Choosing a Graduate School: The Basics

If you’re looking to pursue higher education beyond college — such as a Master’s or Ph.D. — you need to make careful considerations that your grad school is the right one. You wouldn’t want to be halfway to your Ph.D. and then realize that the fit isn’t good for you. Since graduate school is a tremendous time commitment, you want to make the right decision early.

How do you make sure that the match is perfect? You’ll want to start by visiting school and by talking to graduate students in addition to the faculty, particularly the professors you’ll be working closely with. It’s not as useful for you to look at prestige, because a prestigious school may not be the right fit for you. You should seek out programs that fulfill your goals (ask yourself: what do I want to accomplish with my graduate study?) and you want your opinions and needs (be them religious, personal, etc.) are accommodated. Start asking (and answering) this basic list of questions.

• What does the program emphasize? Theory or practice? What am I looking for?
• What kind of research do they conduct in this department?
• What kind of graduates does the program have? Do they expect graduates to go onto big corporate careers? Do they want graduates to continue learning in academia and continuing research?
• How much competition exists in this department? Are the students working together or are they working against each other?
• What are the faculty positions on various debates that surround the field of study that you are going into? Do they want to work with students who disagree with these issues?
• How supportive is the department to those who are women/minorities, or have family obligations?

These are just a few things you should touch upon. In later articles, we’ll discuss other questions you should tackle, including financial issues, more faculty questions, student culture, and if the programs align with what you’re looking for.