Difference between undergrad and graduate coursework

[peternewman89]

How would you say that graduate courses differ from their undergraduate counterparts? I've only had the opportunity to take one 200-level course, a seminar on democratic theory that was split between grad students and undergrads.  That course, though, wasn't particularly different from any of my undergrad seminars, with similar quantities of reading, albeit slightly more advanced and specific in nature.  I'm trying to figure out what to expect the differences will be as I get ready to start my PhD.  Of course there will be differences based on institutional style and each specific instructor, but what other differences might there be?

[hawkeye78]

The biggest difference is the reading/writing load between grad school and undergrad. The type of critical writing in grad school is usually very different. If it is a pro-seminar on IR, CP, American then the reading load is likely to be even larger. Substantive classes usually have 5-10 articles a week on average. Many seminars will have you write 3-7 critiques/reaction papers which are 1-5 pages in length.  Either a research design paper or a full scale research paper is usually required for each class. The standards between those at the grad level and undergrad level is usually pretty significant but of course that depends on the university. 

Edited March 19, 2013 by hawkeye78

[IRToni]

For me, the big differences were (1) quantity and nature of readings, (2) class discussions and (3) quantity and nature of assignemnts.

About (1): Most of my classes have between 150 and 300 pages of reading per week, usually quite a lot of it technical and/or historical, making them harder to read and often requiring some background. Tying in with (2), it is generally expected that we depart significantly from them in class discussions, and add additional knowledge, contextualize them etc. One of the big new things for me in grad school was that instead of focusing on critiquing the articles, we are often supposed to comment on how to make them stronger, which other literature/methods etc. you could/should add to them in order to make the argument better etc.

(3) In undergrad, I had both short research papers (15 pages) and exams to write, and a lot of presentation. In grad school, presentations are fewer, and often take the form of presenting your research instead of a pre-chosen topic.

Just FYI: Last semester, I took 6 classes, together, I wrote four 3-page short papers, five 6-page short papers, three 25-page long papers, two Take Home exams (each 8-10 pages essay-style), had two research presentations, and one other presentation.

This semester, also six classes, one of which is Statistics/Econometrics: one 6-page paper, two 10-page papers, one 20-page paper, two TH exams of 10 pages each, one 25-page research paper, one 15-page paper; one research presentation, two discussion leader presentations.

In addition, the expected quality of assignments is very different to undergrad, at least in my experience

[wtncffts]

One very easy way of at least getting a sense of the more concrete aspects is to look at a syllabus or two of the kinds of courses you'd be interested in (or, if you know where you're going, checking that dept website for the actual syllabuses of courses you'll be taking). So, yeah, in general, more reading (which, if you haven't learned to by know, should generally NOT be read all the way through linearly - you're probably never going to get through it all, and you'll retain even less).

 

There's greater expectation of active and intelligent participation in class discussion, though the extent of that difference depends on your particular undergrad experience.

 

I would say that six courses / semester is atypical; I don't want to assume things but if the above poster's 'location' is accurate it may be a Europe/North America difference. We had a lot of presentations - nearly every week, which usually took the form of presenting and critiquing a book or set of readings. I think the actual quantity of written work is highly dependent on particular instructors - I had some courses that required a 5-6 page paper every week, others that did the standard term paper. On the other hand, I never had any kind of final exam, either take home or in class.   

[Tupamaros]

For me, the big differences were (1) quantity and nature of readings, (2) class discussions and (3) quantity and nature of assignemnts.

About (1): Most of my classes have between 150 and 300 pages of reading per week, usually quite a lot of it technical and/or historical, making them harder to read and often requiring some background. Tying in with (2), it is generally expected that we depart significantly from them in class discussions, and add additional knowledge, contextualize them etc. One of the big new things for me in grad school was that instead of focusing on critiquing the articles, we are often supposed to comment on how to make them stronger, which other literature/methods etc. you could/should add to them in order to make the argument better etc.

(3) In undergrad, I had both short research papers (15 pages) and exams to write, and a lot of presentation. In grad school, presentations are fewer, and often take the form of presenting your research instead of a pre-chosen topic.

Just FYI: Last semester, I took 6 classes, together, I wrote four 3-page short papers, five 6-page short papers, three 25-page long papers, two Take Home exams (each 8-10 pages essay-style), had two research presentations, and one other presentation.

This semester, also six classes, one of which is Statistics/Econometrics: one 6-page paper, two 10-page papers, one 20-page paper, two TH exams of 10 pages each, one 25-page research paper, one 15-page paper; one research presentation, two discussion leader presentations.

In addition, the expected quality of assignments is very different to undergrad, at least in my experience

Where are you studying IR Toni, if you don't mind saying?