2015 MATC Scholars Program: Deo Chimba

Graduate School Student Experiences
Dr. Deo Chimba, PE
MATC Scholars Program
October 29 – 31, 2015
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Understand the mentality of graduate versus
undergraduate studies
 Working toward a Masters or PhD
 Challenges to anticipate in graduate school
 Determination of faculty expectations

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 You will be prepared to differentiate mentality
of graduate school compared to undergraduate,
and fundamental elements to consider when
preparing for graduate school
 You will know core steps, requirements, course
work and other related elements for their
Masters or PhD studies
 You will be prepared on how to choose a faculty
advisor, how to meet advisor expectations and
work ethics
 You will be prepared for networking with other
students

MENTALITY OF
GRADUATE VS.
UNDERGRADUATE
STUDIES

MENTALITY OF GRADUATE VS. UNDERGRADUATE
Undergraduate coursework is a basic
educational foundation within a given program
of study following high school.
 The course work includes a general cluster
of knowledge that promotes a well rounded
education.
 The student is exposed to a variety of areas,
not just their chosen field of study.
Graduate coursework in most cases is very
specific and particular to one field of study.

 Graduate studies differs from undergraduate studies
in that much more of the force is on the student.
 In undergraduate programs, there are a lot of
courses that focuses only to students’ basic
foundation ideas and information.
 The purpose for undergraduate is to give students
enough of a basic background that they can wisely
shop for their discipline specialty they study.
 Graduate school asks students to feed themselves
though there is still coursework to help students
pick up facts and ideas that undergraduate
programs don't get in due to the four year time
constraints

Undergraduate coursework : Undergraduate allows
an individual to explore a variety of areas.
Graduate coursework: Individuals who wish to
pursue graduate studies need to have a clear idea of
what exactly that they want to study. For graduate
studies:
 The work load in graduate studies involves working
closely with a major professor to properly design the
course studies.
 An individual may also become part of a lab group or
research team and work closely with other students
on that team.

Undergraduate School: Undergrad school is
exam-based education.
Graduate Studies: is training in research.
It is for people who love research,
scholarship and teaching.
It requires more focused and sustained
work, it involves more intensive relationships
with faculty and other students, and it
makes considerably greater demands on
your personal identity.

Undergraduate Coursework: You acquire a
general identity such as Civil Engineer, Mechanical
Engineer, etc. Specialization such a Traffic
Engineer or Structural Engineer might come later
after gaining experience concentrating on specific
work in the area.
Graduate Studies: You will acquire a particular
sort of professional identity immediately after
graduating such as Traffic Engineer, Structural
Engineer, etc
You will become known as the person who wrote
a paper, who did research, who refuted a theory,
or who initiated a line of inquiry.

WORKING FOR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE
 Master’s Degree—mainly is designed to give a solid
education in a specialized field. Most master’s
candidates spend one to two years earning their degree
 PhD Degree—are designed to give extensive expertise
in a specialized field. Usually (not always), it is targeted
towards training to pursue in academia as a Professor or
Researcher
 Both Masters and PhD can be attended by a student as:
 Full Time Graduate Program
 Part Time Graduate Program
 Evening Graduate Program; or
 Online Graduate Program.
 Can work as Teaching or Research Assistants

Master’s Degree—Most spend one to two years earning their degree
1. Master’s students take courses to fulfill degree requirements,
just like undergraduate, however, the workload is heavier
2. At the beginning of the master’s program, you choose or
assigned a faculty member who will serve as your advisor
3. This advisor will help you develop academic focus and potential
topics for your thesis or final project
4. Then you decide on your research focus and complete your
master's thesis or final project
5. If you show promise, you may be encouraged to continue
toward a PhD
6. Earning master's degree may be a requirement for to PhD
7. There are basically two kinds of Master's programs:
coursework only and with thesis requirement
8. But, if you plan to obtain a PhD then you should choose the
thesis option to develop your research skills.
9. In some cases students can register for a program that results
in a master's and a doctoral degree
WORKING FOR MASTERS

PhD (Doctoral) Degree—Most of PhD programs often offer full
scholarships and a living stipend
1. Most candidates spend three to 6 years earning this degree
2. In the first two to three years of a PhD program, you take
courses to satisfy your degree requirements
3. You then choose an advisor, find an area that will lead to a
promising dissertation topic write a dissertation proposal, and
develop a working relationship with other professors
4. A PhD student is usually required to present a written
dissertation proposal to research committee and defend it
5. After proposal defense, students take comprehensive exams
6. The thesis & exams demonstrate your qualification to continue
with doctoral work
7. After comprehensive exam and defending the proposal, you
focus on your dissertation, which is supposed to contribute to
knowledge in your field.
8. When you’ve finally finished, you are required to present and
defend your work before a faculty committee.
WORKING FOR DOCTORATE

CHALLENGES TO ANTICIPATE
Academic Rigor
 As a graduate student, you must be sufficiently
engaged so that you will have the desire to learn,
to be prepared, and to treat the experience with
much dedication as you would be expected to apply
as a professional.
 Academic rigor can be considered under three
separate concepts
1. Quantity–the amount of work students are
expected to do
2. Quality–the extent to which students are
expected to be brilliant, creative, insightful, and
the like
3. Consistency—continuous excellence.

 Time management—There is never enough time for serious
student
 How to keep yourself relaxed when you're overloaded
with courses, research, teaching, and a life?
 Thesis/dissertation writing and preparation time can drag
you down
 Attaining a balance: Attending classes, studying, working a
part-time, participating in other activities, and finding time for
friends, family and yourself can be a hard for graduate
students to balance
 Postponing: Research suggests that students often postpone
studies when they perceive the thesis or dissertation as an
overwhelming task. Under these circumstances, motivation has
been cited as the biggest problem that graduate students face
in writing the thesis or dissertation.

 Intellectual Challenges: The bar at graduate school is
higher than it has ever been before and the mental skills
required of you will be challenging to say the least.
 Often times in graduate study, a student is required to
provide not merely a recitation of the facts and details
but an in-depth analysis of the issue and to provide
solutions or strategies that can be employed in dealing
with the scenario
 Emotional Challenges: Graduate study will take a long
time. Once you've achieved candidacy, the research and
writing will consume you.
 The sleepless nights of study will seem like child's play
when you're faced with the problem of keeping
yourself motivated even when the research is not
going well.

 Tests of Character: Graduate study tests not only your
knowledge and skill for your subject but also your
determination. You'll get through only if:
 You have a passion and love what you're doing;
 You can keep your focus and concentration; and
 You have the undeniable urge to emerge victorious.
 Commitment: Sometimes it might require you to study and
research during scheduled breaks unlike in undergraduate
studies where there are relieved in winter, spring, summer,
and fall breaks off
 Research: Research in graduate school represents a focused,
personal research effort where you take the lead on your own,
unique project. Your adviser is not going to hold your hands
and tell you what to do every step of the way.
 Stubbornness: Stubbornness means sticking with things even
when you get depressed or when things aren't going well. You
will encounter unexpected problems and obstacles that can
add months or years to the graduate project. It's very easy to
become depressed and unmotivated about going on.

Flexibility: Flexibility means taking advantage
of opportunities and synergies, working around
problems, and being willing to change plans as
required. You must be flexible in your approach
and research program
Interpersonal skills: Success in graduate
school depends a great deal upon your ability to
build and maintain interpersonal relationships
with your adviser, your committee, your
research and support staff and your fellow
students.

DETERMINATION OF FACULTY EXPECTATIONS
 In most cases, graduate student progress is guided and
evaluated by an advisor and a graduate committee.
 These individuals give direction and support for the
appropriate developmental and learning goals
 The advisor and the graduate committee also have the
obligation of evaluating student's academic performance
 The graduate student, the advisor, and the graduate
committee constitute the basic core of graduate
education
 It is the quality, scope, and extent of interaction in this
group that determine the significance of the graduate
experience
 High quality graduate education requires professional
and ethical conduct of the participants
 Faculty and graduate students have mutual
responsibilities in ensuring academic standards and
quality graduate programs.

DETERMINATION OF FACULTY EXPECTATIONS
 Excellence in graduate education is achieved when faculty and
students are inspired and are genuine in their mutual desire to
see one another triumph.
 Any action that negatively affects this interaction-from either
faculty member or student-destroys the whole relationship.
 Mutual respect is critical to the successful process
 If your advisor pays you for the research or TA, try to focus
finishing the piece of work than counting number of hours you
worked (impress him)
 Advisor may certainly have connections inside and outside the
institution that could prove invaluable
 Graduate student should behave in a professional way in all
interactions with the advisor
 Ask you advisor before you register for elective courses
 Follow his/her directions, be punctual to his/her assignments.
 Help advisor in report writing and publications (if possible)
 Graduate students are expected to be very proactive in
consulting with their faculty academic & research advisors to
stay on the right track and to seek academic advice

NETWORKING
Attend Networking Events, Professional Speakers, and
Participate in Departmental Organizations
Take full advantage of these events. While you may not
have the opportunity to sit down and talk with the
professional speaker on a one to one level, you’ll have the
chance to learn from his or her speech, as well as the
chance to exchange contact information.
Attending these events gives you a “foot-in-the-door”
approach to following up with that individual, and
potentially expanding your network in the future.
Signing up for department clubs and organizations is an
excellent way of connecting with the professors and
students in your field.

NETWORKING
•The first step of networking while in graduate
school is to develop a list of contacts.
•Some of the contacts may be from the
Professors, teaching assistants, researchers and
fellow students.
•Networking with professors, fellow students,
committee members and advisors is crucial to the
advancement of your education. You can gain
information, visibility, feedback, career advice,
friendship and social and emotional support.

NETWORKING WITH OTHER STUDENTS
Study groups are very common in graduate school.
1.By participating in group study, you can supplement your
individual study and gain a greater understanding of class
material.
2.Study groups also provide the opportunity to:
 Share notes, study tips, and ideas.
 Learn class material faster and easier.
 Complete class projects more quickly.
 Make new friends and network with other students
 Familiarize yourself with practices by learning how to
work as part of a team
3.Make sure that the size of your study group is appropriate
4.Choose people who will be committed to the group

Slide design © 2009, Mid-America Transportation Center. All rights reserved.
Dr. Deo Chimba, PE
Associate Professor
Tennessee State University
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
3500 John Merritt Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37209
dchimba@Tnstate.edu
CREDITS

2015 MATC Scholars Program: Deo Chimba

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2015 MATC Scholars Program: Deo Chimba