Graduate school Totally Explained

Everything about Graduate School totally explained

A graduate school or ("grad school") is a school that awards advanced degrees, such as doctoral degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. Many universities award graduate degrees; a graduate school isn't necessarily a separate institution. Original research experience is often a significant component of graduate studies, including the writing and defense of a thesis or dissertation. The term "graduate school" is primarily North American. It also doesn't usually refer to medical school (students are called "medical students"), and only occasionally refers to law school or business school.
Those attending graduate schools are called graduate students, or in British English postgraduate students, or, colloquially, postgrads. Degrees awarded by graduate schools include, master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and other postgraduate qualifications such as graduate certificates and professional degrees.
Although graduate school programs are distinct experiences from undergraduate degree programs, graduate instruction (in Australia, the United States, and other countries) is often offered by some of the same senior academic staff and departments that teach undergraduate courses. Unlike in undergraduate programs, however, it's rare for graduate students to take coursework outside their specific field of study at graduate/Graduate Entry level. At the Ph.D. level, though, it's quite common to take courses from a wider range of study, for which some fixed portion of coursework, sometimes known as a residency, is typically required to be taken from outside the department and college of the degree-seeking candidate, to broaden the research abilities of the student. Some institutions designate separate graduate versus undergraduate staff and denote other divisions (often called School of X, for example, diplomacy)

Australia

Admission

Generally, the Australian higher education system follows that of its British counterpart. Programmes are divided into coursework-based and research-based degrees, and entrance is decided by merit (entrance to coursework-based programmes is usually not as strict); most universities usually require a "Credit" average (equivalent to the British B-) as entry to their taught programmes in a field related to their previous undergraduate. On average, however, a strong "Credit" or "Distinction" average is the norm for accepted students.
Ph.D. entrance requirements in the higher ranked schools typically require a student to have a master's degree by research, or a master's with a significant research component. Those who hold a first-class four-year honours degree may be considered, but are usually first admitted as probationary Ph.D.-students during the first year, then transfer to permanent candidacy contingent upon successful progress. The minimum duration of a Ph.D. programme is two years, but completing within this timespan is unusual, with Ph.D.s usually taking an average of three to four years to be completed.
Most of the confusion with Australian postgraduate programmes occurs with the research-based programmes. Research degrees generally require candidates to have a minimum of a second-class four-year honours undergraduate degree to be considered for admission. There has been some debate over the acceptance of a three-year honours degree (as in the case of graduates from British universities) as equivalent entry requirement to graduate research programmes (M.Phil., Ph.D.) in Australian universities, even though British graduates hold equivalent honours classification (upper-second and above).

Professional programs

There are many professional programs such as medical and dental school require a previous bachelors for admission and are considered graduate or Graduate Entry programs even though they culminate in a bachelors degree. Example, the Bachelor of Medicine (MBBS) or Bachelor of Dentistry (BDent).
There has also been some confusion over the conversion of the different marking schemes between British, U.S., and Australian systems for the purpose of assessment for entry to graduate programmes. The Australian grades are divided into four categories: High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, and Pass (though many institutions have idiosyncratic grading systems). Assessment and evaluation based on the Australian system isn't equivalent to British or U.S. schemes because of the "low-marking" scheme used by Australian universities. For example, a British student who achieves 70+ will receive an A grade, whereas an Australian student with 70+ will receive a Distinction which isn't the highest grade in the marking scheme. Hence, there have been many instances where Australian university admission officers have incorrectly assessed foreign grade marks as equivalent to their own.

Funding

The Australian government usually offer full funding (fees and a monthly stipend) to its citizens and permanent residents who are pursuing research-based higher degrees. There are also highly competitive scholarships for international candidates who intend to pursue research-based programmes. Taught-degree scholarships (certain masters' degrees, Grad. Dip., Grad. Cert., D.Eng., D.B.A.) are almost non-existent for international students, so they're usually required to be self-funded.

Requirements for completion

Requirements for the successful completion of a taught master's programme are that the student pass all the required modules. Some universities require eight taught modules for a one-year programme, twelve modules for a one-and-a-half-year programme, and twelve taught modules plus a thesis or dissertation for a two-year programme. The academic year for an Australian postgraduate programme is typically two semesters (eight months of study).
Requirements for research-based programmes vary among universities. Generally, however, a student isn't required to take taught modules as part of their candidacy. It is now common that first-year Ph.D. candidates are not regarded as permanent Ph.D. students for fear that they may not be sufficiently prepared to undertake independent research. In such cases, an alternative degree will be awarded for their previous work, usually an M.Phil. or M.Sc. by research.

Canada

Admission

Admission to a master's program generally requires a bachelor's degree in a related field, with sufficiently high grades usually ranging from B+ and higher (note that different schools have different letter grade conventions, and this requirement may be significantly higher in some faculties), and recommendations from professors. Some schools require samples of the student's writing as well as a research proposal. At English-speaking universities, applicants from countries where English isn't the primary language are required to submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
   Admission to a doctoral program typically requires a master's degree in a related field, sufficiently high grades, recommendations, samples of writing, a research proposal, and typically an interview with a prospective supervisor. Requirements are often set higher than those for a master's program. In exceptional cases, a student holding an honours BA with sufficiently high grades and proven writing and research abilities may be admitted directly to a Ph.D. program without the requirement to first complete a master's. Many Canadian graduate programs allow students who start in a master's to "reclassify" into a Ph.D. program after satisfactory performance in the first year, bypassing the master's degree.
   Graduate students must usually declare their research goal or submit a research proposal upon entering grad school; in the case of master's degrees, there will be some flexibility (that is, one isn't held to one's research proposal, although major changes, for example from premodern to modern history, are discouraged). In the case of Ph.D.s, the research direction is usually known as it'll typically follow the direction of the master's research.
   Master's degrees can typically be completed in one year but normally take at least two; they typically may not exceed five years. Doctoral degrees require a minimum of two years but frequently take much longer, not usually exceeding six years.

Funding

Graduate students may take out student loans, but instead they often work as teaching or research assistants. Students often agree, as a condition of acceptance to a programme, not to devote more than twelve hours per week to work or outside interests.
   Funding is available to first-year masters students whose transcripts reflect exceptionally high grades; this funding is normally given in the second year.
   Funding for Ph.D. students comes from a variety of sources, and many universities waive tuition fees for doctoral candidates.
   Funding is available in the form of scholarships, bursaries and other awards, both private and public.

Requirements for completion

Both master's and doctoral programs may be done by coursework or research or a combination of the two, depending on the subject and faculty. Most faculties require both, with the emphasis on research, and with coursework being directly related to the field of research.
   Master's candidates undertaking research are typically required to complete a thesis comprising some original research and ranging from seventy to two-hundred pages. Some fields may require candidates to study at least one foreign language if they've not already earned sufficient foreign-language credits. Some faculties require candidates to defend their thesis, but many do not. Those that don't often have a requirement of taking two additional courses, minimum, in lieu of preparing a thesis.
   Ph.D. candidates undertaking research must typically complete a thesis, or dissertation, consisting of original research representing a significant contribution to their field, and ranging from two-hundred to five-hundred pages. Most Ph.D. candidates will be required to sit comprehensive examinations—examinations testing general knowledge in their field of specialization—in their second or third year as a prerequisite to continuing their studies, and must defend their thesis as a final requirement. Some faculties require candidates to earn sufficient credits in a third or fourth foreign language; for example, most candidates in modern Japanese topics must demonstrate ability in English, Japanese, and Mandarin, while candidates in pre-modern Japanese topics must demonstrate ability in English, Japanese, Classical Chinese, and Classical Japanese.
   At English-speaking Canadian universities, both master's and Ph.D. theses may be presented in English or in the language of the subject (German for German literature, for example), but if this is the case an extensive abstract must be also presented in English. In exceptional circumstances, a thesis may be presented in French.
   French-speaking universities have varying sets of rules; some will accept students with little knowledge of French if they can communicate with their supervisors (usually in English).

United Kingdom

Admission

Admission to undertake a research degree in the UK typically requires a good bachelor's degree (at least lower second, but usually an upper second or first class). Students may or may not already have a Master's degree. Doctoral candidates are initially admitted to a Masters in Research Philosophy (M.Phil. or MRes), then later accede to a Ph.D. if they progress well.

Funding

Funding for postgraduate study in the UK is awarded competitively, and usually is disseminated by institution (in the form of a certain allocation of studentships for a given year) rather than directly to individuals. There are a number of scholarships for Master's courses, but these are relatively rare and dependent on the course and class of undergraduate degree obtained (usually requiring at least a lower second). Most Master's students are self-funded.
   Funding is available for some Ph.D. courses. As at the Master's level, there's more funding available to those in the sciences than in other disciplines. Such funding generally comes from Research Councils such as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Medical Research Council (MRC) and others.
   For overseas students, most major funding applications are due as early as twelve months or more before the intended graduate course will begin. This funding is also often highly competitive. The most widely available, and thus important, award for overseas students is the Overseas Research Student Award, which pays the difference in university fees between an overseas student and a British or EU resident. However, a student can only apply for the ORS for one university, often before he or she knows whether they've been accepted.
   Students studying part-time for a Master's degree can apply for income-based Jobseeker's Allowance provided their timetabled hours are less than 16 hours per week. This also entitles the student to housing benefit provided by their local council. Full-time students (of any type) are not normally eligible for state benefits, including during vacation time.

United States

Admission

Admission to graduate school usually requires a bachelor's degree. High grades in one's field of study are important — grades outside the field less so. Standardized test (for example, Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject Test, Law School Admission Test (LSAT)) scores may be required by some institutions and, especially, good letters of recommendation from undergraduate instructors are often essential. Strong recommendation letters from mentors or supervisors of undergraduate research experience provide evidence that the applicant can perform research.
Within the sciences and some social sciences, previous research experience may be important; within most humanities disciplines, an example of academic writing normally suffices. Many universities require a personal statement (sometimes called Statement of Purpose or Letter of Intent), which may include indications of the intended area(s) of research; this reduces the time spent reviewing applications. On the other hand, many other institutions often explicitly state that they don't use any sort of cut-offs in terms of GPA or the GRE scores. Instead, they claim to consider many factors, including past research achievements, the compatibility between the applicant's research interest and that of the faculty, the statement of purpose and the letters of reference, as stated above. Some programs also require professors to act as sponsors. Finally, applicants from non-English speaking countries must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
At most institutions, decisions regarding admission are not made by the institution itself but the department to which the student is applying. Some departments may require interviews before making the decision to accept an applicant. . Moreover, some funding sources (such as many NSF fellowships) may only be awarded to domestic students. International students often have worse financial difficulties than domestic students. Reasons include high costs to visit their families back home, support of a family not allowed to work due to immigration laws, tuition that's steep by world standards, and large fees: visa fees by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, surveillance fees (such as Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems, or SEVIS (External Link

)) by the United States Congress and the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Graduate employee unions

At many universities, graduate students are employed by their university to teach classes or do research. While all graduate employees are graduate students, many graduate students are not employees. MBA students, for example, usually pay tuition and don't have paid teaching or research positions. In many countries graduate employees have collectively organized labor unions in order to bargain a contract with their university. In Canada, for example, almost all graduate employees are members of a CUPE local.
In the United States there are many graduate employee unions at public universities, the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions lists 25 recognized unions at public universities on its website. Private universities, however, are covered under the National Labor Relations Act rather than state labor laws and until 2001 there were no recognized unions at private universities.
Many graduate students see themselves as akin to junior faculty, but with significantly lower pay. Many graduate students feel that teaching takes time that would better be spent on research, and many point out that there's a vicious circle in the academic labor economy. Institutions that rely on cheap graduate student labor have no need to create expensive professorships, so graduate students who have taught extensively in graduate school can find it immensely difficult to get a teaching job when they've obtained their degree. Many institutions depend heavily on graduate student teaching: a 2003 report by agitators for a graduate student union at Yale

, for instance, claims that "70% of undergraduate teaching contact hours at Yale are performed by transient teachers: graduate teachers, adjunct instructors, and other teachers not on the tenure track." Additionally, graduate employees are currently organizing to have a greater voice in CMU graduate school

decision making. Michigan leads in terms of progressive policy regarding graduate student unions, and four graduate schools in Michigan currently recognize graduate employee unions: the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and Western Michigan University.
The United Auto Workers (under the slogan "Uniting Academic Workers") and the American Federation of Teachers are two international unions that represent graduate employees. Private universities' administrations often oppose their graduate students when they try to form unions, arguing that students should be exempt from labor laws intended for "employees". In some cases unionization movements have met with enough student opposition to fail. At the schools where graduate employees are unionized, which positions are unionized vary. Sometimes only one set of employees will unionize (for example teaching assistants, residential directors); at other times, most or all will. Typically, fellowship recipients, usually not employed by their university, don't participate.
When negotiations fail, graduate employee unions sometimes go on strike. While graduate student unions can use the same types of strikes that other unions do, they've also made use of teach-ins, work-ins, marches, rallies, and grade strikes. In a grade strike, graduate students refuse to grade exams and papers and, if the strike lasts until the end of the academic term, also refuse to turn in final grades. Another form of job action is known as "work-to-rule", in which graduate student instructors work exactly as many hours as they're paid for and no more.

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