Workshops on Succeeding as a Graduate Student

Mark Borden
Roughly half of all incoming doctoral students will drop out, two-thirds of whom will do so during their second and third years [1]. This high attrition rate is often ascribed to a lack of the "academic mentality" in some students — that is, they fail to make the necessary transition from rote memorization in undergraduate education to creative research in doctoral training. The Ph.D. process is demanding, but there are time-proven practices that can help. My project aims to assist graduate students through a series of workshops that will address the following skills of the effective doctoral student:

1. Strategies of the Self-Starter
2. Creative Problem Solving
3. Proposal Writing for First- and Second-Year Graduate Students

[1] S. Smallwood, "Doctor Dropout: High attrition from Ph.D. programs is sucking away time, talent, and money and breaking some hearts, too," in The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 50, 2004, pp. A10.

Facilitating University-Community Interactions Using the Spoken Word

Greg Cunningham
By virtue of the time and effort that it takes to complete a graduate degree, we are often isolated from the community outside of the University. And yet, it is this outside community that ultimately provides the academic community with support. For example, since much of the funding for academics comes in the form of government-based grants, and the public votes these governments into power, the opinions held by the community can partially influence how successful we are in our respective fields. We have international meetings where we learn how to relate to others in our field but we receive little training to learn how to portray often complex, esoteric work to the community at large.

Additionally, universities are on the cutting edge of research across all disciplines. The community surrounding the University would benefit greatly from the sharing of this information. In turn, having to explain our work or our field to the community would help develop our presentation skills, which ultimately increases our value in the academic community.

To decrease the distance between the University and outside communities, I will complete a two part project. First, I will lead a series of workshops where graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from a variety of fields meet to discuss how we can give successful presentations to the community. These presentations could range from very specific presentations of our own research to broad presentations that review our field. Members of the community will be invited to talk at these workshops. Second, I will act as a facilitator in setting up presentations in the community given by workshop attendees.

Retention in the Arts & Letters, Finding and Imitating Sources

Nick Diehl
Graduate programs admit students who are intelligent, motivated, and dedicated to their studies; they admit, in short, those students who have all of the potential to succeed in graduate school. Once admitted, however, graduate students are too often left to fend for themselves when it comes to developing the skills necessary to succeed — dissertation writing, networking, resume developing, and so on. This can result in graduate students who leave their programs without a degree or find their time to degree extended for want of the right help. This is wasteful of both these talented potential scholars and teachers and of university funds. I am working with the Office of Outreach Recruitment and Retention to establish a program to help improve graduate student retention in the arts and letters, particularly for less noticed groups of graduate students — first-generation graduate students with no family in academia and graduate students who come directly from their undergraduate institution with no graduate or professional experience. Currently I am building a case for a peer mentoring program for such students; such programs have been successful in many universities around the country.

Thriving in the Ivory Tower: A Group Mentoring Series for First-Year and Advanced Graduate Women

Sarah Eyerly
The importance of helping first-year graduate students make a successful transition to the graduate school environment cannot be underestimated, since half of all graduate student attrition occurs after the first year. In response to this problem, I will be re-instituting a series begun by the Women's Resources and Research Center in 1999–2000, and continued by PFTF Fellow Bethany Barratt in 2000–2001, entitled "Thriving in the Ivory Tower: A Group Mentoring Series for First Year and Advanced Graduate Women." The series brought together advanced and first-year graduate women (as well as representatives of relevant campus units) to share information and insights about the graduate school experience in a group-mentoring environment.

This year, the series will take place during winter quarter. Each meeting will consist of 30 minutes of presentations and discussion by advanced graduate students and/or representatives of various university units, followed by group discussion and an informal socializing period during which participants can receive mentoring advice and discuss issues relevant to their personal lives and careers. Discussion topics will include: how to make a successful transition to the graduate school environment, how to achieve a balance between graduate school, families, and relationships, as well as an overview of campus units that affect the lives of graduate students, with representatives from the Counseling Center, the Teaching Resources Center, the Office of Graduate Studies, and the Women's Resources and Research Center. In addition, there will be a discussion on sexual harassment, as well as gender issues in leading and participating in seminars and faculty/mentor relationships.

The original series was quite successful and beneficial to the students who participated in it, and since the issues addressed in the "Thriving in the Ivory Tower" series are perennial and relevant to each class of graduate students, I would like to see it become a regular part of the services offered by the Women's Resources and Research Center and other participating campus units.

Assessment of the Needs of Graduate Students Conducting Field Research

Deana Fritcher
Graduate student participation in field research projects outside of the UC Davis campus is an integral part of many students' educational experience and a valuable opportunity for university collaborative research and service. Field research is extremely rewarding, but also creates additional challenges for graduate students. The academic calendar and fee structure may restrict a student's ability to conduct field research. Furthermore, graduate students working in the field face additional health and safety concerns, especially if working internationally. Grant writing for field projects is difficult for students who are not familiar with the additional logistical costs. Also, maintaining connections to the University while away from campus is challenging.

In order to gain a better understanding of what challenges face graduate students working in the field, and how the University might better support these students, I plan to conduct an electronic mail-based survey designed to address these questions and identify specific students who have overcome challenges while conducting field work. Problems and concerns highlighted in survey results could then be addressed through focus group workshops, and the creation of a "Field Survival Manual" for graduate students.

Completing a Ph.D. Dissertation: Departmental Policies That Help and Hinder

Roy Gal
Graduate programs in the physical sciences present students with an approach to learning that is distinct from their prior educational experience, requiring that they produce a lengthy thesis based on their own original research. This is a significant change from students' previous, extremely structured coursework, which is limited in duration, with regular coursework, exams, and a fixed end date. The lack of structure in graduate school often leads to confusion, lack of direction, and difficulty in setting benchmarks and then achieving them. These potential challenges may be more acute in the University of California system, where the guidelines for completing a thesis are very broad, allowing individual departments to design their specific requirements, including whether or not a defense is required. An additional obstacle to graduation is the tension between timely completion of the student's own thesis research, and their desire to maintain a positive working relationship with their adviser by becoming involved in the adviser's other projects. All of these issues can seriously impede the timely completion of a doctoral thesis. However, they may be mitigated by departmental policy, which can include structure (such as candidacy exams and a thesis defense) and resources (such as a committee to evaluate student progress).

My project examines the policies of graduate programs in the physical sciences at UC Davis (such as oversight programs and defense requirements), and their impact on the time-to-completion of doctoral theses. I will compile the requirements for completion of a doctoral thesis and the graduation statistics of physical science departments on the main UC Davis campus. These statistics will be used for interdepartmental comparisons, as well as comparisons to national averages in similar programs, to yield insight into which procedures adequately assist students to complete their research. In addition, current graduate students in the same departments will be surveyed to gauge their impression of thesis progress and the structure, support and direction they receive. The results of this research will result in the generation of a report, to be distributed to the graduate office, administration, and department chairs, outlining the findings, with suggestions for policies that can be implemented on a departmental basis to speed graduate progress.

Researcher Wanted: Fulfilling Research Needs for the Public and Private Sector

Don Hankins
Many graduate students enter their graduate careers without a research project through which to make an original contribution to academia and the world. In contrast many agencies and organizations have specific research needs, but lack individuals to complete the research. A forum is needed to facilitate interactions between graduate students and representatives of agencies and organizations to discuss research opportunities and needs of their agencies or organizations. The goal of my project is to conduct a series of programs during which agency and organization representatives can present their research needs to graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and professors. These programs will also provide an opportunity for university affiliates to develop relationships with agencies and organizations in an effort to maintain the University of California's capacity as a land grant institution and fulfill its mission of education, research, and public service. This program will also facilitate communication pathways between academicians and agency and organization representatives with respect to future research needs as they may arise.

The proposed program(s) will be conducted and will be designed around themes appropriate for the diversity of graduate research interests such as natural resources, business management, community planning, and sociology. For the program(s), representatives from various agencies and organizations will be invited to participate. Each representative will be given an opportunity to present their agency's or organization's research needs. Additionally, these representatives will be able to discuss funding opportunities and how to develop contracts, memoranda or other methods of formalizing researcher to agency relationships. An additional component of the program(s) could include a research fair at which agencies and organizations could recruit researchers to participate in their research projects. The program(s) could also include a seminar of current research within the agency or organization.

Pursuing Excellence in Teaching

Mikaela Huntzinger
Most UC Davis graduate students anticipate teaching in some form as part of their careers, and many are hoping for guidance in this exciting but daunting endeavor. For my project, I am organizing an informal pilot, lunch-time seminar series entitled, "Outstanding Teaching: Ideas from Accomplished Professors." This project will give graduate students and postdocs across campus the opportunity to hear multiple perspectives on teaching. The goals of the series will be to draw attention to the importance of teaching as a professional skill, to highlight the range of successful teaching philosophies and techniques, and to provide role models for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in teaching. UC Davis and other colleges in the area have a great number of outstanding teachers who have received teaching awards and recognitions. I will invite several of these teachers to participate in the series, ensuring that a broad range of academic disciplines, teaching styles, and teaching philosophies are represented. At each meeting of the series, the speaker will provide a short presentation on his/her teaching area and why he/she likes to teach. The presentation will be followed by an interactive discussion wherein he/she will address the individual interests of the graduate students and postdocs present.

Science Writing

Karen Kostan
Communicating ideas and discoveries to others is a vital step in the scientific process, but is often neglected outside of professional publications and presentations geared towards a select audience of peers in a narrow scientific field.

My proposed project is designed to give graduate students and postdocs in the sciences a chance to build experience translating scientific information for a broader audience. Last year, a PFTF member organized a highly successful seminar series giving students a chance to discuss issues related to science writing, as well as hear from scientists on methods of communicating scientific ideas to the public. The goal of my project is to build on this previous seminar. I will run a series of weekly meetings designed to give graduate students and postdocs the opportunity to hone their science writing skills. We will work on a few short pieces as a class, as well as a longer piece suitable for publication by the end of the quarter. We will use suggestions from established writers and editors to help improve our own work, in addition to exchanging drafts of our writing to get peer feedback from researchers outside of our own field.

This seminar will hopefully lead to an increased appreciation of the need to develop skills necessary to convey scientific ideas in an accessible format to a broad audience. This could also improve teaching skills and facilitate interdisciplinary communication among researchers.

Designing Effective Visuals for Presentations, Posters, Papers and Proposals

Nathan Moore
It is often said that pictures are worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, that statement is the extent of most students' knowledge of graphic design. Whether designing a presentation, poster, paper, or proposal, most graduate students can only guess at the best way to present information visually. If pictures are words, we as future researchers, teachers, and community leaders ought to learn our own visual language. Much complicated research can be explained more easily by diagrams, charts, illustrations, photographs, or other graphic elements that tell stories directly. However, poorly designed visuals can mislead, frustrate, or rile one's audience. Having art skills isn't enough because often what is artistically appealing is not clear communication.

Graduate students and postdocs can make themselves look like the professionals they are by learning a coherent set of design principles for visual communication. To teach these skills, I am conducting interactive workshops—three in winter and three in spring—covering three topics: 1) Designing Effective Illustrations; 2) Information Graphics: Letting Your Numbers Speak; and 3) Designing Documents For Clarity and Visual Appeal. In addition, I am developing a stand-alone handbook on graphic design that will be printed for workshop attendees.

Acing Your Qualifying Exam: Strategies for Success in Any Department

Rhea Presiado
Graduate students in a myriad of departments: atmospheric science, education, math, music, geography, any many more, are united by the common thread of the dreaded qualifying exam. For many graduate students this is one of the most uncertain, stressful, and time consuming aspects of their graduate education. This exam, may be written or oral or both, or follow any format according to the specific requirement of the graduate program. I am implementing a seminar for graduate students in the winter 2005 quarter on preparing for oral examinations. Although the content and structure of qualifying examinations varies widely by discipline, I will be focusing on universal "strategies for success" that will be valuable to graduate students in all departments. The seminar, led by both graduate students and professors will highlight the following topics: understanding the exam, knowing your examiners, preparation strategies, stress reduction and what to expect before, during, and after. This seminar will help to demystify the qualifying exam, and empower graduate students with the skills and strategies to feel confident and prepared when the time comes for their qualifying exam.

Rhea's guide is featured on the Graduate Studies Web site.

Surviving the Summer: Finding Funding

Alison Terry
One of the obstacles most UC Davis graduate students face is finding funding during the summer months. The majority of departments do not guarantee employment over the summer, and avenues for funding are often not obvious to first-year graduate students. With increasingly limited departmental budgets for summer TAships and departmentally funded RAships, it is becoming even more vital for students at all stages in their programs to learn how to seek out summer funding opportunities. My project will create a short series of workshops intended to advertise the many funding opportunities open to graduate students in all disciplines. The workshops will include panels of graduate students representing several disciplines, and representatives from the Internship and Career Center and/or Office of Graduate Studies. In addition to advising students to seek funding from their major advisers and TA/Readership positions within their departments, I will also advertise the funding links on the Graduate Studies Web page and the Student Jobs Board.

Accessing Resources to Achieve Balance: Information on Campus and Community Resources to Help Make Parenting in Graduate School Possible

Heather Wylie
My project concerns the issue of work-life balance in the academy. While administration has paid increasing attention to this issue in terms of faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars remain largely absent from these conversations. To that end, I propose a series of discussions that focus on work-life balance issues specific to graduate school and postdoctoral work. At this point, I envision a series of three panel discussions scheduled at two-week intervals. Having them close together would help ensure better continuity among conversations.

The opening panel would summarize the challenges to obtaining balance between work and life within the academy. To do this, I will invite (with Dean Gibeling's help), Dr. Mary Ann Mason to present her study titled, "Do Babies Matter?" Published in the Academe (November-December 2003), this study examined the effects of having children on one's academic career. This session would effectively introduce the "problem" of work-life balance.

The remaining two panels would examine ways of dealing with this "problem". Of these, one panel will examine how graduate students and postdoctoral scholars can negotiate the challenges of family life and still be effective students/scholars. The final panel will address the challenges of negotiating work-life balance during the job hunt and the first few years as a new faculty member.