Tell people you are "phd/ masters student" or " graduate student?

[md152]

What title do you give when people ask what you do?

Just curious

[ahlatsiawa]

In my country people aren't familiar with the term "graduate student". Based on the peculiarities of our home language, they are more likely to think that it means a student who has already graduated rather than a student who is actually currently studying on Master's/PhD level. That is why I would opt for the first option from the choices you have given.

Edited June 19, 2014 by ahlatsiawa

[GeoDUDE!]

I say graduate student unless its a very specific question; I've always found the distinction pretentious even if its valid. 

[Quantum Buckyball]

definitely PhD student.... 

[raneck]

In social situations, I say graduate student. People unfamiliar with grad school may not know that there is a distinction anyway. Otherwise, it is always interesting to see if people ask for clarification, assume, or just don't care. In professional/academic situations I use the correct title.

Edited June 19, 2014 by raneck

[danieleWrites]

"I'm in college. Someday I hope to be a professor." When asked what I'm studying, I will add: "I've been in English long enough to learn that proper grammar is decided by the dialect a person speaks, not by a book. I've totally retired my grammar vigilante cape and tights."

I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of my education, but the whole English Teacher Horror Show gets old and as much as I would love to hold forth on my dissertation plans, no one really wants to hear it, except people who are also in graduate school and who find the distinction between phd, masters, and undergrad an important one. To them, I tell them I'm in a PhD program.

[fuzzylogician]

Graduate student, unless it's someone who cares (an academic, or anyone who asks for clarification) or someone who speaks a language that forces you to make the distinction between PhD and Masters student.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

"I've been in English long enough to learn that proper grammar is decided by the dialect a person speaks, not by a book. I've totally retired my grammar vigilante cape and tights."

I learned that freshman year of linguistics. 

[danieleWrites]

I learned that freshman year of linguistics.

My freshman year was, well, in Korean. Grammar was king. Well, actually, following the UCMJ was king, but grammar was up there.

[TakeruK]

I say whatever term that has the most meaning to whoever is asking. For most of my family, they do not really know the words "undergraduate" and "graduate" (and more confusing "postgraduate student" is the same thing as "graduate student"). So, I just say "I'm working on my PhD" and that's something they understand, because they recognize the degree title.

 

Actually, for most people not familiar with academia, I just tell them that I'm working as a researcher and occasionally teach because a description of what I do is a better answer to their question than the label of graduate/PhD student. Also, the label of "student" implies that I'm not getting paid and I am tired of hearing random relatives who don't know me telling me to "get a job" etc.

 

In the US, I usually say graduate student to most English speaking academic people because that's basically synonymous with PhD student in my field (the people with Masters in my field are those who left early or just got it on the way to a PhD). But I don't really think about it, sometimes I just blurt out PhD student. 

[Scarf in the wind]

I tell people I'm going to be a grad student. I clarify if they keep asking.

[bakalamba]

Graduate student. If questioned, I'll tell them it's in Education, but I get wary of this because there's usually two responses: 1) "You're a teacher!" 2) "Let me tell you how to solve the problems of school/University/the entire U.S. education system".

 

I agree with Geodude, I think volunteering MA or PhD is pretentious, unless it's necessary.

 

When I visit elementary or middle schools for research, I tell them I'm in 20th grade, and watch them do the math in their heads.

[WriteAndKnit]

Grad student. If I need to specify further, I tell them I'm researching and writing. Yay, humanities!

[spellbanisher]

I say I am a panhandler, and then ask for money.

[Maleficent999]

I say grad student in casual conversation and then I'll correct people if they incorrectly assume that means I'm working on my Master's. I've had people argue with me about what degree I'm working toward. Even people in Master's programs don't seem to understand how I could be in a PhD program without completing a Master's degree first.

[I am not sure yet]

In my country people aren't familiar with the term "graduate student". Based on the peculiarities of our home language, they are more likely to think that it means a student who has already graduated rather than a student who is actually currently studying on Master's/PhD level. That is why I would opt for the first option from the choices you have given.

 

The same happens with me, but because our educational system is different. If i say I'm a graduate student, they think I'm still in college. So, in my coutry, I say PhD student, but it the US, saying you're a grad student makes perfect sense!

[reinhard]

Good question, I am probably gonna go with "grad student" if someone asks me and only if the person wants to know the degree I am working towards, I will specify.

[surefire]

PhD student. Not a pretentious, status-seeking thing (one hopes), just a regional custom.

In Canada, one typically does get the MA before a PhD - or one can complete the MA and opt not to continue to a PhD level without the US-style "terminal" language. So, it can be a distinction worth making, as far as progress and aims; by identifying that I'm a PhD student, I'm indicating, typically, that I already have the MA and I'm at least 2-years deep into this academic gauntlet. I'll go ahead and hedge this to say: this tendency is steeped in other etiquette-esque stuff (ex. when to call profs by their first names) whereby I just got accustomed to doing a thing by aping senior students. So the identification developed from my own experience in Canadian institutions (if other Canadian/Canada-based GC-ers have had a different experience or gleaned a different impression, I wouldn't want to dismiss that!).

 

I actually had a funny mini-crisis over business cards recently, where I was told that it is common in my academic circles to distinguish WITHIN the PhD level to identify as either a "PhD Student" or "PhD Candidate" (the latter meaning that you're ABD). While I'm fine to let that distinction stand in my e-mail signature/business cards, I wouldn't offer it in conversation.

 

ETA:

The graduate student pervasive and exhausting over-thinking kind of gets all over everything eh?

Edited June 20, 2014 by surefire

[TakeruK]

My Canadian education experience is the same as surefire's  

 

In Canada, I have only ever met one person that insisted on being referred to as a PhD Candidate instead of a "PhD student". 

 

In the US, I have yet to hear anyone refer to themselves as that outside of an email signature. Candidacy requirements vary a lot from program to program so it's not always very meaningful. In my current program, candidacy is satisfied as soon as you form a thesis committee and finish all your course requirements and get them to sign off on a plan to finish--there's no exams or anything! So I think many of us in my program feel like candidacy isn't really an accomplishment, but I know other programs at my school have actual exams and/or oral defenses for candidacy!

[RunnerGrad]

I tell people I'm a grad student.  If they then ask what I'm studying I say I'm doing a Master's of Public Health in Community Nutrition.

 

As surefire said, in Canada it is the norm to complete a master's before a PhD.  In fact, to my knowledge, only a handful of PhD programs admit students without a PhD.  The master's degree is an admission requirement for almost any PhD program, and certainly for all the programs I'm familiar with in my field (nutrition/dietetics).  Many programs will even specify that they require a master's degree that included a thesis, to distinguish research master's from professional master's programs.  I'm fortunate that my program is both a professional and a research master's, so I will be eligible to apply for PhD programs upon completion of my master's.

 

I'm an older, non-traditional student (although I'm told I don't look my age), so most people assumed I was a graduate student even when I was an undergrad completing a second bachelor's degree. *shrug*  If asked, I've always told people what I was studying. 

[harrisonfjord]

Graduate student, I'm in a master's program. If they ask, I'll specify, but otherwise most people I talk to don't care. 

[St Andrews Lynx]

Graduate student. 

Usually. 

If I'm back in the UK I tell people I'm a PhD or "postgraduate" student (you become a "graduate" after you complete your undergrad degree).

[TakeruK]

If I'm back in the UK I tell people I'm a PhD or "postgraduate" student (you become a "graduate" after you complete your undergrad degree).

 

This is so confusing in Canada because we borrow a lot of UK words, so some official documents will refer to MA/MSc/PhD students as "postgraduate students" but we also borrow from the US a lot so other official documents will also say "graduate students". Graduate student is slightly more dominant right now, but I remember the first time reading "postgraduate student" and thinking "there's more school after a PhD???"

[St Andrews Lynx]

"there's more school after a PhD???"

There's as much school after a PhD as you want, baby!

[gingin6789]

It goes something like this:

 

"I'm headed to grad school in the fall.  I'll be a teaching assistant for undergraduate classes as well."

 

They don't usually ask whether I'm going for my MA or my PhD, but rather:

 

"Oh yeah?  For what field?"

 

"Sociology."

 

THEN, the guaranteed, reflexive: "Oh, what are you gonna do with that?"

 

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