You are here: Home / PhD Schools / PhD Schools – what you should know about being a grad student

PhD Schools – what you should know about being a grad student

PhD schools are seen by many as the pinnacle of higher learning. It takes a great deal of work to get into a good graduate school and even more to graduate with a PhD.

PhD SchoolsIf you are considering attending PhD schools and you think that graduate schools are not all that different from your undergraduate studies, you may be in for a surprise. Here are some things you should know about PhD schools before you start.

The first thing you should know is why you are planning on getting your PhD. The truth is that a lot of PhD students really do not know the reason why they want to get a PhD. Take a moment to do a small reality check. Once you graduate, you will make more money with a PhD but the higher salary is not proportionate to the amount of the student loan debt you are likely to accumulate.

PhD schools are like a business. That may surprise many people but it is true. Schools compete not only for students and for the tuition they pay, but they compete for research grants too. These grants supply most of the schools operating funds. PhD schools run far more like a big company than a school.
While you will still receive grades, in the end they won’t be very important. This doesn’t mean that it is ok to get failing marks but when you graduate you are judged more on the recent research that you have completed than on the grades you received. PhD schools are all about research. While you certainly learn in the classroom, most of your learning will happen outside of the classroom while doing research.
PhD schools are more like an apprenticeship. This is a very true statement. You are probably pursing a PhD because you are interested in research and development. While you are in school, you learn a lot by assisting your professors in their researches. This is the kind of hands-on experience that you cannot learn in a classroom. Soak it up!
The most important things that you need in PhD schools are strong interpersonal skills. The world of academia is very interconnected. You will need good interpersonal skills so that you can build your network while in school. This network will be critical later when you are applying for grants or looking for a research position. Just like in business, it is as much about who you know more than what you know. Make that work for you.

Technorati Tags:

June 27, 2010 By admin
Filed Under: PhD Schools Tagged With: PhD Schools

About admin