Introduction to Keeping Graduate School on the Horizon
Keeping Graduate School on the Horizon
Transcript
Perhaps you're starting this journey with a particular graduate program in mind. Or for many of you, you may not even be considering graduate school yet. And that's fine. The purpose of this course is to keep all of your future options open. The decisions that you make as an undergraduate can have a big impact on your graduate and professional school options later. It's important to tailor your undergraduate experience so that you are set up for future success.
This course will examine several important aspects for you to consider as you begin to determine whether or not graduate school may be your next best step. The first area of focus will be on reflection. In this unit, you will have an opportunity to refine your values, as well as your academic and professional goals with an eye to determining if, when, and what kind of graduate schools may fit your needs. We'll examine what it means to be intentional about the decisions that you make. And how to find others who can help you with your decisions about graduate school.
We'll then examine coursework and academic references. This unit will show you how the kinds of courses that you take during your undergraduate years, as well as the major that you choose, can shape your options for graduate or professional schools down the road. Similarly, the relationships that you build with faculty and staff members in college are important to help you determine your next steps. This unit will help you build a team that will assist you with your decisions while teaching you how to turn academic acquaintances into professional references.
Next, we'll look at some common graduate and professional school programs. Unlike undergraduate programs, when you choose to apply to graduate or professional school, you should have a very clear career goal in mind. This unit will give you an overview of some of the common types of graduate school programs. And we'll examine how you can tailor your undergraduate program to fit your future goals. After that, we'll tackle timelines and financing. Applying to graduate school often involves significantly more lead time than applying to undergraduate programs.
This unit will give you a sense of some of the typical graduate school timelines and will help you build a personal timeline to keep your goals on track. Further, this unit will help you think about how you may finance your graduate education, briefly outlining some important financial considerations that may shape your approach to graduate school.
Finally, we'll come back to you. At the center of this process is you. The reflection that you do, the time that you take to examine your decisions, the weekly reflection where you determine what experiences, courses, and skills fit, and which ones don't is imperative to determining whether graduate school is right for you. Set aside some time-- I call it future Fridays-- to do this reflection. I've often found that those who spend the most time on reflection, on really examining who they are and what they want, turn into the most successful graduate school applicants.
And this unit will ensure that the lessons that you've learned will help you as you move towards your future. Remember, this course is not designed to help you transition into graduate school. Rather, this course is intended to help you keep the door open, to help you determine if graduate school is the right choice for you, and to offer techniques for tailoring your undergraduate experience in such a way that you'll find lots of options available to you when you complete your degree.
This course will examine several important aspects for you to consider as you begin to determine whether or not graduate school may be your next best step. The first area of focus will be on reflection. In this unit, you will have an opportunity to refine your values, as well as your academic and professional goals with an eye to determining if, when, and what kind of graduate schools may fit your needs. We'll examine what it means to be intentional about the decisions that you make. And how to find others who can help you with your decisions about graduate school.
We'll then examine coursework and academic references. This unit will show you how the kinds of courses that you take during your undergraduate years, as well as the major that you choose, can shape your options for graduate or professional schools down the road. Similarly, the relationships that you build with faculty and staff members in college are important to help you determine your next steps. This unit will help you build a team that will assist you with your decisions while teaching you how to turn academic acquaintances into professional references.
Next, we'll look at some common graduate and professional school programs. Unlike undergraduate programs, when you choose to apply to graduate or professional school, you should have a very clear career goal in mind. This unit will give you an overview of some of the common types of graduate school programs. And we'll examine how you can tailor your undergraduate program to fit your future goals. After that, we'll tackle timelines and financing. Applying to graduate school often involves significantly more lead time than applying to undergraduate programs.
This unit will give you a sense of some of the typical graduate school timelines and will help you build a personal timeline to keep your goals on track. Further, this unit will help you think about how you may finance your graduate education, briefly outlining some important financial considerations that may shape your approach to graduate school.
Finally, we'll come back to you. At the center of this process is you. The reflection that you do, the time that you take to examine your decisions, the weekly reflection where you determine what experiences, courses, and skills fit, and which ones don't is imperative to determining whether graduate school is right for you. Set aside some time-- I call it future Fridays-- to do this reflection. I've often found that those who spend the most time on reflection, on really examining who they are and what they want, turn into the most successful graduate school applicants.
And this unit will ensure that the lessons that you've learned will help you as you move towards your future. Remember, this course is not designed to help you transition into graduate school. Rather, this course is intended to help you keep the door open, to help you determine if graduate school is the right choice for you, and to offer techniques for tailoring your undergraduate experience in such a way that you'll find lots of options available to you when you complete your degree.