This document discusses the experiences of graduate students. It begins by outlining the learning objectives and outcomes, which include understanding the differences between graduate and undergraduate studies, as well as the challenges of graduate school. It then covers several key topics in more depth, such as the differing mentalities of graduate versus undergraduate coursework, how to work towards a master's or PhD degree, common challenges students may face, the importance of networking, and determining faculty expectations. Overall, the document provides an overview of important considerations for students pursuing graduate degrees.

1. Graduate School Student Experiences
Dr. Deo Chimba, PE
MATC Scholars Program
October 3 – 6, 2012
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2. OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Learning Objectives
• Learning Outcomes
• Session Presentation
• Conclusion

3. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Understand the mentality of graduate versus
undergraduate studies
• Working toward a Masters or PhD
• Challenges to anticipate in graduate school
• Networking with other students
• Determination of faculty expectations

4. LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Students will be prepared to differentiate
mentality of graduate school compared to
undergraduate, and fundamental elements to
consider when preparing for graduate school
• Students will know core
steps, requirements, course work and other
related elements for their Masters or PhD
studies
• Students will be prepared on how to choose a
faculty advisor, how to meet advisor
expectations and work ethics
• Students will be prepared for networking with
other students

5. MENTALITY OF GRADUATE VS. UNDERGRADUATE
Undergraduate coursework is a basic
educational foundation within a given program
of study following high school.
•The course work includes a general cluster of
knowledge that promotes a well rounded
education.
•The student is exposed to a variety of
areas, not just their chosen field of study.
Graduate coursework in most cases is very
specific and particular to one field of study.

6. MENTALITY OF GRADUATE VS. UNDERGRADUATE
• Graduate school differs from undergraduate college
in that much more of the force is on the student.
• In undergraduate programs, there are a lot of
courses that focuses only to students’ basic
foundation ideas and information.
• The purpose for undergraduate is to give students
enough of a basic background that they can wisely
shop for their discipline specialty they study.
• Graduate school asks students to feed themselves
though there is still coursework to help students
pick up facts and ideas that undergraduate
programs don't get in due to the four year time
constraints

7. MENTALITY OF GRADUATE VS. UNDERGRADUATE
Undergraduate coursework : Undergraduate allows
an individual to explore a variety of areas.
Graduate coursework: Individuals who wish to
pursue higher education in graduate studies need to
have a clear idea of just what it is exactly that they
want to study. Graduate school delves into the details
of a specific .
•The work load in graduate studies entails that an
individual works closely with a major professor and
also additional faculty members to properly design the
course studies.
•An individual may also become part of a lab group or
research team and must work closely with other
students on that team.

8. MENTALITY OF GRADUATE VS. UNDERGRADUATE
Undergraduate School: Undergrad school is exam-
based education.
Graduate School: Graduate school is training in
research.
•It is for people who love research, scholarship and
teaching.
•The eventual goal of many doctoral students is to get
a job as a college professor, or perhaps in industrial or
government research.
•It requires more focused and sustained work, it
involves more intensive relationships with faculty and
other students, and it makes considerably greater
demands on your personal identity.

9. MENTALITY OF GRADUATE VS. UNDERGRADUATE
Undergraduate Coursework: You acquire a general
identity such as Civil Engineer, Mechanical
Engineer, etc. Specific specialization such a Traffic
Engineer or Structural Engineer might come later after
gaining experience concentrating on specific work in
the area.
Graduate School: You will acquire a particular sort of
professional identity immediately after graduating such
as Traffic Engineer, Structural Engineer, etc
•You will become known as the person who wrote a
paper, who did research, who refuted a theory, or who
initiated a line of inquiry.
•Graduate school is more like an apprenticeship where
each student has his or her own project.

10. WORKING FOR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE
Master’s Degree—mainly is designed to give a solid
education in a specialized field. Most master’s
candidates spend one to two years earning their
degree
PhD Degree—are designed to give extensive
expertise in a specialized field. Usually (not always), it
is targeted towards training to pursue in academia as
a Professor or Researcher
Both Masters and PhD can be attended by a student
as: (1) Full Time Graduate Program; (2) Part Time
Graduate Program; (3) Evening Graduate Program; or
(4) Online Graduate Program.

11. WORKING FOR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE
Master’s Degree—Most master’s candidates spend one to two
years earning their degree
1.Master’s students take courses to fulfill degree
requirements, just like undergraduate
2.However, the workload is heavier, the course topics are more
3.Specific and much more is expected of you than undergraduate
4.In many schools, at the beginning of the master’s program, you
choose or assigned a faculty member who will serve as your
advisor
5.This advisor will help you develop an academic focus and
potential topics for your thesis or final project

12. WORKING FOR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE
6.Then you decide on your research focus and—in one
semester or two—complete your master's thesis or final
project
7.If you show promise, you may be encouraged to continue
toward a PhD
8.Earning a master's degree may be an explicit requirement
for continuing on to the PhD
9.There are basically two kinds of Master's programs: (a)
coursework only and (b) those with a thesis requirement

13. WORKING FOR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE
10.But, if you plan to eventually obtain a PhD then you
should choose the thesis option to develop your
research skills.
11.In some cases students can register for a program
that results in a master's and a doctoral degree

14. WORKING FOR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE
PhD (Doctoral) Degree—Most of PhD programs often offer full
scholarships and a living stipend
1.Most candidates spend three to six years earning this degree
2.In the first two to three years of a PhD program, you take
courses to satisfy your degree requirements and gain a broad
knowledge of the field
3.You then choose an advisor, find an area that will lead to a
promising dissertation topic write a dissertation proposal, and
you develop a working relationship with other professors in
your department
4.A PhD student is usually required to present a written
dissertation proposal to their research committee and defend it
in an oral exam

15. WORKING FOR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE
5. Most doctoral students also work as teaching assistants and
some work as research assistants
6. At the end of the 2nd or 3rd year, PhD students complete a
thesis, take comprehensive exams or both
7. The thesis & exams demonstrate your qualification to
continue with doctoral work
8. After comprehensive exam and defending the proposal, you
focus on your dissertation, which is supposed to contribute to
knowledge in your field.
9. When you’ve finally finished, you are required to present
and defend your work before a faculty committee.

16. CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
Academic Rigor
As a graduate student, you must be sufficiently
engaged so that you will have the desire to learn, to
be prepared, and to treat the experience with as
much dedication as you would be expected to apply
as a professional.
Academic rigor can be considered under three
separate concepts
1. Quantity–the amount of work students are
expected to do
2. Quality–the extent to which students are
expected to be brilliant, creative, insightful, and
the like
3. Consistency—continuous excellence.

17. CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
Time management—There is never enough time for serious
student
1. How to keep yourself relaxed when you're overloaded with
courses, research, teaching, and a life?
2. Try using time management techniques to get organized
3. Don't let your thesis/dissertation writing and preparation
time drag you down
Attaining a balance: Attending classes, studying, working a
part-time, participating in extracurricular activities, and finding
time for friends, family and yourself can be a hard for graduate
students to balance
Postponing: Sometimes your thesis or dissertation can drag you
down. Research suggests that students often postpone studies
when they perceive the thesis or dissertation as an overwhelming
task. Under these circumstances, motivation has been cited as
the biggest problem that graduate students face in writing the
thesis or dissertation.

18. CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
Intellectual Challenges: The bar at graduate school is
higher than it has ever been before and the mental acrobatics
required of you will be challenging to say the least.
•Often times in graduate study, a student is required to
provide not merely a recitation of the facts and details but an
in-depth analysis of the issue and to provide solutions or
strategies that can be employed in dealing with the scenario
Emotional Challenges: Graduate school will take a long
time. Once you've achieved candidacy, the research and
writing will consume you.
•The sleepless nights of study during your coursework and the
stress of the comprehensive exams will seem like child's play
when you're faced with the problem of keeping yourself
motivated even when the research is not going well.

19. CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
Tests of Character: Graduate school tests not only your
knowledge and aptitude for your subject but also your
determination and perseverance. You'll get through only
if:(1) You have a passion for learning and love what
you're doing; (2)You can keep your focus and
concentration; and (3)You have the undeniable urge to
emerge victorious.
Commitment: Sometimes it might require you to study
and research during scheduled breaks unlike in
undergraduate studies where there are relieved in
winter, spring, summer, and fall breaks off . Pursuing
graduate studies entails that a student must be able to
keep up with the academic load that is required while at
the same time be able to deal with the other demands
off campus.

20. CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
Research: Research in graduate school represents a
focused, personal research effort where you take the lead
on your own, unique project. Your adviser is not going to
hold your hands and tell you what to do every step of the
way.
Stubbornness: Nobody finishes graduate school without
being tenacious. Stubbornness means sticking with things
even when you get depressed or when things aren't going
well. You will encounter unexpected problems and obstacles
that can add months or years to the graduate project. It's
very easy to become depressed and unmotivated about
going on.

21. CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
Flexibility: Flexibility means taking advantage of
opportunities and synergies, working around problems, and
being willing to change plans as required. You must be
flexible in your approach and research program
Interpersonal skills: Success in graduate school depends
a great deal upon your ability to build and maintain
interpersonal relationships with your adviser, your
committee, your research and support staff and your fellow
students.

22. CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
How to manage time as a Graduate Student?
1.You need to allow yourself plenty of time for both work and
school assignments
2.Don’t take too many courses at one time
3.Inform your employer that you’re attending school while
working
4.Look for schools with flexible class schedules
5.Make a schedule & stick to it
6.Remember to sleep
7.Seek out other sources for funding your education

23. NETWORKING
Attend Networking Events, Professional Speakers, and
Participate in Departmental Organizations
Take full advantage of these events. While you may not
have the opportunity to sit down and talk with the
professional speaker on a one to one level, you’ll have the
chance to learn from his or her speech, as well as the
chance to exchange contact information.
Attending these events gives you a ―foot-in-the-door‖
approach to following up with that individual, and
potentially expanding your network in the future.
Signing up for department clubs and organizations is an
excellent way of connecting with the professors and
students in your field.

24. NETWORKING
•The first step of networking while in graduate
school is to develop a list of contacts.
•Some of the contacts may be from the
Professors, teaching assistants, researchers and
fellow students.
•Networking with professors, fellow students,
committee members and advisors is crucial to the
advancement of your education. You can gain
information, visibility, feedback, career advice,
friendship and social and emotional support.

25. NETWORKING WITH OTHER STUDENTS
Study groups are very common in graduate school.
1.By participating in group study, you can supplement your
individual study and gain a greater understanding of class
material.
2.Study groups also provide the opportunity to:
 Share notes, study tips, and ideas.
 Learn class material faster and easier.
 Complete class projects more quickly.
 Make new friends and network with other students
 Familiarize yourself with practices by learning how to
work as part of a team
3.Make sure that the size of your study group is appropriate
4.Choose people who will be committed to the group

26. DETERMINATION OF FACULTY EXPECTATIONS
• In most cases, graduate student progress is guided and
evaluated by an advisor and a graduate committee.
• These individuals give direction and support for the
appropriate developmental and learning goals of graduate
students
• The advisor and the graduate committee also have the
obligation of evaluating a graduate student's academic
performance
• The graduate student, the advisor, and the graduate
committee constitute the basic core of graduate education
• It is the quality, scope, and extent of interaction in this group
that determine the significance of the graduate experience

27. DETERMINATION OF FACULTY EXPECTATIONS
• High quality graduate education requires professional and
ethical conduct of the participants
• Faculty and graduate students have mutual responsibilities in
ensuring academic standards and quality graduate programs.
• Excellence in graduate education is achieved when faculty and
students are inspired, have the academic and professional
backgrounds essential to function and are genuine in their
mutual desire to see one another triumph.
• Any action that negatively affects this interaction-from either
faculty member or student-destroys the whole relationship.
• Mutual respect is critical to the successful process

28. DETERMINATION OF FACULTY EXPECTATIONS
Expectation of the advisor from the graduate student
• Maintain a good relationship with your graduate advisor is
imperative to good practices
• If your advisor pays you for the research or TA, try to focus
finishing the piece of work than counting number of hours you
worked (impress him)
• Advisor may certainly have connections inside and outside the
institution that could prove invaluable
• Graduate student should behave in a professional way in all
interactions with the advisor
• Ask you advisor before you register for elective courses

29. DETERMINATION OF FACULTY EXPECTATIONS
Expectation of the advisor from the graduate student
• Follow his/her directions, be punctual to his/her assignments.
• Help advisor in report writing and publications (if possible)
• Graduate students are expected to be very proactive in
consulting with their faculty academic & research advisors to
stay on the right track and to seek academic advice

30. CREDITS
Dr. Deo Chimba, PE
Assistant Professor
Tennessee State University
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
3500 John Merritt Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37209
dchimba@Tnstate.edu
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