By Grace Romund (The Cascade) – Email
Date Posted: October 6, 2011
Print Edition: October 5, 2011
Are you thinking about applying for graduate studies but don’t know where to start? You’re not alone. UFV is primarily a teaching university and currently has only two graduate studies programs (Masters of Arts in Criminology and Master of Social Work), so the vast majority of the UFV student population are undergraduate students. However, there are many research universities which offer a multitude of graduate programs and are still currently accepting applications. Arts advisor Rhonda Colwell and science advisor Karen Cooper have several tips to offer for embarking on this application journey.
Graduate studies applications are much more involved than undergraduate studies applications, and therefore the first thing is to determine whether or not graduate studies are for you. In an interview with The Cascade, Colwell explained the value and purpose of the academic venture. “Graduate studies will appeal to students who are interested in pursuing in more detail a specific topic within their discipline/area of study,” she said. For science students in specific, Cooper said that it’s important that the potential grad student be interested in research.
Another tip offered by the advisors: start the process early! One of the best things to do is “Start your research going into your graduating year,” Cooper said. All schools have varying due dates and requirements for their applications – therefore, having an idea of what you want to do as far in advance as possible is a good idea. Some graduate programs have a deadline in November for admission the next September; however, most programs have an application deadline of January or February of the same year.
The advisors also warned that applying for graduate school takes time, and applicants should try their best to dedicate as much time as possible to it.
“The application process will potentially take 3-6 months to organize and to gather all required materials together,” Colwell said. “I do not recommend that someone try to compile this information while completing a full-time course load as well as working and family. Time needs to be spent in editing the written sample and CV. Time needs to be given to the faculty members who are going to be referees. This is a complicated and involved process which needs to be given sufficient time to prepare.”
Since, for some graduate school applications, there are many things that need to be put together besides the actual application, it’s always important to make sure you read up on what each school needs individually. There are some components that you can expect, however. “The typical application will need to include: official transcripts, a sample of the student’s written work, Curriculum Vitae, two-to-three reference letters, [and a] GRE/LSAT score,” Colwell said. The sample of the student’s work would be more commonly required for arts-related programs.
“[Science students] will often need to provide a research proposal,” Cooper explained. Unlike professional graduate degree programs where a student can just apply to a program generally, science-related programs, will require students to meet with and establish a research supervisor before applying to a program.
The final piece of advice offered was for students to try not to get their hearts set on one university – there is always the possibility of rejection, although it is unpleasant to think about. Colwell noted that “Students will want to apply to more than one graduate program because admission is never guaranteed – entrance is competitive. I recommend that students research all of the graduate programs that are available, but only apply to the schools they are interested in moving to. As well, the application fees can start to add up very quickly if they apply to all schools.”
When you’re getting started, your professors are great resources. They have all gone through the graduate school applications process before, and therefore may have some further advice to give on how to get through the process and into graduate studies.
