Reading abilities and Masters/PhD

[1234thumbwar]

Hello Everyone, 

I am very interested in pursuing a PhD in sociology as I absolutely love academia, especially anything related to sociological work. In my own research that I have done as an undergrad, I enjoy really getting out in the world and experiencing things first-hand. For instance, when I studied homelessness, I spent a few days living on the streets. When I studied bullying in high schools, I spent time in the schools observing and interviewing. So, as you can imagine, I am not much of a theoretical sociologist ahah;) 

I have mild dyslexia, along with another learning disability, meaning that complicated reading is not exactly easy for me. I can read most things fine, and relatively quickly also. However, when I read theoretical work by authors like Durkheim or Marx, I sometimes have a really hard time following what is going on in the book. When I learn about theory in classes I do really well, but thats because the professor teaches exactly what is being said within the book. 

Given that (so I am told) during a Masters and PhD one does all of the learning by oneself, I am feeling slightly nervous. I am concerned that my dyslexia will make it hard for me to understand the books I have to read for grad school in order to pass comprehensive exams and things of that sort. Will I still be able to get help and receive clarification about certain readings during my grad school, or will professors expect me to just 'get it' on my own? I suppose I am just wondering if it's possible to get through a masters and PhD with this learning disability? Other than my reading troubles, I am a straight A student and I've always gotten great grades on writing/research related tasks, so at least I have that going for me .

 

Thanks guys:) 

[rising_star]

In general, no, professors won't expect you to just "get it" when reading dense theoretical texts. There are still in-class discussions plus you're encouraged to discuss readings with your classmates informally outside the classroom.

A few potentially relevant threads:

Good luck!

[ello_pomelo]

I imagine that at worst, you may need to take a little bit longer to complete your program. Taking time pressure off of yourself will enable you to have more security in your comprehension of topics. Extra time isn't always desirable financially, but at the end of the day completing a graduate degree certainly seems doable. Moreover in a positive mindset, you may even consider your dyslexia to be a benefit: to my knowledge, graduate school is about perseverance and work ethic as much as it is about intellectual ability. I'm sure that as a straight A student you have equal footing in intellect and perseverance, so I wouldn't be too concerned. :-)