academic life (4)

5 ways to get the most out of your graduate classes

Graduate classes can be fun. With less of a focus on factual knowledge and more emphasis on discussions and critical thinking, they are a sandbox where you can experiment with ideas and learn from others. And yet at some point I felt like I was…

By Irina Kuznetcova

7 tips to manage multiple responsibilities and projects in grad school

One of the most challenging aspects of graduate school is the sheer variety and number of projects and responsibilities you have to manage on a regular basis. Things might be a bit calmer in the first year as you focus on classes and only start…

By Irina Kuznetcova

What does a typical graduate class look like?

To say that I was anxious about my first graduate class is an understatement. What will my classmates be like? How will instructors teach? What are homework assignments like? Are the course memorization-heavy? Will I be bored to death by lectures again?.. With all these…

By Irina Kuznetcova

What is it like to be a doctoral student?

When I was searching for Ph. D. programs, I basically knew three things: during my program, I will take courses, do research, and teach or assist faculty members to get funding if I’m lucky. I was pretty fuzzy on the details. For anyone who’s considering…

By Irina Kuznetcova