Is Grad School for You? Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies McGill University 1

2 Should I go to Grad School? The decision-making basis should be: A genuine interest in your area of studies Thorough analysis of your long-term goals NOT to avoid making career planning decisions * Having a Master’s or PhD does not automatically make you more or less employable.

Things to do first Explore career possibilities upon bachelor graduation Consult career advisors and alumni in your own faculty CaPS offers excellent advising services and career planning resources Conduct a self-assessment of the “soft”, transferable skills you would need in your future career Where can you best develop them?

Things to think about Can I take a year off to ‘see the world’? Will it be hard to come back to school? Should I get some work experience in a related field? Should I take several streams or concentrate on one subject area? Should I stay at McGill or go somewhere else?

Options Master’s Degree Professional Degree Doctoral Degree Graduate Diploma or Certificate 5

Master’s Degree Requires a Bachelor’s Degree Extensive Research and Analysis Advances Career and Earnings Potential Can often choose Thesis or Non-Thesis option 6

Doctoral Degree Original research in a specific field with a supervisor (prof. advising on research) Requires a Bachelor’s Degree Normally requires a Master’s Degree (some exceptions) Research- and Work-intensive 7

What’s the Difference? Master’s Degree (Academic) Average Length: 2 years Career-oriented (usually) Most require a thesis Doctoral Degree (Academic) Average Length: 4-7 years Research-oriented Typically requires a dissertation 8

McGill’s General Admission Requirements Bachelor’s Degree Requirements vary by program ( Minimum CGPA* over duration of Bachelor’s: 3.0 OR Min. GPA over last 2 years of Bachelor’s: 3.2 Int’l degree equivalencies available * CGPA = Cumulative Grade Point Average 9

Application Considerations Who will write your letters of recommendation? –Graduate programs generally require letters of recommendation from professors –Become involved in research throughout your undergraduate career –Try to have something published Honours Programs will give you an “edge” 10

McGill Graduate Studies: A Global Reach Highest proportion of international students in any Canadian university In Quebec, a student visa allows you to work for three years after graduation ~60% of the new professors (since 2000) were recruited from outside Canada Important global connections with other universities, hospitals, governments, industry and NGOs Opportunities to conduct research anywhere in the world (graduate students and alumni around the world) 11

McGill’s research changes the world Flexibility - Interdisciplinary research approaches Top research scholars with international reputation Real world impact $ million awarded in research funding in (McGill and affiliated hospitals) McGill hosts top researchers from around the world, notably through the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program and McGill’s Japan Visiting Scholars Initiative Advanced facilities befitting graduate students’ talents i.e. new open-concept Life Sciences Complex, new high-tech music building, living laboratories, four affiliated hospitals in Montreal 12

McGill: Dollars and Sense McGill is aiming to provide multi-year graduate funding packages In 2007, $3.5 million into new funding for international graduate students International doctoral students pay same tuition as domestic students through the MIDAs program McGill funding: fellowships, awards, stipends, teaching and research assistantships, and external training grants Reasonable tuition rates compared to peer institutions in Canada and the U.S. 13

McGill’s Graduate Offerings 14 Visit our program pages to view all our graduate offerings! 

Useful Links 15  Arts OASIS: After a B.A. degree: What about graduate studies?   McGill Prospective Graduate Students Website   CaPS: Applying to Graduate Studies and Professional Schools 