Do you like the way they think?

Student Progress

10. What is the normal the time to degree?
What is the average time to degree in the department? The average in most fields is between 5 and 7 years. How many years do faculty and administrators assume that it is? This can affect how long is funding available, for example.

11. How many students leave the program? Why?

Career Outcomes

12. What are the career prospects, both in and outside of academia?
If you want to be a faculty member, have you ever talked to faculty members about the academic life? What is the current job market like in your field? What is the projected job market? What are your options if you are unable to get a faculty job? Would you be willing to take a faculty job anywhere in the country (such as the rural south, or a small state teaching college with little research support and without the brightest students in the country)?

13. What careers have graduates of this program entered?
How many recent graduates are employed? How many are employed in academic jobs? Where? Full-time or part-time, tenure track or fixed term? How many are employed in other areas which the department sees as a primary career track? How many are unemployed? What non-traditional jobs are recent graduates doing?

14. What resources can help you explore possible careers? How supportive are faculty of those who pursue non-academic careers?
Some departments and universities have excellent programs to help students explore a range of career options. Some faculty are supportive of students who undertake non-academic careers, others are not.

Structure and Content of the Program

15. What is the structure of the program? What are the requirements? How flexible are they?
Programs can be very differently structured. Find out what the typical experiences are each year. When are most students taking courses, taking prelims or quals exams, starting research, conducting fieldwork, writing your proposal and dissertation? What are the core requirements and expectations? Are the requirements flexible? Are the courses listed of interest to you? What foundational background does your department expect you to have, especially in your subfield (foreign languages, theoretical background, level of math or computer skills)?

16. What range of courses and faculty are available to you?
Are there several faculty doing work that interests you? If there are several, you will still find faculty to work with if one person leaves or if your first choice advisor does not work out. Are the faculty listed in the catalog still in the department? Are the courses taught regularly?

17. What are the expectations for, instruction in, and opportunities to teach, and to take increasing responsibility in teaching?
What is the balance between teaching and research in the department, both for faculty and for graduate students? Some programs offer students well defined and structured opportunities to grow as teachers.

18. What are the expectations and opportunities for learning about ethical practice of the profession?

Department Climate and Culture

19. How supportive and cohesive is the student community?
How do students support one another in the department? How much contact is there between first and second year students? How will you learn the ‘inside scoop’ on life in the department? Are study groups and writing groups common? Do students make friends across the sub-fields of the department? Are most students full time? Are the places and opportunities for students to interact? Is there an active student association? Do students have a voice in departmental governance?

20. What is the nature of the intellectual and social community in the department?
What kind of orientation program can you expect? Do faculty and students socialize together? What is the intellectual life in the department like? Are there Brown Bags, Colloquia and other opportunities to share ideas?

21. What is the climate of support for students of color, women, gay students, and international students in department and on campus?

Funding
Financial aid for doctoral study is quite different than for undergraduate study. It is typically not granted based on need. Funding for the student (tuition, fees, and stipend for living expenses) is different than funding for research (travel, supplies). Often funding for summer months is not part of funding. In some cases, particularly in the sciences, funding is tied to the advisor, and is both student and research funding are part of working in that advisor’s lab and on their research projects.

Typically a student is supported by a variety of mechanisms over the course of their program. The common methods are:

Fellowships: This is a stipend that allows you to do your own research and coursework without any specific work (teaching or research assistantship) obligations. This give a student freedom, but may not give them collegial connections or community. Many are competitive, and will involve writing applications and proposals.

Traineeship: These are most common in the biological sciences. Like a fellowship, there are few explicit work obligations, although you may be working in various labs on "rotations."

Research assistantship: This is pay for work done on a research project. These are most common in science fields, in which most students are funded on RAships for most of their time in school. An RAship implies some work obligation – which may be work directly related to the student’s dissertation or may not. RAships are an excellent mechanism for learning how to do good research.

Teaching assistantship: Like an RAship this is pay for work assisting in an undergraduate course. These can be excellent for developing knowledge and skills for teaching, particularly if attention is paid to helping and teaching you as a TA.

Loans and personal assets. Often students find themselves without funding (this is particularly true in humanities fields) and must rely on personal assets (savings, family, partners) or student loans.

22. What is the mix of funding (traineeships, fellowships, RA and TA ships)? Is it competitive or assured? How many years are students funded?

23. What is the level of financial support for tuition, fees, stipend, and research funding?
You need to understand how are doctoral students funded in this department. Is funding guaranteed or competitive? What opportunities for summer funding are there? If your degree takes longer than average, can you find financial support? How successful are department members at winning fellowships for dissertation support?

How are student’s research expenses paid for? Does the advisor’s research grant cover the expenses? If so, do the funders constrain the choice of topics? If not, what other resources are their to fund research? Do students often pay the expenses themselves?

24. What are expenses (housing, health care, child care, cost of living)?
The cost of living varies dramatically from place to place. Understand what you can expect to pay for rent, parking, food, vacation travel, computers, books and the like. How many years will be in graduate school, and what financial resources do you have for dealing with minor (books, car repair, clothes, dental care) and major (unexpected illness of self or family member, pregnancy) financial emergencies?

25. How many students go in to debt? How much?
What level of debt are you carrying from undergraduate education? Can you afford to add to your debt load?

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Section Three:  Questions to ask to help select an advisor


The most important decision, particularly in the sciences, is the selection of an advisor. In different disciplines and in different programs students and advisors are matched through different process. There are two common models: the student and advisor matching up after the student is enrolled (in some cases, one picks a dissertation advisor as late as the third year) or matching up as part of the admissions process.

Research on advising suggests that students who ask a lot of questions and take many criteria into account when selecting a potential advisor, are more likely to be satisfied with their advisor. Most students think about an advisor’s area of expertise and research when picking an advisor. Many students advise also considering the advisor’s personality, working style, advising style and work environment they create in their lab or work group (which is not relevant in all disciplines).

These questions cover a wide range of the kinds of things you may want to discuss with a potential advisor. These are also questions to ask of other students who have worked with that faculty member. Some questions may be more applicable to some fields than to others.

26. What is the process and criteria used for matching advisor and student?

27. Do students often have multiple mentors?

28. Is the advisor’s personality appealing and compatible with your own?
What kind of person do you expect your advisor to be (remember, perfection is very rare!)? What kind of relationship do you image that you will have?

29. How many advisees does the person have? How many students finish? How quickly?
Is the time to degree for students of that advisor shorter or longer than the norms of the department? (One lab from which students never seemed to graduate was called "The Roach Motel," because "students checked in and they didn’t check out.") How many students does the advisor have? What stage of the process are they all in? How does this compare with other faculty members student load? How many students of that advisor do not complete their degree, or transfer? Why?

30. What are their former advisees doing? Is the advisor proud? Does s/he still serve as a mentor to some?

31. What is the person’s reputation as an advisor?

Research interests

The most important criterion in selecting is advisor is finding someone who shares an intellectual interest and field of research with you.

32. What is the person’s line of research and their reputation as a scholar? At what stage of their career are they?

33. How does and will the advisor’s research relate to the student’s research? How does a student pick dissertation project(s)?
In some disciplines a student’s research is very directly connected to the advisor’s research, in others the connection is less direct. Understand the norms of the discipline before you begin talking to faculty. Within the normal range in the field, you still need to understand how much autonomy of project definition and direction is expected of you and available to you.

Some things to learn: How do students select a research project? How much input does the advisor have and want? Is there a research group? What is the range of dissertation topics typically pursued? How quickly do students select a dissertation research project? To what extent does the final dissertation really resemble that in the proposal? Who determines when the student has done sufficient work to complete the dissertation?

Advising style       

Advising style is a very personal thing and varies from person to person. Some advisors are very thoughtful and deliberate about their advising, and spend a lot of time attending to their advisees.

34. What is the advisor’s work style? What does s/he expect the work style of students to be? Is it compatible with your own?
An advising style can be a difficult thing to ascertain and define. Think about the kinds of behaviors you expect from your advisor, these can be a useful way to define an advising style. You need to know, when you ask an advisor or faculty member for help, what kind of response is helpful to you? Different students expect, want and need different amounts and kinds of feedback. Likewise, different faculty members approach advising doctoral students on research related problems with different degrees of hands-on/hands-off feedback. Here are two examples: (1) If you asked a faculty member for help on a particular research puzzle, would you want them to: Send you to books/articles that can help, offer to give direct feedback on the text or data, tell you what the next step is, offer general strategies and encouragement?(2) When writing articles, research papers or dissertation proposals and text, faculty members might give feedback. How many drafts of each kind of work does an advisor read? What kind and level of detail of feedback to you receive? How quickly can you expect the text to be returned to you?

When talking to other students, you can ask what kinds of students thrive best with this person?

35. What is the advisor’s communication style? What is the frequency and quality of interactions?
Recognizing that there are norms by discipline, you can determine how often the advisor meets with students about their work. Is it daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly? Are meetings set upon the student’s request, when the advisor requests, or are they regularly scheduled?

36. How much time does the advisor spend with students on their work?
What are the competing demands on the advisor’s time? How frequently is the advisor out of town?

37. What is her/his philosophy of advising?
Many advisors are able to articulate such a philosophy, although many have not yet done so. For example, how does the advisor foster increasing independence in students? How does the advisor resolve conflicts?

Work environment

In many fields there is an active lab or work group in which the advisor and several graduate students (as well as post doctoral fellows and undergraduate students) work together on common research. If you will be spending a lot of time in a lab or in the field in the company of other students and researchers it is important to consider the work environment.

38. Does the work environment and culture of the lab or research group suit you?
How closely do students of that advisor work together? How does the advisor facilitate collaboration?

39. What are the work expectations? Are students able to strike a balance between work/school and personal life?
What are typical student work patterns in the department? Do students typically work most nights and weekends?

40. What opportunities for professional development exist? How supportive is the advisor of students’ efforts to gain professional breadth?
What other kinds of sponsorship does the advisor provide? Do students co-author papers with the advisor? Does such co-authorship imply joint intellectual work or is the advisor added by courtesy? Do students attend professional conferences? Who pays for these trips? What kinds of help does the advisor provide in finding jobs or post-doc positions?

41. How are students funded for research and travel?
How much funding and financial support can you expect from your advisor? For what does the advisor financially support students: conferences, supplies, books, research expenses, tuition, summers?

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Section Four: Quotes from students: 在读博士对各自专业的申请者所提建议，专业包括 Art History, Chemistry, Ecology, English, Geology, History, Mathematics, Molecular Biology, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology。  


一.Art History
1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

It is a long, discouraging but sometimes rewarding path with no guaranteed job prospects at the end of it.  Consider it carefully.

Before committing to a field of study, make sure it is the right field; by pursuing "career" test; extra-curricular courses at a local university; even working a year or two in corporate America.  What this does is give you time to make sure you have chosen a field that suits you well -- so that once you are in it, focus and sacrifice, discipline come very easily.  The more you know about yourself (your interests, aptitude and capabilities), the better your studies and work with your advisor will go; and the better you will be able to withstand the negative psychological effects the Ph.D. process can have (i.e., stress, anxiety, doubt).  The process is as much a psychological process as an academic one.

Be prepared.  When people tell you it’s a big jump from undergrad to grad, believe them.  Make sure you are willing to make the sacrifices and put in the time.  Be sure you like the department, and not just the prestige of the university.  Interact as much as possible with other students--the communal misery makes it easier to bear.

Know yourself.  Be able to work independently and sometimes in isolation.  Be clear about funding and prepared to take up slack.

Think carefully about the reasons why he or she wants to enter the field.  One needs to have a better reason than not wanting to enter the real world because it is a costly and time-consuming venture.  Along these lines, I would suggest working in the field either in an internship or paid work to see the good, the bad and the ugly of a field before investing the time and money.
Graduate school can be wearing on one's ego, which has both good and bad effects.  You may not always be treated with the respect that you think you deserve by faculty.  The hard work and long hours are not always appreciated.   

Think long and hard about 1) what you want out of your degree, and the program, 2) how you will be spending your work days, with whom, under what conditions, etc. 3) how long the degree takes, and why people choose to speed up or slow down, 4) life-style sacrifices must be considered, which takes me back to point 1).

Evaluate their motivational levels.  I have found graduate school to be a very solitary experience regarding large research projects.  It is definitely not for somebody who has a hard time motivating themselves or who requires praise and appreciation.  The new student should also realize that there is not a lot of sustenance.  By this I mean that there are very few rewards for the hard work.  Graduate students definitely do not earn a lot of money and rarely receive encouragement.

Unless you are very dedicated to the field and can think of nothing else you would like to do, don't go to graduate school in the humanities.   It is a long road with little to encourage you and you can get frustrated and disillusioned  during the process.  Of course, good things come from it, but there are other ways to learn the analytical, research and writing skills that this degree teaches.
There seems to be a disconnect between the process of getting the degree and getting a job afterward.  It takes on a life of its own...like climbing Mt. Everest or running a marathon.

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

Very carefully examine the program you are considering entering.  Talk to students in the program, meet faculty, examine faculties, etc.
Be sure that you will be entering a community of scholars -- with plenty of other student and faculty contacts -- so that you can still make it work if it doesn't work out with your advisor or if he/she leaves.
A good working relationship with an advisor is key -- research well the person with whom you want to work.
Don't go to a program where students compete with each other for funding on a year-to-year basis.
Expectations are very arbitrary.  You must interview past students of your program/advisor before getting into a program.  You should also get a clear idea of what preliminary exams entail.
In my field financial aid is very scarce.  My department’s statements about this were very misleading.  This has caused a major problem during my program.  I may not finish my dissertation, even though my research is virtually complete, because I have to work a full time job to contribute my share of support for my family.
Learn who will advise you before entering the program.  In my discipline, art history, only one person will specialize in the student's field of interest, and that person will be the advisor.

3.Understand the job market

Think twice about the decision and be aware 1) of the abysmal job situation in certain disciplines and 2) of the realities of an academic life, e.g., low pay for long hours., egocentric colleagues, and struggles for tenure.

If they plan to enter the humanities, I would advise them not to go for a doctorate unless they are accepted by a prestigious program--one of the top in their chosen field.  Otherwise, they will finish their education severely in debt and underemployed.  Do not believe anyone who tells you that the job market will improve in five years.  It won't.

All art history graduate students planning to work in academia or the museum field: be mindful of the job market before taking on student loans.  The market is at the point of negative return.  In all sectors of the art world beginning pay for those with a MA or Ph.D. will not be adequate to make payments on a loan in excess of $20,000.  With this in mind, I would suggest that prospective grad students apply for appropriate assistantships and scholarships and also work while enrolled.  I would also stress the importance of internships.

Find out more about current and departed graduate students--those who finished and those who did not.
Find out what careers are available other than teaching--and if they are supported and encouraged.

Realize how lousy the job market is, and only go to one of the top programs if possible.
Prepare for several career options.
Get as much experience as possible.

4. Understand and get funding

Investigate the funding situation: what is the limit (number of semesters) that you can be eligible for funding?  Is there funding available to carry you through crucial years, i.e. start of program through first couple of semesters as a dissertator?  Is the possible funding offered by the university lessened by tuition costs?  In other words, would you still have to take out loans in order to pay your rent?
Consider exactly what career options are available when you finish the Ph.D. -- is the job market/potential salary poor?  Will your investment pay off?

Check to see if the department you are entering provides regular funding.  If not, select another school or program.   

Be prepared to go into debt!  Funding in our area is limited, and assistantships do not pay nearly as much as they do in other fields--so look for some outside income.

Make sure that you are clear on funding support--get everything in writing; watch out for hidden clauses that force you to teach--or, worse, that will not allow you to teach when you’re ready to do so.
Make a calendar projecting your course of study over several years; investigate outside funding opportunities early; try to do work outside academia but which relates to your professional interests during the summers (i.e., museum or industry internships); move as quickly as you can through the program.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Have as much contact with your future advisor as possible.  Talk to his/her current students.  Ask them how easy he/she is to get along with.  Is he/she fair?  Supportive?  Keep in mind that your rapport with your advisor will be as important a factor in your academic career as your course of study/ research interests.

Select a person with whom you want to work and be sure that person has time for you, interest in your ideas and respect for you.  Also be sure that person is in a position of power -- a full professor -- who can argue on your behalf for positions within the department and carries weight as a fellowship referee.
Be good to yourself and understand that some academics have fragile egos that may cause them to be a bit more brutal with students than they ought to be.

I don't think I understood just how much depends upon a successful matching of student with advisor.  I strongly advise students applying to grad schools (and making decisions about where to go) to absolutely familiarize themselves with the work of the various potential advisors, and then, if possible, to meet these people before a final decision.
Go to a university which absolutely wants you and work with an advisor who is devoted to you, your work, and your career.  Do not attend a program unless you have an advisor or another faculty member who will support you in faculty meetings and post-grad career.

Meet with your potential advisor before you commit to a program.  Pick an advisor who is a senior or up-and-coming scholar, a big name in the field who has connections and high expectations.
Visit the campus you will attend and talk to students.
  
Choose your advisor carefully.  Consider personality as well as area of specialization.  Talk to senior grad students to assess an advisor's past performance.

6. Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Take some time off before going to school, and to work in an area related to their studies.  That way they would be much more sure of what they want to do once they get into grad school and go through the program with a clear sense of direction.
I took time off before returning to school, so that I was more motivated to obtain my Ph.D.  While this is not an option for everyone, it certainly helped me.


二. Chemistry

1.        Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

I think a lot of people come to graduate school because they either don't know what to do next, are not ready to get a job, or think that they want to be a professor (and that is all they know if they have been in school for their whole lives).  I would think clearly about why to go to graduate school and then get the most out of it by planning and meeting goals.
I have started to think that graduate school should be treated more as career development: What skills do you have?  What skills do you want to develop further?  What sort of career do you want to have?

Be very thoughtful and do your homework before going to graduate school.  I had very little idea what academic research was about before I entered the program.  Fortunately, I learned quickly and managed to adjust before I dropped out, but I think the experience could have been much better and I could have learned more if I had done my homework before entering.   
Know the professors in the program you will apply to and select your advisors rationally.  I chose much more haphazardly.  Fortunately again, I chose a wonderful advisor who helped me grow as a scholar and a person, but it could have been much worse.

I think I would work very hard to describe what the day-to-day experience of a graduate student in my field.  I think students entering the program are always woefully under prepared for what is to come.  In particular, I think not enough is done to point out that apart from questions about intellectual ability, graduate school is an extreme experience that places large emotional demands on the student.
When I see students choosing research projects I don't see them addressing these things like:  How quickly do you need feedback or measures of your progress?  Do you rely on external interest in your work to motivate yourself or is it enough that the project be worthwhile in some abstract sense?  What will pursuing this project look like on a day-to-day basis?  Do you enjoy that as much as you like the idea of the project?  Do you like to work collaboratively or alone?  Would you rather work on several smaller projects or one large one?

Know exactly why you are going to graduate school.  Do not use graduate school as a method to keep from entering the real world.  You will waste your time and the department/faculty's time.   
Constantly reiterate to yourself your motivation for being in grad school.

Make sure that you really want to go to grad school and that you know what you are getting into before you start.
Make sure that you know the environment of the research group you are joining--in addition to liking the research, you must like the people in the group as well as the advisor.

Be very certain you want to be in graduate school.  People who are most successful in grad school have a reason to be there, i.e., they know what type of job they want and realize the degree is necessary.
Graduate school is not difficult, but you must be willing to put in the effort to get through.  It requires an immense amount of self-motivation.

I've seen people enter graduate school for wrong reasons.  Basically the wrong reason to embark on a course of research is in the hopes of getting a better job.  If future jobs are an important issue, students should be shown that a master’s is the best route.  A Ph.D. is really demanding and can be a very frustrating course of study.  It should only be undertaken if you really enjoy research.  A Ph.D. does not guarantee a job.

Don’t do it.  The hours are too long.  The training period is way too long and you just get really tired of being this poor.  In chemistry, the job market is okay, but not great.  I love chemistry, but I just am not sure that it is worth this.

2.        Investigate the program thoroughly

Visit the departments you are considering to get a good feel of the environment there.  Talk with current students 'off the record' about their experiences in the department.  After doing these things, if you do not have a really good feeling about the department, you should consider a different university.  In my experience, tense environments within a department are slow to change and more importantly, make graduate studies in that department difficult.

Be very careful when selecting a research group.  Talk to students in the group about their experiences and also to students in other groups about the reputation among students of your potential advisor.
Pay attention to how long it takes people to graduate.  You may not think it matters now, but it will.
Get a clear idea of what will be expected of you and ask other students and faculty whether it is reasonable.

Get all information about the department and the faculty of interest, NOT only the chemistry, but the entire working/learning environment.

Ask faculty how much teaching you will do, and have them describe all the hoop-jumping you will do to get your degree, or have them point you to students in those phases of their careers.  Learn the practical side of achieving a degree at each institution you're interested in.
If you aren't sure that you want to enter academia after grad school, take time off between undergrad and graduate school to work in industry, and pay attention to the life of the Ph.D. chemists that may be around you.  Then you'll have something to compare with academia.
Ask grad students you encounter if they think the faculty have a unified expectation of the requirements placed on the graduate students.

I would strongly encourage prospective students to hold off accepting an offer from a  program until such time as they could gain admission to one of the top 10 or 20 programs in their field of interest, even if that meant putting off graduate school for years, because the prime value of a graduate degree to one who earns it is the name of the program that awarded the degree.   
I would encourage prospective students to only consider research with an advisor who a) was extremely well-established in the field, b) had substantial funding, and c) was willing to commit immediately to funding all work the student might take on from that funding.   
I would strongly encourage prospective students to only consider programs with multiple advisor systems, such as was recently established at Harvard.

3.Understand the job market

Before you start have a pretty good idea of what you want to do after graduate school, or at least which options are reasonable for you.  That way you'll be better able to take advantage of everything (courses, advising, other students, workshops, resources,  student groups, governance) that will help you prepare.  Remember, graduate school is training.  You are here to equip yourself for what is coming next.
Don’t be afraid to ask other students and faculty for help.

Make sure that you have explored all the options of what you can do in your field.  For instance in the sciences, people think of teaching, research or working in industry.  For instance with chemistry, one can work with food chemistry, cosmetics, and forensic science, art forgery and art conservation.
Realize that you can change your mind about goals, careers, and advisors.  Most importantly, make sure that the advisor you choose is someone that you respect and can work with.

Think really hard about what you hope to gain from going to graduate school, if the years of stress/abuse and near poverty are worth it in the end.  If you don’t hope to teach, it’s easier to get a job in industry if you don't have a Ph.D., especially in chemistry.

Identify early in their graduate careers what their ultimate career goals are and to work aggressively through their time in grad school to make themselves the best prepared for their future goals as possible.

4. Understand and get funding

Money is a big issue.  It's very important that the job has funding for you as a grad student and for your research.  You don't fully appreciate money until you don't have enough to buy supplies or you have to teach.  There is nothing wrong with teaching; however, when you have to teach for funding, you don't spend that much time in lab and then your advisor wonders why you're not in lab doing your experiments.

Make sure you are adequately funded.  Make commitment for research assistantship.

Find out about funding as well as TAships, RAships, and how they are appointed.
Most importantly, get to know the department secretary.  He/she will know almost everything, and can help you out a great deal.

Pick an advisor that has money to support you.  Teaching is valuable, but it takes time away from completing your work.  Students who have to teach to support themselves become very frustrated with their slow progress.  If the advisor doesn't have money to support you, chances are he doesn't have sufficient funds for equipment/supplies, which will slow things down further.

Try to obtain external/internal fellowships.

Investigate how well-funded your potential advisor is currently, and how diligently he/she pursues grant funding.

5.Select your advisor carefully

The choice of the advisor is extremely crucial in my field.  A great deal of time should be dedicated to learn as much as possible about the advisors and how they fit the needs, personality.

Try to match your work style with that of your advisor.  For example, are you someone who needs structure to progress productively?  Then try to find an advisor who will provide such an environment; don't select someone who just lets you randomly roam.

Choose an advisor who will:  Be a great teacher and a knowledgeable researcher.  Be available most of the time.  Help you develop as an independent scientist.  

Pick an advisor you are compatible with, in their research and attitude.  Also make sure you get along with the students in the group since you spend the most time with them.  Make sure your advisor is available to talk with you if necessary, within a reasonable time.

If your program has a rotation, take advantage of it.  If you have picked an advisor, then all I can  say is no matter what happens, keep your eyes on the prize.  If things go really bad, switch if you can.

Cultivate a close professional relationship with your advisor and make sure he/she is always involved and aware of your progress.  This is why an advisor with a good, accessible personality is essential.

Find out about advisor’s personality.  Find out customary time to Ph.D. in a given research group (not just departmental average).  Evaluate group morale.  Find out advisor’s expectations explicitly.

Make sure you get a good advisor; one who is there to teach you, not make you their indentured servant.

Make sure that the advisor you are interested in has funding and a good track record of getting funding.  Though this is not a problem I have encountered, I have seen it with other students.
Make sure that your career plans are made clear to your advisor early on, especially if your advisor has followed a different path than you intend to choose.

Pick an advisor who is an expert in the field that you’re going to study.  Make sure he has the time and inclination to be a mentor.  Make sure you pick someone who won’t exploit you excessively and who is willing to go to bat for you (even at his own expense, if necessary), but don’t worry too much if you don’t have a warm, fuzzy relationship with him.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

If you aren’t sure that you want to enter academia after grad school, take time off between undergrad and graduate school to work in industry, and pay attention to the life of the Ph.D. chemists that may be around you.  Then you’ll have something to compare with academia.

Make sure you take time for yourself before starting your doctoral program.  It really helps provide a sense of perspective, which you will need.

If you’ve never had a job/internship take the time before or during graduate school to do this -- get some perspective about what you want to learn in graduate school.

Know exactly what you want to do while in grad school.  This may mean taking time before entering (i.e., working in industry or as a technician) in order to fully gauge the commitment and time it requires to get a Ph.D.  If one just jumps in, there is danger of spending far too much time getting paid far too little money and ending up overqualified and disillusioned with the entire system.

三. Ecology

1.        Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Know yourself as well as possible.  When choosing a school and an advisor, make sure that you know what you're getting into, and that you know what kind of an advisor you'll work best with.  Be prepared to take responsibility for your own choices, and if something isn't working out (the program, the advisor), deal with the problem immediately.  I've seen more students than I'd like who have personality conflicts with advisors, and who blame it wholly on the advisor or the system, which I think is inappropriate.

Know EXACTLY what you're getting yourself into.  Make sure you are serious about grad school!  It is not a vacation or a way to avoid the real world.  IT IS the real world, especially if you want to be a research scientist.  Know what you want to do before you apply.

People need to have a clear idea of what they want, and they need to thoroughly research the faculty they'll be working with.  Of course, this is all hard to do if you haven't been to grad school yet.  I have been consistently amazed at the lack at guidance graduate students get.  I'm not really sure why they call us students when nobody is really teaching us.

Don't go to grad school unless you've tried enough other things to think your talents, disposition, and motivations are suited for it (I didn't make this mistake, but it's still my main advice).
For me the most difficult part is the solitary nature of the work.  If it becomes a stifling or destructive experience, it can't possibly be worth it.
There are so many great things intellectually talented people can do, so view your own life broadly and don't feel trapped.

Before entering: be sure it's what you want to do right now, because once you start down the path lots of opportunities are closed.  It's better to explore things that you might like to do someday *before* starting  graduate school.  That's the best time, and doing something different will only help you in graduate studies.

The thing that has helped me most in graduate school is having a clear idea of my goals and motives for being here.  Knowing my goals has helped me make decisions about what courses to take, how to spend my time, what research to do, etc.   

2.        Investigate the program thoroughly

Make sure you take time off before and decide whether you really want to go to grad school.  Have a good idea about why you want to go and what you will accomplish by going to grad school.  Find someone like me who has been here a long time and who can help you with both general questions and your professional development; the faculty in this department do not provide much.

Do intensive interviewing before deciding where to go and with whom to work.  Make sure you know what you're getting into and that the fit is right.  I've done both the wrong way and the right way and there's a big difference.

Don't choose a program or advisor based on prestige.  Most of my friends at other schools have dropped out of Ph.D. programs finding themselves too limited in research choice, or the advisor's slave.

Make sure this is what you want to do, and research all aspects of a program before you enroll.  I hate it when students whine that their grad program sucks when a little preliminary research would have shown that.

Being in an interdisciplinary program is often difficult.  I would encourage future students to make sure that this program will meet their needs.   

Make sure you are in the right program, at the right school, and that you have an open line of communication with your advisor.  If you question any one of these three things, you are in the wrong place.   
Also, a Ph.D. student needs to be focused, have a good idea about what research she/he would like to pursue, and have some idea of how to make it happen.  If the student doesn't have an idea of how to make her/his research work, it often doesn't.  Even the best advisors can't make all of the decisions for us.

Take the time to talk to students in the programs at the different schools that you are interested in attending.  I think that the students have the most realistic perceptions of how the programs operate.
Also, talk to students (past and present) of the potential advisor that you might work with in the program, to get an idea of how that person interacts with his/her students, how quickly and efficiently their students graduate, etc.

Take the time to visit your prospective schools and departments.  It's worth it in the long run.

3.        Understand the job market

Make sure you know what you're getting into--do you know if you want to stay in academics or do something else?  If you don't know, or do not want to be in academics, does your program encourage or discourage this course?  If you want to be in academics, do you have an idea of what the job market is like?  Do your advisors?  Will they help you get a job?   
And once you're in, keep perspective.  The world does not end at the bounds  of the lab, no matter what others may want you to think.  You're in graduate school to make a career for yourself, so make sure you get what you want out of your program and not the other way around.

Career opportunities, compensation, and quality of life issues are all substandard at this time in academic science.  At least one or two high pressure post-doc appointments appear to be necessary in order to compete for faculty jobs.  The salary is not in line with the amount of education and time spent on the job.  Researchers and teachers alike are spread too thin and often have to sacrifice family life and outside interests.

I would seriously consider all career options and pursue opportunities to learn more about career options early on (or before starting) in order to be better prepared for the job market when finished.
I would also consider working for a few years in the field, rather than going straight to grad school after college (which might have focused my career interests).

Given the limited employment possibilities, the large number of currently enrolled students, and the great length of time needed to complete the program, I'd encourage them to seek other alternatives.

Be clear and realistic in your expectations about what you want from a graduate degree and what it is likely to get you.  Be aware of the market value of a degree in your field.  Take courses and pursue research that broaden your career options.  Do not assume a faculty job is going to be waiting for you when you get out.  If you are going to be serious about the academic track, then do it well!  I know too many grad students who, upon finishing their Ph.D., still don't really know what they want or what they can do with it.

4.        Understand and get funding

Be sure that your advisor is well-prepared to either provide you with research funding or is willing and committed to teaching you how to write grants and find funding.

Seek advice concerning grants, writing, and research from students, postdocs and other faculty as well as from your advisors.

Choose your advisor carefully.  Talk with his/her current students and make sure you don't have unrealistic expectations about his/her involvement in your research.  Be sure you are choosing a thesis topic that you are excited about, not just one that your advisor is anxious to have someone do.  If you and your advisor choose a topic that requires travel or expensive lab work, make sure he/she is willing to help you secure funds or you are likely to spend much more time than you expect trying to keep your research costs funded.

Select the school based on your advisor.  Make sure your interests and theirs are compatible and that you can work with her/him.  Talk with that advisor's students and see if they are enjoying their graduate experience.
Second, chose the school based on the funding it can provide to you.   

Get yourself a fellowship, get your ideas funded, and then do some great research.  There is no reason why you cannot.  Choose an advisor who will respect your ideas and allow you to do this.  If your advisor won't let you pursue the research that you are really excited about, drop them and find someone else.  Enthusiasm is contagious and there are a lot of professors out there looking for self-motivated people.

Know that you will be poor for awhile.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Choose your advisor carefully.  In addition to the standard criteria (e.g. research interests, funding), take the interpersonal relationship into account. How well do you and he/she interact?  How effectively do the two of you communicate?  How well are you able to exchange ideas? It is important to be on the same wavelength, or to at least understand  each other.

Talk to the grad students already in the lab about how they get along with their advisor.  Is he/she a good advisor?  Fair?  Involved?  Constructively critical?  Does he/she supply any funding?  This is a big one.  I supported myself entirely thru TA ships which substantially lengthened my stay at the university by a couple of years.  Make sure you are interested in the research you will do, and find out if your advisor will be amenable to you “exploring” other career options outside academia.

Select your advisor very carefully.  It is important to consider the amount of time and energy this person is willing to give you.  It appears to me that the big names don't give much advice, it is the younger professors looking for tenure who really care and spend time with their students.
Be sure to get concrete commitments for funding: don't believe the line, “All my students get funded.”
Ask around and talk to your potential advisor's other grad students.

Immediately evaluate their advisor to determine if this advisor will meet their needs academically.  For example, will this advisor be a mentor; teaching the student how to develop and formulate research questions and experiments, help the student conduct experiments and present and publish these findings, and teach the student how to become a successful researcher at the postdoc and faculty level throughout their grad career?  If the current advisor does not meet these criteria, then the  student should change advisors and possibly programs immediately--being supported academically by your advisor is extremely important to your success as a graduate student.

Decide whether you like hands-on or hands-off advisory style.  Pick an advisor you like, then pick the research topic; unfortunately, I had no choice given the limited selection.

Choose a Ph.D. advisor very carefully.  They can make or break your program and enhance or confound your time in graduate school.  Personal sensitivity may be as important as intellectual guidance.

Demand a lab rotation.  Get an advisor with an active research lab.

Get an advisor you can live with and don't be afraid to switch advisors.

5.        Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Take time off before entering grad school.  I did and benefited, but I have seen others who did not and have suffered.     

I would definitely have gotten more research experience in college as an undergraduate and perhaps worked for a couple of years before entering graduate school.  It's the only way to know ahead of time if you've the talent and inclination.

Make sure you take time off before and decide whether you really want to go to grad school.  Have a good idea about why you want to go and what you will accomplish by going to grad school.  Find someone like me who has been here a long time and who can help you with both general questions and your professional development; the faculty in this department do not provide much.


四. English


1.        Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Only go to graduate school if you have a clear sense of purpose, a clear sense of what your work is about.  Don’t go simply because you don’t have a sense of what else you might do.  If you don't know why you’re going to grad school and what sort of work (at least roughly) you're going to do once you get there, don't go.  Wait until you know.  Being a doctoral student isn’t like being an undergrad, only more so.  It’s a massive commitment of time and a guaranteed sentence of poverty.  It is, arguably, no way for a self-respective grown-up to live.  Moreover, the rewards are extremely uncertain.

Be sure you can cope with it financially, and don't expect anything to be smooth, easy, or without great sacrifice.  I have almost no sense of peer support and--definitely--the faculty simply use us to stave off the work they should be doing.  Because grad school draws in a workforce of eager and highly-qualified people, the faculty need not take any steps to ease the problems that the grad student encounters.  Grad students allow faculty members to pursue their pet projects and are not at all rewarded for their efforts.
I, however, must make a distinction.  While I regret the terrible state of academic life for graduate students, I do not regret going to grad school.  In part because of faculty indifference and in part because of the better aspects of grad school, I have myself lived a decade knee-deep in rich and complex intellectual pursuits.  These experiences may not lead to a job, but I have had them.  I can read and think and write all day and for that I will always be thankful.  Grad school will allow you to grow intellectually even if you must do it in isolation.

All entering students should assiduously research the schools they are considering, and should be absolutely sure that they are interested in their field and in earning a Ph.D., whether or not doing so leads to any further career advancement.  For most people, I would say that a Ph.D. in the humanities probably should not be undertaken, especially without an extremely clear understanding of the financial and professional difficulties thereof.

Just be sure that you're there because you want to be and not to get a job.

Don't go to grad school in English with the sole goal of getting a teaching job.  Only go if you want to fulfill a personal goal, if the means is the end.  You will be disappointed otherwise!
If you want to be a professor, being a great teacher is not enough (actually it doesn't matter at all), only research/scholarly skills and achievements can secure you a teaching job in this field (paradoxically and wrongfully so!).

Know what you are getting into!  I did not expect many of the personal challenges of graduate school, in terms of time commitment (6 years for Master's and Ph.D. work) and how different my life would be from others I know who did not go to graduate school.  The delayed gratification of graduate school (not getting a permanent job or starting a family until later in life) was a surprise to me.  However, I have greatly enjoyed my time in grad school, and I know that grad school has made me a vastly different person than I was when I first began my program of study.

Make sure you're focused and committed; it can be lonely and isolating particularly after you've completed exams and coursework.  Many students seem to lose their momentum at this point and have difficulty finishing.
Make sure you are clear on funding, whether you will be supported throughout; and find out if funding has been cut over the years.

I think I would just be very frank about the pressures and sacrifices of graduate school.  My intention would not be to be cruel, but I would want to disillusion them, basically, of any romantic notions they might have.  On the other hand, I would also give them advice to try and keep hold of the (often idealistic and excited) reasons they elected to attend graduate school.  There are plenty of difficult days (years!), and it can help to remind yourself of what this all used to mean to you and still does at times.

Know that an English Ph.D. commonly takes seven or more years to complete, not the five I was expecting.

If you go to grad school because you love studying (your field), beware, graduate school is not designed to foster that passion, but rather to train you for a career in academia.  During my first two years of coursework, when I was being “forced” to study things I wasn't as interested in, I lost the passion for literature that I had had upon matriculation.  Many people I know left grad school for this reason.  What I found helpful was the realization that those early years are a kind of intensive “training camp,” where you learn to revise your vision of the field and see it as a professional, a scholar rather than a student.
Grad school is a place for self-starters.  It is often very isolating and for many (actually everyone, I think) it affects their self-esteem, self-respect and general overall view of life.  Academia is not, as if often assumed, free of petty locker-room talk or competitiveness or even slander.  It has its problems just like any other profession.  In short, you need a strong sense of yourself and your goals (as well as your options) before you get to grad school.  It is not for the faint-hearted.

Recognize that, whatever one's career goals are, graduate school is about the dissemination, creation, and sharing of knowledge.  It is not 13th grade.

Don’t do a Ph.D. in the humanities--not because the learning experience is not worthwhile, but because the profession is so troubled--even those who succeed have to make unhealthy sacrifices to do so, and academia inculcates students with the idea that the real world is too coarse for them, thus preventing them from making the discovery that their insane sacrifices are not worth it.  Of course this is easy for me to say, having spent my 20’s reading and hanging around, not at an office.

I would advise students in the humanities to make sure that they want to enter a doctoral program since about 55% of people in my field don't get tenure-track jobs.   
Don’t enter a doctoral program unless they were fully funded for the majority of the estimated time to degree.   

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

Choose a program that is both rigorous and humane.

Make sure you receive a broad education covering all of the sub-fields of your discipline during your undergraduate education.  It's often too late to fill in gaps later, and a broader knowledge of my entire field would have helped in my first year.
Talk to faculty about what graduate school entails.
Find out about course requirements and funding commitments ahead of time
Find out which sub-fields particular schools have focused on.

Research grad schools seriously before committing to a particular school.  In particular, try to find a school that can best serve your plans and goals as a scholar/teacher.  For instance, I knew from the start that I wanted to teach at a small, preferably church affiliated, liberal arts college, but when I was looking at potential programs, I didn't consider what kind of institution would best train me for that kind of school.  I focused too much on the overall reputation of the university and the "names" of faculty in the department and not enough on the department's commitment to pedagogical training.  Perhaps this advice is more important for those who know they want to teach at small liberal arts colleges or community colleges.
Ask yourself how much you truly want a doctorate in English and why do you want it.  Would you be willing to endure the time and life sacrifices to obtain the degree, knowing that a tenure track job may not be the result?  I would still want the opportunity of further education for it's own sake, but I know that this is not true of everyone.

Be very aware of the number of years and the level of commitment that your program will take, as well as the very distinct reality that graduate students in the humanities will not be able to find satisfying jobs in the academy after completion of their degrees.
Be aware of the hermeticism of the academic world and the extent to which the institution reproduces itself by denigrating not only other professions (i.e., we are better, smarter, purer than other jobs) but also the people in those professions.  Graduate school is an extraordinarily isolating experience.  One should also really ask oneself about what types of social and professional roles they are suited for/admire before entering one as hermetic as that of the university.

Research available programs carefully.  Then research the faculty.  Then call the program to ask for students you can call to ask about the program.

Choose a school where TA-ships are available to all grad students.
Choose a school where mentoring is a established process.
Be prepared to be aggressive about financial support and especially funding available to dissertation writing.
Know why you've chosen your field of interest, because it will be your determination to get you through graduate school.  Very few people finish without determination, and encouragement from others would be helpful.

Get as much recent information as possible on placement of recent doctoral graduates from your program, how long it takes for average completion of degree, how much money (are student loans necessary), cost of living in area.  Be as knowledgeable as possible about your professional and financial   prospects in their particular program.  This, of course, is also dependent on the will or ability of the program itself to track and furnish that information.

Spend a lot of time researching the program you are considering.  Figure out what fields tend to be privileged and which faculty are tenured, as much as you can about levels of advising, and make sure to talk to many different students (both in and out of the field you are considering).

Talk with other grad students just finishing to ascertain their perspectives on the whole ordeal.
Look up statistics on faculty turnover, percentage of students who finish the Ph.D., recent dissertations, support in publishing and in writing, for a Ph.D. is essentially a license to write, not a certificate of finished knowledge--but writing is never taught as an intellectual enterprise.
Find out if faculty in one sect or program despise the other.
Find the average and mean length of years to finishing and the percentage of students who actually get hired within one year of finishing.
Find out if there is a grad student esprit de corps, a sense that we are in this together--that will tell you, indirectly but accurately, if there is a sense of collegiality among faculty.  If there is not, don't go if you are expecting to learn what to do; go only if you have a research plan already in place, titles of articles you can write and/or have written, and a rough sense of your dissertation topic and a bibliography already shaping in your mind.  In other words, don't go into a political mess if you expect to develop as a learner and scholar and writer.

Know in advance why you have chosen to enter grad school; also, what your expectations are; also, know what you want to study, even if, say, in course selection, you pick a lot of electives.
Do everything you can, *before* you decide on which program/university to enter, to ensure that you will be funded for as much of your degree as is possible.
The culture of a department, between/among students and faculty, is very crucial to your well-being, and directly impacts on the quality of the work that you do, and even on the interest that you will ultimately have in your field/discipline.  A significant factor affecting this departmental culture is the economic pressure it feels it is under, in relation to the rest of the university, and of the university to its funders.     

For me it was a surprise to find that grad school and my own intellectual development and life are two separate things.  Grad school involves students in coursework and projects which, when successful, earn them an advanced degree.  That is all.  I wish I had been more mercenary and practical, less dreamy, naïve and idealistic; as an entering grad student my hopes and expectations were off base.

3.Understand the job market

Know exactly what you want out of your degree.  If it's a career in academia, take time to assess the possibility of never finding a full-time position.  Will the degree still be valuable to you if you don't get the teaching job you hope for?  What else might you gain from your grad program?

If you're not absolutely sure you're in the place you want to be, with a strong support network around you, think about alternative career paths once you reach the master’s level.  The rewards, at least in the humanities, are not commensurate with the pay we receive, nor job prospects, nor the sacrifices we make to get the Ph.D.

Knowing everything that I know now, I would recommend that the number of available slots in graduate school would be so small that there wouldn't be any need for more advice.  Graduate school in the humanities is a low-rent economic and employment system that is in crisis.  It demands far more graduate students than it can possibly support as full-time career teachers.  The job itself is too demanding for the pay scale.  The emotional environment is often terrible, often much worse than real world jobs (in many of which I have worked, before, during, and after grad school).  Grad school does create expectations that the professors have to know in some sense are false.  If there are 17 people admitted each year and only 2 to 3 jobs being found, there is a problem.

Consider carefully the state of the academic profession before spending years in penury as a graduate student.  If there's anything else you would be happy doing, do it.  If you decide to stay in the graduate program, do it--quickly.  If there's anything you would be happy doing with your graduate degree besides being a college/university faculty member, do it.

Keep non-academic career options open.  Use summer vacations and winter breaks to explore career opportunities and to develop life skills rather than use the time off simply in academic pursuits.

I would strongly advise students who plan to pursue teaching careers to have a Plan B in case they cannot get an academic job or if they should decide that academia just isn't what they really want after all.  Holing up in a Ph.D. program in the humanities is the perfect way to insulate yourself from alter- native career opportunities.  Faculty members in my program acknowledge that there is a job shortage and make this clear to incoming students, but do precious little else to encourage students to consider just what else they might be good for outside the ivory tower.  The longer I'm in this program  the more burned out on academia I become and the more I wish I had done more to prepare myself for alternatives outside of college/university teaching.

The job market is very bad in the humanities, and although many incoming students are vaguely aware of this fact, I think more should be done to really let people know the current state of employment in academia.  I don't think it is wise to go into a Ph.D. program unless you are really committed to a long job search (3-5 years at least), and the possibility that you won't ever get a job in your field.  I would still have made the choice I did, but I think a lot of students are fully aware of the realities of the academic world when they enter graduate school.  They just know that they are good at being students and want to continue being students.

Carefully research job opportunities in the field before you invest so much time and lost income.  Be a good consumer--what is the department's placement record?  How do they help students get jobs?  Most people get Ph.D.’s because they love teaching and/or research and expect a career in it.  That's not the case for a large percentage of Ph.D.'s--even from “top 10” schools.  Departments need to take more responsibility for this: being clear about the situation during recruitment, lowering the number of incoming students, etc.

4. Understand and get funding

I would not advise anyone to enter this field generally.  I especially would not advise anyone to enter graduate school in English unless they have a commitment to 5 years of funding.  (Ideally of course one would get 6, and some of that in fellowships, but let's be realistic...)
If they still were committed to going, I would advise being very aggressive in researching outside sources of fellowship funding to supplement teaching awards.

Don't go to a school without a tuition waiver; investigate local cost of living and teaching stipend/salary.   

I would encourage students in the humanities to go to grad school only if they are fully funded-- particularly programs where everyone is funded.  Be prepared to have no money anyway.

Avoid taking loans for grad school in the humanities.

Don't go to graduate school on your own penny--find funding, reapply, or don't go.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Pick your advisor based at least in half on his/her record as an advocate on the job market and his/her record on moving people through (while maintaining high standards).  Do not pick an advisor who is hands-off about deadlines.  You’ll be in trouble--I've seen too many unhappy graduate students in their n-th years with advisors who are practitioners of benevolent neglect.  Avoid large egos.  

There are some great faculty out there.  Seek them out when choosing professors. To work with, value a good teacher who cares about students over the latest hot theorist -- even the big shots can't do much for your career in these troubled times, and often (although not always) the best profs aren't the biggest names.

Select a dissertation chair who can be supportive of the "process," not one who only thinks in terms of "product," one who can care and encourage your growth as a full person, not just as a scholar, one who is nurturing, not one who thrives on conflict, status, and power.
Select a department in which the faculty take time for mentoring the students, a department where there is a true community of scholars rather than just a group of individuals competing against each other.

Find faculty members you can get along with, if not like, with similar interests and develop a relationship.  Although the best relationships grow on their own, you should aggressively seek out opportunities and people that can help you in your program.  Professors will rarely seek you out or take notice of you of their own accord.

Enter a program with at least two faculty that you plan to work with and to develop a relationship with them as soon as possible.  Also, to check with the department about faculty retirement and hiring so that you don't enter a department only to have your advisor(s) leave or planning on leaving.  

Choose your advisor very carefully and talk to other students who have worked with her/him about their experience with her/him.  Try to find someone who you can really enjoy working with, who you respect, and who respects you.  That's more important than working with a big name who will not treat you well and make it more difficult to finish your degree.  Don't allow yourself to be infantilized by faculty members or your fellow graduate students.  You’re an adult.  Act like one and expect to be treated like one.  Don't calmly suffer abuse or exploitation.     

6.        Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Take some time off before grad school.

Get some real world professional experience prior to graduate school.

Do a terminal MA first, this provides opportunities to be more certain about research and commitment.

Definitely take time off before going to grad school, and be positive that you are dedicated to your studies.

Consider taking time off before enrolling in a graduate program because people who have taken time off usually have a clearer sense of direction, a better support system outside the program, more confidence in themselves and finish more quickly.

blueqiaoUID: 111634

五. Geology


1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Don't commit to doing a Ph.D. unless you are absolutely sure that is what you want to do.  It is time-consuming, selfish (time-wise) and can be expensive.  If you are unsure, do the master's degree.
Once you have made the decision to commit to a Ph.D., pick a project that really interests you!  It is a long haul and will get boring if the project is not something you really love to research!  Don't do a project that someone else wants you to do or that you think may get you a job.  You will most likely be told what you have to work on when you get a job so enjoy your opportunity to choose what you want to do now.
Jump in with both feet!  Graduate school in the hard sciences is not a Monday through Friday 8:00 to 5:00 job.  If you want to compete at the Ph.D. level it is a 60 to 80 hour a week job.  However, most of us who finish wouldn't trade the experience for anything!
Take at least a year off between college and graduate school.
Try to come to decision about graduate school independently; it's easy to be influenced by professors, parents, etc., but grad school is a long haul and in order to get through, you need to be really committed.
Look around for mentors (older students, other faculty)--don't rely on your advisor for mentoring!
The primary purpose of a Ph.D. is for going into academia.  If you're not sure at the outset that you want to be a professor, or lack a clear alternative path that requires a Ph.D., you should wait before going to graduate school.  Five years + is a long time to work for something if it doesn't directly contribute to your life's goals.

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

It is extremely important to visit prospective graduate schools to look for a fit with the faculty and potential advisor, the research, and the atmosphere in the department and school.  You want to make sure you will be happy where you are at, because otherwise your research and performance will suffer.  The best way to ensure this is to go visit, talk to students and faculty, and just get a feeling for the place.

Try to develop a good understanding of *what* exactly it is that you'll be doing in grad school and how you can tailor that most to your benefit and direction.  Get informed from other grad students as to amount of workload, interaction with advisor, number of courses, type of research, housing, etc.  These are all crucial towards one's enjoyment of grad school, and not having a good idea of what it entails or being disappointed by inaccurate expectations changes the experience for the worst.

Be sure of where you are going!  If something seems amiss, don't do it!  I was warned by three different grad students not to come because things were not good here, but I came since this was the only one I was accepted into.  In hindsight I should not have come.

3.Understand the job market

Make sure that 1) you love your field enough to commit years to it, and 2) that you are aware of the real-world job prospects when you finish.  That is, if you pick a field without much money, you will probably have to give it all up years later unless you are truly a uniquely gifted and very hardworking individual.

Obtain work experience!  Experiment with your discipline in an applied way.  Gauge the job market.  I've seen many Ph.D. students finish and then realize their employment options are limited.

Be prepared to work harder than you ever have in your life.  Graduate school is orders of magnitude harder than undergraduate.   
For Ph.D. candidates, publishing papers, attending conferences, and writing funding proposals is worth all the time and work.  Without these things on your CV, forget about getting a faculty job at a research university.

I entered into a program in a field that is currently and has been depressed for multiple years.  I think it was extremely fortunate that I found employment that was supportive of my degree program.  I also feel it's very dishonest that universities across the country continue to accept students into Ph.D. programs when there is a glut of Ph.D.'s, and very few job opportunities.  My advice would be know what the employment market is and what chances there are for fulfilling your goals.

4. Understand and get funding

Find an advisor who has money and is still active in the research area you wish to pursue.

Ask about funding, especially for summer.

Not all grad students remain in their area.  I have had to go out of my department for research funding.  Fortunately, it has been a terrific experience for me.

Availability of research funding should play a major role in deciding which program you enter.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Be selective when choosing an advisor.  Degree of interaction and guidance can vary greatly from one professor to another.  Make sure your needs are compatible.  Talk to his/her other grad students.  Talk with currently enrolled grad students when choosing a program or an advisor.  Grad students will be able to give you the most informed and honest impression of student life at that university or with that advisor.
When applying to grad schools make contact with at least one professor and visit if you can before admissions decisions are made.  Often these decisions are influenced by whether a professor has spoken on your behalf.
As well, the research interests of individual professors and their willingness to work with you should be a major factor in choosing a grad program.  I have seen grad students arrive only to find that there were no faculty members with the necessary expertise or the faculty member was not interested in taking on any more students at that time.  Under these conditions, a student can succeed, but he/she must be extremely self-motivated!

Select your advisor only after significant experience with him/her.  Mine was nothing like I expected from classroom contact.  Ensure your advisor has time for you and is personally interested in your research.
Choose advisor based on more than the research quality.  The ability to interact with students in a meaningful way is just as important.   Make sure the advisor has the time to properly oversee the research.
You should wait at least a semester, maybe two, before you make a final decision on an advisor.  Do not feel obligated to stay with the faculty member who sponsors you.  See how all the faculty operate.  Take some classes from various faculty members, then decide.  Choose one who likes to teach.   You will be able to learn from him or her.
Talk to the faculty before you enter the program.  Definitely talk to the students to find out about the atmosphere in various research groups.  Have an advisor that you want to work with, so that you won't waste time finding the right advisor and research topic.
Communicate with your advisor, and set deadlines early on in your dissertation writing.  View your advisor as a research mentor and source of funding for your specific project,  and look to other faculty/staff/students for moral or other support if necessary.

Thoroughly research your advisor, consulting previous and current students and finding out what type of working relationship is developed over the course of a doctoral student's career.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Personally, it was extremely beneficial to leave the academic environment for a few years to work in the private sector.  I would encourage all prospective new graduate students to consider discovering alternative work environments.
  
If you are at all unsure about wanting a Ph.D., do a Master’s first.


六.History

1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Think seriously about WHY you want to go to grad school in the first place.  If you are simply entering a program because you don't know what else you want to do with your life, take more time before starting a grad program.  If you simply are DYING to be an academic or prof, or are incredibly passionate about your field, then start.
I was naive entering grad school; I thought it would be a great way to gain an expertise in history that I could then use outside of academia (namely in a writing and editing career).  I didn't realize how focused grad programs are on training ALL grad students to become professors.  I also didn't realize what a long (and sometimes rather grueling) process all of this would be.  Sometimes I wonder if I could have achieved my career goals WITHOUT having gone to grad school.
I don't dislike what I'm doing; but sometimes I'm not sure if it's worth it, considering that I'm not sure I want an academic job.  SO--I would   encourage potential students to talk at length with other grad students and profs, and enter a grad program with their eyes wide open as to what the expectations, demands, and potential outcomes of grad school are.
Talk to people and try to understand, really understand, what grad school is about.  I didn't do a very good job of it and I spent a lot of time taking wrong turns in this program.
If you are in the liberal arts, especially history, do the degree because you want it.  The job market is horrible and there are no guarantees at the end.  Therefore, keep in mind other job opportunities.
Pick an advisor as soon as you can, and try to find someone personable, with whom you are compatible.  There is plenty of misery involved in working with an ogre.
Maybe visit campuses early on and meet some of the faculty so you can make an informed decision about where to apply and where to go.

Don't treat graduate school as holding pen for other options.  If you came to graduate school because you always succeeded as a student, bear in mind that graduate school is about turning you into a researcher and teacher. Graduate programs require a pivotal switch in thinking about your talents and desires.  
Be prepared for self-doubts and loneliness; in the end, work is solitude.

First, ask yourself: Why am I doing this? What do I want to be? Am I really sure that grad school is the place to find myself? If your answer is “I think it would be cool to be Dr. so-and-so,” then forget it. If your answer is: “I have a really good idea of what it means to be a historian/sociologist/folklorist/ physicist, and there is nothing else I would rather be,” then, well, it’s still probably not a good idea. Try catering, or real estate.  If, on the other hand, these alternatives are utterly abhorrent to you, move on to the next step.
Determine if you are pursuing your field (in my case, history) in order to have a career in academia, a career outside the academy, or if you are just doing it because you want/have nothing better to do. If the last point is true, you should either be independently wealthy or content to go into a ridiculous amount of debt for no good reason. Humanities/arts people are no longer valued by today's society, if they ever were.
If the first of these is the case, find out the attrition/completion rates of the Ph.D. programs you are considering. Then look at the placement data upon graduation. Be careful to determine if the jobs that graduates get are tenure-track, full-time or not. If the dept. does not provide this information, or if you cannot determine it from external studies or from talking to graduate students and faculty in the program, DO NOT ENTER the program. The dept. is clearly not being responsible, and not making it easy for prospective students to make intelligent choices. This information is equally important (if not more so) than such issues as the reputation of the program and the funding situation/endowment/ resources. These, of course, are also important, and the prospective student should take them into account when he/she makes his/her decision.
This may be the most important bit of advice: don't borrow $$$ to go to grad school. Not one red cent. Make sure you pursue every possible avenue of funding before going. If none surface, keep your job at Target and keep applying each year until you get funding. It makes absolutely no sense for anyone smart enough to get into grad school to be so dumb as to go neck-high into debt when the job market is so bad (and shows no signs of letting up). I have friends in history programs who are $30,000-70,000 in debt. Amortized over 30 years, they'll be paying something like $500-1,000/ month to their creditors until almost the end of their lives. All this and no equity.

Be absolutely sure you love your field enough to give up time, money, effort, and sweat.... If you're not 100% certain, then do something else for a while.  It's a wonderful, exhilarating, horrible, frustrating process; you'll be poor for years, you'll work like a dog, your advisor will probably kick your ego around a bit, so if you're not passionate about your field you'll probably have a hard time.  On the other hand, it can be a great experience.  I'm glad I did it, but I can't say it's been easy.

Be sure it’s what you want--grad school and academia are not easy.  As one older student said to me when I was visiting schools, “If there is anything else you can see yourself doing, do it.”  (Cynical, but rings true to me now).  In particular, be sure you love your subject!

Be prepared for years of poverty, long hours, non-existent weekends, exploiting faculty members, Byzantine administrative paperwork, and constant self-doubt.  The first year of graduate school will be the most unmitigated hell you have lived through with the possible exception of 7th grade.  It should get better afterwards.  If not, drop out.

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

When selecting a grad school, pick a department that has a strong, supportive community of grad students.  Your fellow grad students will provide you with more advice, support, and intellectual guidance than any advisor.

A university is more than a collection of buildings and brains. It’s a place, too, where you’ll probably spend at least five years. And, given academic job prospects, it might be the last time (before you retire, anyway) where you actually get to choose where to live. If you are happy only within a half-hour of an ocean, stick to the coasts; if you need to see the mountains, avoid Kansas.  If you’re happy where you are physically, you’ll also be a better student and scholar.
Talk to students in the program where you want to go. Buy them a beer and ask them to give you the straight scoop about faculty, attrition rates and time to degree, financial support, campus facilities, if/where people get jobs when they finish, etc.
Your advisor is very important. Find out if you get along personally, what their track record with former students is (do they get support? do they finish? do they get jobs?), find out what their modus operandi is and if that fits your style.
Go to graduate school if you think that you’ll enjoy the school part, and not just because you want the Ph.D. or the academic job at the end of it all. The best (and happiest) students are those who are enjoying the ride.

I don't think many of my peers had an honest explanation of the time that a Ph.D. in history would take, the enormous cost, the dearth of financial assistance (other than loans that would leave many with crushing debt payments--some more than $800 a month), the difficulty of finding employment, or the possibilities for non-academic professions.  Nor were we adequately prepared for the high rate of attrition--I think that it must range between 50-75%--that the university seemed to countenance as an acceptable process.  It was painful to watch friends and colleagues with a deep passion for their studies leave in a cloud of bitterness and failure as the cost of a graduate education finally became too much to bear, or the impossibility of finishing while working 30-40 hours a week finally became evident.

Learn everything you can about the program you're interested in and about the professors with whom you will work.
Know that it will be a difficult 5-7 years of your life, with little time to devote to other things.  Knowing all that, I highly recommend graduate school to those who are willing to put in the work and the time.  It is worth it in the end!

Carefully examine the actual semester course offerings for several years (not the list of course in the catalog) to determine exactly what the direction of the program is, and what courses they are really giving and who is really teaching.  All too often, and in my program especially, students are accepted for programs that are poorly supported with teaching faculty and courses, which they discover only after entering.  For example, my period in early modern European history, the catalog listed a dozen grad courses and five professors, but in actual fact there is only one course offered, a general seminar, and only one full professor (who rarely teaches) and one assistant professor, who does teach, but who was denied tenure and will not be replaced.  Yet, this year, three students were admitted in the early modern European program.

Make sure you take into consideration all factors and possibilities before you enter.  For example, are you so good in your field that you will receive competitive funding at every stage?  If not, do you have you own personal resources set aside?  Do you have children -- how does your campus help with childcare, if at all?  How will you fund your research?  What percent of students have research funded by your institution?  If the percentage is small, select a topic that can be researched locally.  Also, explore all money opportunities, not just those in your department or university.   
Have an idea of the field you will study, and, if possible, of the advisor you'd like to work with.  Go to the university and meet that advisor and get a preliminary feel for whether you can work with him or her. Talk to his or her other graduate students -- what kind of advisor does this person make?  Are they hands off and do you need someone who sets deadlines?  Are they autocratic and unconcerned with whether you eat or not?  Ask TONS of questions.   
This is enough, but I could go on for much longer.  The bottom line is, know yourself and the program well.  Don't think things will change for your circumstances - if you think it's an ill fit, it probably is.  There are many wonderful people in academia who can help you when you stall, but if you are in a rigid program and run into problems and you don't find one of those people, it is your academic success that will suffer.

If you have a choice about where to enroll, visit the schools and meet with faculty and students.  Your relationships with your advisors/mentors and with fellow students will play a big role in how happy you are in graduate school and how you will grow intellectually.
However, also remember that in order to be happy and to learn, you need adequate funding and a reasonable workload in your RA/TA position.  Find out how well your school supports students and what the workload is like.  Ask if graduate student employees are unionized and engaged in collective bargaining.  If not, get involved in the movement to unionize!

Research and meet potential advisors before deciding where to enter graduate school; the same goes for the graduate community.  Collegial support and conversation are very important to one's intellectual and emotional well being in grad school.

3.Understand the job market

The first thing I tell new students is that there are very few jobs in humanities/social sciences in academia right now.  Also, there are many, many very bright and talented teachers and researchers who are unemployed or who are forced to take one semester or one-year adjunct positions in which they get paid very little and they teach a great deal.  In other words, the poor job market makes us ripe for exploitation.  I feel like we need to be honest with people entering graduate school.  There are too few jobs and too many Ph.D.s.
Don’t enter history grad school expecting to be able to find a job -- no matter how talented you may be.  You must expect that you will attend grad school and still not get a job even with dissertation in hand.  If you cannot walk away at the end of the process without a job and yet not be bitter then grad school isn't for you.

Find out what happens to people who enter the program.  Do they get work afterwards? Where?
What else can you do with your degree when you leave besides teach?  Develop transferable skills.
Make sure you need a Ph.D. to make the living you want to make and be flexible enough during the process to rethink whether you need the Ph.D. if your goals have changed.      

Pressure the department to learn and explain more about non-academic work one can do with a history degree.  People don't know what their options are, and somehow to discuss non-academic careers has a whiff of failure about it.  This is ridiculous.

The job market is simply awful and shows little chance of improvement.  If you can think of anything else to do that will make you happy, go do that; otherwise, you're probably limiting yourself to a life of underemployment with low pay and no benefits teaching part time for schools all over creation with little or no chance of advancement or permanent employment.
Have realistic expectations about their ability to get the job they want and their own suitability to that job.  Many people in the program I was in, for example, liked teaching but not the level and quantity of research and writing necessary to get a competitive academic job.  Nonetheless, these were the only jobs seen as worthy.  People entering Ph.D. programs should be more willing to address up front what they will do if after 7-10 yrs they can't obtain a university professorship.

4. Understand and get funding

If you don't get accepted into a program with a “full” funding package, don't go.

Don't expect funding to continue until you're finished: be proactive in determining how long it will last, to what degree, and what other sources of funding are available.
Be clear on how much funding (or lack of it) there will be, how much of funding will come from teaching assistantships (and recognize how much that will slow down your progress).

Make a realistic assessment of the available funding in the humanities.  I have seen many motivated and talented students leave the program because they failed to take such concerns into account when entering school.  Their desire for the degree steadily waned as their appreciation for the costs (money, time, energy) grew.   

Funding is a terrible problem for history grad students and probably for most in the humanities.  My husband and I have both had to work our ways through school and together have amassed about $130,000 in debt.  This is not a good way to begin one's professional life...especially when the job market is horrible.  I think graduate education will soon become the privilege of the wealthy.  I hope programs do a better job of informing incoming students of the costs of this education.
Be certain that your funding package is very clear and that you will be supported during your research/write-up years.
Make sure you enter a program with equal funding for all students.  This makes a significant difference for the amount of support you can expect from your peers.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Make sure that your advisor not only has similar academic interests, but is compatible personally as well:  he/she has similar philosophies on the graduate student/advisor relationship, shares the same goals for what you should get out of a graduate program, and provides the kinds of emotional support you need to perform your best work (if is you need someone to be on your case constantly, or you need more space to develop on your own, or is supportive vs. critical).

A good, open relationship with an advisor who is interested in advising and mentoring students is vital.  I believe all students’ benefit from intellectual and emotional support and the ongoing availability of an advisor.  All too frequently, advisors seem far more concerned with their own research than with actually fulfilling their roles as advisors.  Talk to other students currently working with the advisors who interest you prior to entering your program.  Speak directly to your advisor about these feelings regarding their students and their vision of the advisor/student relationship.  I am convinced that this relationship is central to a successful experience in a doctoral program.

Go with the advisor you can really talk to, and who listens to your ideas, whether or not that person is the most well known or prestigious.

Pick an advisor who will work hard on your behalf reading drafts, writing letters, and looking for job opportunities.
Make intellectual contacts/communities with people outside of your discipline and university.
Look for a program and advisor which pushes students.  I do not mean a program/advisor which emphasizes speed/efficiency above all else, but the timelines and guidelines in my department are so loose that, unless a graduate student has a really strong grasp on what specifically he or she wants or needs to do, they can waste a lot of time between taking courses and completing prelims, etc.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Take time off before entering grad school.  Enter the workforce, and come back to grad school when you really want to.  Every student in my program who went directly from undergrad to grad school has not completed the program.  And every student who has left the program for a “year off” has never returned!
Taking time off BEFORE entering graduate school is invaluable.  I gained a sense of perspective on higher education and of my own role in it that I could not have had I pushed straight through.
I also benefited from doing my M.A. and Ph.D. at different institutions.
I think it is also important for prospective or early career graduate students to ask the hard questions both of themselves and their departments about why they are there.  Are you focused on process or outcome?  Both are important.  Graduate school should never be an escape or exclusively a means to an end but an end in itself.

Take time off before coming in; at least one year, even if you're very sure.  One year won't be a big delay and even if at the end you think that you were ready all along, the year off will have been a good change and a touchstone to remind you that you know you belong when times get rough.
Get some job experience first, after college, to make sure you are truly committed to graduate work.  Even just a year off provides a welcome breather in class work, and alerts you to other possibilities.
  
If I were talking to a 22-year-old I would say hold off and work at something for a few years. An older person is more likely to know what they want to do (this was my situation--I was 29 when I started).


七. Mathematics


1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Be prepared.  When people tell you it's a big jump from undergrad to grad, believe them.  Make sure you are willing to make the sacrifices and put in the time.  Be sure you like the department, and not just the prestige of the university.  Interact as much as possible with other students--the communal misery makes it easier to bear.

Find out if this is what you really want to do; if you're unsure, at least don't forget to continue to explore other directions, which is not encouraged behavior for grad students.  Talk with someone who has the job you want, and be open about what you imagine their job to be like, and see if they agree/disagree with you about that.  Keep in mind that the main reward for an academic job is that you are able to do research.  If you don't love this research, will you love the job?

Really seriously think about continuing your study.  How much do you like your field, and enjoy your work, what are you interested in.  What would be worst possibility when you enter the graduate school?  If you are uncertain about what you want to do, and in particular, if you've just graduated from the college, it would be good to take a job or travel and think about that.  Being in school for a long time without break might not be such a good idea.

Be sure you really love the subject, because otherwise you should probably not be in grad school.  Remember that it's never too late to change your mind about what to do with your life!

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

Carefully look into the university and the program; compare different ones. Select a university where:
•       Grad students are friendly and seem to collaborate.
•       Faculty are friendly and are available for you to ask questions.
•       The guidelines are clearly defined.
Try not to select an advisor based on reputation alone.  Make sure you can work with them.
Choose an area of study that is flexible and will give you a diverse range of options in the future.

Try to make frequent contact with senior graduate students.
Familiarize yourself with the variety of research topics available in your department.
And most importantly, choose your advisor carefully!

Ask a lot of questions before you commit to a program.  Know how much teaching you will be expected to do and how thick the red tape is.  For example, in my program, if you want money in the summer, you teach.  But in order to teach, you must be registered for 5 hours of coursework.  Find out how many years you will be taking coursework before you even start work on your dissertation.

3.Understand the job market

If you don't want to be a professor, then your training in grad school is at cross purposes to your goals.  You've come this far, so you clearly enjoy classes and your field to a pretty large extent.  However, it's worth your while to think about where you want to be, what you want to do.  It is possible to finish the degree because you're excited about the research only to end up in a job you may only find tolerable.   

Explore alternate careers for people with a Ph.D. in your field.  Take some courses outside of your department to develop those skills.

would advise incoming graduate student to select an area of study very carefully and to be aware of the career opportunities (or lack of them) at the end of their degree.

4. Understand and get funding

Make sure that you can live on the financial support package that you're offered.

Consider other funding opportunities; a teaching assistantship is a lot of work.  There exist other options that give more time for your own research and that can possibly better prepare you for future work.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Get an advisor first (regardless of “policy”).  Go to a school that has the advisor you want, nothing else really matters.

It is more important to select an advisor whose personality will work well with yours at research than to select one whose research you're interested in.

Find out which field you would like to do research in and then find a good thesis advisor by asking other students or other faculty (maybe outside of the desired field) who really has the student's best interest at heart.

If you are Black, make sure you choose an advisor that can see your intelligence.

Have mentors who do not serve as research advisors.

The single most important factor in a successful graduate career is a productive relationship with ones advisor.  This should be achieved by finding out about professor’s research interests before entering graduate school, and during the first two years the student should interview with multiple faculty members to get an idea of options.

The most famous and established faculty member is not necessarily the best advisor.  Talking to other students is crucial.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Take time off away from academics before beginning grad school.  Explore other career options; don't let the grad education system channel you into the expected.
  
I took time off before returning to school, so that I was more motivated to obtain my Ph.D.  While this is not an option for everyone, it certainly helped me.


八. Molecular Biology

1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Have a clear goal as to what you want to accomplish and how/when you want to accomplish it, then make sure everyone in the program is aware of what your goal is and agrees to help you achieve it.
Know what you want to do with your degree and why it is necessary.  Just because you excel in a subject in your undergraduate education is not a good reason to get an advanced degree in that area.
I would strongly advise that people considering graduate school work for a year or two in some capacity in the area they wish to work once they get the advanced degree, in order to determine if they really want/need it.

Don't enter graduate school unless you are sure you need to for your career.  Be aware that non-academic jobs or academic jobs in schools other than Research One institutions are frowned upon.
Choose your advisor carefully.  Be sure that your advisor will let you develop as a scientist rather than push you to conform to his or her ideas.  Your advisor is a HUGE part of your graduate experience.  Be careful working with a new hire--they may be denied tenure.  Be careful working with a tenured faculty member--they might not give a shit.
Be aware that the job market is very bad and that many people have to do more than one postdoc to get first faculty job.
Be aware that a majority of grad students are unhappy.  Be true to your own needs and career goals--don't hang in there just for the sake of not being a quitter.
Be aware that academic ideals do not play a major role in your career.  Rather, politics, money, and sexy research are more important for career success than good solid work.

Graduate school is a very arduous process.  You should make sure that you know what the hell you're getting into.  You'd better have spent some time as a research assistant, a tech, or something like that.  It's very difficult and fraught with setbacks and emotionally draining experiences.  And when you're done there's no definite future.  It's very hard to get a job in academic research.  If you don't want to do academic research, don't go to grad school.  If you want to work in industry, go work in industry with a B.S., you don't need a Ph.D.  Unless you just want to do grad school for the mental experience, be very careful about  your experiences.  Of course, when you finish it's quite a sense of personal reward after doing all of this.  (I defend in two weeks.)  Just make sure you've thought through it and know what you're getting into.   

Graduate school in Molecular Biology is not a decision to be take lightly (which is probably true for all fields).  One should choose such a course because he truly enjoys the research, and questions, and the search for answers.  Success does not come easy, so in order to make it through the dry seasons, you should really love what you are doing.

Make sure you REALLY want to do it, because it is a lot of hard work without readily available gratification or compensation (monetarily or emotionally).  Additionally, it is a huge commitment.  You will have to or be forced to give up most outside interests.  Particularly in science, only those who sell their souls to science will really make major accomplishments or succeed in advancing.
If you are a woman and want a family as well as a respectful career in science, forget it.  Maybe you'll be a respected, successful scientist if you give up all other hopes and dreams, but this is not a guarantee.  If you happen to become both, a mother and a scientist, one will suffer.  Usually it's motherhood and the children.  Most scientists are crappy parents.  Our society does not encourage bright, talented women to breed.  Particularly in science, women are punished for breeding.  Neither sex is encouraged to be attentive parents, active members of their community, or maintain outside creative interests/hobbies.   
In general, if you have multi and variable interests or if you desire a fulfilling life defined by an active family life, social life, and financial security, and time to enjoy it along the way, do not go into science.

Be prepared for failure of experiments most of the time.
Also be prepared to stay in the graduate program for a really long time.  4 years is not the norm--more like 6 or 7.

Make sure you know why you are there and what you want to do with your degree.  Then make sure your advisor knows, too.  Make a plan with your advisor that will both satisfy his/her requirements for your degree, and still get you out in a timely manner so you can go on to the next phase of your life.

I would advise them to have clear goals in mind--personal and long-term goals.  Do you really need to go to graduate school to obtain your goals?
The first couple years are challenging, but there are milestones, qualifying exams, etc...and it's exciting to go to meetings and get caught up in it all.  But once you’re a dissertator, the pace changes...the learning curve plateaus and everyone wants to know when you're graduating.  And you struggle to get publications and look back on your time and energy and the payoff is very, very little.  Even an outstanding student has only a small chance at getting the academic position (after a post-doc or two).  And there are many other opportunities, but we are trained to be academics and those of us already saying we'll do industry instead are sad at the prospect of only researching ideas that marketing has deemed worthy.
Do not go to grad school simply because you can...cause you're smart enough, etc.....You have to know that you need the Ph.D. to do the things you want, because that is the easiest way to get through the toughest times, and they are more tough and more depressing than any of my classmates had imagined.  And most of us work in an energetic, positive environment.  Realize that if you are excellent, you will spend 5+ years working 60+ hours a week and finally, you'll write a 200-300 page thesis that only 3 people will read besides yourself.  If you're excellent and lucky, you'll get the great publication and have a little easier of a time getting your foot in the next door.

Consider if graduate school is for you!  I love graduate school, love the challenging environment.  However, I think the amount of energy and time I'm putting into graduate school is way too much for the current career prospects.  After many years of graduate school, you'll have to do a post-doc (4 years is common) and it will be extremely hard to find a job even then.  After graduate school only chances of finding a job in science are null:  You're overqualified for many industry positions and not good enough for others (e.g. academia team leader).  While people that are half as smart and dedicated to work as you are buying their first house...you're just a student with bad job prospects and a lot of work to do!

Determine what your goals are and whether graduate school is necessary to accomplish those goals.  I think a lot of students go into this without any clear idea what they want 10 years in the future.

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

I would tell other prospective graduate students to very carefully research whatever prospective graduate program they are considering.  Specifically I would find out exactly how much guidance is given to students after they have completed coursework (i.e., does the program have any formal mechanism in place to help graduate students prepare for their qualifying exams, write their dissertations, etc.), what programs are in place to help grad students find work, and what recent graduates from the program are doing currently (i.e., have they found the work they wanted).
Also I would advise them to consider taking at least a year off after college to carefully consider their decision to attend grad school.

Obtain as much information as you can about the school, department, program, funding, advisor, previous students, teaching commitments, and typical length of time to complete degree.  Meet your potential advisor and ask many questions, i.e. potential projects, sources of funding, lab resources, your expectations, and your potential advisor’s expectations.  Meet with students in the lab, and again ask many questions, like if you had to do it over would you still choose this lab, advisor, etc.  Be sure to talk to other faculty and students in the department that you want to work in.  Be sure to read your potential advisor’s previous publications and grant proposals.   
Ask yourself if graduate school is really what you want to do with your life, because it is a considerable commitment with a potentially disappointing outcome!       

Before entering:
1. Research the opportunities (or lack thereof) available to those holding advanced degrees in your field of interest.
2. Research the field and its direction extensively.  Bounce your ideas off knowledgeable individuals in both academia and industry.
3. Choose a program that has strong ties to industry (almost every program has ties to academics).
Understand the time and work requirement of the program you are about to enter.
Take time off before entering.
Find out if the program allows any tailoring of your education to prepare you more specifically for the type of job you may want after graduate school (teaching, research, writing, etc.).
Work in a lab as a technician for a while to make sure research is what you want to do for the next half-decade of your life.
If you are unhappy at any point, pick someone you trust and talk to them!  Don't seethe.
Don't be afraid to suggest changes in your program.  Don't let faculty argue against change with tradition and history as their prime evidence.
Don't pick an advisor that thinks you should sacrifice everything for research.
If a prospective graduate student is a science major, make sure the lab he/she is entering (professor whom he/she will be working with)  has a) enough funding, b) enough room in the lab for an additional student, and c) an available project for that prospective student.  This situation was extremely bad for a lot of entering graduate students in the program I am enrolled in and continues to be a big problem.
Be aware that grad school is not easy.  You work long hard hours for very little reward, both monetary and emotionally.
Choose a program that is well established so you know how long you need to be in the program before you graduate.
Make sure you know what is expected of you (i.e. will you have to teach to get a stipend) from you program and advisor.
Choose a university that has a strong student support group.  One that many of the students are enthusiastic about doing good research and get together on a regular basis to talk about things.

3.Understand the job market

I think it would be advisable to have specific goals for future employment/ career in mind when deciding on grad coursework and research projects.  This way you can tailor your education to your goals rather than tailor your goals around your education.

Don't delude yourself: check out the pay scale for Ph.D.'s in your field and decide if it's worth it for you.  At least in the short and medium term.  Getting a Ph.D. is an expensive investment of time for lousy to middling returns, so you better enjoy what you do because you won't be paid well enough to compensate if you don't really enjoy it.

Be sure you know what you are getting involved with and that it is what you want to do for a career.  Consider that there are too many doctoral degrees awarded in biological fields relative to the number of career positions available in academic research.
Realize how bleak the opportunities in science are, especially how low-paying jobs are for Ph.D.s in biology.  Getting a faculty position is a crap shoot, but with worse odds you have to spend 3-6 years as a low-paid postdoc, right when you want to get married, have a family, live in a real house, have a nicer car, but instead you're making all of $28,000 a year, a pittance of what a bachelor's would make in computer science.  Then, if you survive the post-doc, you've got more crap-shooting to do if you want to get a tenure-track position someplace where you'd actually want to go.  Most likely, if you decide to stay in academia as opposed to industry, you'll be stuck someplace far from civilization where it is very, very cold and wet.
Don't assume that a permanent job in science, especially academic science, will be available when you graduate.  Get as much experience as possible during grad school in anything outside of your dissertation that might help you to find the jobs outside of science or on the periphery of science.

Consider other career options.  I am happy with my choice, but many are not.  Faculty positions are both a long way away (5-6 years grad school and 3-6 years post-doc) and very rare.  It's a long haul for an uncertain future.       

4. Understand and get funding

Check on the financial stability of the lab and project.  Go for a program that pays you better, expects less teaching, has good benefits, and doesn't require you to pay tuition.  You still won't be anywhere near as well off as your non-graduate student friends, but at least you won't have to worry about the cost of your next batch of reagents.   

Make certain that you know the funding situation, the amount of teaching expected of you, etc. before committing to a program.

Be acutely aware of your funding options/opportunities because there is nothing worse than trying to complete your program and being under financial stress.

1.  Be sure you know the status of funding from your advisor/research mentor.
2.  Be sure you're aware about summer support.

My advice would be to get everything in writing whether it concerns funding or the requirements for graduation.
Also, I would emphasize working for someone that has a funded project for at least 3-4 years and that get students out in a timely fashion with several publications.
Make sure you are prepared to deal with the financial aspects of spending 10-15 years of your life making very little money.  

5.Select your advisor carefully

Be careful about choosing an advisor....Your advisor makes or breaks your career.  Talk to previous students about advisor and lab with whom you think you would like to work.  Make sure your prospective advisor has a good track record, has graduated many students in a reasonable amount of time.  Do a long rotation in the lab you think you would like to do your research.  The dynamics from lab to lab are very different.  And if you decide to work in that lab, the environment will affect your work.  Make sure you can survive in the environment of the lab you choose.  Simple things like radio stations and type of jokes told will become important if you are to stay in one lab for 5 or more years.

Be extremely careful selecting your advisor. Make sure they have the following qualities:
1. successful graduation of students from their lab
2. good funding
3. good publication record
4. good recommendations from former students
5. good people working for them
6. time to meet with you

I have learned that the two criteria I used for selecting a major professor to work with were not the best criteria.  I selected the lab I chose to enter based on the availability of funds and my interest in the research project itself.  I should have selected the lab I was going to enter based on the PERSONALITY and MENTORING capabilities of the major professor.  To work for someone who truly has no interest in a graduate student's personal growth is very disheartening.  Learning about science is difficult enough and the learning  process should not be burdened with having to live (yes, lab work requires a lot of living in lab) with someone who really doesn't care about you as a living human being.   

For ethnic minority grad students, talk to your advisor about racial issues.  If he or she says race issues are unimportant or not issues for scientists to discuss, leave hastily.  This person probably doesn't have your best interest in mind.

Find a good advisor who cares about you and your work who will take an active and positive role in getting you successfully through grad school.  The topic is not as important as your advisor.
Lay out your plans for you thesis as early as possible; certainly by the second year.  Have more than one project running right from the start that might turn into a thesis project (not every project will work).  Write the introduction to your thesis by the end of your second year.
Meet regularly with your advisor AND other faculty about your work/ideas (at least once a year but more is better) you need input from as many of your committee members as possible as early as possible.  Be up-front about your expectations from them and from your time in grad school.  I want to graduate by the year 2000, will this plan of action get me there?

It doesn't matter what research you end up doing, a bad advisor can screw you over.  The personality of the potential advisor and a proven track record are much more important than your actual work.  They have complete control over whether you succeed or fail.  For one person to have this much power over you is very scary, so choose advisors carefully and negotiate a thesis project before you formally enter the lab.
Find out as much as possible about the style of your advisor, especially from students who have recently come out of the lab (gotten their degree).  Also, try to have a very clear understanding with the advisor about expectations for what constitutes an acceptable thesis, and the type of professional the advisor wants to mentor (i.e., teachers, researchers, etc.).  Try to form a close relationship with a tenured professor outside of your thesis committee, someone who can give unbiased professional advice and help mitigate conflicts with the advisor.
Know yourself--strengths, weaknesses, motivations--and choose your lab according to your ability to learn from that advisor in that environment, NOT on how appealing the research sounds.
Maintain high expectations for yourself and don't accept your advisor's advice as absolute truth.
Establish a relationship with a mentor ASAP!, use senior graduate students as guides.
Insist on regular and constructive evaluations of your work and progress.
Read.  A lot.
Talk to people about your work and about theirs, and don't be afraid of wasting their time, because they can always tell you to go away.
Choose an advisor that you have a good relationship with, and a lab that fosters a helping attitude.  Whether the advisor has 6 publications in the last year or 2 doesn't matter as much as their record for training students and being a good mentor.  Don't be afraid to take a chance on a younger faculty member.  Most of the students that changed advisors started with a well-known faculty member, but ended up with someone who was a better mentor.
Do not be naïve.  Realize that faculty have a different set of priorities, i.e., they need to fund their grants, not get a degree and a job.  It is not in a P.I.'s best interest to have a broadly-educated, interesting person in their lab if they can not produce.  So be sure to sit down with a prospective advisor and make sure that both of you will be happy if you join the lab.  Discuss how long you will be there, how often you will meet, and your project, i.e., what is the goal and how it will be reached in detail.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

I would strongly advise all students planning to go into a science Ph.D. program to take 1-2 years post-undergrad as a technician in a lab to make sure they know 1) how competitive and difficult science is, 2) whether or not they really want to pursue a Ph.D. in science, and 3) exactly what field(s) and grad school(s) will meet their needs.
Time off before college is great.  Half of my class of 27 took time off and over the years we've been the more focused and motivated.

Try and figure out before you go to graduate school what type of research you want to do.  Get experience doing research in an academic setting for at least 6 months to a year.  Figure out if you like the idea of being a faculty with sacrifices and benefits that it has.  Understand the time commitment involved.

Take time off before graduate school to make sure that you want to go to grad school.  For molecular biology, it would be ideal to work as a tech for a couple of years.  Lots of experience about science, research techniques, and research as a career can be gained in this time that would be greatly beneficial during your graduate career.
I took time off between my Master’s and Ph.D. degrees.  It is the best thing I could've done.  I know why I'm here, what I intended to get out of it, etc.....  It is infinitely better to be in that space than the mindset of a 22-year old.

blueqiaoUID: 111634

九. Philosophy


1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

If there is anything else that you can do and be happy, do that.  If there is nothing else that you can do and be happy, then come join us.  You'll love it.  But being a graduate student is a very difficult way to live.

Consider the decision with great care.  Graduate school takes more time, energy and thought than new grad students ever thought possible.  A Ph.D. is a massive undertaking that exceeds all predictions and estimates concerning the resources you have and will need.

Reconsider your decision to pursue a Ph.D.  The job market in most fields is poorer than your professors will lead you to believe.  You could be making a decent living or making the world a better place in the years that you'll be scraping out a living doing arcane research and teaching for a fraction of what professors are paid for the same work.   
Also, in writing your dissertation, prepare to be alone.

You should enter graduate school because you enjoy whatever it is that you are studying and be fully aware of the difficulty in finding jobs in academia.  You should ask yourself whether you would want a doctoral degree in your field of study even if you could not get a job directly applicable to what you got your degree in?  If you would not want the degree without the assurance of a job in your field you should probably not go to grad school.

Be very clear and realistic about your employment opportunities after graduating, both within and without academia.
Make sure you have a dissertation topic you are willing to pursue each and every day, because it will consume most of your time for at least 2 years.
Answer the following question honestly:  When I have some spare time, do I enjoy thinking about (fill in discipline and dissertation topic) or is there something I would rather be doing?
Use three faculty members at three different stages of a full career as models for your own development:  Learn about their backgrounds, assess where they are in their careers, and how they got there.  Then, answer following question:  Is this the kind of career I want for myself?
Attend professional conferences in your area to decide if you can imagine yourself participating in them for many years.

Be sure to be interested enough in the subject to guarantee that you don't regret time spent in its pursuit.  Employment in the field is not guaranteed, but the pursuit of the graduate program can be an invigorating experience.
Finding an advisor who is fun to work with can be vital, and there is a world of intellectual activity in the university outside the confines of one's own department.

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

Seek as much information about prospective departments as possible,  particularly from faculty advisors who have a broad knowledge of the field.  It is often hard to know which schools would best suit a student's interests from the more general information available.

Make sure you know what kind of a political climate exists in your department and to talk to graduate students in the department about how they feel they are treated by the faculty in general.

If you are choosing between departments of rather similar ranking, you should choose based on (1) where you would be happy living and (2) overall atmosphere of department (the extent that you can determine it).  Do not choose based on individual faculty members and their particular interests, because faculty members move; because you may discover that you can't get along with them; because they likely won't spend that much time on you; and because your own interests will change.  This advice is based on my experience in my current and previous programs.

Find out clear information about average length of time it takes to complete the Ph.D. and find out about prospects for academic employment.  Think about whether the commitment is one you are willing to make.
Inquire about which advisors work closely with students and help them complete their work in a timely fashion.
Make attempts to meet a range of faculty members (even outside of classes) so that you will have a clearer picture of opportunities available within your department.

Visit school before hand.

Think about why they want to go to graduate school and what sort of area of specialization they might be interested in.  I think it is really important for a prospective graduate student to find out as much as they can about the university (in particular the department) that they are thinking of attending.  It is really important that the student choose a graduate school that is at least capable of meeting her needs.  One of the best ways of finding out this information is by talking with other graduate students in that program.

3.Understand the job market

You must be aware that job placement is both a lottery and an enterprise that requires careful preparation.

Be aware of the lack of job opportunities on graduation and the real possibility that one will not be able to find a job after being awarded a Ph.D.

Develop a knowledge- and skills-base that is as broad as possible, since the availability of employment opportunities (especially in the academy) are uncertain at best.

Do everything you can to get off campus: either to advance your academic career (present papers, do research elsewhere, teach at other schools, meet colleagues and publishers elsewhere) or to advance your non-academic career (do internships, explore alternative career options, etc.).  The myth that all grad students can and will find full-time tenure-track jobs in academia is still alive and well for many, many older faculty who walked right out of grad school to the academic jobs they still have.  It is close to a fair generalization to say that they will not give you good advice about finding such jobs (if they exist any more) or pursuing alternatives (which they take to be an admission of defeat).
Seriously consider dropping out after getting an MA and pursue a line of work less fraught with risk (personal, professional and financial).  It is easier to retrain for a future career change at the MA then at the Ph.D.

Know the job market for your discipline.  Be prepared for little choice when it comes to location of future job.

Have a healthy careerist attitude from the start (unless you're not planning on getting an academic job).

Do this only if you love to do it; you'll be lucky if you can find a job in a place out of the backwaters doing it.

4. Understand and get funding

Don't do it without funding.

Make sure your department is clear about their commitment to funding you.

Avoid taking out loans, if possible, since the job situation is terrible.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Having an advisor who both encourages and challenges you is the single most important thing.  Like it or not, that's the person who holds the future of your career in their pen, letters really matter on the market as does having had someone to give you the kind of advice you need to make your work matter in your field and the discipline as a whole.  The advisor you select should be supportive and involved.  If he/she is not, get a new one.

Do whatever you can to work with supportive faculty who have some clout in your field.  These two qualities may be difficult to find in a single individual, but both qualities are extremely important both during your studies and when you look for work.

Get a personable mentor/dissertation director who has a reputation for moving students through.

Also, find a mentor or advisor you can TRUST and try to work with them from early on.  But don't really hand over or trust them with your scholarly development, make sure YOU are always in charge of those decisions.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Take time off between college and graduate school to make sure it is what you want to do.
  
Realize that grad school will always be there--do not worry about getting in right after undergrad.


十. Psychology

1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Make sure this is what you want to do.  Have a strong idea of what the field is about, not just vague generalities.  Make sure it fits in with your life goals. Know what academia is like; ask around.
Choose your advisor carefully; try many out if you can.  Choose an advisor you get along with academically and personally.  Pick a department where you could work with many of the faculty, not just one.  Get to know the faculty early.

Don't expect grad school to be like undergrad schooling.  They are completely different.  All is not clear....you realize this in grad school.

Be sure that you are educated about the challenges that you face in your field of study, both in graduate school and beyond  (e.g., licensure requirements, competition for jobs), and feel strongly that this career path is worth all of the challenges and potential risks.
As frightening as the negative information may be, it will be very useful to you in deciding what program to attend, if any, and what sub-specialty to  pursue.  More information up front is likely to make your graduate education more beneficial, as well as more pleasant.

For those thinking about entering grad school, I would caution them against it unless they are quite certain it is what they want to do.  They should be “in the know” about the kind of work their graduate studies require (e.g., long, solitary hours) and what career opportunities exist for those in their field, because it is often not as rosy a picture as  people might believe.  In my area, jobs are scarce, low-pay; competition is fierce.  It is not enough to be interested in the subject matter.  For example, I love my subject but do not care for the research process.  This leaves me in a difficult position in a program that prioritizes research and publishing over teaching and other more applied practices.   
It is also important to be certain, because grad programs (at least mine) can be very unstructured, thus requiring students to be independent, self-disciplined, and focused.  One must be able to provide his/her own structure and organization.  The flexibility of an unstructured program can be good for some people, allowing for freedom and creativity, but it can decrease productivity and increase anxiety.   

Be sure that it is worth it to complete education beyond the Master's degree.  I found out that in my field, Master's level practitioners can do almost as much as doctoral level practitioners, and they may actually be more marketable.

Make sure you understand that a doctorate is a very specialized degree--it is NOT simply an advanced liberal arts degree, which will influence what you can do with it afterwards.

Realize that you are not on a quest for Truth but that this phase of your career is only a passage and not the end.  The best advice got from my father was don't worry about failing out for no one really fails out of grad school.  The main reason that would keep you from graduating is despair.  Grad school is mainly a test of perseverance and endurance.

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

Be sure to do plenty of research about the institution, department, and advisor with whom you plan on working with before making such a serious long-term commitment to join that department and work with that advisor.  Sometimes students (like me) are so excited to get into a great institution (based on rankings) that they'll settle on who they work with and what research area.

Meet with many graduate students in the departments they are considering.  I'd tell them to ask these students questions about their research, their interests outside of the department, faculty attitudes towards students, and the feel of the graduate student community.  New students should be sure they are entering a program that will satisfy them both intellectually and personally.  (Also, I'd tell them to ask about drop-out rates and student placement upon program completion).

Better explore the programs they are interested in attending and to look for programs that best fit their focus.  In my field, most programs claim to be built on the scientist-practitioner model; however, there is very little practice in most programs.  This is a problem for me because I am oriented toward applied research and consulting.  Select a program that best fits your interests and career focus.

Make sure you select an institution that meets your needs.
Speak with a faculty member about the specifics of research and mentoring possibilities before accepting a position.
Consider the demographic makeup of the town before entering a program.
Be honest with yourself about the level of commitment you can offer to your educational career.
Speak openly about funding issues.
Ask as many questions as you can so that you can make an informed decision.

Find out whether you have guaranteed funding (even in the summers), and for how many years.  Also, find out whether tuition is waived or not.
Examine the publication history of the professor you are choosing as your advisor.  Has that person published recently and regularly?  Does that person put their graduate students on as authors?
Find out what the average time is for how long students take to graduate (our average is 7 years -- ouch!).

Students should be very clear about the type of program they are attending.  The focus may be research, practice or a combination -- they should know if their interests are compatible.  Also, they should be familiar with the research interests of all faculty in the program and be comfortable with the framework and/or orientation of the faculty.

I wasn't aware of all the requirements of graduate school, including prelims and internship.  I would recommend that they talk to people in the graduate field they are interested in to find out what sorts of requirements there are.

Find out as much as possible about the reputation and resources of the universities they are applying to.
Find out as much as possible from students already in the program.

3.Understand the job market

Find out what higher ed is and can do for you first--before even finishing an undergraduate degree.  Complete any assessments on your interests and life goals.  If you go into higher ed, anticipate where you'd like to end up and do as much research as possible (different jobs, faculty roles and responsibilities, institutional cultures.)
Pick up as many ancillary skills as possible--management training, business stuff (budgets, administration), grant writing, teaching, etc.   

Take a careful look at the job opportunities at the end, and be realistic about the economic cost/benefit tradeoffs for your training.  I had my head in the sand and am regretting it a bit now.  My future earning potential simply will not make up for not being able to begin my career until I'm in my 30's.

Don't look to your advisor for career advice if you don't plan to work in academia as a career.  With this in mind, expect to take personal initiative to carve your own career path and create your own professional networks.

Make sure you really want to be a professor (including teaching, research, etc).  Otherwise, it is not worth it financially to go to graduate school.  I really enjoyed my grad program, but now that I am finishing I'm not certain I will enjoy being a professor.  It's a rather high-pressure job, with low financial compensation compared to other jobs that require advanced degrees.

Keep an open mind with regard to career options. There are a number of academic career options in industry worth considering.  

4. Understand and get funding

Figure out funding for the entire duration of the program before you start, don't just assume that it will magically materialize after the first few years.

If possible, insure your funding for at least five years before you agree to enter a program.
Talk to current and recent students who work with your advisor.

Keep on top of financial opportunities when you hit dissertation stage.  I didn't find out about many dissertation fellowships until I was well into, or even finished with, the dissertation.  I looked for assistantships available within the school, rather than fellowships available from outside sources.

Make sure you know where your funding is coming from.  Make sure there is real support for your research: facilities, resources, assistance.

Obtain as much outside funding as you can, but do work on an RA with your advisor if you can.

Funding, funding, funding!  Find schools that offer full support.

Find out whether you have guaranteed funding (even in the summers), and for how many years.  Also, find out whether tuition is waived or not.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Do lots and lots of research on your potential advisors before selecting grad schools to apply for enrollment.  Too many applicants pick the region and the school first, then look for a faculty member who will fit in that school.

I would suggest that if they want to get done in a timely manner they should try to choose an advisor (or switch to an advisor) who has a good track record of getting people through the program.  At my school this often tends to be the profs who are most active in publishing.
It’s also important to remember that everyone has some sort of problem/issue with their advisor (at least everyone in my program!)  It's important to keep some perspective on which problems are major and which are a mere nuisance/part of the “process.”

My program assigns each student a faculty advisor at the time of admission; your progress through the program is almost entirely dependent on that mentor.  The advice I would and do give entering students is to give the greatest weight to the working relationship with their advisor, over the reputation of the program, funding available, the reputation of the program, funding available, and the mentor's reputation and productivity.  All of these things matter little if your advisor is unavailable, uninterested, and unhelpful in facilitating your development as a scholar and professional in the field.

Choose your advisor carefully; try many out if you can.  Choose an advisor you get along with academically and personally.  Pick a department where you could work with many of the faculty, not just one.  Get to know the faculty early.

Find faculty who are studying areas of interest to you, and who have a working style similar to your own (i.e., is it a self-driven environment, a collaborative one, or a very directive one?)

Take responsibility as much as you can to get what you want out of your program.  If your advisor doesn't know about something you are interested in, pursue it yourself.  Be proactive in shaping your career.  Also, try to find an advisor who will be concerned with your career -- one who will put you in contact with important people, and give you opportunities you couldn't develop on your own.

Make sure you select an advisor that you are comfortable with, or change advisors if it doesn't work out.  I changed areas and advisors at the beginning of my third year.  This slowed me down but I have learned more and developed marketable skills as a result of this change.  In addition, I expect to collaborate with my advisor for many years following my Ph.D.  This is such an important relationship and will determine your future success.

Pick your advisor carefully!  A good relationship with your advisor makes it possible to put up with the difficulties (personal and academic) that *everyone* faces in graduate school.   

Given that some faculty view you as a source of labor to advance their research, and do not make explicit what their expectations are, make sure that you know the faculty member that you are being assigned to quite well.   

Have 2 co-advisors in case one doesn't work out--it leaves you less vulnerable.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

My advice would be not to come to graduate school right out of undergrad and to be absolutely sure that it is what you want.  One should have experience in the field and working in a lab with grad students to know whether it is the right decision.  It is very difficult and the only way through is to be very internally motivated because there is little emotional or other kind of support, and you can hardly live on the extremely low pay.  Also work with someone whose work you really like because it is easiest to just do the same work -- you'll finish much faster.

I took five years off between undergraduate and graduate school and I think it was very helpful for me.  I worked in many different jobs and realized I enjoyed research most, so now I don't ever second-guess my decision to come to graduate school.  It also helped me feel more confident about my ideas and actions because I was already comfortable being in a responsible position.  Many people think they will never go back to school if they "get out of the deep" for awhile, but for me, it made it easier to go back and stay in the program once I started graduate school again.  Having the 5 years off allowed me to get some things out of my system.

Take time off.  Don't go straight from being an undergrad to a grad student.  Take at least a year off and do something completely unrelated to your field of study just for fun or do something that will help you choose between 2 fields of interest or do something boring but lucrative so that you will start grad school with some money but knowing you want to be in grad school away from that boring job.  I wish I had taken time off!

Take time before entering grad school and be a research assistant in a big-time lab.  See what it's really like and what kind of questions you'll really get to answer.

Make sure that graduate school is the path that is calling you.  Make sure that academia is something you can see yourself doing in the future (as a career). If you're not sure whether you want to go to grad school or not, take some time off and do something else, whether for fun or for work.  See if you like being outside of the academic setting.


十一.Sociology

1.Know yourself and know what doctoral study entails

Don't think of graduate school as a continuation of undergraduate life: it's not school, it's a job.   
Don't think of yourself as a student, where the most important thing is to get good grades and pass your classes.  Far more important is to get to know faculty and to portray yourself/be known as a good researcher.  
Truly decide beforehand whether your selected field is something you are interested in doing for a career.  This may sound like either an ominous task, or perhaps an obvious one; but, if you begin to see that you’re not as interested in your field as you originally thought, get out as fast as you can, because academia is only there for the diehards.

It really is not for everyone.  I takes a long time (6 years minimum), it’s not as fun as when you were an undergraduate.  It’s a hell of a way to spend your 20’s--still being in school and still being a poor student.  The emphasis is on doing your own independent, empirical research, not on taking classes.  In addition, funding may be hard to come by, taking out more student loans may be the only option.  Finally, consider how much money assistant professors make.  One should be serious and committed and should realize what they are getting themselves into.

I wish that someone had explained to me that the purpose of graduate education in Ph.D. programs is to train us to become academic faculty at research universities.  That's what this process is about.  If that's not actually what you want to be, you really have to fight to make this experience prepare you in the ways you want.  I sometimes ask my undergraduate students to look around at their professors until they find their most mediocre teacher--that's what graduate programs are training us to be.  I do not regret my decision to pursue a Ph.D. but I would have felt less disillusioned if I had understood this from the beginning.

Decide exactly what you want out of graduate school before you go.
Do not expect that there will be time for you to explore and find the thing that is right for you.
Once you know what you want, apply to schools that will give it to you.  Ask both faculty and students if their department can fulfill your needs.  But, do not just choose a school based on the academic reputation.  If you have to make a compromise realize that you can teach yourself many things, but you need an atmosphere that is constructive and open.  You need people who will give you time to work on your own work and are willing to support you while you do.   

Students who want to get a Ph.D. should be ready to be trained for an academic job, and realize that Ph.D. programs are apprenticeships for academic jobs.  They are not programs for people with general interests in the discipline or general interests in learning more and going to school more.
Students should be very careful about what kinds of courses are required and what departments offer.  Our department is narrow and some people get here and are disappointed and frustrated by our requirements.  A little research ahead of time would have prevented their feelings.

Don't do it unless you want to become a professor.  Be sure that is the career you want before you consider graduate training.  Spend more time weighing what you want out of your career before going to graduate school; you'll have ample time to decide what you want to study once you get there.
If you don't know why you are doing it, don't do it.  Grad school is not a cost-effective place to find yourself.
Get funding lined up before--if you have to worry about this while doing core courses, or if you have work and support yourself and your family you might as well forget finishing.
Find a school that fits your projected career needs.  Most institutions and their faculty share the same questionable assumption--that they are there to churn out new professors and faculty members.  If that is what you want, fine, but the truth is a majority of grad students do not eventually wind up in academia.

2.Investigate the program thoroughly

Listen to the experiences of advanced students in relation to specific formal administrative claims, e.g., departmental requirements, funding commitments, opportunities for research.   
Realize that certain sub-fields within the department have excellent track records for preparing/supporting students.  Other sub-fields do not.
Ultimately, you should enjoy what you are doing while you are doing it. Graduate school is five to seven years of your life.  It is not just preparation for your life in the future.   
The old saw about the importance of your advisor is true. Select yours carefully.  The goal is the degree.  Examine yourself critically--what are your needs?  They might be substantive: the development of a research strategy, orientation to a subject, use of methods.  They might be material: support on a grant or as a T.A., help identifying and jumping the administrative hoops.  They might be emotional: getting a kick in the ass, getting a shoulder to cry on.  Your advisor should be the one person who will fit your needs.  Their sub-field is a secondary consideration at best.     

Think carefully about whether you have strong leanings toward either teaching or research (or toward one type of theory or methodology, e.g., quantitative vs. qualitative research methods).  Then find out as much as you can about the general attitudes/ leanings of the department/program and/or certain faculty members within the program.  If your main focus/goal is teaching, and you happen to be in an institution that's very heavily research-oriented, then there may well be a bad fit between your aims/goals and those of the program/department you're in.  If you can find one or more faculty members within the department who are likely to be more supportive of your interests (compared to the general attitude in the department), then that may be enough to off-set any discomfort or difficulties you encounter--especially if the individual(s) will be a strong advocate(s) for you.  Don't be afraid to put your needs/desires above those of your advisor, or your department/program, if or when it seems necessary.
Find out as much as you can from other graduate students--especially if there is a seemingly supportive environment among the grad students.  If there is, they can be one of your best sources of information about the program.  Also, they have a wealth of informal information, such as what it's like to work with certain faculty members (their personal quirks, how closely they supervise their advisees, how they treat/interact with advisees, how available they are to advisees in general, etc.)

Ask questions of current students when deciding on programs.  Ask how many students finish per year and what are they doing now, try to get commitment re: funding, does department "play well with others" or will you be penalized if interested in interdisciplinary work?  What training or support provided for development of your research interests?  Does department have a mentoring program?
Pick a graduate program/school that offers areas of study you are interested in.  For example, if you enter sociology and want to specialize in medical sociology, then make sure your program offers substantive courses in sociology of health care as well as faculty who do this type of research and teaching.
Also, try to pick a school in a geographic region you will be happy in.

Before applying to grad school, find faculty members whose work you want to emulate, then contact those faculty members and develop relationships.
After acceptance, decide on a school based on the faculty person/mentor and prestige of program.  The prestige ranking of the department, as well as the mentoring and networks that good faculty provide are the 3 most important aspects in completing a dissertation and getting a job in academia afterwards.
Research programs, visit schools, find out about the qualitative vs. quantitative debate in the discipline (if applicable), talk with prospective mentors, and look for rifts in the department.
Be willing to be a bit flexible in choice of geographic location--you won't be there forever!  

3.Understand the job market

Don't expect that the work you do in grad school will land you a great university professor job -- good jobs are few and far between these days and there are a lot of unemployed and underemployed Ph.D.'s.  Learn some skills that translate as useful outside of academics (in sociology, for example, statistics and survey design are useful in government, business, and private research institutes).  General teaching skills would also be useful.  Be prepared to be “exploited” as an adjunct instructor for a while before getting a “real” job.

Don’t be afraid to consider non-academic options, even when the department doesn't support such choices.  Perhaps you cannot publicize such choices, but don't waste your time being convinced to go the academic route if your heart isn't in it.  Try not to tie your self-worth exclusively to your  success/choice of the academic job market.

4. Understand and get funding

Consider funding very seriously when making a decision about which graduate school to attend.  This is a long process no matter what, which means many years of just scraping by -- the more money you can get guaranteed the better.

Get enough financial support so you can progress through dissertation stage without conflict/distractions.

Ask direct questions, before choosing a school, about how they get funded to do fieldwork/archival work.  Most who utilize quantitative methods have much easier access to data for their research.  The rest of us (and there are a significant proportion of us across the social sciences) need outside funding.  So, if there is not a lot of cash available at the school you are considering, ask directly about the kind of support and mentorship there is for writing grant proposals.

Secure fellowship or scholarship funding.

Think seriously about what being admitted without a financial commitment will mean to you financially as well as how it will affect faculty's perception of your potential.
        Save up some money first so that you have cash reserves to fall back on and can attend professional meetings as you wish.

5.Select your advisor carefully

Try and find a mentor right away.  Preferably, someone you can work with and whose interests match yours, but even more importantly, someone who is genuinely interested in watching out for you and seeing you succeed.  This would be someone who not only helps you academically, but helps you  professionally (i.e., encourages you to go to conferences, apply for grants/fellowships,  network, helps to make all of those implicit rules of academia explicit, etc...) and mentally/emotionally.  

Look at the placement record of your school.  Work with faculty who help their students get jobs.
Look closely at how faculty and students interact -- try to find faculty who help students do research and who publish with their students.

Find out the scoop from other students on any faculty member you might be interested in working with.  Work with faculty members who known for building students up, not tearing them down.  It's important that your advisor have interests and experience related to your dissertation, but it doesn't need to be exactly the same topic, it can be really helpful when your advisor isn't so invested in the research because convincing them of its importance helps you figure it out for yourself, and once you go outside the department, you will surely run across people with different priorities and you'll have to convince them.

Before you pick an advisor, go and speak with him or her and find out if you get along.  Talk to other students in the department you are applying to, understand that many grads are bitter, but listen carefully, especially to what they say about the advisor you want.
Don't be afraid to switch advisors if it's not a good fit.   

The most important thing (even more important than the prestige of the program or university as a whole) is to find a professor whose work you like and respect, who is willing to work with you, and who will have time for you when you are there (i.e. who isn't on sabbatical, overworked, retiring, etc).  I had that, so I had a great grad school experience even though some professors weren't as accessible.
Identify a major sponsor within the department to fund your schooling and promote your career.  However, it is also important to not put all your eggs in one basket.

6.Take time off between undergraduate and PhD studies

Even if you're “sure” of what you want to do, try some other things that seem interesting.  Give yourself a couple of years to do this.

Get some work experience before jumping immediately into graduate school.
Take time off (1-3 years) between undergrad and grad school to travel and work at a ”real” job.  This is especially useful if you develop a marketable skill to bring in a little money when funds are low or debt is building up.  It also gives students a very different perspective on the whole Ph.D. experience.

笑语UID: 145040

好东东
可惜太长了、不知有没有时间静下心看完……

@smiling@UID: 143705

谢谢