Choosing a Graduate School: Culture Questions

Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed how to choose a graduate school and the financial reasons for choosing a graduate school. Now we’re going to discuss the last and final element to finding a successful graduate school: the culture. This area addresses whether the school is a good fit for you academically and socially.

The first stop is considering your student relationships. If you’re in a graduate study program, you might be working with your classmates not only in the classroom but perhaps in the professional field. Therefore, relationships are crucial to success. Wouldn’t you want to have a great social experience in school, one that makes it more memorable? So consider the following questions:

1. How competitive are the students? Are they working for each other or against each other?
2. How is the social scene in grad school? Do graduate students get together with each other or do they do their own thing after hours? Does social inclusion (or exclusion) bother you?
3. Do students embrace newcomers with open arms?
4. How do research papers get drafted and written? Is it a group project or every person for themselves? Is collaboration encouraged or frowned upon?

The next step in choosing your graduate school has to be the most important: faculty. The goal is to work with your faculty and not without them, so consider the following things that may help make the choice easier.

1. How aligned are your interests with the faculty’s? What are their positions on topics that interest you?
2. Are the faculty members cordial of each other?
3. How often do you have the opportunity to interact with faculty members? Are they too busy for in-person meetings or do they make time for students?
4. Do faculty members allow students to work alongside them on research projects?
5. Have you observed any favoritism? Do faculty prefer any students over the others?
6. Eventually, you’ll be writing a dissertation. Do you know a member of the faculty who you’d like to work closely with as your advisor?
7. Are faculty members well-connected in the professional sphere? Can they help you secure a job after school?

These are the things you need to consider when going to school. Finally, just consider the academic program. Make sure there are enough courses in the program that reflect your interests, that the program has a solid reputation in the area, that the program has a good relationship with the academic higher-ups, and if job searching is easy after graduate study is complete. You may also want to look into the requirements (both coursework and extracurricular) to see if you can meet the demand (or find it too challenging).

Putting all of this together, you’ll know which school is your best bet for graduate study.