So You Want To Go To Graduate School? [Paperback] Kenneth L. Poff & William R. Gordon; Phil Bellfy and Jess Herrington

The book is subtitled -- What You Need To Know About Graduate School, But May Not Have Known You Needed To Ask.

The book is an in-your-face guide for anyone contemplating graduate school, but is expressly designed for first-generation students who may not be familiar with the ins-and-outs of grad school (both of the authors, and the editor, are first-generation, minority graduate school PhDs).

One of the authors (KLP) has participated in a number of workshops for minority students considering graduate school. It has become evident during those workshops and in discussions afterward that many, if not most, students have much of the explicit information that is contained in handbooks, catalogs, etc, but lack implicit or insider information about the nature of graduate school.

In fact, in most cases, the lack of information is so extensive that the student does not even know what questions to formulate (hence, the title of this book). Many of the undergraduates who should be seriously considering graduate school have no opportunities to learn about this next potential step in their education.

In forty years of dealing with students in a number of universities, the authors observed that most students who are accepted into graduate school and who subsequently do not succeed seldom leave because of an inability to handle the intellectual challenges placed on them in graduate school.

The lack of success for many of the students who leave graduate school without a degree can be attributed either to their floundering in the politics in their institution, or their inability to adapt sufficiently rapidly from dependence on the set of skills that ensured their success as an undergraduate student to development of a set of skills that will ensure their success as a graduate student. This is often referred to as a lack of socialization .

This book is written in an attempt to share and teach those political and social skills that are necessary for success in graduate school. It is the hope of the authors that this will permit an increased number of previously marginalized students to successfully pursue advanced degrees.

As you read through this book, you will find many suggestions that are intended to assist you in the transition into and through graduate school. Many of the suggestions come from the authors experiences in the biological sciences. You have every right to reject any of the suggestions that seem distasteful to you for whatever reason. These suggestions are designed to assist you on your own personal journey of intellectual growth. They have been carefully considered to provide you with the knowledge base with which you can make your own decisions. Every life is about decisions, and it is our hope that you will feel empowered by having the information in this book. Make your decisions the best ones possible.

KEN POFF was the first person in his extended family to attend and graduate from college. He successfully completed a master's degree and PhD, and went on to teach in several universities. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Horticulture and of Plant Biology at Michigan State University.

The courses he has taught have included Introductory Plant Physiology and Environmental Plant Physiology at the undergraduate level, and Environmental Plant Physiology at the graduate level.

In addition, during his last fifteen years at MSU, he worked to increase minority representation in the plant sciences and this has led to a second interest as an academician in the culture of science. In this context, he periodically has taught a graduate course on Mentoring and Teaching in a Culturally Diverse Environment, and participated in an Honors course on Critical Incident Analysis, He also teaches workshops and lectures for faculty, undergraduate and graduate students on Gender and Equity, and The Mentor-student Relationship.

BILL GORDON has served as the Biology Director of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program at the National Science Foundation. He is currently a member of the faculty of the Biology Department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was born and reared in Richmond, Virginia.

After earning the B.S. degree in Biology at Tuskegee University, he worked as an Epidemiologist for the Communicable Disease Center of the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in New York City. Upon completion of a Master of Science degree at Tuskegee University, he pursued and completed a PhD degree in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Following seventeen months as a Research Associate at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, he joined the faculty of the Department of Botany and Microbiology at Howard University.