One of the greatest challenges in these times of information overload is the careful selection of resources that can enhance the research process. On this page I provide a range of academic resources that I have found to be of great help for promoting graduate student success and quality academic research.
These resources are sure to create some questions for you to consider further, so please feel free to contact me to discuss them in confidence. I am passionate about making a positive difference for all graduate students!
Items below include:
- References on Selecting a Pathway of Graduate Study
- References on Success and Survival in Graduate School
- References on Graduate Student Mental Health Issues
- References on Career Planning for Graduate Students
- References on Dissertation Development
- References on Trends, Costs, and Outcomes of Graduate Study
References on Selecting a Pathway of Graduate Study
- Mentally Preparing for Graduate School: What You Need to Know, by Lauren Landry of Northeastern University
- Survey of Graduate Students: Their Motivations, Behaviors, and Expectations (2019), from Wiley Education Services
- How to Choose a Grad School, from The Princeton Review
- Graduate School: How Do I Choose a School? from the UC Berkeley Career Center
- Applying to Graduate School: Tips, Timeline, and Tools of the Trade, from Pathways to Science
- Applying for a PhD Program? These 10 Tips Can Help You Succeed, from Science Magazine
- How to Choose the Right Graduate School Program, from Next Scientist
- Choosing a Graduate or Professional School, from Boston College
- Getting Into Graduate School, from Phds.org
- Graduate Study in Canada: A Guide for International Students, from Top Universities
- Graduate Studies in Canada, from the Government of Canada EduCanada
- Canada vs. the U.S.: Where Should You Attend Grad School? from University Affairs.ca
- PhD Study in Canada, from Britain’s FindAPhD Research Network
- Getting Into Grad School in Science and Engineering (video) by Professor Darren Lipomi, UC San Diego
- Getting Into Graduate School: Comprehensive Guide, by Dr. Scott W. Plunkett, Cal State University Northridge
- Getting Into Graduate School in Clinical Psychology (PhD or PsyD), from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)
- American Psychological Association Guide to Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, from APA
References on Success and Survival in Graduate School
- {NEW} Why we need a Yelp for Doctoral Programs (2019, December) by Leonard Cassuto, from the Chronicle of Higher Education
- {NEW} How Mindfulness Helps Graduate Students (2019), from Inside Higher Ed
- {NEW} On Grad Strategy: Planning Graduate Student Development with Intentionality, by Brady Krien (2019), from Inside Higher Ed Grad Hacker blog
- {NEW} Here’s What Admissions Committees are Really Looking For in Graduate Studies (2018) by TJ Murphy, from his blog GradSchoolMatch
- Want to Get Into Grad School? Focus More on your Application, Less on your Numbers (2018) by TJ Murphy, from GradSchoolMatch
- Undergraduates Aren’t Sure about Postgraduate Study. These Factors Encourage them to Apply, by Lindsay Ellis, published October 2018 in the Chronicle of Higher Education
- Succeeding in Graduate School
From the website PhDs.org sponsored by the American Council on Education - The Graduate Game Plan
From the University of British Columbia, authored by Gradmentor Scott Kerlin - The GradSchool Match
Founded by an Emory University professor, this site provides comprehensive guidance on selecting the right graduate program and university. Notable for its frequently-updated blog - Seven Steps to Finding the Right Graduate School Advisor or Mentor
A guide from the American Psychological Association by Laura Zimmerman, Ph.D. - How to Obtain the Mentoring You Need: A Guide for Graduate Students
An online resource with all the essential questions for further investigation, from the University of Washington Graduate School - {NEW} Graduate Students Need to Think More about Time (2019), by James M. Van Wyck, from InsideHigherEd
- Achieving Excellence in Graduate Research: A Guide for New Graduate Students
A guide by Charles B. Parker and colleagues published in the open-access academic journal Advanced Science in 2015 - {NEW} PhD Student Burnout: Why do PhDs Get Burnout and What to do About it, video by Research Professor David Maslach
- {NEW} I’ve Had it with my PhD!: Changing Your Life During Graduate School, video by Professor David Maslach
- {NEW} Losing Hope During your PhD: Finding Motivation to Do Your Research, video by Professor David Maslach
- The Graduate Adviser: A Monthly Column Exploring the Ins and Outs of Doctoral Study
From the Chronicle of Higher Education, authored by - The Overlooked Lesson of the Ronell-Reitman Case
Essential reading from the Chronicle of Higher Education: A story of strained relations between doctoral advisor and doctoral student–and its consequences (2018) - How to Fire Your Doctoral Adviser: Sometimes the Only Way Forward is to Start Over Again
An article by Leonard Cassuto in the Chronicle of Higher Education published as part of an extended series - How to Hope in Graduate School
Sage advice from the Chronicle of Higher Education - Three Keys for Graduate Student Success
By Rick Reis, this is from an interview conducted by doctoral education research scholar Chris Golde in 2016 for Stanford University’s Tomorrow’s Professor network - Principles of Good Practice in Dealing with Graduate Students in Distress
From the Council of Graduate Schools - Debriefing the Ph.D. Journey by Deidre Faye Jackson
A reflective essay by a recent Ph.D. recipient (summer 2018)
References on Graduate Students Mental Health Issues
- {NEW} Graduate Student Mental Health and Well-Being: A Two Year Research Study (2019), sponsored by the Council of Graduate Schools
- {NEW} Why we Need to Talk More about Mental Health in Graduate School (2019), by Kathryn R. Wedemeyer-Strombel, from the Chronicle of Higher Education
- {NEW} A Toxic Culture of Overwork’: Inside the Graduate Student Mental Health Crisis (2019), an indepth study published in the Stanford University Stanford Daily
- {NEW} For Graduate Students and Postdocs, Mental Health Begins with Faculty (2019) by Jen Heemstra, published in American Chemical Society Chemical and Engineering News
- {NEW} Examining Graduate Student Mental Health (2018), by Abby Olena, from The Scientist
- {NEW} A Very Mixed Record on Grad Student Mental Health (2018), from InsideHigherEd
- {NEW} Graduate School Can Have Terrible Effects on People’s Mental Health (2018), by Alia Wong, including an extensive array of reader feedback published in The Atlantic
- {NEW] A Better Future for Graduate-Student Mental Health:
- Mental Health in Grad School: Recognizing, Understanding & Overcoming Mental Health Issues in Grad School (2018) from the GoGrad guide to online graduate studies programs
- How to Make Graduate School More Humane for People with Disabilities (2018), from Pacific Standard
References on Career Planning and Professional Success for Graduate Students
- {NEW} Odds are, Your Doctorate Will Not Prepare you for a Profession Outside Academe (2019, December), by L. Maren Wood, from the Chronicle of Higher Education
- {NEW} Reporting Post-Graduation Outcomes of Doctoral Students Using NCSES/NSF Data, by Julienne Palblusa, Ph.D. (2019 conference paper, California Association for Institutional Research)
- {NEW} Beyond the Professoriate: Courses Fundamentals of Job Search for PhDs (Humanities, Social Science, and STEM disciplines and non-academic career pathways)
Courses available for subscription at a fee from Beyond the Professoriate - Career Exploration and Skill Development
An exemplary website for graduate students at the University of California at San Francisco, this resource is filled with resources that any student anywhere will find beneficial, emphasizing Ph.D. student career exploration, skills development, and self-assessment. Includes the resource The MIND Career Exploration Roadmap - The Career Planning Process: 4 Steps to Choosing a Career
From the award-winning careers website The Balance Careers - 6 Career-Building Steps to Take While in Graduate School
Sponsored by BiteSizeBio, this reference by Crystina Pyrgaki emphasizes early development of career-building skills for graduate students in the sciences. Recommended for other disciplines also - Understanding PhD Career Pathways: A Comprehensive Longitudinal Study
This resource guide from the Council of Graduate Schools is represented as having the goal “to expand the definition of what career success means” for graduate schools, graduate students, and alumni - The Professor is In
This comprehensive graduate student success site is maintained by a former tenured professor Karen L. Kelsky, Ph.D - From Doctoral Study to…
A series from the Chronicle of Higher Education focusing on nonfaculty career options for PhDs who want to work in higher education. Especially important is the resource The First Steps to a Nonfaculty Job Search for Ph.Ds. - MyIDP Individualized Career Plan for Doctoral Students in Sciences
This site enables current doctoral students to create a profile and then follow various career planning scenarios. Highly recommended regardless of your current discipline of study - Imagine PhD
Top-rated career exploration and planning tool for doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences - Connected Academics: Preparing Doctoral Students of Language and Literature for a Variety of Careers
Sponsored by the Modern Language Association - The PhD Career Ladder Program
The Ladder Program was founded on two principles: peer support and incremental progress. Students can group together to communually explore and prepare for their futures. With the Ladder Program, students gain a dedicated time and place for career development, as well as access to peer mentoring and constructive feedback. The benefit of group sharing is cumulative group learning
References on Choosing a Dissertation Topic and Completing the Dissertation
(Note: Additional resources on dissertation research are available from the tools section of GradMentor)
- Choosing a Dissertation Topic, from Tomorrow’s Professor
Comprehensive overview of essential considerations when determining the subject area of a dissertation. Provided by Stanford University’s Tomorrow’s Professor network - Planning and Conducting a Dissertation Research Project
A guide from the University of Leicester that addresses the task of planning and conducting a small research project, such as for an undergraduate or masters’ level dissertation. Recommended for doctoral students in most major disciplines - Writing a Dissertation Handbook
Comprehensive guide on using a project management framework for conceptualizing and completing a doctoral dissertation - {NEW} Five Productivity Practices that Helped Me Finish My Dissertation (June 2020), by Kate Litterer, from InsideHigherEd’s Grad Hacker blog
- The Completion Agenda in Five Parts
A truly valuable special report from the Chronicle of Higher Education focusing on dissertation completion and career development planning - How to Finish Your Dissertation
A guide from Kerry Ann Rockquemore giving advice for getting past the three biggest obstacles to completion - (new) My Dissertation Go Bag
Advice from doctoral candidate Heather VanMouwerik on keeping everything you need to write in one place so you can work anytime anywhere.
References on Trends, Costs and Outcomes of Graduate Study
- Graduate Enrollment and Degrees in the U.S. 2008-18
This annual report from the Council of Graduate Schools provides a comprehensive source of information for master’s and doctoral program applications, enrollment, and completion trends in the United States through Fall 2018 - Enrollment in Graduate Education in the U.S.: Diversity Trends Statistics
From the American Council on Education (ACE) Equity in Higher Education project, this report systematically tracks statistical trends in graduate degree program enrollment based on diversity measurements since 1995 - Ph.D. Attrition: How Much is Too Much?
This 2013 story from the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that “a disturbing 50 percent of doctoral students leave graduate school without finishing” - Why do so Many Graduate Students Quit? Universities May be Contributing
An investigative article by Te Erika Patterson published July 2016 in The Atlantic. Gradmentor Scott Kerlin’s published research on “survival of the fittest” culture in doctoral programs is cited and discussed - {NEW} Have a Look at Graduate Program Level Grad School Loan Debt, by TJ Murphy (2019) from his award-winning blog GradSchoolMatch
- GradSense: Planning for the Costs of Graduate Study
This guide sponsored by the Council of Graduate Schools enables prospective graduate students to explore the typical costs associated with pursuing graduate degrees in their specific chosen field of study - Graduate School Debt Data: What we Can and Cannot Tell
This research from the Council of Graduate Schools observes that a substantial number of graduate students across the U.S. who receive financial aid receive it in the form of loans - Financial Education: Developing High Impact Programs for Graduate Students
The Council of Graduate Schools and TIAA joined forces with leading universities to conduct research on their students’ financial challenges and to develop innovative student financial education programs. This site is a snapshot of the findings and best practices from the full report, which is available for downloading.
