Keys to Being a Successful (and Ethical) Graduate Student Jeannette D. Hoit Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences University of Arizona Graduate Orientation August 21, 2013

Isn’t graduate school just more of the same …? Programs are more individualized Expectations are higher Relationships with faculty are closer In short, the “culture” is different

What can you do to help ensure your success in graduate school? Take charge of your program Reach out and get out Stay balanced Manage your time well Be flexible and creative Communicate with your mentors Understand the culture and the rules of ethical behavior

Successful Survival Scenarios

Scenario: Choosing a Mentor You came to UA specifically to work with Dr. Famous. After 3 years of working with her, you finally admit to yourself that you’d rather do your dissertation with another professor on another topic, but you have already committed yourself to Dr. Famous. What should you do?

Solutions Find a good fit Communicate Create a mentor network Change is always an option

Scenario: Conducting a Survey For your thesis, you decide to survey people enrolled in fitness programs about their knowledge of exercise physiology. You write a questionnaire and interview 100 people before telling your mentor (because you want to impress him with your initiative and independence). Do you think he will be impressed?

Solutions (Impressed, but not pleased!) Communicate with your mentor Get approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and human subjects training

Scenario: Funding Your Study Your dissertation study will require a piece of equipment ($1,000) that is not available in your department. So, you decide to hold weekly bake sales to raise the money to purchase it. Is it legal to hold bake sales for this purpose?

Solutions Well, I suppose it’s legal… Apply for a grant Local and federal grants (NSF, NIH) Sign up for UA GradFunding Newsletter Grants provide funding and “added value”

Scenario: Writing a Resume You are in your last semester of your graduate program and you are getting ready to look for a faculty job at a university. You don’t have a resume and you don’t know how to write one. What should you do?

Solutions Curriculum vitae (CV), not resume Resources (Career Services, mentors, books, websites, courses) Advice/feedback from mentors Application letters and interviewing

Scenario: Managing Your Time You are scheduled to give a talk about your first-year project, and you are required to write a paper on the same project. You decide to save time by writing the paper first so that you can read it for your talk. Is this a good time management strategy?

Solutions ** Not necessarily ** Speaking ≠ writing Effective speaking and effective writing are critical skills -- develop them!

Scenario: Publishing a Paper You have just written a paper based on your first-year project. Your mentor advises you to submit it to a journal. You follow her advice, but first you post the paper on your website. Is this the best way to “get the word out” about your project?

Solutions *** No *** Website posting = published Peer-reviewed article > website posting

Being a graduate student can be: Challenging Frightening Satisfying Exciting Difficult Exhausting **Fun**

Being a SUCCESSFUL graduate student requires: Knowledge Resourcefulness Initiative Sense of humor and... Many special skills...

Effective Speaking Effective Writing Authorship, Publication, and Peer Review Grantspersonship Mentoring Teaching Career Options and Preparation Compliance Requirements Human Subjects Animal Care Intellectual Property Integrity in Research and Other Creative Activities Ethical Issues

Survival Skills and Ethics (SLHS 649) Spring Semesters Jeannette (Jenny) Hoit