Pitt Physics REU | Grad Research

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Research Experience for
Undergraduates in Physics
Focus On Minorities

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A word on succeeding in Grad School, and in the Academic Community in general

Grad school is a time to train to be an expert in your field, so classwork is essential. But a grad student is also preparing to be a lifelong member of the academic community. That means grad students are expected to be engaged in the field, beyond the classroom. Successful members of the academic community are expected to create new knowledge (to do research), and to articulate that knowledge to the community at large (to publish). Research opportunities can be found during the grad school years.

Furthermore, successful members of Academia are part of a social community. Interacting with other people is important not only because it is how research gets done, but also because scholars have a responsibility to encourage others to join the search for knowledge--a responsibility to be the link between 'yesterday' (your professors) and 'tomorrow' (your future students). Research opportunities during grad school can also serve as a time to build such social connections.

The following comments are from a recent (2003) graduate student in Mathematics at Pitt. Presumably, his insights are equally valid for physics, or any other scientific discipline:

"As I navigate my way through the (post-grad school) job search process, I am finding that the relationships you build as a grad student really make a difference in your future.

During grad school, I participated in a summer workshop at the Institute for Mathematics and Applications (IMA). As I now apply for faculty positions after grad school, the schools I'm applying to are VERY interested in my experience with the IMA--in part, because they like that I've done things outside grad school, but perhaps more so because I now have a relationship with the IMA, which may enable my own future students to get a foot in the door at IMA when they start looking for such opportunities."

last updated on 20 February 2003 by Gordon Weinberg.
All information subject to change without appearance here.

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This program is supported by NSF grant #9987904.