Transitioning to Graduate School
Your decision to pursue graduate studies will take you on a new and exciting journey. To get a strong start to that journey, it is helpful to realize that graduate school will be very different than your experiences to date. This is best described by contrasting the graduate and undergraduate experiences, which are vastly different and even opposite in many ways.
For example, your undergraduate experience was centered on a curriculum with required reading, problem sets, and other assignments, all with specified due dates. In graduate school, the most important experience—your independent research—will require you to create your own path that extends beyond our current knowledge and understanding. To do this, you will need to give yourself assignments and goals, along with realistic deadlines and an organized way of assessing your own progress. You will have to take the initiative to seek out materials to make new experimental and conceptual connections that take your research in new directions. Taking this initiative and responsibility for your education is key to both your success as a scientist and your satisfaction as a student.
Because graduate school is likely very different than where you are coming from—whether straight from undergrad or from a work experience—beginning graduate school is an enormous adjustment. In fact, the initial adjustment to life as a graduate student can be one of the most difficult parts of graduate school. One of the best ways to ease the adjustment is to better understand what this transition will be like.
For this reason, we have gathered the following materials for you about the transition to graduate school, including tips for your first year. You will also find some comprehensive online resources that provide a picture of life as a graduate student as well as on-campus resources to consider when you arrive at Stanford.
Transitioning to graduate school
- "How Undergraduate and Graduate School are Different," Blog post
- "What I Learned About Surviving Graduate School," Chuck Fidler, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- "Rules for Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse or Your First Year in Grad School," Katy Meyers, GradHacker blog
General online resources
-
Benchfly, an open-access platform for scientists to share video protocols, publishes articles on various issues facing scientists. You can explore their large library of useful video protocols and articles that touch on all aspects of life as a scientist.
GradHacker.org blog
GradHacker is a university- and discipline-spanning blog where you can read stories, tips, and challenges from other graduate students.
-
This guide, written by a computer science graduate student, focuses broadly on the skills graduate students need to succeed.
"Advice for Graduate Students," The Chronicle of Higher Education
This website contains articles written for graduate students in all areas, including the sciences and the humanities. Topics addressed include "Things to Know Before You Go," "Coping With Stress," and "Strategies for Success."
Stanford resources
This developing list will include some on-campus resources for you to explore once you arrive at Stanford.
HUMSCI 201: Graduate Environment of Support
From the course description: "Psychosocial, financial, and career issues in adapting graduate students to Stanford; how these issues relate to diversity, resources, policies, and procedures. Discussions among faculty, advanced graduate students, campus resource people, and the dean's office."
Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE)
The goal of the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE) is to enhance the quality of graduate education at Stanford. VPGE offers workshops, classes, and resources to aid graduate students in their professional development and career preparation. We recommend browsing their website even before you arrive at Stanford to become familiar with this valuable resource. We will continue to highlight VPGE classes and workshops of interest.
"Once I got to Stanford, it was kind of like, 'All right. We're going to push you out on your own and you're going to struggle, but it's going to be a really good learning experience.' It really has empowered me to take risks and to try things I wouldn't normally be comfortable doing."
—Patrick Bogard, Biochemistry
