What is graduate school like?
As a beginning graduate student, you would usually take two to three advanced mathematics classes per semester. You would also be teaching classes (unless you had a fellowship). This sounds easy. It isn’t. Graduate classes are vastly more demanding than undergraduate classes. Also, teaching takes an immense amount of time and energy. At many universities, a Master’s Degree may be earned without writing a thesis. Typically, a Master’s Degree requires two years. The Ph.D. program is, of course, more demanding. The amount of time required depends upon the student’s preparation. It can take as few as four years. This is rare, however. Many students take six to six-and-a-half years. Most schools require that Ph.D. candidates pass `qualifying exams.’ At Purdue, these are a series of four written exams based on courses that the student has taken. They are usually taken during the second year of graduate study. The next step, after `qualifiers’, would be to find a thesis advisor. You begin by
As a beginning graduate student, you would usually take two to three advanced mathematics classes per semester. You would also be teaching classes (unless you had a fellowship). This sounds easy. It isn’t. Graduate classes are vastly more demanding than undergraduate classes. Also, teaching takes an immense amount of time and energy. At many universities, a Master’s Degree may be earned without writing a thesis. Typically, a Master’s Degree requires two years. The Ph.D. program is, of course, more demanding. The amount of time required depends upon the student’s preparation. It can take as few as four years. This is rare, however. Many students take six to six-and-a-half years. Most schools require that Ph.D. candidates pass “qualifying exams.” At Purdue, these are a series of four written exams based on courses that the student has taken. They are usually taken during the second year of graduate study. The next step, after “qualifiers”, would be to find a thesis advisor. You begin by
Related Questions
- Where can I find additional information on University graduate school policies, course descriptions, and/or graduate courses outside of the HDFS Department?
- Im thinking about going to graduate school. How can the Career Development Center help?
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