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Preparing for Graduate & Professional School
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Planning for Graduate and Professional School

Many science-, math- and technology-based careers require education beyond a bachelor’s degree. This section provides links to a variety of sites that will help you develop a pathway to graduate or professional school.

Developing Your Undergraduate Research
Ethics in Research
Thinking About Graduate School
Thinking About Dental School
Thinking About Medical School
Thinking about Optometry School
Thinking About Pharmacy School
Thinking About Veterinary School
Succeeding in Graduate School
Next Step - Ph.D.

DEVELOPING YOUR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

How to Get Research Experience
So, you are convinced of the value of research experience to your graduate school application. Now what?

Frequently Asked Questions about Experiential Learning Opportunities
Though this site is specific to an institution, it provides helpful information.

Benefits of Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate research provides our brightest and most talented undergraduate students in all fields and disciplines with a glimpse of the excitement of sustained academic inquiry into important intellectual questions. It is something that we as a Research I university ought to be doing for our campus, our community, our state, and our country.

Getting Started with Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate research is an evolving experience students may participate throughout their years at MU. Students aren't required to begin during their freshman year, but they are encouraged to begin exploring the possibilities.

Undergraduate Journals
A good list of undergraduate research journals.

Mentor Expectations and Student Responsibilities in Undergraduate Research
Though this article provides insight from a professor's perspective, it might provide you with some helpful advice.

Undergraduate Research Highlights
These links highlight undergraduate research.

Directories of Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions
The Directory series is produced to make known the extent of excellence of research by faculty and students at primarily undergraduate institutions across the country. The Directories are an invaluable resource containing detailed quantitative information about faculty, facilities, departmental grants, number of students involved in research, and number of majors. The professional activities of faculty members are summarized: publications in refereed journals, books, and individual grants. Currently six of CUR's eight divisions produce a directory of research. The Directories are separated into four, alphabetically searchable sections that include: departmental listings by school, institution index, faculty index, and specialty index.

ETHICS IN RESEARCH

Welcome to the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science
Our mission is to provide engineers, scientists, and science and engineering students with resources for understanding and addressing ethically significant problems that arise in their work, and to serve those who are promoting learning and advancing the understanding of responsible research and practice in science and engineering.

Read more:
http://www.onlineethics.org/

On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research
This booklet makes the point that scientific knowledge is defined collectively through discussion and debate. Collective deliberation is also the best procedure to apply in using this booklet. Group discussion—whether in seminars, orientations, research settings, or informal settings—can demonstrate how different individuals would react in specific situations, often leading to conclusions that no one would have arrived at individually.

Read more:
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/obas/

Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
Proper care, use, and humane treatment of animals used in research, testing, and education (referred to in this Guide as animal care and use) require scientific and professional judgment based on knowledge of the needs of the animals and the special requirements of the research, testing, and educational programs. The guidelines in this section are intended to aid in developing institutional policies governing the care and use of animals.

Read more:
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/chaps.html

Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research

The American Chemical Society serves the chemistry profession and society at large in many ways, among them by publishing journals which present the results of scientific and engineering research. Every editor of a Society journal has the responsibility to establish and maintain guidelines for selecting and accepting papers submitted to that journal. In the main, these guidelines derive from the Society’s definition of the scope of the journal and from the editor’s perception of standards of quality for scientific work and its presentation. An essential feature of a profession is the acceptance by its members of a code that outlines desirable behavior and specifies obligations of members to each other and to the public.

Read more:
https://paragon.acs.org/paragon/ShowDocServlet
?contentId=paragon/menu_content/newtothissite/eg_ethic2000.pdf

Avoiding Misconduct in Your Scientific Research
Most beginning scientists set out to follow the highest ethical standards in their work and, in most cases, doing so is not a problem. Yet, as every experienced researcher knows, there will be times when knowing and doing the "right thing" are not as easy as they sound.

Read more:
http://chronicle.com/jobs/2001/07/2001072002c.htm

Integrity in Scientific Research
Challenging scientists - students, fellows, technicians, and administrators - to define ethical problems, identify options for responding, and to assess those options in light of their own experiences

Read more:
http://www.aaas.org/spp/video/

The Office of Research Integrity
The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) promotes integrity in biomedical and behavioral research supported by the U. S. Public Health Service (PHS) at about 4,000 institutions worldwide. ORI monitors institutional investigations of research misconduct and facilitates the responsible conduct of research through educational, preventive, and regulatory activities. Organizationally, ORI is located in the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS), within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (OS), in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Read more:
http://ori.dhhs.gov/

Science Ethics Online Resources
Links to helpful resources.

Read more:
http://www.chem.vt.edu/chem-ed/ethics/

Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) endorses the United States Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training, and requires that all papers published in our journal Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science report research conducted in conformance with these principles. Research for papers submitted from outside the United States must be in conformance with the guidelines of that country's government.

Read more:
http://www.aalas.org/association/position_statements.asp#CareandUse

THINKING ABOUT GRADUATE SCHOOL

Suggestions for the Student Considering Advanced Study in Chemistry
Welcome to the world of professional chemistry. This brochure is designed to serve you as a guide and resource if you are considering graduate work in chemistry or related disciplines, such as biochemistry or other biological sciences, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry, toxicology, materials science, chemical physics, and the environmental sciences. A person with solid and broad graduate training in chemistry is prepared to take advantage of a wide variety of professional opportunities in industry, academia, government laboratories, and research institutes.

Read more:
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?
DOC=education%5Ccpt%5Cgradwork.html

Planning for Graduate School
Approximately one third of biology students enter graduate school upon graduation.Are You Ready? Selecting and Evaluating Graduate Programs How to Apply Graduate Admission Tests Dates Search Specific Graduate Programs

Read more:
http://www.bio.cornell.edu/advising/grad_applying.cfm

Applying to Graduate School
Graduate school provides an opportunity to specialize in an academic discipline or a specific profession. Graduate degrees are available in almost any subject and come in three levels - Master, Specialist and Doctorate. The program length for each program varies depending on the graduate school program and degree level desired.

Read more:
http://www.wpi.edu/Admin/CDC/Students/grad.html

Considering Graduate School? Answer These Five Questions Before You Decide
Deciding to seek one or more graduate degrees is a major commitment of time and money; a decision not to take lightly. You will face several years of intense work and research -- a much more demanding course load than in your undergraduate program. Before deciding your next step, you should take the time to honestly answer these five questions.

Read more:
http://www.quintcareers.com/considering_graduate_school.html

Step by Step Graduate School Preparation
A neat interactive chart to help you plan for graduate school.

Read more:
http://ls.berkeley.edu/stepbystep/fresh-academics.html

A Student Planning Guide to Grad School and Beyond
One theme of this guide is that those studying science and engineering need more information about planning careers than is readily available to them. You need to know more about resources, about what your predecessors have done, and about how to match your own skills and personality to a given career.

Read more:
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/careers/

Master’s or Ph.D.?
Did you know that it’s possible to go straight for your Ph.D. without getting your master’s first? Many students don’t, but depending on your field, it could be a viable option that saves you time, money, or both.

Read more:
http://www.petersons.com/gradchannel/file.asp?id=933&path=gr.gs.mastersorphd

Getting Into Graduate School
Interesting articles for students considering graduate school.

Read more:
http://www.phds.org/graduate-school/

Graduate School Information
These links provide graduate school information, by career interest.

Assessing Your Graduate School Competency
This checklist can help you determine if graduate school is for you.

Read more:
http://www.sc.edu/career/pdf/gradschool.pdf (PDF File)

Navigating the Graduate School Experience
Many of you have already decided whether to pursue graduate studies. Either you are currently enrolled in a graduate program or you have decided to do so soon. (Note: If you fall into the latter group, do not allow soon, to become a long time from now.) If you have not yet decided to enroll, you should be reminded that regardless of your post-baccalaureate dream, today's equation for success requires training and education beyond the bachelor's degree. The following article will not only explain the graduate school application process, it will explore the political nature of successfully navigating the graduate school experience. Prospective graduate students will gain insights from the entire article while current and former graduate students will certainly recognize, relate, and learn from the latter half of this article.

Thinking About Graduate School
Attending graduate or professional school may be an option you are seriously considering. If so, your decision should be based on careful reflection and clarification of your work/life goals. The decision to attend graduate school is a very personal one, and the reasons to enroll may vary from individual to individual. This handout outlines some important considerations you may contemplate as you make your decision, along with information on researching and evaluating graduate schools/programs and completing the application process.

Resource Catalog
This link provides you with a catalog of resource information.

THINKING ABOUT DENTAL SCHOOL

Planning for Dental School
Candidates for dental school need to recognize that the requirements are very school-specific and thus the candidate must do significant "up front" research. The Pre-Health Professions Adviser can assist you if you need help interpreting the information you find.

Read more:
http://www.bucknell.edu/Academics/Academic_Programs/Prehealth/Prospective_Students/
Planning_for_Dental_School.html

Why Do You Want to Be a Dentist?
Do you really want to be a dentist? Career Services and SU natural science faculty can advise you about the process for applying to dental school, but only you can decide if that’s what you really want to do. One way to explore your interests is to volunteer at a dentist’s office locally or in your hometown. Another way is to read information about dental schools and dentistry as a career. Be sure to join the SU Pre-Dental Society or any other health-related organizations.

Read more:
http://www.southwestern.edu/careers/Students/Resources/Handouts/
Planning_for_Dental_School.pdf

Information for Predental Students
There are approximately 56 dental schools in the United States, and students typically apply to about eight schools. It is important that students plan their coursework to satisfy prerequisites for many dental schools. Fortunately, this is not difficult to do. The plan below identifies the science coursework that will satisfy the requirements for application to nearly all 56 U.S. dental schools.

Read more:
http://www.washington.edu/students/ugrad/advising/predent.html

Planning Your Search
The trick to assessing your chances of getting into a particular program is knowing where you stand with regard to the various factors that programs consider when making admissions decisions.

Read more:
http://www.kaptest.com/repository/templates/ArticleInitDroplet.jhtml?_relPath=
/repository/content/Dental/Apply_to_School/Research/DN_admiss_apply.html

How Dental School Works
If you have ever considered becoming a dentist, I would like to help you to understand everything that is involved. My name is Dr. Jerry Gordon and I am a practicing dentist. Dentistry is a career that I truly enjoy and would recommend to others. However, many people greatly underestimate the time that must be invested in order to become a dentist, the difficulty of those years, and the high cost of educating a dentist. After reading this article you will completely understand the process as well as the commitment involved!

Read more:
http://www.dentalcomfortzone.com/archive/HowDentalSchoolWorksNS.html

Dental School Admissions
Thinking about dental school? Surf here for information on dental careers (there's a wider range than you think!), how to get into dental school, the application process, and how to make it through dental school.

Read more:
http://gradschool.about.com/od/dentalschool/

A Guide for Students Applying to Medical or Dental Schoolf Science
Students thinking about a career in medicine or dentistry have special needs. To help you prepare for medical or dental school, we have prepared this section, complete with admissions and application information, how to select schools, and sample interview questions.

Read more:
http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/academics/undergraduate/programs_by_school/
school_of_science/pre_med_dental/

THINKING ABOUT MEDICAL SCHOOL
Are you considering medical school but are unsure what you should be doing? Visit the AAMC web site and view their timeline. Make sure you are on track!!!!

Postbaccalaureate Premedical Programs
Many individuals pursue medical careers after receipt of a Bachelor's degree. Frequently, additional science courses and labs are required before they are prepared to apply to medical school. Therefore, a number of schools now offer postbaccalaureate premedical programs. This searchable database contains information on each program's length, size, purpose, structure, cost, admissions requirements, and other characteristics.

Read more:
http://services.aamc.org/postbac/

AAMC Postbacc Programs' Searchable Database
A database is now available to the public.

The URL for the post-bacc program searchable database Web page is http://services.aamc.org/postbac/index.cfm.

To get to this site from the AAMC public Web page, go to http://www.aamc.org/students/considering/start.htm and click on More under the Postbaccalaureate Programs paragraph (right column).

The PreMed Zone
http://www.premed411.com/home.html

THINKING ABOUT OPTOMETRY SCHOOL

Optometry School
Frequently Asked Questions

Read more:
http://career.berkeley.edu/Health/OptomFAQ.stm

Eye Care Professions
The eye care professions have become more highly regarded as eye health continues to becomes more important. Optometrists, Ophthalmologists and Opticians are the main types of eye care professions. Each serves an important role and provides somewhat different services but all have one role in common- to assist all their patients with the best eye care in order see their best.This includes eye examinations, routine checkups, eyeglass frame selection and fitting, eye surgery, and much more. Each profession requires different educational requirements.

Read more:
http://www.eyecaresource.com/professions/

THINKING ABOUT PHARMACY SCHOOL

The Prerequisites
Well, you're in luck! With advances in science, technology, and medicine growing by leaps and bounds, it's a great time to join this growing profession. Most pharmacy programs accept students for their Pharm.D. degree once they've completed at least 2 years of undergraduate study, but in reality, you'll probably have to finish 3, or even have your bachelor's degree before you can get in to most programs. There are some colleges, on the other hand, that accept students to their pre-pharmacy or pharmacy programs directly from high school.

Read more:
http://www.kaptest.com/repository/templates/ArticleInitDroplet.jhtml?_relPath=/repository/
content/Pharmacy/Apply_to_School/Apply_to_School/PH_admiss_gettingin.html

Preparing for Pharmacy School
Generally, a pharmacy degree requires four academic years of study. The first two years usually cover the basic sciences and the last two years, pharmacy theory and practice. At the completion of the curriculum, students are awarded a Pharm.D. degree (Doctor of Pharmacy).

Read more:
http://career.berkeley.edu/Health/PharmPrep.stm

Prepharmacy Predictors of Success in Pharmacy School: Grade Point Averages, Pharmacy College Admissions Test, Communication Abilities, and Critical Thinking Skills
Good admissions decisions are essential for identifying successful students and good practitioners. Various parameters have been shown to have predictive power for academic success. Previous academic performance, the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT), and specific prepharmacy courses have been suggested as academic performance indicators. However, critical thinking abilities have not been evaluated.

Read more:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/409746

Thinking of going to Pharmacy School?
Here are some links.

Read more:
http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/pharm.html

THINKING ABOUT VETERINARY SCHOOL

Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary schools do not require or recommend any particular undergraduate major course of study. Cornell does not have a preveterinary major or formalized academic program. There is no evidence that admissions committees of veterinary colleges give special consideration to any particular undergraduate education beyond satisfactory completion of the required undergraduate courses; for this reason you are encouraged to pursue your own intellectual interest in an academic major.

Read more:
http://www.cals.cornell.edu/Prevet_Advising.cfm

Veterinary Medicine
We have compiled an article from questions many people and students have asked us about the becoming a veterinarian and being a vet.

Read more:
http://www.talktothevet.com/faqvetcareer.HTM

Choosing the Right Veterinarian School
Once you have made the decision to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, you'll want to start thinking about what veterinary school you would like to attend. It is not important that you know what school you want to go to when you begin your first year at F&M. However, by the beginning of the second semester during your junior year, you should have already started to research the various veterinary schools that you would consider applying to.

Read more:
http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/studentacadaffairs/prehealing/prevet/school.html

Frequently Asked Questions for Preveterinary Students
What are veterinary schools looking for? There are many more people interested in veterinary school than there are places available.

Read more:
http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/health_sciences/preveterinary_faqs.html

Working With Animals
Many of us who love animals would also love to have a career working with them. Maybe your interest lies in dog training, becoming a veterinarian, or working with wildlife. Perhaps you want to know what it takes to become a veterinary technician or assistant.

Read more:
http://www.ohlonehumanesociety.org/vet.html

SUCCEEDING IN GRADUATE SCHOOL

National Association of Graduate-Professional Students
NAGPS is the acronym for the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. We are the umbrella group for over two million graduate and professional students currently studying in the United States. NAGPS acts as a clearinghouse for graduate and professional student organizations, serves as an advocacy group for graduate-professional student needs and rights at all levels, addresses a broad range of issues via our national committees (international student concerns, human diversity concerns, legislative concerns, and employment concerns), and much more! Every fall, NAGPS hosts a national conference, and every spring, NAGPS member schools meet at regional conferences. Please contact us at (202)543-0812 or at office@nagps.org if you have any questions!

Read more:
http://www.nagps.org/

What Every New Grad Student Should Know
This is a list of pointers to documents which hopefully will take some of the mystery away from the transition between college and graduate work. Also included is some basic information about the networks and things that it's just plain a good idea to know to make your life a bit easier.

How to Be a Good Graduate Student
This paper attempts to raise some issues that are important for graduate students to be successful and to get as much out of the process as possible, and for advisors who wish to help their students be successful. The intent is not to provide prescriptive advice -- no formulas for finishing a thesis or twelve-step programs for becoming a better advisor are given -- but to raise awareness on both sides of the advisor-student relationship as to what the expectations are and should be for this relationship, what a graduate student should expect to accomplish, common problems, and where to go if the advisor is not forthcoming.

Professional Development Resources for Graduate Students
Professional development begins the day you start graduate school. In addition to taking courses, conducting scholarly research, and teaching for the first time, you should be learning about the demands and responsibilities of becoming a professional scholar. This means getting involved in your discipline's discourse, whether by attending conferences, giving papers at professional conferences, serving on departmental and university committees, or preparing works for publication. It means, in short, becoming a colleague and not just a student. We've outlined some of the main aspects of the process of professional development. Your advisor, teachers, and other graduate students can also be an invaluable source of advice on how to negotiate this process. We encourage you to ask for their advice as well.

Read more:
http://careerdevelopment.brown.edu/grads/succeed.php

Learning the Lingo
Just because graduate students have been around academe awhile doesn't mean they all understand the lingo of the faculty job market. In fact, we get a lot of questions from readers about words or phrases that are so commonly used in academe that people may hesitate to ask colleagues what they actually mean. In this month's column, we offer a glossary of those terms and phrases, with a little commentary thrown in where we couldn't resist.

Read more:
http://chronicle.com/jobs/2002/04/2002042201c.htm

Considering a Non-Academic Career?
You're not alone. Today an increasing number of graduate students are opting for careers outside of academia. For some, the academic job market has necessitated considering other career possibilities. Others have made a decision to seek work outside academia for a variety of personal and professional reasons. The key is to find work to which you are drawn and for which you are suited. We encourage you to use the resources and ideas in this section to get started.

Read more:
http://careerdevelopment.brown.edu/grads/nonacad_careers.php

The 5 'Virtues' of Successful Graduate Students
"It doesn't matter where you earn your degree, how much you publish, or how well you teach," I tell my students who are going to graduate school. "Nothing you do is enough to guarantee a tenure-track job in the humanities."

Read more:
http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/09/2003090201c.htm

Surviving The First Year Of Graduate School
It was a black Monday. After a terrific weekend partying with friends, I woke up late, missed my usual bus, and arrived at the lab 40 minutes late. Still unable to get into the working mood, I was dilly-dallying at my desk, flipping over my notes as my laboratory's research officer shouted over the partial partition of my study cubicle, "Lynn! Lynn! Get your stuff ready! The boss has been looking for you!"

Read more:
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2003/01/16/5

Survive and Thrive
I was a couple of years into my graduate program in physics when I first heard the question that would eventually become a central part of my professional philosophy. My wife and I were sharing a Love Boat of sushi with two friends, Monica and Bill (not their real names) (probably). As usual, I was bitching about the stresses of grad school. Then Dick, an eye surgeon who had recently sold a multimillion-dollar pre-LASIK practice because he was burned out, asked me, "If you don't enjoy it, why are you doing it?"

Read more:
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2000/12/20/8

Take Charge of Your Ph.D. Training
If you are a student finishing your master's degree and starting Ph.D. studies, you will soon encounter the challenges that face most science students during the transition. Chief among these challenges is learning how to think and act like an independent scientist. This article highlights my personal experiences at this crucial point in my academic career.

Read more:
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/06/30/9

NEXT STEP - Ph.D.

Ph.D. Resources
The "Ph.D. Resources" have been created to help doctoral students not just survive but thrive in graduate school and beyond. We have expanded the older version of these pages, formerly posted as "Ph.D. Career Resources," into two sites in order to cover in more detail the resources students need while "Obtaining a Ph.D." and as they set about "Obtaining Employment." We hope to get the information on these sites into the hands of as many students as possible. Please feel free to link to us and pass on these resources. We welcome your feedback; please contact us if you have any additional suggestions.

Read More:
http://www.grad.washington.edu/envision/phd/index.html