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[thoughtfull]

Hi,

I am an applicant to PhD programs in the social sciences. I've had some good fortune already, and it's looking like I will be visiting around 3-4 departments before making a decision. All of them are top-tier (ranked in the top 20) programs in my field and intended specialties. And I'll hopefully (knock on wood) have some kind of funding offer from each one.

I was wondering what questions I should ask faculty and students, beyond the obvious ones, in order to get a thorough sense of the program. Any questions you wish you would have asked? Any details that I should be sure to consider?

Thanks in advance! I'm trying to go into the maze of the academy as informed and prepared as possible.

[lohai0]

The grad students will probably be more honest about what the program is really like. I know we are. I'm not in your area, so I won't be much help with specifics.

[betterslac]

To ask current graduate students (some of these may be better suited for one on one sessions than a larger group):

1) What is the general atmosphere of the department?

2) How much access do graduate students have to faculty and how well do faculty perform their mentoring tasks?

3) What is the real scoop (as opposed to the company line) on support re: TAships, RA's, funding for fieldwork, conference attendance, etc.

4) Is the town livable in terms of cost of living, adequate housing for graduate students, etc.?

5) What is the average time to finish? Are there problems with comps, dissertation prospectuses and other hurdles to getting down to writing a dissertation?

6) What are the real placement rates for graduates, at least anecdotally? Are most people who finish only getting part time adjunct work?

7) Are lots of people not finishing, and if so, are there systemic reasons for that trend?

8) Given everything you know now, would you choose to come here again?

Of course, the more people you can ask, the better.

[thoughtfull]

Thank you, these tidbits are very helpful.

[imawakenow]

I was wondering what questions I should ask faculty and students, beyond the obvious ones, in order to get a thorough sense of the program. Any questions you wish you would have asked? Any details that I should be sure to consider?

Here are some threads on the same topic:

Questions about campus visits
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,85330.0.html

Visiting grad school as a prospective student
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,80013.0.html

Grad school campus visits/interviews
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,47420.0.html

Interview weekend
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,65744.0.html

Advice for admissions interview
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,47203.0.html

Why no campus tour for grad students?
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,55291.0.html


My advice: A happy hour (or coffee) with grad students is a good way to get information about the program. My experience was that other grad students were pretty honest about the positives and negatives of the programs I visited. 

[whynotevolve]

Also, ask these questions from a few graduate students.  You will get different answers from different people.  Be ware of the ones that are about to finish, they can be the most cynical.  We all are pissed off at that point. 

I would add: "Who in this department would you not recommend working with?"  You will get an honest answer and probably some more insight into the politics/atmosphere of the department.

Good luck with your interviews!  Once you are there, you will find that the feelings you get from people will speak volumes without them answering any of the mentioned questions.

[scampster]

I would add: "Who in this department would you not recommend working with?"  You will get an honest answer and probably some more insight into the politics/atmosphere of the department.

I'm pretty sure I would never answer this question honestly. I can't imagine the shi!tstorm that would happen if a senior professor found out a grad student was scaring away his/her prospective students, that they may have spent time and energy recruiting.

[whynotevolve]

I have answered that questions honestly and would do it again.  People should know what they are getting into.

[snowbound]

Yeah, most grad students would be uncomfortable totally dumping on a faculty member.  But there's more diplomatic ways to proceed.  Maybe something like "Who is your advisor and what kind of working relationship do you have with them?  . . .  OK, thanks.  Is that the norm here or are you particularly lucky/unlucky?"

[westcoastgirl]

Also, ask these questions from a few graduate students.  You will get different answers from different people.  Be ware of the ones that are about to finish, they can be the most cynical.  We all are pissed off at that point. 

I would add: "Who in this department would you not recommend working with?"  You will get an honest answer and probably some more insight into the politics/atmosphere of the department.

Good luck with your interviews!  Once you are there, you will find that the feelings you get from people will speak volumes without them answering any of the mentioned questions.

True, true. I host prospies since we have lots of room. I've felt badly over the last few years because I really do dislike my program and everything that goes along with it. I'm honest. But then again, they come here asking "So, why does [your U] have the rep of grad students taking forever to finish." I'm a poster child for this. I'm a bit jaded.

[sugaree]

I would add: "Who in this department would you not recommend working with?"  You will get an honest answer and probably some more insight into the politics/atmosphere of the department.

I'm pretty sure I would never answer this question honestly. I can't imagine the shi!tstorm that would happen if a senior professor found out a grad student was scaring away his/her prospective students, that they may have spent time and energy recruiting.

I too have answered this question honestly, but the circumstances were such that the old tenured dinosaur we were warning women away from should have been fired for sexual harassment years earlier (this wasn't gossip either, but actual complaints filed from people I knew well). But of course he wasn't. And also of course, we made sure incoming women knew about his sordid past so they could decide if it was worth it to work with him. Few thought it was. Luckily, he retired not too long after all of this happened, so no more warnings were necessary.

I would never "bad mouth" a senior professor for no good reason or because I had become jaded by the program. But sometimes there really are significant issues about which incoming grad students should be warned.  

[pathogen]

I had a famous advisor everybody wanted to work with, and and pretty much every prospective student asked me what kind of mentor he was. I answered inquires about him honestly by saying that you really need to be a good fit with your advisor's style, and his style worked great for me but wasn't right for everyone. I think you can get an honest answer if you ask, but do some thinking beforehand about yourself and what kind of mentor you want. Fit matters, and is much more complex than "Is Dr. Neverhere a good mentor or not?"

[polly_mer]

When I interview for anything, I ask:

1) What is the best thing about being here?
2) What is the worst thing about being here?
3) What's the biggest change you have seen in your time here?
4) What do you wish someone had told you when you started?

In many ways, the answers themselves aren't as useful as how people answer (or don't) the questions.

If no one can think of anything good, then run away.  The good things don't have to be unique (responsive faculty, good facilities, nice town, interesting colleagues, solid classes), but people shouldn't have to do more than pause for a few seconds to start going down the list.

If no one can tell you anything bad about the place, then they aren't telling you the truth.  The bad parts may not be that bad in an absolute sense, but being unable to even come up with something bland like "Well, we've got bureaucracy as does everywhere.  We have some characters who take some getting used to" is worrisome.  Every place has some bad parts and graduate students like to complain.  People with no complaints of any kind (not even, I would like the book check-out limit to be more than 50 or the free ice cream melts pretty quickly during July) are weird.  More than two or three people with no complaints at all means a cover-up is going on.

If nothing ever changes, then that's a huge red flag.  If all the changes are things like "we only get beaten twice a week and get bread with every meal now", run away.

If no one can think of something they would have liked to know instead of learning the hard way, then they are not very reflective or again are trying to hide something.  Getting multiple answers of "I wish I had been told to relax and have some fun on Saturday afternoon" is a pretty good answer.



In addition to talking to other graduate students and faculty, go talk to the departmental/program administrative assistants (secretaries, whatever) and ask what they would like to tell prospective students.  Those folks tend to have a lot of experience and perspective that you won't get from the academic side.  Listen carefully to what they say.

[westcoastgirl]

I should clarify that I never, ever bad mouth professors. Most of them are quite wonderful.

In fact, it's my division that I'm frustrated with--sneaky cuts in our pay for student classroom assistantships which finally, after years, reached the national average. They found a way to knock it down again. There's also some bait and switch with the rules and regs that goes on--admitted people are told one thing and then it somehow changes down the line (extra classes, classes not counting at the last second, etc.). I've been on the receiving end of more than one of these challenges. I was told X class would count, even reassured it would--from many sources (not fellow students, mind you). Days before my comps (when I was already stressed), I was told that X didn't actually count and I may not be able to sit for comps. A flurry of petitions later and after some heads rolled (including my own), we got X to count. I sometimes wonder if all departments/divisions are managed like this.

[o_rats]

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