The What, When, Where, Why and How of Graduate School A Panel Discussion

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The What, When, Where, Why and How of Graduate
SchoolA Panel Discussion

• Department of Chemistry
• Western Washington University

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• 3 Keys to Success
• Be informed.
• Dont self select.
• Find something that interests you have FUN!!!

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Why go to graduate school?

• Consider your professional goals
• Industry, academics, government
• Where do you want to be on the food chain?
• Do you want a job or a career?
• Consider your life goals
• Family / personal issues
• Consider your talents and abilities
• Do you like lab work and research?

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Bachelors Degree

• Generally little decision-making
• Industrial / government positions
• Technician, chemist, sales, customer service
• Natl. avg. starting salary 45K
• Natl. avg. salary (all experience levels)
  65K
• Academic positions
• Elementary / high school teacher w/certificate
• Natl. avg. salary 46K

Source Chemical Engineering News, March, 2008
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Masters Degree

• Generally little decision-making some
  supervisory duties possible in smaller companies
• Industrial / government positions
• Technician, chemist, sales, service
• Natl. avg. starting salary 55K
• Natl. avg. salary (all experience levels) 77K
• Academic positions
• Elementary / high school teacher w/certificate
• Community college
• Natl. avg. salary (all experience levels) 56K

Source Chemical Engineering News, March, 2008
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Ph.D. Degree

• Team leaders / managers / directors
• Industrial / government positions
• Scientist
• Salaries vary substantially by region
• Natl. avg. starting salary 70K
• Natl. avg. salary (all experience levels)
  109-113K
• Academic positions (9 month)
• Ph.D. granting PUI
• Natl. avg. assistant prof. 69K 52K
• Natl. avg. full professor 120K 76K

Source Chemical Engineering News, March, 2008
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What is graduate school like?

• Financial supportyea!
• Teaching assistantships
• Research assistantships
• Fellowships
• After you get there
• Year 1 Qualifying exams courses pick an
  advisor and start research
• Year 2 Research, remaining coursework
  Preliminary oral exam
• Year 3 n Research, Research, Research,
  Research
• Year n Write thesis (36 months)
• Average time to Ph.D. is 5 years, but varies by
  specialty

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What is important for admission?

• Grades (3.0 minimum)
• Research experience
• Letters of recommendation
• Statement of purpose
• GRE General Test (www.ets.org)
• verbal, quantitative, analytical writing sections
• Computer based make appointment
• (1st come, 1st served)

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GRE Subject Tests 170 minutes Chemistry
130-140 questions Biochemistry 180
questions 140 (financial aid is available from
ETS) Given 3 times per year Test
date Registration due 10/10/09 9/4/09
(Friday before Labor Day) 11/07/09 10/2/09
(Friday of 2nd week of classes) 4/10/10 3/5/10
(Too late for Fall 10 admission)
Practice Subject GRE (Chem or Biochem) next
Thursday, 10/1/09, 400 pm SL 110.
All info taken from GRE website www.ets.org
(contact braymond_at_chem.wwu.edu)
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Chemistry Test Breakdown 30 Organic 30 P.
Chem 25 Inorganic/Gen. Chem. 15 Analytical No
calculators allowed!
1 point given per correct answer ¼ point
subtracted per wrong answer 0 points given for
blank answers Scaled scores range from 200-990
Sample scoring
2003-2006 data 920 99th , 460 1st , 680
50th
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Biochemistry Test Breakdown 36
Biochemistry 28 Cell Biology 36 Molecular
Biology and Genetics Sub-scores for
each section are reported. No calculators
allowed!
1 point given per correct answer ¼ point
subtracted per wrong answer 0 points given for
blank answers Scaled scores range from 200-990

Raw Scores
Scaled Score
Form A
Form B
Form C
700
132-134
129-131
122-124
600
102-104
97-99
92-94
Sample scoring
500
71-73
66-68
62-64
400
41-43
34-37
32-34
Number of Questions Used to Compute Raw Score
178
177
176
2003-2006 data 760 99th , 300 1st , 520
50th
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Where should I apply?

• Important considerations
• M.S. or Ph.D?
• Quality of program in your chosen area
• http//www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/
• Chronicle of Higher Education survey
• Your professors / advisors / mentors
• Check out websites of departments
• Geography and personal issues

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Where should I apply?

• What factors are important to me?
• http//www.phds.org/rankings/

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Where should I apply?

• Go to the best school you can!
• What makes a department / program good ?
• Faculty
• Facilities
• Other students!
• Am I good enough?
• Aim high, but be realistic
• Get advice from faculty and advisors

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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in ALL areas of chemistry
• Cal Tech MIT Stanford
• UC-Berkeley Harvard Scripps
• Illinois Wisconsin Cornell
• Columbia UCLA U Chicago
• Northwestern UT-Austin Yale
• Penn State Princeton Michigan
• UNC-Chapel Hill UC-San Diego Penn
• Purdue Texas AM UC-Irvine
• Minnesota Georgia Tech UC-Santa Barbara

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties Analytical
• UNC-Chapel Hill Purdue Illinois
• Indiana UT-Austin Wisconsin
• Arizona Penn State Michigan
• Florida Washington Iowa State
• Michigan St. Minnesota Utah
• Florida State Texas AM UC-Berkeley
• Northwestern
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties Inorganic
• MIT Cal Tech Northwestern
• Berkeley Texas AM Illinois
• Wisconsin Stanford Cornell
• UNC-Chapel Hill Harvard Minnesota
• UCLA UC-San Diego U Chicago
• Michigan Yale Iowa State
• Washington
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties Organic
• Harvard UC-Berkeley Stanford
• MIT Cal Tech Scripps
• Illinois Wisconsin Columbia
• UC-Irvine Penn Princeton
• Michigan Yale Cornell
• UT-Austin UCLA Boston College
• UNC-Chapel Hill Colorado State Utah
• Pittsburgh
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties Physical
• UC-Berkeley Cal Tech MIT
• Stanford Harvard Illinois
• U Chicago Northwestern Wisconsin
• Colorado Columbia Cornell
• Georgia Tech UT-Austin Princeton
• Yale UCLA UC-San Diego
• Penn
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties Polymer
• U Mass-Amherst Akron Cal Tech
• MIT Virginia Tech Case Western
• So. Mississippi Minnesota Penn State
• UNC-Chapel Hill
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties Theoretical
• UC-Berkeley Cal Tech MIT
• Northwestern Harvard U Chicago
• Columbia Illinois Wisconsin
• Minnesota Stanford UC-San Diego
• Yale Cornell Princeton
• UT-Austin Georgia Penn
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties Biochemistry
  
• UC-Berkeley MIT Harvard
• Stanford UCSF Scripps
• Wisconsin Cal Tech UC-San Diego
• Yale Johns Hopkins UCLA
• Michigan Washington
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Where should I apply?

• Some schools are good in specialties
• Biophysics and Structural Biology
• Harvard MIT Stanford
• Cal Tech UCSF Yale
• UC-Berkeley Johns Hopkins Rockefeller
• Duke UC-San Diego UT SW Med
• Washington U. (St. Louis)
• Italics school not in overall Top 20

US News World Report rankings 2007 data
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Interested in a different science?

• Check out US News and World Report for yourself
• http//grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/
  best-graduate-schools

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How do I apply?

• Most applications are now online
• If paper application, type it!
• Statement of purposeget advice and feedback from
  faculty
• Solicit at least 3 letters of recommendation
• Application deadlines
• Top schools as early as December 15 for the
  following fall term!

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How do I make a final decision?

• Visit the schools
• Ask your professors / advisor
• Visit the schools
• Look more specifically at which faculty you
  really want to work withleave yourself choices
• Visit the schools
• Talk with current graduate students when you
• VISIT THE SCHOOLS !

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Types of education masters degrees

• M.I.T. (Master In Teaching)
• For people with a bachelors degree in another
  discipline
• Certification is fulfilled as part of degree
  program
• M.Ed. (Master in Education)
• For practicing teachers
• Many programs designed for the working teacher
• Research oriented
• M.A., M.S.
• Research oriented
• Given within a discipline (eg. educational
  psychology)
• Not always designed for working teachers
• 3rd option post-baccalaureate program
• Like MIT program but does not come with masters
  degree
• Enables you to get into teaching earlier and to
  receive an M.Ed. later on.

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Types of education doctoral degrees

• Ph.D.
• For those interested in conducting research in
  education
• Two choices
• Ph.D. with a science education specialization,
  within a college of education
• Ph.D. in a chemistry department, with a
  specialization in chemistry education (only at
  select universities)
• Masters not always required (especially for 2)
• Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
• More practitioner oriented (eg. for people
  wanting to become school or university
  administrators)
• Many programs require experience as a school
  administrator
• Harvard only offers this degree.

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Examples of sub-disciplines in education graduate
programs (UW)

• Curriculum Instruction
• Designing and implementing educational
  experiences
• Educational Leadership Policy Studies
• Creating and implementing policy
• Educational Psychology
• Learning about how students learn
• Special Education
• Teaching students with special needs
• Teacher Education
• Teaching future teachers

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Questions to consider

• Do I want to teach? At what level?
• K-12 MIT or MEd
• Community college MS or PhD in discipline
• University PhD in discipline or in education
• Note that many universities dont have positions
  for faculty with an emphasis in education
  research.
• Do I want to investigate how to effectively teach
  students?
• PhD in education or in chemistry with emphasis in
  education
• Do I want to be more on the organization end of a
  school or university?
• EdD

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What does it mean to do research in education?

• Types of data
• Interviews with students and/or teachers
• Student work
• Pre- / post-assessments
• Surveys
• Video
• Observations
• Types of research practices
• Create and assess treatment and control groups
  (quantitative)
• Create a thick description of an educational
  environment of interest (qualitative)
• Follow a group of students before, during and
  after an educational experience (mixed)

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Some recommended programs

• WWU (MIT, MEd)
• UW (MIT, MEd, PhD, EdD)
• Miami of OH (MS, PhD in chemical education)
• UNC (MS, PhD in chemical education)
• Purdue (MS, PhD in chemical education)
• Good PhD in education programs Michigan State,
  Northwestern, Montana State, Texas, Colorado
  (CU), Georgia Tech.