How have you reconciled failure vs. quitting? How have you managed to pick up the pieces of your most passionate undertaking after dropping it? Is the desire to reinvent myself and undertake a new passion/direction just a mechanism to hide the pain of giving up? [more inside]
posted by Gaeacon on Nov 24, 2009 - 7 answers

How to choose a grad school? [more inside]
posted by 1024x768 on Nov 3, 2009 - 20 answers

Tell me why you decided NOT to pursue a PhD. [more inside]
posted by ms.codex on Oct 13, 2009 - 67 answers

I want to develop a strong technical background in environmental issues, but don't want to leave the social sciences - my first passion and the thing in which I know I have actual talent - behind. What are some grad programs that will suit me? [more inside]
posted by geneva uswazi on Aug 24, 2009 - 7 answers

What can I do to get a researcher position? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 29, 2009 - 2 answers

I'm in a humanities field and I will likely need to learn multiple languages. As a Master's student, I'm scheduled to take around 3-4 courses each semester, with much of my second year devoted to research and writing a master's dissertation. My question concerns foreign language prep....when is the optimal time to do that? Do I travel abroad this summer and shore up on what I know? Or do I take care of the problem during my first few semesters? What are the pros and cons of traveling abroad vis a vis taking care of the problem domestically (e.g., either at my school or some other program in the states, unaffiliated with my school)? [more inside]
posted by Genco_Olive_Oil on Apr 8, 2009 - 8 answers

Hey all, I'm an incoming master's student with plans to apply to my institution's PhD program after my master's. As the first person in my family to go to college (let alone graduate school), I am quite green in many respects. What I'm really worried about is the professor(s) I want to work with in the future--how do I go about developing a professional relationship with them? I'm afraid of creating a negative impression about myself if I keep badgering them during office hours and blatantly trying to ingratiate myself with them. Also, any advice you could give me would be really helpful--especially with regards to a master's student in the humanities field. What should be my main focus and what common errors should I avoid?
posted by Genco_Olive_Oil on Mar 28, 2009 - 12 answers

If you're a grad student or academic, how do you read new articles and books? Do you take notes/marginalia? Do you read some parts systematically and skim/ignore the rest? Read each piece multiple times? Do you find you learn more from reading than from talking with others or attending presentations? Please indicate what field you're in.
posted by shivohum on Mar 3, 2009 - 22 answers

Where are some places that a social scientist with a PhD can go to work? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 22, 2009 - 11 answers

Please help me make the right decision about graduate school. [more inside]
posted by lxs on Apr 11, 2008 - 15 answers

Posting this for my sister. She is in a MSW program at a small private college, and wants to transfer to larger state college. [more inside]
posted by everichon on Nov 8, 2007 - 5 answers

Is it weird to ask a university professor if you can audit his/her class without officially enrolling in the university as an auditor ... and, as part of the arrangement, asking the professor if you can submit papers and have them graded and evaluated? [more inside]
posted by jayder on Aug 8, 2007 - 43 answers

I am a college sophomore who will be applying to graduate school in history from a somewhat mediocre university, and I need help with a course of action to follow in order to improve my chances of getting accepted. Much [more inside]
posted by nasreddin on Dec 1, 2006 - 20 answers

Academic writer's block: tips, strategies, experiences, psychology for dealing with it? [more inside]
posted by RogerB on Sep 27, 2006 - 19 answers