rising_star

Plenty of other states also offer alternative certification programs so just use Google to find them. Florida: http://www.fldoe.org/teaching/certification/pathways-routes/state-approved-alternative-certificati.stml but also I know that most of the rapidly growing in population states (Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona) have similar programs too.

When I applied to MA programs, I applied to 6. When I applied to PhD programs, I applied to 8. As fuzzy said, when it came to PhD apps, there are 2-3 of those that I should've dropped and at least one school (maybe 2) I should've applied to but didn't. But, you don't have full information when you apply, even when you do good research on schools. What I mean by that is that there's one program I visited and I knew within a couple of hours that I didn't want to do my PhD there. On paper, everything was great but, once I was actually there, I knew it wasn't the place for me.

Even with a program like that, you likely need to complete additional undergraduate courses in order to be certified in a particular state. There's often little funding for those types of programs. If you want to do a post-bacc certification, you might be better off looking into programs offered by community colleges or other agencies. In Georgia, there's something called GaTAPP where you can actually teach on a provisional certificate while completing the work to become certified. Something like that could be an option for you. If you do find a funded MFA program, you could see if you could take the undergrad English courses you need while enrolled using your tuition waiver. You'd still likely have to do an alternative certification program though.

I guess this depends on how you define "top of your field". If your goal is to land a TT job at Harvard, then maybe. If your goal is to get a TT job at a R2/SLAC, you probably don't need to work 12-14 hour days in order to succeed. Also, this really does depend on how you're counting work time. I think everyone would benefit from logging their work time for a week or two to see how much time they spend actually working and how much work time they spend doing other things. Every time I do one, I'm kinda surprised by the difference between the number of hours I actually work and the number I think I work. I highly recommend everyone do it at least once a semester if possible.

Re #3: If you still don't have a timeline, then you haven't really done what I suggested. You need to have a conversation with your PI that isn't solely focused on the paper but that is centered around the topic of your need (not just desire!) to graduate sooner rather than later so you can find a job. Re #4: You'll always be competing with people who finished faster, with more pubs, and/or from a more prestigious institution. If you get caught up in that, you'll never go anywhere because you won't be able to get out of your own way. You've got to focus on what you can do and what you've done well and worry less about the competition, especially since your competition is beyond your control.

I'm not at all in your field but, let me ask you some questions. 1) Do you have any mentors outside of your institution with whom you could consult? They might be able to offer more/better field-specific insight into your situation. Also, maybe some of them have postdoc funding that you could have once you graduate. 2) Can you submit the paper without your PI's knowledge? (I don't know at all about the ethics of this since I'm not in your field. If it's unethical, ignore my suggestion!) 3) Can you schedule a sitdown conversation with your PI where you work together to map out a timeline for the completion of your PhD? Like, work backwards from when you want to graduate to figure out what needs to be done and by when. Do you need one paper to graduate or multiple papers? How long will the experiments needed for those papers take you to complete? Is there the possibility of authoring or co-authoring grants to bring funding for your project? 4) What is it you want to do after your PhD? Presumably there are opportunities to make money by running a research lab in industry (R&D, pharmaceutical company, etc.). In fact, going the tenured professor route may be less profitable than other options. Check out VersatilePhD if you want to explore options beyond academia. Best of luck!

I should've added that everyone in my field that I know of goes by their first name. However, I prefer to err on the side of caution when first meeting someone and not assume that they want me to call them by their first name. I get really irked when students who don't know me call me by my first name, especially since I don't let undergrads call me by my first name.

My default, even in grad school, was to call professors "Dr. LastName" until told otherwise.

Why address it at all in your SOP? Focus your SOP on the research you want to do as a doctoral student.

Parking on the street sucks. I used to have to do it and came home to a smashed back window one evening. So much fun. *gags* Aside from the other suggestions, I would definitely shop around on rates once you decide on the coverage amounts you do want. They can vary widely, even between the major national companies. You might also want to see if you are (or will be) eligible for a good student discount. IIRC, that saved me like 5% a month on the premiums, which was totally worth sending them a transcript every year for.

1) Yes, it will affect their decision. They likely have a certain number of openings for PhD students and a certain number for MA students. Don't lie about your intentions. Be honest. 2) It might or it might now. The best way to get answers to those two questions would be to contact the specific programs and ask them. Re: "upload credentials": Definitely do not upload scanned copies of awards and certificates. Also, you should have a CV (curriculum vitae) that you are using, not a resume. Your CV should have a section for "Awards and Honors" (or a similar title/heading) under which you can list what you have received. No explanations either, btw. Just list what it was you got and who it was from. If they want more information, then they'll ask you.

I second this completely. You have to read. Also, when professors tell you that you'll never have as much time to read as you do right now, they're not lying. I used to think they were but, I've since learned otherwise. One thing I did while ABD that worked really well was starting my day by reading one journal article that I hadn't previously read. By the time I was ABD, I was reading things that were directly relevant to the dissertation research I was doing and pretty much all of those articles got cited in my dissertation. I would start reading it while eating breakfast and then make sure to finish it before leaving the house. If you can find 30 minutes, you can find the time to at least skim 1 article or book chapter a day. And really, to be successful, that's the minimum you'll need to do.

I don't think it's technically impossible but it is highly unlikely because of what the two grants prioritize.

If you really want to study both subjects, you might want to look into a master's program, rather than a PhD program. At the doctoral level, you really do need to specialize. It's about what you want to study and work on for 4-8 years of your life. If that's math, then apply to math programs. If it's not, then don't apply to math programs.

This seems unusual to me. UNC, for example, still seems to offer coverage for TAs, though there's a contribution: https://campushealth.unc.edu/charges-insurance/student-blue-ra-ta-and-postdoc-insurance . The state institutions in Arizona are unable to drop coverage for grad student employees working as a TA or RA, or at least that's what I was told years ago (something about a legislative mandate at the state level that they provide such coverage). That said, I've heard that VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond) did something similar by dropping their coverage/payment for health insurance for RAs and then forcing them to buy it on the healthcare exchange instead... Can't recall all the specifics though.

There's lots of advice around the internet about how to prep for a Skype interview. You want to be cognizant of the camera placement, the background lighting, and the sound. Do a test call or three beforehand to make sure you can be easily seen and heard.

paulwece, definitely make an appointment and follow the standard procedure for meeting with a dean. At this point, you need to just stop stressing out about this. It doesn't matter whether you talk to the dean on Aug 17, 26, or Sept 8. If the petition is successful, then the change will happen pretty quickly and, you can always send updated transcripts out after your applications if you need to. The other thing though is that your GPA isn't that bad even with the semester you don't want to count.

c3honey84, you might also want to consult this thread, where there was a discussion about what to do when there's a TA scheduling conflict.

Because I just linked to this post for someone else, I'm wondering how this turned out, maelia8, or if it's still unresolved?

Having done my graduate degrees at two different institutions and then worked at two more, I can say that yes, the A is pretty much the default. There were people in my master's program who got grades lower than an A in one particular course but they also weren't doing the reading, participating in class discussions, etc. So their grade was a warning/red flag (as fuzzylogician says above) about their performance. Pretty much all of those students subsequently graduated. And, this was not a graduate degree in basket weaving, just fyi. There was an entire discussion about whether PhD grades matter here that you might want to consult as well.

Hi kristopher, Please don't post the same thing in multiple subforums here. Is there a particular reason you want to do your MPH in Canada?

I'm confused. Is there no opportunity to take quantitative courses in your program at all? It seems like doing a second master's would be very expensive so I'd think about other ways you could acquire the skills/knowledge you need. You might also think about what jobs you could do after graduating that would help you get the skills you think you need. My guess is that there are jobs doing policy analysis that don't require a separate master's in statistics but focus instead on research and data collection. If you got a job like that, you could learn the stats and math you need either on the job or part-time on the side. Good luck!

In my experience, no, the TA schedule doesn't change that often. If I were in your shoes, I would've talked to the GTA director in advance of the assignments going out to explain your circumstances/situation. In my own graduate program, accommodations in scheduling were made to deal with people who have children, sick relatives to care for, or other commitments that meant they couldn't be on campus on a varying schedule or were only available in the afternoon or morning. You also shouldn't be asked to drop a class for a TA assignment. This isn't the exact same discussion but it is pretty similar. Since your only option now is to ask other people to switch with you, get on that ASAP. Target those that have the sections you want and email them. If possible, talk to them in person, on the phone, or via Skype. Be polite and explain your situation. Hopefully, someone has more flexibility and can switch with you. Good luck!

The only surefire way to fail is to never try. You can absolutely get an A- or higher in every class, especially since the default grade in most graduate courses is an A. Well, I mean you can unless you don't try. Talk to some more senior graduate students in the program to get a sense of how hard one has to work to do well in coursework. I seriously think that you're letting your anxiety get the better of you. Try to remember why you applied and why you ever wanted to pursue a PhD in this field. If those reasons still exist, if you still want a career that requires the PhD, then you're letting a few days of panic (which, again, happen to everyone) derail your entire future.

Today on NPR there was a story about collaboration and authorship that made me laugh. 5000 authors on a single paper? http://www.npr.org/2015/08/12/431959428/research-biologist-coins-term-kilo-author-for-scientific-journal-articles