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The grad director here told us that there are two ways you can go with your dissertation - pick something nobody else has looked at before and introduce it to the world, or take on one of the huge questions ("What were the causes of the Civil War?") and demonstrate why everybody else is wrong. The second is high risk, high reward.
So, there you go.
Posts: 794 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Wow, things are.... so different in my field. I don't even know how to begin describing the differences. Stupid computers stupid stupid stupid *wanders off babbling incoherently about applied math*
Posts: 872 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Today I feel that the revisions to my proposal will take infinite time. For any section that I rewrite there seems to be infinite revisions. And every time we meet my advisor gives me another section to totally change or work out. So, this will just never end right?
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Loren. Embrace your generalist-ness. Don't worry about finishing. In fact, quit school and spend all your time writing Byzantine-flavored novels for us to read.
------- I am not going to grad school. I probably should get an MBA or related degree sometime in the near future, but I'm not sure I want to.
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Sarah - I think I have things a bit more easy because nobody really has to approve my proposal; I just have to register that it exists (through, of course, paperwork) with the grad school. My advisor read it and said, "Sounds good," and that was about it.
Which means, of course, that I'll be doing all that revision stuff when I actually try to turn in dissertation chapters.
I suppose it will end October 1, one way or the other, right?
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I didn't kill my advisor today!!! To go through all our issues would take forever, but I was so annoyed with him (today's grievance was putting bacterial plates and chemicals on my desk- the place where I eat and play with my baby. Desks are supposed to remain "clean areas" so that you can eat and work without fear of contaminants). He came into the lab and I didn't say a single thing that I could later regret. It was really hard too. And one of the other graduate students said whatever general supplies I need, he'll give me. My boss has been refusing to order supplies for me lately which is making it really hard to do research since these things are pretty basic requirements (the nickel column for purifying a his tagged protein). On top of the minimal stuff I need to do my experiments next week, I am finally going to have disposable falcon tubes like all the other labs!!! I am so excited.
edit to add- I did tell him politely not to leave bacteria and chemicals in clean areas, so hopefully that won't be an issue in the future.
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Sadly, I actually looked into that when he was hospitalized for the fourth time in one year. It was pretty depressing.
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Oh, Zal, I've totally embraced it. In fact, right now I view grad school as my "day job" until I can support myself by writing. The advantage is that, when it's over, I'll have a Ph.D. in hand, too. Probably.
Also, I've noticed an amazing phenomenon over the past week or so--no matter how specific or specialized your Ph.D. topic is, once you start focusing on it, it starts to show up everywhere.
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Holy crap, I am so in over my head. I feel like a complete fraud - I can't believe they let me sit there. I even chickened out on translating. I knew it, but not as well as those who went before and that was apparent, and I was completely psyched out. I need to do a presentation for next week, and hopefully I can redeem myself a little bit.
Also, my social life is dead. I work during the day, so homework must be done at night, and I need every bit of non-work time. I figure that the homework will take at least fifteen hours a week. That's going to be hard to fit in with work and working out and church. Looks like the social life is the one to go.
Fortunately, since I'm paying tuition out of pocket, I don't have any travel money anyway.
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JH: As you know, it's not always apparent the first week who is actually good and who isn't, who is committed and who isn't. You'll be fine.
-------
I'm just now at a point where my wife and I may be having a social life (and frankly a part of it is with each other* -- date night is now a possibility [yay for free babysitting!].
And, of course, now I'm seriously wondering if I should start an MBA program. Yes, MBAs are overrated for some. But since I'm in higher ed PR and my MA is in comparative literature, an MBA in marketing would be a huge boost to the next step in my career (an assistant director or director-level position). My current employer would pay for part of it. My daughter is just a year away from kindergarten. And I'm still in my mid-30s. So it seems like a good time.
And I suppose if I want to start next fall, I really need to start thinking about it and planning for it now.
Ugh. I really really enjoyed college. And I was very very good at it. And I did have withdrawal symptoms for the first year after I finished. But now the thought of homework makes me shudder.
If I do do it, I'll need to find a program that really captures my interest and has less of the silly business stuff that I really don't want or need (and know about because I worked with a biz school [a pretty good one] in my last job). What I really need is a customizable MBA that combines study in market research (something that it's hard to get on-the-job training for), discourse analysis, information management (or whatever field it is that combines UI, CMS, Web communication, etc.), and the basic skills of managing a small department.
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Zal: the field you're talking about seems to be close to HCI, Human Computer Interaction (also called Interaction Design and lots of other things).
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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Thanks, fugu. So I need to find a place that lets me combine HCI with marketing.
The idea is that if I stay in higher ed PR (and I'd prefer to), Web sites and media relations are the two big modes (there's less money for advertising and direct mail -- and usually those get outsourced anyway). And in my experience, even the marketing people that sort of understand e-communications still have a hard time relating to and working with the IT people.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I never thought I would have a reason to post in this thread, but after an appointment with my advisor this past Friday, she approved a request to allow me to take 18 credit hours for spring and summer, which would bring my graduation date to the end of August'08. I had no idea I was so close! I have already felt the pressures of getting a Master's. It seems like everyone in my field (nonprofit) has one (it's what the cool kids get). It would be natural for me to get it in Public Administration, but I am looking into Public Health with a concentration in Community Health.
I went to visit the office of grad studies today and apparently, the deadline for the application is April 1! How in the world am I going to prepare and take the GREs in time. Things are happening too fast!
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I keep reading "HCI" as "hydrochloric acid," which has made the last couple of posts pretty entertaining. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I think I might be close to getting my proposal done. In my program we have to write a document outlying the current work done on our dissertation and what we propose to do to finish the dissertation. My document is currently 45 pages + references.
I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But, it's been a very difficult week. I am almost to the point that I can no longer stomach reading this draft anymore. I'm also starting to fee incredibly jealous of other members of our group that are getting research done. I just need to keep reminding myself that this is currently the major hurdle between me and graduation.
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Good luck sarahdipity. Our proposals were limited to ten pages- to teach us to be brief and concise.
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Depends. What genres and forms are you most interested in writing -- and -- how do you plan on making a living?
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One of my friends knew another lab had someone doing the exact same research as her. The other lab finished writing the paper first, but my friend submitted the paper to a journal with a faster turnaround and so she ended up winning.
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But what kind of fiction? What markets would you sell to?
Most (not all -- but most) MFA programs are really good at spitting out a few MFAs that will go on to teach in other MFA programs (and maybe publish a few books along the way), very few that will be able to live off of their writing, and many that have to take full-time jobs in other fields and maybe go on to publish a few stories, novels or essays.
So the question remains: how do you intend to support yourself?
Whether or not an MFA will be of use depends greatly on what markets you will be going after.
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Really, I write no particular genres; I write what pops in my head. The recurring themes, however, are Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA, and various types I don't really know how to classify other than Literary. I'm also do a lot of film/screenwriting. I really don't plan on "supporting" myself with the stuff I write. I would like to teach, but that's not the reason I want an MFA. I'm realist about the programs and know that they won't make me better, and I plan on having a "real job" other wise. I do, however, want to go on to learn more about the craft and the philosophy behind it, and was hoping an MFA would do just that.
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If that's the case, then you'd be better off just spending that time writing and that money (or a lot less of that money) going to workshops and conferences.
I can't think of any MFA programs that are at all supportive of speculative and/or young adult fiction.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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My proposal defense is tomorrow at 10am. I don't know what I can do to prep more. If I just stay calm the talk will go fine....but right now I'm so nervous.
Posts: 872 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Good luck! Remember that it's unlikely that your adviser would have let you schedule the proposal defense if you weren't ready. And, while I don't know your department or field, it's rare indeed that students are ever kicked out because of a bad proposal - at worst, they'll just make you extensive revision.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Yay! I think it went well. I mean, nothing unexpected got brought up. I have work to do but that's why it's a proposal not a dissertation defense. Posts: 872 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Awesome - glad to hear it went well. Now you only have, what, two or three years to work? Better get cracking. Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Congrats! It's always nice when there are no curve balls.
I did an oral exam for my MA. It involved a lot of reading and synthesizing of the works I read, but it sure beat the endless hall of revisions that would have been me trying to write a thesis.
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Oh I'm planning on graduating in about a year. I'm actually trying to get done by August. But it all just depends on how things go.
Posts: 872 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Taking this thread as an opportunity to rant. We just got an e-mail from our departmental student gov with suggestions for getting rid of super seniors (grad students who have been here for over 6 years). They are things like eliminate committee meeting, cut departmental funding, cut departmental funding for grad students that just happen to be in their lab, no masters awarded afer 5 years (the school policy is after your quals, you get a masters but our department is the exception to that rule). The underlying assumption is that people are here because they are lazy. The fact that advisors sometimes screw grad students is completely absent. Some of the advisors give phds over essentially nothing (worked 4 years, here you go) wheras others are nitpicky jerks who won't be satisfied by anything. Some advisors make their students train undergrads all day (my second year, my boss went away for the summer and left me in charge after bringing in four new people who knew nothing about research, I didn't do anything on my project that summer cause I was too busy taking care of everyone else). I am also annoyed that the student gov is buying into this idea. They are supposed to be defending us to faculty (of course, all the older grad students don't do student gov cause we are trying to graduate and so dropped everything extra). I am so annoyed with these people! I just want me degree and to get out and never look back.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Does anybody know a good source for equivalent marks across various countries? (North America and Europe mainly) And how to figure out one's GPA from %grades? Everywhere I look seems to be different for % grades into GPA Thanks!
Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Are you conveying the information to a specific institution? If so, use their standards. If not (such as being for a resume), I might use the following:
First, determine the equivalent letter grade. For simplicity, I would say ignore +'s and -'s, so 90 - 100 is an A, 80 - 89 is a B, 70 to 79 is a C, 60 to 69 is a D, and anything less is an F. Of course, this is completely unfair to you if your percentage grades were graded harder than they would be in the US.
Then, an A is 4.0, a B is 3.0, a C is 2.0, a D is 1.0, and an F is 0.0. Average them to get your GPA. Weight each in the average by how many credits/hours/whatever it was.
But really, there is no general conversion.
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