robot_hamster

Maybe it would help to think of it this way. At my other job, I have a boss. I don't call my boss Ms. ______, I call her by her first name. If you can't think of professors as colleagues, then try thinking of them as bosses.

Honestly, if they say it's okay to call them by their first name then call them by their first name. I understand the weirdness factor. I went to a very traditional school for undergrad. You didn't call a professor by their first name. It was always Dr. ______. If you had a good relationship with them, then you could just call them by their last name and leave off the Dr. So it was weird coming to such a relaxed environment for grad school. So are you just weirded out by calling them by their first name because it feels too personal? I guess I never thought about such a thing making you feel vulnerable. Now that I do think about it, I guess I could see that. But do you really think your professor is going to hit on you? Or is it just a rumor that you heard?

I don't think calling them "Dr. Whatever" is going to offend them.

Who is this health care professional you wish to see? Does your school have a counseling center? The reason I ask is because most schools have something and you can usually get in to see some one right away. It might help to just talk to someone about your problems, at least until you can get in to see someone who can assess your condition and prescribe something (if they think it's necessary). I understand what you're going through and I've been depressed myself. But having someone to physically talk to can help.

I sure hope not! lol Mine is said to have a pretty high unemployment rate.

What's wrong a discussion-style approach to learning the material? I like discussion sessions and find I learn more from listening to other people. Aside from being occasionally annoyed when someone completely monopolizes the discussion, I find them quite enjoyable.

TypeA - Thanks for the help! I did email them, but they haven't replied yet. It is the weekend now, so I guess I'll have to wait until Monday. I hope they reply then. I am getting so frustrated with this, so if I'm still not getting anywhere I might take you up on your offer.

I was thinking there had to be a generic template or something that had a the "legal" stuff in it. I just couldn't find it on their website anywhere. Thanks though, I will try emailing them.

I am working on a project that will require personal interviews. I was told that if I wanted to use it in the future (e.g. in a thesis, conference, etc), then I need IRB approval. I am currently at a stand still because the form wants you to upload files like the consent form you plan to use. I have never done something like this before and I am very confused as to what I should do. Is there a place where someone can get a generic form? I have looked all over the IRB website for my school and cannot find anything.

Eigen has a good point. Have you been reading through all the recently published articles in this area? Is there something that jumps out at you and really interests you? From there, you can try to look for gaps. Why didn't they do ______? Could ______ be done and would it be valuable?

It feels pretty darn cold when it is the indoor temperature in the middle of winter. I often have difficulty studying because all I can think about is how cold I feel. The temperature outside is way colder than that though. I'm talking about the middle of winter when it is single digits outside and the snow refuses to melt.

You sound like me a few months ago. I was going through a bit of an identity crisis and was freaking out because I was halfway through a program that I didn't think was the right choice. Being halfway through the program, I myself have decided to stick it out. You are just a few weeks in, so it really is up to you what you want to do. My thought was, what does cultural studies look like at your school? Have you spoken to any professors in that area? Perhaps if one takes a liking to you, you could simply switch over to that and keep your funding.

Wow, I am speechless. I cannot imagine paying that much for heating. When it is REALLY cold, my gas bill will shoot up to $175. This is with the thermostat turned way down too, so I suppose it could be a little higher. My husband sets it at 60 degrees at night, then I found out he was letting it drop to 57 degrees at night. I wanted to strangle him! No wonder I was waking up in the morning and my nose would be ice cold.

They don't care at my school. My adviser is fully aware of what I do on my weekends. Not too many people are funded in my program. The positions that do exist, do not pay very much. So it isn't unusual for people to have "2nd jobs". I am currently working on a MS though, not a PhD. I'm not sure if it is really in their best interest. Haha! I mean, they are getting cheap labor. But yes, I can definitely see where it can start to interfere with progress in the program. Believe me, I have a hard time keeping up with stuff and often wish I wasn't stuck at work on the weekends. At least none of my classes have exams this semester, just papers.

I know it has to do with where you live, but it would still be nice. Like I said, I have to work a part-time job on the weekends just to make ends meet.

Wow! You get $1300 a month? I wish!

As far as difficulty-level goes, I haven't really had any problems. To my surprise, some of my classes have even been "easier" than I was initially expecting. For undergrad, I went to a private college where expectations were high. I am used to having to put a lot of effort into things and to hand in "professional-quality" work. I now attend a large state university and it feels like the expectations there are not quite as high (although it depends on the class). This doesn't mean that I haven't had difficulty with my grad-level classes. I have shared on here before that I SO do not fit in with the majority of students. Our ways of thinking about the world are very different. It is good to exposed to different ways of thinking and points of view, but it can feel very overwhelming at times. Suddenly, I find myself reading stuff that I wouldn't normally read to prepare myself for class discussions. It can be very frustrating! So I think everyone probably has feelings that grad school is not the way they were expecting at times. It can come in different forms though.

I totally agree with you. The publication wouldn't be peer-reviewed, so it would essentially be worthless. I was just creeped out when I first got the email because I couldn't figure out how they knew these things about me. I didn't think my thesis was posted online anywhere. I didn't go to a large school for undergrad.

Hmm, maybe I am just special.

I received an email today regarding my senior thesis. This company called LAP Lambert Academic Publishing wanted to publish my thesis into a book. I was suspicious since they had my first and last names turned around when addressing the letter. What is scary is that they knew the name of my undergraduate institution and what I majored in. I googled the company and found that it is a "legitimate" company that publishes people's theses and dissertations on Amazon and then charge people some inflated price to buy it. I also read that the company asks for your bank account information so you can receive "royalties" from the publication. Still sounds like a scam to me, even if it is an actual company. Has anyone else received this email? The personalization was actually kind of disturbing. Especially since the email came to my email address at my current institution. How do they find this information?

People actually save money from their stipends? Haha! I have to work an extra part time job just to make ends meet! My stipend is less this semester than it was last semester as well, so that makes it tougher. From my paycheck at my job, $20 automatically goes into a savings account (so that's every 2 weeks). Sometimes the money doesn't stay in there though. I am often tempted to take it out because I need gas or something toward the end of the month (when funds are running low). I suppose if I had a larger stipend, I would probably put a small amount toward savings. However, I would rather put extra money toward my student loan debt (from undergrad). I don't "have" to pay on it right now, but it would have been nice to have the ability to pay it down a bit before I have to enter the "real world".

There is no difference between masters and PhD courses at my school. Grad level classes are just grad level classes.

runonsentence - We actually use a check system like you described for the daily homework. Students still want feedback though. They "need" to know if they are doing things "right". I have only been giving feedback on select assignments, but the general feedback to the entire class about strengths/weaknesses is a good idea. I might try that. I don't mind answering emails. They usually aren't simple questions like you described though. They are usually more complicated questions, like they don't understand the definition of a term or how a concept should be applied.

I am much more efficient as a deadline approaches.

Sigaba - Wow, this was a very thorough answer! So you know, the students have access to rubrics prior to completing the assignment. I have no control over the assignments, they have all been predetermined by the professor. Most students prefer to ask their questions through email, so I do spend a lot of time answering emails. runonsentence - These are daily low-stakes homework assignments and then larger, mid-stake write-up type assignments. It's just that there are so many of them. It's difficult to get them turned around in a timely manner.