Auditing classes - thoughts?

[iowaguy]

In my new PhD program, there are more classes that I want to take than I will have time.  Plus I have read a PhD student should try to minimize classwork so as to leave more time for research.

 

Which got me thinking, maybe auditing classes is a good compromise?  Would get to know different professors that way (recruit some of them as committee members) and exposure to new thoughts/ideas in classes without "homework" that would detract from research time.

 

Anyone out there use auditing as a strategy in your PhD program?  How do you choose which classes to actually enroll in vs. which ones to just audit?

[zabius]

I know plenty of grad students who have audited classes in the past; I think it's totally fine and, as you said, a good way to learn some new material without being bogged down by assignments and whatnot.

 

Before you do this, though, be sure to check with the instructors to make sure that it's okay for you to audit their courses (it almost definitely will be, but it's courteous to ask first). Also be sure to check with your advisor... even if you won't be bogged down with homework and exams, s/he might still prefer it if you spent less time in a classroom and more time in the lab whenever possible. If the courses in question are somehow relevant to your field of study, though, I can't imagine that your advisor would have a problem if you audited a few here and there.

 

Of course, if you're a scientist who is looking to audit classes in, say, medieval literature or music theory or something... prepare for your advisor to say "no!" I wish it weren't true (I'm a biologist with a thing for the classics and linguistics), but you really should try to limit yourself to courses that tie into your discipline somehow. Given that you asked about auditing as a means to make connections and meet committee members, it sounds like you already know that. :-)

 

As for which classes to audit vs. take for credit... I'd suggest that you take all of your core requirements as well as the courses that are particularly relevant to your specific project for credit (i.e. actually enroll in the graded option for them). For all other courses (i.e. ones that are just a little bit related to your project or that would primarily serve to just give you a broader foundation in your field of study), go for the audit option.

 

I plan to do this as well, actually. The lab that I have settled on is cross-listed between the entomology department and the neuroscience department, and so there are many courses in both departments that sound both interesting and highly useful to me.

Edited April 3, 2013 by zabius

[fuzzylogician]

I first took all the courses required by my program for credit, then since finishing my requirements I usually sit in on 1-2 additional classes per semester. I choose them purely according to interest; the people on my committee are people who I meet with for research purposes, not (necessarily) the ones whose classes I take. I think it's a good idea to first do the courses you need and only then the additional ones you want, because as you'll find out time for research is scarce and precious. You may have to pass on a course you really want to take or you may have to miss some/not do the readings/ etc, because research must take precedence over courses -- but you can only do that if you are not a full student in the course. Better to get the stuff you need to do out of the way early, because you'll only get busier after that.

[JenCook]

Auditing classes is a good way to get exposure to topics that could possible cross over into your own discipline, especially for cross-disciplinary topics, such as between biomedical and scientific computing, as they do at the UofU's SCI Institute. Of course, the time you'll be spending in class could also be spent doing research...there are only so many hours in the day.

[CarlieE]

It's definitely worth doing, but as mentioned above, you should check with your department as well since some courses (at my school) are for "grade" only and not auditable while others are and there may be limits to how many you can audit and details like that. 

[Eigen]

Also worth noting that I've never found it worth going through the official audit process. I'm sure it's university dependent, but all the classes I was interested in, I just dropped in on the teachers office, and said "Hey, I'm a grad student in XX department, and the class you're teaching really interests me, but my research is keeping me very busy. Do you mind if I unobtrusively sit in as I have time?"

 

It's worked every time for me. Rarely do they mind another interested student sitting in, unless there are some severe space issues. I've sat in on several classes in different departments this way. 

 

This has even worked for friends in my program with language classes- they want to hone another language, but don't have time (and their advisors wouldn't want them to) take the class full time. Most of the language instructors are happy to have someone that's just really interested in learning the language, and usually grad students make polite students.