Being an AiO in the United States, from Start to Finish

1. Being an AiO in the United States, from Start to Finish Pamela K. Smith Radboud University Nijmegen (Ph.D. from New York University) p.smith@psych.ru.nl

2. Overview • Getting in: How to apply for a graduate student position in the U.S. • Surviving and thriving: What it’s like to be a graduate student in the U.S.

3. A quick comment on terms • What is a “graduate student”? • Officially, it is someone who has their bachelor’s degree and is now working towards a master’s degree or Ph.D. • However, in the U.S., most people who want to get a Ph.D. in social psychology go straight into a Ph.D. program after receiving their bachelor’s degree • So when I say “graduate student,” I mean “Ph.D. student,” someone working on their Ph.D.

4. The application process • You apply in the fall to start in the fall of the following year • Application deadlines vary by university, but are generally from early December to middle of January • From January to April, you find out if you got in or not (maybe you have to interview too) • You have until April 15 to decide whether you will accept an offer from a school • If you accept an offer, you generally start in late August/early September

5. Picking universities • I wrote universities, not university, for a reason: People usually apply to multiple places • You are applying to a department, NOT to work with a specific person on a specific project! • Look for places where you would be happy working with more than 1 person • However, in your application you will indicate the people with whom you want to work • www.socialpsychology.org – source for rankings of schools and lots of other info

6. Questions to consider when picking universities • What kind of research am I interested in doing? • Your interests may change (and faculty may move!), so look for places with more than 1 person whose work interests you • Where am I willing to live? • What sort of funding can I get? How much teaching will it require? • How hard is it to get in—do I have a real chance? • You can find this information on websites, in books, and by contacting the university directly

7. The application • Online applications common • Generally provide 5 main kinds of information • Undergraduate grades • Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores – general, sometimes also psychology • Letters of recommendation (usually 3) • Description of previous research experience • Personal statement

8. Useful resources • Books on applying to graduate programs • The Complete Guide to Graduate School Admission: Psychology, Counseling, and Related Professions • Getting in: A Step-By-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology • How one student got into Stanford’s social psychology program: http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~amiawake/how/ • Don’t forget to contact specific faculty and graduate students themselves!

9. So you’re in. Now what? • How do you fill the 4-6 years it takes on average to get a Ph.D.? • With classes • With teaching • With RESEARCH • . . . and with a social life

10. Ph.D. students take classes too • Most Ph.D. programs in the U.S. make you take classes • How many? Depends on the university • At NYU, I took 16 courses in total (only 12 were required) • Princeton University – must take 5 courses • Usually you complete most of your courses in your first 2 years • I took 3-4 courses/semester for first 2 years, then 1 course/semester for next 2 years

11. . . .but classes are not your first priority! • Most classes are very interactive, with reading assignments, presentations, and in-class discussions • Students need to be prepared enough to be active participants • You need to pass, but classes are not the top priority—research is • However, classes can be useful sources of research ideas • Classes give you breadth and depth of knowledge—that means some classes will be fairly unrelated to your interests

12. Comprehensive/Qualifying/ Preliminary exams • Also known as “comps” or “quals” or “prelims” • Taken at the end of your second year or beginning of your third year • Come in different forms • A thesis (usually convering the research you did in the first 2 years) • A written exam (take-home or in-house) • An oral exam • Some universities do more than 1 of the above, some universities don’t do this at all • You have to pass this before you can continue and get your Ph.D.

13. My experience at NYU • The summer after my second year we had “comps” • Take-home exam: 72 hours to answer 4 out of 5 questions • Could write no more than 5 pages (double-spaced, 12 point font) per question • Could not ask people for help, but could use all notes, articles, books we wanted • Spent 1.5 months preparing for it, filled a cabinet drawer with notes, papers • BUT. . . almost everyone who took comps at NYU, passed them

14. How often do you have to teach? • That depends on. . . • what sort of funding you have • Some funding stipulates that you must teach for a certain number of semesters • what the requirements are for a Ph.D. • At NYU, I had to teach at least 2 classes to be allowed to receive a Ph.D.

15. Teaching as a grad student = being a TA • TA = teaching assistant • At many universities, graduate students almost never teach an entire class themselves • Professors teach a large lecture course, then students attend “discussion sections” (similar to werkgroupen) related to the lecture • These discussion sections are taught by TAs • In sections, TAs answer questions about the lecture, discuss additional material • TAs often also responsible for grading papers, other assignments, exams

16. Research! • In the U.S. you generally work on several projects as a graduate student • Probably at least one of these projects will not be with your advisor • Could be with other faculty, even other grad students • As a grad student, you are allowed to publish without your advisor’s name being on the paper • The goal is to become an independent researcher with multiple lines of research

17. Advisors • In the U.S., your advisor can be an assistant professor (UD), associate professor (UHD), or a full professor (hoogleraar) • You do not have to work with a full professor unless you want to • There are pros and cons of working with junior faculty • There are pros and cons of working with senior faculty

18. Independence from the advisor • Often you are less dependent on your advisor in the U.S. than you are in the Netherlands • You are usually paid by departmental funds rather than by your advisor • It is often expected that you will work with multiple people (and that your advisor will not be involved in all of these projects) • It is often not hard to switch advisors • You simply talk to both parties involved, then notify the department • BUT this is not true of all U.S. universities or all advisors!

19. The issue of IRBs • Before you can do any research, that research will need to be approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) • The IRBs job is to determine if your research is ethically okay • Depending on where you are, this process can take weeks • Sometimes IRBs only meet once or twice a month

20. The dissertation • Compared to Dutch dissertations, U.S. dissertations are short • They generally represent one line of research • They generally consist only of work you have done in your last 1-2 years of grad school • My dissertation consisted of 5 studies (typical for the type of research I did) • In the U.S., do not make books of your dissertation to give to people

21. The dissertation process • Varies by university (like everything else!) • During third year (sometimes in beginning of fourth year) you write a proposal for your dissertation and get it approved by your proposal committee • Then you spend the next 1-2 years collecting data and writing your dissertation • It’s not as rushed as it sounds—sometimes people (like me) collect some data before the proposal is approved

22. The dissertation timetable for me • Warning—this is not typical! • March 2003 – came up with idea • April 2003 – started collecting data • November-December 2003 – wrote and defended proposal • April 2004 – finished collecting data • May 2004 – wrote dissertation • June 10, 2004 – defended dissertation

23. The dissertation defense (promotie) • Begin with a short presentation of your dissertation (10-20 minutes long) • Then committee asks you questions • The defense is generally NOT public • Sometimes the short presentation is open to the public, but before the questioning everyone leaves except the committee • There is NO time limit for the questioning period • 1.5-2 hours is typical • You are done when you have answered all the committee’s questions to their satisfaction • Usually no big party afterwards—just informal celebrating

24. It’s not a job, it’s a passion • Graduate school in the U.S. is intense • You are expected to work far more than 40 hours a week • You can choose your hours, since you generally have 24/7 building access • Students may come in not much before lunchtime, then stay until late in the evening • Coming to the university on weekends is not uncommon • However, not all those hours at the university are spent hard at work

25. It has to be a passion because it doesn’t pay like a job! • Graduate students in the U.S. are generally paid less well than graduate students in the Netherlands • They are students, not employees • Graduate stipends (the money you get to live on) vary between universities, but this variation does not completely make up for differences in cost of living • A graduate student at NYU will find it harder to make ends meet than a graduate student at OSU • You also get less money for conferences • Often must pay part of conference expenses yourself • Find ways to save money (e.g., share a hotel room with 4 other students)

26. . . . but even U.S. grad students have fun too

27. The social side of social psychology • Because new grad students only start at one time every year (Aug-Sep), you have a cohort • You go through similar things at similar times • Can commiserate, provide support • For example, I prepared and studied for comps with my cohort

28. Cohort togetherness

29. The social side (cont.) • In the U.S., people rarely get their Ph.D. at the same place they received their bachelor’s degree • You are not the only new kid on the block! • Foreign students are common at many universities • In fact, a current grad student in NYU’s social program is from the Netherlands • Foreign faculty are also fairly common • Better universities and universities in bigger cities are more likely to have foreign students, faculty