What is the first year of grad school like?

[chrisscoff]

Dear Reader,

For those of you who are current grad students in the department of sociology, I wanted to know if you could give me some insight regarding the first year of graduate school. I was told that it was like finals week every day, is this true?

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

Also interested in what information others may have for us.

Any words of wisdom from current grads would be greatly appreciated.

[Egalitarian]

Since I am transitioning to sociology from another field I cannot speak particularly to sociology grad school. However, my experience in another master's degree revealed that it is not that much more work than undergrad, but that the work you are doing is different and requires more self-determination to not procrastinate. Instead of doing lots of little things all throughout the term, there are more papers/projects that are all due around the end of the term. Also, when there are tests, they are more likely to be essay based and less likely to be multiple choice/matching. It seems that there is less regurgitation of what you've memorized and more thought work and creation of written materials.

It might seem more intimidating at first, and in some ways it is more intimidating, but if you continue to work on things all throughout the term and do not get behind, it is not that much more time consuming than undergrad and should feel like more meaningful work. Just be very careful about long periods of self-directed time and your own tendencies to self-sabotage through various time-wasting mechanisms. Make a master schedule for your term with special focus on when papers/projects are due and include when you plan on getting smaller parts of these bigger things done. And if you have days that are unscheduled, create a schedule for yourself and you'll do fine.

[barilicious]

It sucks.

[tt503]

It sucks.

Seriously? Here's the life of a typical first year:

You take classes and get paid for it. That's it. You have about 500 pages of reading a week. You might have some response papers due, but it's mostly your job to generate discussions about the readings. You might have a midterm paper (not always true), you'll almost always have a final paper. Most of my classes aren't lecture based, they are discussions. I can't wait until my "first year" in a Ph.D., because after working throughout my undergraduate and two Master's degrees, it'll be the easiest year I'll ever have.

Wait until later when you're doing the same amount of reading AND grading 70 papers a week AND preparing for discussion sections that you TA for AND writing conference papers AND preparing for your exams. First year is a dream. :-)

Edited April 7, 2012 by tt503

[chrisscoff]

Since I am transitioning to sociology from another field I cannot speak particularly to sociology grad school. However, my experience in another master's degree revealed that it is not that much more work than undergrad, but that the work you are doing is different and requires more self-determination to not procrastinate. Instead of doing lots of little things all throughout the term, there are more papers/projects that are all due around the end of the term. Also, when there are tests, they are more likely to be essay based and less likely to be multiple choice/matching. It seems that there is less regurgitation of what you've memorized and more thought work and creation of written materials.

It might seem more intimidating at first, and in some ways it is more intimidating, but if you continue to work on things all throughout the term and do not get behind, it is not that much more time consuming than undergrad and should feel like more meaningful work. Just be very careful about long periods of self-directed time and your own tendencies to self-sabotage through various time-wasting mechanisms. Make a master schedule for your term with special focus on when papers/projects are due and include when you plan on getting smaller parts of these bigger things done. And if you have days that are unscheduled, create a schedule for yourself and you'll do fine.

Yikes! I'm kinda scared now.. I am a big procrastinator so I'll definitely have to work on that before I go into grad school. Thanks for responding! I hope things work out for you!

[chrisscoff]

Seriously? Here's the life of a typical first year:

You take classes and get paid for it. That's it. You have about 500 pages of reading a week. You might have some response papers due, but it's mostly your job to generate discussions about the readings. You might have a midterm paper (not always true), you'll almost always have a final paper. Most of my classes aren't lecture based, they are discussions. I can't wait until my "first year" in a Ph.D., because after working throughout my undergraduate and two Master's degrees, it'll be the easiest year I'll ever have.

Wait until later when you're doing the same amount of reading AND grading 70 papers a week AND preparing for discussion sections that you TA for AND writing conference papers AND preparing for your exams. First year is a dream. :-)

O.M.G.! Are you allowed to TA during your first year? How does Teaching Assistant positions work? I assume that only desirable candidates get this type of funding, then there are the others who were accepted but weren't good enough to get funding. I love discussion oriented classes, as long as there are no ignorant comments. Currently with my undergrad classes I have two scenarios - the teacher hates me because I call people out for saying racist, sexist, ignorant comments, or the students hate me because I am the only one who participates. Is participation apart of the grade? Or is it just something that is expected?

[tt503]

It differs by program and funding package. Most programs I've seen seem to only let students TA after the first year (sometimes, not until the third). TA positions are usually indicated in your funding package contract (or how TAships are negotiated is generally listed by the department on their website).

Participation is most of your grade in discussion-based courses (this doesn't count classes like statistics, etc..) If you don't phrase things tactfully, people will probably not like you very much if you're confrontational. You should establish a good rapport with your cohort because you work together for a lot of it. For example, one of my courses was 3 hours long and we (the class consisting of 5 people) were responsible for the entire class (one student assigned as moderator each week). This isn't entirely uncommon. Mostly, you try to (1) sum up the article/book by looking at themes and authorial voice (2) compare/contrast readings (other assignments, author's earlier or later works) (3) discuss implications of the work on the field/future study/your work. It shouldn't be a personal attack, though there are times where disagreements are had (e.g. if you think Durkheim was a positivist). The papers are more of just a synthesis of what you talk about, basically if you've done the work, you can write a 12 page paper on it. Nothing to it, really.

O.M.G.! Are you allowed to TA during your first year? How does Teaching Assistant positions work? I assume that only desirable candidates get this type of funding, then there are the others who were accepted but weren't good enough to get funding. I love discussion oriented classes, as long as there are no ignorant comments. Currently with my undergrad classes I have two scenarios - the teacher hates me because I call people out for saying racist, sexist, ignorant comments, or the students hate me because I am the only one who participates. Is participation apart of the grade? Or is it just something that is expected?

Edited April 7, 2012 by tt503

[barilicious]

Seriously? Here's the life of a typical first year:

You take classes and get paid for it. That's it. You have about 500 pages of reading a week. You might have some response papers due, but it's mostly your job to generate discussions about the readings. You might have a midterm paper (not always true), you'll almost always have a final paper. Most of my classes aren't lecture based, they are discussions. I can't wait until my "first year" in a Ph.D., because after working throughout my undergraduate and two Master's degrees, it'll be the easiest year I'll ever have.

Wait until later when you're doing the same amount of reading AND grading 70 papers a week AND preparing for discussion sections that you TA for AND writing conference papers AND preparing for your exams. First year is a dream. :-)

Yes really. One, I am TAing during my first year, and I have discussion sections, and I'm grading 70 papers.

Two, I am presenting at 2 conferences this year, and I have a forthcoming publication, so no, I'm not just taking classes...

Those aside - it sucks because you don't really get to take classes you want. I got to choose 1 class my first year. Besides that I'm in theory for a whole year (aka reading white men) and in statistics a whole year (even though I do qualitative methods). I understand the point of taking these classes, so I don't need to be told about that, nonetheless, it sucks being in classes you don't care about. That, for me, is where it sucks!

[Karlito]

But if I remember correctly, you sounded pretty stoked to be at UT-Austin, right? Still happy nevertheless?

[barilicious]

But if I remember correctly, you sounded pretty stoked to be at UT-Austin, right? Still happy nevertheless?

Yes, I'm beyond happy that I'm here and that I chose UT. That still does not negate the fact that the first year is not hard, especially if the required courses aren't really what you do, and if you aren't on fellowship or whatever else. Many students do TA their first year (and are expected to be productive with publishing and conferences), so not everyone is just getting paid to sit in classes.

Edited April 7, 2012 by barilicious

[chrisscoff]

It differs by program and funding package. Most programs I've seen seem to only let students TA after the first year (sometimes, not until the third). TA positions are usually indicated in your funding package contract (or how TAships are negotiated is generally listed by the department on their website).

Participation is most of your grade in discussion-based courses (this doesn't count classes like statistics, etc..) If you don't phrase things tactfully, people will probably not like you very much if you're confrontational. You should establish a good rapport with your cohort because you work together for a lot of it. For example, one of my courses was 3 hours long and we (the class consisting of 5 people) were responsible for the entire class (one student assigned as moderator each week). This isn't entirely uncommon. Mostly, you try to (1) sum up the article/book by looking at themes and authorial voice (2) compare/contrast readings (other assignments, author's earlier or later works) (3) discuss implications of the work on the field/future study/your work. It shouldn't be a personal attack, though there are times where disagreements are had (e.g. if you think Durkheim was a positivist). The papers are more of just a synthesis of what you talk about, basically if you've done the work, you can write a 12 page paper on it. Nothing to it, really.

Thanks for the advice, however it is not that I say things in a mean way, except when i call them ignorant, it's just that there are a lot of people in the program who are just doing sociology because they think it is an easy major. Also being in the middle of Indiana people are very ignorant about other cultures, races, and sexual orientations. The first and only problem I have had a problem with a professor ignoring my hand during class is my women's studies class this semester. The professor nor teachers assistant corrects ignorant comments and I think that these individuals aren't going to learn anything if they are not corrected. An example of this, is the fact that we were discussing rape in the military and a young man said that it's essentially the woman's fault because she put herself in the situation. I immediately called the person ignorant and said that they are reinforcing the rape culture that is currently present. I am generally not a confrontational person so I get along with everyone. I am not a public speaker though, so I am worried about that. I have bad anxiety which causes me to get nervous in front of large groups.

[tt503]

Yes, I'm beyond happy that I'm here and that I chose UT. That still does not negate the fact that the first year is not hard, especially if the required courses aren't really what you do, and if you aren't on fellowship or whatever else. Many students do TA their first year (and are expected to be productive with publishing and conferences), so not everyone is just getting paid to sit in classes.

I never said it was the case with all grad students. It obviously depends on the funding package. This has just been the standard in my experience, and I've been in graduate school a long time (six years).

[barilicious]

I never said it was the case with all grad students. It obviously depends on the funding package. This has just been the standard in my experience, and I've been in graduate school a long time (six years).

I know I'm just offering a different perspective. Good luck with your apps!

[giacomo]

Yes really. One, I am TAing during my first year, and I have discussion sections, and I'm grading 70 papers.

Two, I am presenting at 2 conferences this year, and I have a forthcoming publication, so no, I'm not just taking classes...

Those aside - it sucks because you don't really get to take classes you want. I got to choose 1 class my first year. Besides that I'm in theory for a whole year (aka reading white men) and in statistics a whole year (even though I do qualitative methods). I understand the point of taking these classes, so I don't need to be told about that, nonetheless, it sucks being in classes you don't care about. That, for me, is where it sucks!

I like this advice. I think it's one closest to the life of an ordinary grad student.

[tt503]

I like this advice. I think it's one closest to the life of an ordinary grad student.

Ordinary grad student, yes. Ordinary first year? No. You might take a year of theory and stats while TA-ing. But not many first years are doing conferences or publishing. Andt most of the first years who are doing these things are either savants or incredibly underprepared. There's not a lot of middle ground on that.

Edited April 7, 2012 by tt503

[giacomo]

Ordinary grad student, yes. Ordinary first year? No. You might take a year of theory and stats while TA-ing. But not many first years are doing conferences or publishing. Andt most of the first years who are doing these things are either savants or incredibly underprepared. There's not a lot of middle ground on that.

I see. By "doing conferences," though, did he and you mean actively presenting papers or merely attending them?

Edited April 7, 2012 by giacomo

[giacomo]

Sorry, wrong post

Edited April 7, 2012 by giacomo

[tt503]

I see. Did he or you mean presenting papers by "doing conferences," though?

Presenting, organizing panels, the like. Some people present at graduate student conferences, which are (generally) easier to get accepted to and don't require as rigorous of a methodology as a national conference for a discipline. There are lots of variables, but generally advisers don't want students to present right away because they want them to have a good working knowledge of theory/subfields to apply to academic inquiries and many people coming from undergrad just aren't equipped to do that. Plus, their work is associated with the adviser. After comps/exams is when that kind of stuff is generally encouraged (especially after language exams when you can do research in French/German/etc.).

I'm not saying this is applicable in every case and I'm sure there are many talented people in this thread. I'm just trying to depict a realistic picture of the first year of graduate school.

Edited April 7, 2012 by tt503

[barilicious]

I see. By "doing conferences," though, did he and you mean actively presenting papers or merely attending them?

Half of my first year cohort, including myself, will be presenting at ASA this year as well as at other conferences (some at PAA and so forth).

[tt503]

Half of my first year cohort, including myself, will be presenting at ASA this year as well as at other conferences (some at PAA and so forth).

You're also at one of the top programs. I wouldn't say that sample is representative.

[giacomo]

Thanks, @tt503 and @barilicious. Good advice all around.

@barilicious, are you and your colleagues presenting the papers written during your first year? Are you presenting them at grad students-only conferences?

[barilicious]

You're also at one of the top programs. I wouldn't say that sample is representative.

I completely agree, but most people on this forum are applying to top programs.

[tt503]

I completely agree, but most people on this forum are applying to top programs.

Applying and getting in are completely different things, as I'm sure I'll find out first hand in the next year. ;-)

[chrisscoff]

Applying and getting in are completely different things, as I'm sure I'll find out first hand in the next year. ;-)

Did you respond to my questions? I didn't mean to come off mean..