FAQs on “What if I’m interested in graduate school”
Prepared by Cathy Ryan, last updated by B. Ladd (October, 2012).
This FAQ was prepared after having lots of students ask me the same questions. I have saved it
her as a word document. Please feel free to edit and email to cryan@ucalgary.ca so that it can
improve with time!
Q: How much will it cost me?
A: In general graduate students are supported with graduate student stipends (which
typically includes teaching and/or research assistantships). One can usually expect to
cover tuition and ‘subsistent level’ living costs. You should ask direct questions of
potential supervisors and graduate departments, and expect an offer of support for the
first year of study if you are accepted into their department (it is not usual to be promised
support in your second year of study, but usual to receive it). Often potential supervisors
can’t guarantee stipends until after the selection process occurs (see below). In some
departments students are guaranteed a set amount of stipend each year. Funds from these
stipends can come directly from faculty members directly (e.g. from their research
accounts), or from the department. The latter can be in the form of Teaching
Assistantships (TAs) or Research Assistantships (RAs). TAs typically involve 10 to 15
hours of work per week (e.g. lab instruction, marking, etc).
Finding your own funding can broaden your opportunities, allowing you to study at an
institution that may not have had funding for you. Depending on the funding sources, this
must be completed far ahead of time.
Q: Do I just simply apply and let a supervisor find me, or should I actively seek a
supervisor?
A: Usually potential graduate students approach a number of potential supervisors who
are conducting research that they are potentially interested in. You can find out what
kind of research different faculty members do via their internet pages and papers. You
can try and attend their scientific talks, etc.
Q: How do I find a supervisor?
A: You should go to talks, check out faculty member web pages, approach instructors
whose courses you have enjoyed, etc. A concise email: “My name is J. Doe, I am
graduating this fall with a BSc in Environmental Science at the University of Calgary
with a cumulative GPA of 3.5. I am interested in such-and-such a subject and would like
to talk to you about any graduate opportunities that you might have.” Attaching a resume
is and unofficial transcript also a good idea.
Faculty members tend to be very busy, and a ‘catch 22’ here is that the higher profile the
faculty member is, the less likely you are to receive a timely reply. If you haven’t heard
back within 2 or 3 weeks, you might send one more email. If you don’t hear back after a
second or even third email, it could be fair to assume that the person is not recruiting
students for the next academic year.
There is no down side to casting a broad net when looking for a potential supervisor. The
more information you have, the better a placement you’ll be likely to get.
It is usual for good students to submit a number of applications across the country. Good
students will receive several offers.
Your goal should be to find a good supervisor with available research topics that you are
interested in. You should not be shy to approach as many potential supervisors as
possible.
Q: When are applications typically due and when are acceptance letters sent out?
A: Applications are usually due in departmental offices sometime between January and
March for graduate programs starting in September of the same year. Many schools in the
United States have due dates in mid to late December. This means that you should
probably start looking for potential supervisors as early as the late summer to fall of the
previous year.
Acceptance letters are usually sent out between March and June for programs that begin
in the following September. As mentioned earlier, good students will typically receive
several offers, but only accept one. This will result in a second, and sometimes third,
round of offers being sent out.
Q: How do I get an application?
A: Applications are typically available on the appropriate web pages. Almost all
applications have a fee associated with them. Departments usually have a “graduate
student administrator” or “co-coordinator” who can typically answer questions about the
application procedure.
Q: What is the process of accepting graduate students?
A: In most departments, graduate student administrators circulate the files of potential
graduate students to appropriate faculty members (often based on the area of interest that
is stated on the applicant’s file). Faculty members will then indicate if they think the
student has an appropriate background, whether they have research funds for the
student’s potential thesis, and whether they have funds for the student stipend. Each
department then has a graduate student committee that ranks the applications and matches
them with the available departmental TAs and RAs.
If you have already spoken to a faculty member about potential thesis topics and you’re
particularly interested in working with someone, you should be sure to indicate this
clearly on your application, and also whether you might be interested in alternative
supervisors or not.
Q: How should I choose my supervisor?
In addition to deciding whose research best fits your interest, talk to their current
graduate students about their supervision style. There is a wide range of supervisory
styles from supervisors who have already pre-determined exactly what research you’ll do
and how you’ll conduct it, to others who will let you ‘sink or swim’. Find out how much
time supervisors have for their students. Often MSc-level supervision in large research
groups is conducted by PhD students and/or post-docs (this might not necessarily be a
bad thing, but you should be aware of the situation a priori). Ask current students what
kind of interaction there is between graduate students in the group you will be joining etc.
Note that many departments assign an ‘interim supervisor’ for the first term or two.
Q: Which kind of a department should I apply to?
Move around! Investigate departments that may not be the same as what you graduated
in – interesting things happen at the edge of disciplines. The main downside of this,
however, is that you often cannot TA courses in the ‘new’ department. Students are
generally encouraged to change universities between degrees to see ‘different schools’ of
thought. This is particularly important if you are starting a PhD. Often scholarship and
granting agencies will see multiple degrees at the same institution as a negative aspect of
your application (unless you can explain extenuating circumstances, like family).
Q: Are thesis topics usually defined by the students or the faculty members?
Generally thesis projects are part of the supervisor’s ongoing research, so few students
define their own, but it does happen. Typically a research funding application takes 6
months or a year to be funded, and graduate students will often spend most of the time in
the first two terms of their programs taking their required course work.
Q: What courses should I take?
Talk to your supervisor about which courses will be most useful and appropriate for your
study. For some reason there are often a wide range of graduate courses listed in
university calendars that are not often offered. Be sure to ask which courses are offered
routinely. There are also invariably ‘directed studies courses’ graduate students can take
which are typically ‘mini thesis projects’ if there aren’t sufficient courses in your new
study area.