Happy Holidays to all of you from all of us at TA-DA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished.
We wish you all the best in the New Year.
The Dream Needs To Be Stronger than the Struggle
Author unknown
If you are writing your thesis or dissertation you have come to realization that Graduate school is unique, a very different experience from your undergraduate years. It requires far more work, more independence, more self-motivation, a stronger commitment, and concentrated effort on time and tasks management. We at TA-DA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished created the TADA-CD to help you smoothly make the transition from undergrad to graduate school.
Nonetheless, there comes a time in graduate school when you have to ask yourself “why did I come to graduate school?” “Why am I still here?” “How much education is enough?” The answers to these questions depend on your interests, abilities, and career goals.
I pursued a PhD because, as a single parent, I wanted a lot of flexibility in my career. I strongly disliked being micromanaged and knew that I did not want to pursue a regular 9-5 job. I wanted a job where I could use my brain and where my independent ideas were welcomed and appreciated.
By the time I attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I had already acquired two Master’s degrees. The goal was to secure a PhD; leaving with another Master’s degree was not an option. I went to graduate school fully committed to doing whatever was necessary to complete the degree. From the first day of graduate school, my approach to getting a PhD was to treat it like a 9-5 job.
Start with a “Exit Plan”. I went to the graduate school office to find out what the requirements were to complete a PhD in sociology. Next, I planned my schedule accordingly for the next 5 years. The requirements consisted of two advance statistics course, one research methods course, one theory course and four graduate seminars to fulfill a major in sociology. As a sociology graduate major you also had to complete a minor in an area (or areas) outside Sociology. These additional courses were selected according to the student’s interests. I chose public administration.
With a Master’s degree in Management and Public Policy, I was able to transfer courses (from my previous school) to substitute for the minor requirement in Public Administration. Also, I was able to forego taking the required sequence of statistics courses because I had already taken and passed four graduate level statistics courses at my previous university. Taking these steps saved me three semesters’ worth of coursework! Afterwards, I set my sights on completing the major requirements for the PhD. Consequently I was the first in my cohort to finish my coursework. My advice is to:
- Plan out your graduate career from start to finish.
- Manage your time effectively.
- Know the pre-requisites (thesis or no thesis?).
- Be aware of the residency requirement for your university.
- Be aware of Statute of Limitations on fulfilling the core requirements like, coursework, prelims or qualifying exams and finishing the degree.
- Treat studying like a part-time job.
- Study something you love then it won’t feel so much like a chore.
- Acquire lab and research skills, hone critical thinking and writing skills.
- Meet others who share your interests/goals, and who have valuable experience to share.
- Establish relationships with faculty who can write strong letters of recommendation.
- Reward yourself for every milestone you successfully complete.
Don’t waste time repeating graduate courses that you have already taken elsewhere. Once enrolled in your program, you can request a waiver of some of the required course. You will need to present syllabi from the relevant courses along with the grades you received. If the course waiver is approved, you won’t have to take that specific course. But you will still need to accumulate the required credits in your department. Note that credits transferred from other universities might be applied toward meeting the degree requirements but the grades you earned will not be computed in your grade-point average.
Make those graduate seminars work for you; if know what your general research topic will be, use the seminar to explore it further. Most seminars require you to write a paper. You might as well use the seminars to write your first draft of the literature review or the methodology section of your Master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. Note that success in graduate school does not come from completing a set number of courses but rather from successfully completing a research program. The sooner you can incorporate your research into your graduate school experience the better.
We have finally come to the end of our series on the 10 Mistakes Graduate students should avoid in graduate school. As I said many times, mistakes are a part of life. We all make them. The good news is that we can learn from our mistakes. The better news is that we can learn just as much – if not more! – from the mistakes of others.
Take heed, learned students! Following are some of the most common mistakes that graduate students make. Make note of them, and be sure to avoid the same pitfalls yourself. If you missed any of the previous nine issues, they are listed below for your review.
Email Question of the Month:
Q:
. . . At present I am writing my PhD at the University of West Indies Trinidad and Tobago. I am pursuing a Doctoral Degree in the area of Health Economics. The topic I have chosen for my research is: “The implementation of National Health Insurance in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: The choice method of physician’s reimbursement services”. I am trying to find information on “literature review”. I want to view a sample of a literature review using the Chicago style. Also, how long must a literature review be??????
Stay Bless
Wayne
A:
Thank you for contacting me at TADA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished. Writing a literature requires that you are able to tell a full story rather than worrying about the number of pages. See Part 2 of my newsletter on TA-DA!™ Graduates —
Congratulations on Your Success
Dear Dr. Carter,
. . . I am a student at Howard, or should I say former student since I actually completed my doctoral program. I am happy to say that your advice, CD, talk at Howard and newsletter helped in the process. Thank you very, very, very, much. . .
Sincerely,
Ainsley
Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D.
About the Author: As a single mother, professor Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D., completed three masters’ degrees and a PhD. Her motto is a Good Thesis/Dissertation is a Done Thesis/Dissertation. She is the creator of a new innovative interactive resource tool on CD—TADA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished. To learn more and sign up for her FREE tips and teleclasses, contact us at info@tadafinallyfinished.com. Privacy is our policy. TADA™ Finishline does not give out or sell our subscribers’ names or e-mail addresses.
