Navigation : Main Webpage Activities Upper Level Courses Graduate School Undergrad Research Job Info Links Speaker's Corner Graduate School : What is it ? Graduate school is the place to go to learn more about mathematics (or any subject) than you did as an undergraduate. You will study in classes, and if you keep at it you may wind up doing original research, but that is only one possiblity. There are several reasons for going to graduate school; most of them involve getting an advanced degree (beyond the bachelor's degree). Here are a few: 1)You might want to qualify as a high school teacher. For this you would normally aim for the M.A.T. or M.S.T. degree, the Master of Arts (or Science) in Teaching. This kind of program combines math with teacher training. It is less demanding than the others. 2)The M.A. is a degree that says you've learned more math and learned it more deeply than an undergraduate has. It's good preparation for careers in industry or business where math skills (often, more than actual knowledge), or just the ability to analyze a situation clearly, can give you an advantage. The M.A. programs at different schools vary, but normally take 2 years and do not involve research. I3)f you want to discover new facts of math, the Ph.D. is for you. A doctoral program begins with course work, reaching a higher/more intensive level than does master's degree work, and concludes with original research, i.e., you try to discover and prove something no one knew before. This takes several years--how many, is a variable that isn't easily predictable, but 4 is short and 8 is long--and success is not guaranteed, but you can leave in the middle with more sophistication than a master's student has. The Ph.D. normally leads to a college-level teaching career, but it can go just about anywhere if you look around hard. One more thing about graduate school: Your courses will all be in your major area (such as math, or math education, or computer science). There is no distribution across disciplines as there is in college, although it may be possible to take courses in other fields of knowledge on your own initiative. What to Ask ? From: Math Horizons, Winter 1993 Adapted from Graduate School in Science and Engineering: Tips For Students and Faculty by Marsha Lakes Matyas Ask the graduate department -What are the academic regulations/requirements for graduating? -What percentage of the students pass the qualifying exams the first time? How many chances are there? -Are a large percentage of the students graduating with a terminal masters degree? -What is the average time to obtain a Ph.D.? -How many students will be in my entering class? -When (and how) do you choose your advisor? How difficult is it to switch advisors after, say, a year? -Who selects the dissertation committee? -Is the support offered in the form of a teaching or research assistantship? How much is the stipend? -How many working hours per week is expected for a TA or RA? -Are you guaranteed support for the entire time, or is it on a year by year basis? -If it is year by year, what would disqualify you? -Is there a teaching requirement? How are teaching assignments made (lottery or choice)? -What sort of computing facilities do they have? Do they have easy access to electronic mail? -What are their provisions for housing, day care, health insurance, etc.? -What is the actual time commitment for a TA/RA? Is the stipend enough to live on in that area? Ask current graduate students -Do the students have enough time for a social life? Is the type of social life you desire available? -What the environs like? Do you like them? -What is the academic social environment like? For example, do students work together? -How well does the faculty treat graduate students? -Do graduate students have access to athletic and other university facilities? -Is there a graduate student organization? -Are the provisions for housing, health insurance, etc. adequate? -Is the atmosphere highly competitive? -Do most of the students like working with their research advisor? Before choosing an advisor -What is the average time for a student to finish a Ph.D. with that advisor? -How much monetary support is there for research? -How independent is the research of the students? -How frequently is the advisor available? -Do the students present their work at national conferences? Who pays for attending such conferences? -Does the advisor take an active role in placing his/her students? Do students go into industry or academia? -Does your advisor give you a thesis problem or do you find your own? Specific issues for women -Is your prospective advisor sensitive to women's issues? -It has been said: "do not go to a place where there are no female faculty." -Talk to female graduate students in the department!!! -Do they have women's support groups? What do they do? Do they have one specific to your field? -Is there a women's center? Helpful Hints -Choose a research area that you are interested in. However, still choose an advisor with whom you get along! -Choose an advisor with broad research interests. -Your advisor should be willing to help you get through in a timely manner, i.e., assist you with meeting the deadlines for preliminary exams, proposal preparation, and dissertation. -Attend research seminars offered at your university and annual meetings of professional organizations. -Participate in drafting grant proposals so you will know how to write successful ones. -Make an effort to present your work at departmental and professional meetings. THE GRE :Last but not least, remember that most Graduate Schools use the GRE to judge you. The GRE is basically the college version of the SATs.