200-A Scierntific Skills Fall, 2008 M. Carr

Surviving Grad School

Announcements: proposal review schedule

1. Focus on research Reason (the straight skinny from Stephen Stearns –1987–ESA Bulletin (68(2))

- The competition for jobs in ecology and evolutionary biology is intense.

- In any given year, there may be 5-10 new positions in academic institutions and another handful in non-academic research positions for your particular sub- discipline within ecology or evolution.

- You can be certain that there are plenty of graduate students and post-docs around the country who have spent the past 5-8 years working day and night to show that they have the drive, imagination, and expertise to compete for these few positions.

- In addition, there are assistant professors that are looking to change jobs and against whom you must also compete.

- For each of those jobs there will be ~ 50 applications, depending upon how specific the search committee made the position description. The jobs are there, but you have to stand out from the crowd.

- Your research defines you.

2. Day-to-day survival: the philosophies of graduate education

A. Interactions are central to your success

i. student-advisor interactions

Compare two extremes of potential relationship with your advisor:

- sink or swim, very hands off approach, and strong separation of research questions or systems rationale: develop independence, self identity, avoid competition or conflict of intellectual property - highly interactive and integrated research. rationale: shortens learning curve and avoids procrastination, can be more productive (in terms of papers), easier to fund if closely related to advisor’s grants, advisor more interested and willing to get more involved.

- One usually comes at a cost to the other.

- Historically, EEB programs lean toward the first approach, whereas MCD programs lean toward the second. But EEB programs becoming more similar to MCD style (research, not training)

- Either way, and especially in EEB, you eventually have to come up with your own dissertation project.

These very different approaches (even within a department) emphasize the importance of figuring out how to interact with your advisor and others in your lab.

-- know exactly what your advisor (and your department) expects from you!!

a. what’s required to fulfill degree requirements. This is so important that some advisors create “contracts”

be sure to address this early in your career so no one is surprised on one another’s expectations later in your career.

b. agreements on authorship of papers

varies tremendously based on advisor’s philosophy, extent to which your advisor provides your financial support, extent of collaboration, ideas

c. pursue tenaciously interaction with your advisor but use it effectively

keep your advisor abreast of both problems and successes!

d. expect (and schedule for) delays on feedback on papers and get requested letters, etc. well in advance of deadlines! ii. student-student interactions

- phenomenal asset, so foster it quickly

- two or more minds are better than one; even yours - ideas supersede hard work, so discuss them

iii. student-lab as a unit of combined, collaborative productivity

- free sharing of ideas, evolve a collective think tank

- avoid conflict, develop research projects that will hopefully compliment rather than compete with one another

- reputation of a lab benefits EVERYONE involved

- one of your greatest assets is post-docs but you have to show the initiative and appreciation!

iv. broader interaction: start attending meetings. See what others are doing now, rather than wait until it comes out in the literature (1 year lag for better journals), develop a rapport with people doing work similar to yours

- the sooner you become comfortable at expressing your research interests and topics the better!!!

v. don’t be a jerk!!!!!!!

- no one, other than a jerk, wants to work with a jerk

- this is serious… no matter how smart you are

- this is an important determinant of who many take as students or hire for jobs (including us).

- even more critical later when you’re applying for jobs, prospective co-workers have to live with you

B. Scheduling the next 3-6 years of your life

Time management: involves balancing and timing of research, coursework, teaching and family

i. compartmentalize research projects, with intermediate products, then complete and bring closure to those projects by publishing. example: PhD students might start with “masters project”, jointly authored, then venture off on their own and solely author their work.

Reasons for this approach are several-fold:

- sooner you start doing something rather than procrastinate, the better.

- learn about and recognize time and logistical limitations, take this into account in planning your own research agenda.

- running through a project - start to finish - with experienced researchers is valuable experience (see how they approach problems). Graduate school is an apprenticeship!

- being involved with analysis and write-up reduces the intimidation encountered later with your own work.

- helps determine early on if this is really what you want to do and with whom you want to do it.

- If not, gives you something to depart “prematurely” with. Do NOT look negatively at the option of a masters!

If your advisor doesn’t structure your graduate career this way, consider doing it yourself! ii. TA vs. RA Benefits to teaching early and latter, costs to teaching midway!

Teach early: a. when you don’t have research support b. prepare for comps (20 series) c. PhD students required to TA two courses (MS, one)

Teach late: a. more convenient while writing (rather than in field) b. development of lectures for teaching jobs

But for the many years in between, get support on RAships (GSR)

Two kinds of GSRs: a. working for your advisor - better than TAing because fosters research experience and ideas b. working for yourself (importance of grant proposals)

2. Required courses

- 200A and 200B (Fall) likely to get switched in future

- 279 and stats course (Winter)

- 293/295 grad seminars (PhD—4 quarters; MS—2 quarters)

- 294 (every quarter) Departmental seminars

- 281 series (when applicable) your lab or joint-lab offerings advertised via e-mail

3. Prep for and timing of exams (qualifying exam, orals, thesis and dissertation proposal)

Schedule: (see grad student handbook!!!) http://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/grad/GradHandbook2008-09.html

a. written and oral comprehensive exams (PhD only)

- Summer of first year or Fall of second year - 4 committee members:

• All committees are expected to represent expertise in ALL of the following three areas: Physiology/Organismal Biology, Evolution, and Ecology

• No committee should be made up entirely of faculty whose primary taxonomic expertise is in a single area (e.g. all plants, all invertebrates, all vertebrates)

• No committee should be made up entirely of faculty from either main campus or Long Marine Lab. The point of this is to maintain ties between the “two campuses.”

• All members of the committee are responsible for ensuring coverage of general Biology questions (up to ~25% of the material). YOU are responsible for identifying these people, requesting their participation, scheduling both exams.

- do this well in advance to assure their availability and so you know what to study and have time to do so! - 4 members with 4 days to answer questions from each

- few days between written and orals to receive feedback

- must pass the written to advance to the orals.

- only one oral re-test allowed

- repeat written and oral exams must be passed by the end of Term 5 b. dissertation proposal defense and seminar

- Spring of second year / Fall of third year

- form dissertation committee (well in advance) - at least four members - advisor - other relevant EEB faculty (minimum of 2 academic senate members) - minimum of one tenured non-departmental member (either other discipline from UCSC or any discipline from another campus) or from another entity (e.g., government agency or NGO) with appropriate expertise and comparable status - chair must be tenured EEB faculty member (not advisor)

- keep non-campus members to a minimum (~1) because of cost and scheduling difficulties.

- first, present a written and oral defense of your dissertation proposal to your dissertation committee

- written in NSF format, of quality that can be submitted to a funding agency. Committee reviews prior to oral presentation to committee.

- if passed by dissertation committee, oral presentation to Department. c. Masters thesis committee

- assembled no later than Spring of first year

- three members minimum: - advisor - one other EEB faculty member (tenure not required) - one other EEB or non-Department tenure-track faculty - additional non-faculty members as necessary

- thesis proposal and meeting - Fall of second year, written thesis proposal review - Winter of second year, final proposal approval - format: NSF doctoral dissertation improvement grant d. advancement to candidacy

- typically, Spring of third year, but can be sooner as soon as dissertation proposal defenses are completed

- This step must be scheduled carefully, weighing not only the financial benefits for student, but also the three-year restriction on candidacy for the doctorate.

- only after: - passing all required coursework - passing written and oral comps - passing written and oral proposal defense to BOTH committee and Department e. dissertation (PhD) or thesis (Masters) defense and seminar

PhD: - dissertation defense, at most 3 yr past advancement or request exception. - target time for PhD is 5 yr, normative time in UC is 6 yr - beyond 6, must submit explanation (advisor and student) - one chapter submitted for publication (is this in Handbook?)

MS: - target time for Masters is 2 yr, normative time in UC is 3 yr - beyond 3, must submit explanation (advisor and student) - thesis must be submitted to committee 30 days prior to public defense - must defend with committee 1 wk prior to public defense - not required but highly recommended that 1 chapter be submitted for publication when degree conferred Bottom line: GAC: Bernardi, Parker, Pogson, Williams The Bible: Graduate Handbook (on line)

4. Other Schedules: Make a daily/weekly schedule and adhere to it.

- If you don’t schedule activities (e.g., writing, library, discussing papers, meeting with your advisor), easy to put them aside.

- be tenacious about setting up and making meetings with your advisor.

- schedule time to work on a study / paper. This is the hardest, even for faculty! Immediate demands (e.g., teaching) always compete with the very important objective of papers!

- Day planner book (or PDA) - keep with you for scheduling

- Can also go with free scheduling programs, but only real advantage is large alterations and alerting you to an appt.

4. Buy a computer, no matter what you have to do to afford it!!

Suggestions:

- Recognize all you need and buy only as much as you need

- Buy a laptop - have something available at home, school, lab or field.

- At school, don’t compete with others for time on a machine.

IV. Wrap up

Ray Huey (UW): “Graduate school provides an opportunity for you to change from someone who reads to someone who is read”

GO WRITE! (an aside: the Introductory synthesis of a dissertation is often publishable)