Date post: | 21-Oct-2014 |
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Education |
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Robert P. Connolly Director, C.H. Nash Museum Associate Professor, Depts. Anthropology & Earth Sciences [email protected] 901-785-3160 rcnnolly.wordpress.com
My Experience in This Area
My own graduate education • MA in Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, 1991 • PhD in Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, 1995 Working with Graduate Students • Active in graduate admissions/committees at multiple
universities since 1994 • In last 7 years, at the University of Memphis, chair or
serve on over 30 graduate student committees
h#p://www.idealist.org/info/GradEduca9on/GoodReasons
h#p://www.idealist.org/info/GradEduca9on/BadReasons
Bad Reasons for Going to Graduate School • To avoid making life decisions • Peer or family pressure to go to graduate school • You don't know what to do with your life • You think a graduate degree is necessary for your
desired career
Not so Good Reasons for Going to Graduate School • You would like to study a particular subject to
satisfy your curiosity or general interest • Consider other options such as MOOCs (see
coursera.org) • Unable to find a job of interest • Have AmeriCorps tuition funds to spend
Good Reasons for Going to Graduate School
• A graduate degree is required for your career interest • A graduate degree may enhance your options to
progress in your career • A graduate degree may improve the compensation in
your career
• Others??
The Question
What are your top five factors when considering (or recommending) students for a graduate program?
29 – Total Responses from faculty:
2 – Urban Studies 2 – Medical 2 – Biology 2 – Business 2 – Museum 3 – History 3 – University Administrators 4 – Earth Sciences 9 – Anthropology
#1 – Interest Fit With Department, Campus
“Evidence student researched our program and that they see themselves working with a specific faculty member on specific themes we are known for. Also must have an awareness of what we do and don't teach.”
History, Egyptology University of Memphis
# 2 – Communication Skills Wri$ng in the Sciences was taught in 2012 at coursera.org. The course is taught by Kris9n Sainani a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University. I par9cipated in the first two weeks of the course and found it be quite good and the assignments challenging. Based on my experience I recommend this course to students. All of the lectures and exercises are archived and available online. Of course, the archive does not provide the peer interac9on, review, and course grading. Here is the link for the course archive: h#ps://www.coursera.org/course/sciwrite Here is another coursera course on wri9ng -‐Cra0ing an Effec$ve Writer: Tools of the Trade. The course is considerably more remedial than Wri$ng in the Sciences. A new course began on June 14th. Here is the link: h#ps://www.coursera.org/course/basicwri9ng Wri$ng II: Rhetorical Composing – “Rhetorical Composing engages you in a series of interac9ve reading, research, and composing ac9vi9es along with assignments designed to help you become more effec9ve consumers and producers of alphabe9c, visual and mul9modal texts.” A new course begins on September 15. Here is the link: h#ps://www.coursera.org/course/wri9ng2 Here is a list of other MOOC wri9ng courses of which I have no experience or direct knowledge: h#p://www.mooc-‐list.com/tags/wri9ng .
#3 – Statement of Intent
“Write a meaningful letter of intent - this means take the time to think through what you're interested in studying, why you're pursuing a degree, what faculty you want to work with, and what you hope to get out of the program - and then clearly explain this in the letter.”
Katherine Lambert-Pennington Associate Professor Department of Anthropology University of Memphis
#3 – Statement of Intent (continued)
The student's career goals, as currently perceived, must be clear, well-conceived, and an excellent fit to the target grad program. Every program asks its applicants to submit a personal statement. I want to see a statement that is well-written and aimed specifically at my department’s strengths.
R. Barry Lewis Professor Emeritus Department of Anthropology University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Elizabeth Murray Professor Department of Biology College of Mount St. Joseph
#4 – Think Critically
“Creativity is essential in science/research in order to develop sound hypotheses and both explore and design methodology, as well as taking initiative.”
#5 Grade Point Average
“An excellent GPA in the field the student is entering (If you are a History Major, we don't care if you got a C in algebra, but we do care if you got a C in Ancient History) – Suzanne Onstine Outstanding academic performance during the last 60 hrs of undergrad, including standard test scores, is very important. – Barry Lewis
#6 – Commitment to Study
Ability to generate their own ideas and channel those ideas into independent research. – Cameron Wesson My experience is that PhDs tend to go to those who want them the most. Everyone who gets admitted to the program is bright enough to complete it, but those who walk away with the degree in hand never lost sight of their goal and what then need to do to finish. – R. Barry Lewis
#7 – Letters of Reference/Support
Letter guidelines: • Make request at least one month in advance of due date • Ask if individual can write a “strong” letter of support.
If they hedge, ask someone else. • Letters need to provide a good balance of academic,
applied, and work experience. • Must have at least two academic references, ideally
three that speak to your total person. • Do not ask a Boy Scout Leader, eight-week Team
Sponsor, local public official, athletic coach, etc. unless they are directly related to your field of study.
# 8 Teamwork, Humility, Ethics
And . . . Diversity of Skills, Able to Take Constructive Criticism, Language Skills
“Maturity – realism; understands failure, doesn’t expect perfection of self/others, well-grounded, understands and empathizes with others, recognizes obstacles and what can and cannot be tackled, can say “I don’t know” with a smile. “I don’t know” is essentially the foundation of science (and I like people who are excited and inspired by all the wonder of what they don’t know rather than look at that as a downfall.” - Elizabeth Murray
What You Should Look For in a Program . . . “How happy are current graduate students with funding situation/department culture? How is the funding situation in general? Opportunities for exploration within the program? Is there flexibility to gain skills but also try new things? What are alumni doing? Are they going on to careers that you see yourself doing?”
Elizabeth Bollwerk Museum of Culture and Environment Central Washington University Burke Museum of Natural History University of Washington
And . . . “Students should research faculty members they want to work with and engage them. Are they are taking new students? Visit campus to see the facilities and also to get a sense of the "vibe.” Be sure the university is someplace you will want to spend several years. Engage other students and see what they've liked and not liked about their program.”
Bonnie Pitblado Professor of Anthropology Robert E. and Virginia Bell Chair Anthropology Department University of Oklahoma
And finally . . . “Try to find out what graduates of the program do after graduation - do these kinds of things line up with what you see yourself doing after you graduate? Does the department offer assistantships or funding? My general rule of thumb is - don't go to grad school unless they're paying you to be there - it means the faculty/department is investing in you. Higher education debt is difficult to pay back with the current job market/salary situation.” - Katherine Lambert Pennington