I am delighted to introduce the Cocoon's newest series: our Grad School Survival Guide. This series will consist of a series of posts -- mostly guest-posts by Cocoon readers, but also perhaps by some existing contributors -- on how to navigate and flourish in grad school. As someone who struggled in grad school in ways I never expected (and who has spoken to many others who had similar experiences), my sincere hope is that this series will help readers who are considering, beginning, or already in grad school anticipate, avoid, and/or grapple effectively with the many challenges grad school can present.
Before introducing our first guest-post, I would like to note that the advice and guidance offered in this series is just that: sincere advice by past or present graduate students offered in a spirit of assistance, but which may or may not be correct or work for everyone. If some of the advice offered seems wrong to you -- or something else worked for you -- please feel free to let us know in the comment's section (bearing the Cocoon's safe and supportive mission in mind!). Above all, the purpose of this series is to be helpful -- so the more friendly and productive discussion there is, the better!
Anyway, without further ado, here is the first post in the series:
Starting a Philosophy Graduate Program: How to Hit the Ground Running
By Johnny Brennan (Fordham University)
I’d like to thank Marcus for letting me contribute to this new series at the Cocoon: Grad School Survival Guide. I just completed my first semester as a PhD student at Fordham University, and prior to that I received my masters from the New School for Social Research in 2013. In between programs I worked at the American Council of Learned Societies. Given that I’m a bit older than the average incoming graduate student with a wife and newborn (something I’ll talk about in a future post), and that Fordham has a separate, shorter track for those entering with an MA, I knew going in that I wanted to make the most of my time while also being as efficient as possible. That’s what I’d like to talk about today: how to start your graduate program on the right foot. Perhaps it goes without saying that these tactics have worked well for me and my temperament, but your mileage may vary; you may not find all (or any) of what I have to say helpful.
It would be nice to know this, since I certainly had no intention of bringing syllabi (any syllabi, let alone, detailed) of classes I would be asked to teach. I assumed I would bring only the notes I would need for my talk and teaching demo, and/or anything else specifically requested. Am I off base?
What do you all think? Here are some of my quick thoughts.