Success in
Graduate School
and
Academe
David Reed
Professor of Horticulture
Associate Dean for Graduate Programs
and Faculty Development
10 Considerations
Towards Success in
Graduate School
Consideration 1
What is your goal?
•Just to graduate?
•To become the best you can be?
•To prepare for a career?
Consideration 2
Time to complete a PhD
Agriculture
3.8 Animal Science
6.0 Entomology
Science
4.6 Math
5.3 Chem
Engineering
3.9 Petroleum
5.5 Electrical
Average
4.6
How long do you have?
10 years
Consideration 3
Finding an advisor
It’s like picking your parent- Select wisely!
•1st – Do you have a choice?
•A task master
•A resource
•A mentor
What is their advising philosophy?
•Sink or swim
•Spoon feeding
Can you have more than one?
Consideration 4
Advisors expectations
•Communication is the secret
•Ask them about their expectations
Consideration 5
Your expectations
•Communication is the secret
•Let them know your expectations
Consideration 6
Picking a topic
•It may be assigned
•It may be dictated by the grant
or funding source
•It may be selected
Consideration 7
Work Ethic
•Approach graduate school as a job
and go to work every day.
•Find out advisors expectations.
•Observe other graduate students.
Consideration 8
Learn from Cohort
•Network
•Learn from others.
•Simply become “socially and
professionally aware”.
Consideration 9
Become a scholar
•Go to seminars
•Attend regional and national conferences.
•Give oral and poster presentations
•Write and publish
•In other words, become a part of the
“community of scholars”.
Consideration 10
Work Hard – Play Hard
•You must reach a “balance”.
•Develop live long friends
•Lean from each other
•Have fun
The Unwritten Rule
“Know the Rules”
Towards Success in
Academe
Success in Academe
Dave Reed
Professor of Horticulture
Associate Dean for Graduate Programs
and Faculty Development
Secret to being hired
• The credentials to be hired into a tenure-track faculty position
are a scaled-down version of the expectations to be granted
tenure and to be promoted once you are hired.
• Therefore, in your graduate training you must demonstrate
the potential to meet these expectations.
• It’s nothing more than regression analysis.
• I should be able to look at your resume, after completing your
graduate training, and see enough of a trend to predict that
your will continue to progress in a positive direction;
therefore, I can predict with confidence that you will
succeed!
So what are the
“Expectations of Academe”
Teaching
Research
Service
Who Decides
Faculty
peers
Faculty
peers
Peer Expectations
Rank of Top Three Metrics and/or Accomplishments
Assistant to Associate Professor
Teaching
Student Evaluations
Teach Undergrad and Grad
Peer Evaluation
Teaching improvement activities
Teaching proportional to appointment
Evaluation improve over time
Graduate Chair Masters and PhD
Graduate Committees
New Unique Courses Developed
Student Advising
% Ranked in top 3
82%
36%
27%
27%
27%
18%
18%
9%
9%
9%
Peer Expectations
Rank of Top Three Metrics and/or Accomplishments
Assistant to Associate Professor
Research
% Ranked in top 3
Articles Peer-reviewed/refereed
Grants-competitive (to maintain program)
Abstracts/presentation at scientific meetings
Graduate student training
Team/Collaborative research
Involvement in societies/meetings
Evidence of regional recognition
Articles non-peer reviewed
Graduate students publish
Potential for national recognition
Impact of Research
Patents, copyrights, releases
Awards Research
91%
91%
27%
27%
18%
18%
18%
9%
9%
9%
9%
9%
9%
Peer Expectations
Rank of Top Three Metrics and/or Accomplishments
Assistant to Associate Professor
Extension / Service
% Ranked in top 3
Scholarly extension appropriate publications
45%
Grants-competitive (to maintain program)
Involvement in societies/meetings
Demonstrate impact of programming
Regional and state recognition
Service activities within TAMU
Deliver info based on science
Graduate student training
Articles Peer-reviewed/refereed
Demonstrate demand for programs
Involvement clientele, commodity groups, etc.
Team/collaborative relationships
Potential for national recognition
36%
36%
27%
27%
27%
18%
18%
9%
9%
9%
9%
9%
Secret to be Hired and Progress
Through Academe
Develop a solid base and start accumulating the kinds of
metrics and accomplishments normally expected of faculty.