RE: Research post-grad studies before you apply
Thanks for your editorial of July 28 entitled, “Research post-grad studies before you apply.” I agree wholeheartedly with your advice to students to think and plan carefully before applying to a graduate program. A master’s degree is not an extension of the bachelor’s.
Study at the graduate level is focused and intense, and the most successful graduate students are self-directed and persistent.
If you are not enthusiastic about the idea in the beginning, you sure won’t be by the time you graduate! But if you are keen to pursue more in-depth theoretical study, professional training or research experience in a field, then a grad degree is certainly worth investigating.
Depending on the discipline, a student’s earning potential may also be significantly enhanced by acquiring a second or third post-secondary degree.
I was pleased to see that the editorial also recommended that students do their research into available programs by talking to their professors and visiting the co-op and career centre.
You forgot one important source of information and help, though, and that is the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies. My helpful staff and I are located on the first floor of the Alvin Woods Building and can assist students with information about graduate school, especially Laurier’s 27 master’s and 9 doctoral programs. We can also help with the application process.
On September 29 from 4 – 5:30 p.m. in the Paul Martin Centre, Jillian Perkins-Marsh from the Career Development Centre, and I will be offering a workshop for senior undergraduate students entitled, “So you want to go to grad school?”
We will provide information and advice on finding a grad program (at Laurier and elsewhere), preparing a successful application, and securing financial support.
– Joan E. Norris, PhD, CPsych.
Dean, Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies
