As you
prepare for life after college, you owe it to your future to consider graduate
school. More classes, reading and papers might sound like the last thing you
want to think about right now, but Trinity’s remarkable combination of depth
and breadth has prepared you, among other things, to have a shot at great
graduate programs. Those great programs can lead to great careers. Then again,
depending on your interests, abilities and state of mind, you might do better
to go straight into an internship or job or even to do something completely
different as you transition. When it comes to graduate school, you basically
have three options: go, don’t go or wait. Which is right for you?
That
depends. If you want to go into a field for which a higher degree — MA, MFA,
MBA, PhD, MD, JD — is necessary, the choice is clear. You cannot become a
doctor, lawyer, professor, engineer, chemist or a lot of other professions
without advanced study. You can also go a lot further in many career paths that
do not necessarily require graduate degrees than you would with a Bachelor’s
degree alone. You do not have to go right away, but momentum is on your side
and there may never be a time more ripe with possibility.
But those
are not the only reasons to go. Graduate study, particularly in scholarly and
artistic fields, can be inherently fulfilling, allowing you to research,
explore, understand or practice a specific area much more deeply. Unlike your
undergraduate work at such a holistically well-rounded liberal arts university
as Trinity, graduate school is usually about specialization and engagement at
the highest level of expertise. Your program can but does not need to follow
from your undergraduate major. Likewise, graduate school can have a profound
influence on your career but not necessarily in a linear way.
One of my
best friends from my time earning a PhD in Drama at Stanford studied literature
and psychology as an undergraduate at Emory, earned a Masters at the Yale
Divinity School (just because he was interested in the nature of religion in US
culture) and after his PhD was invited to be the Executive Director at a
prominent liberal think tank. After several years of doing that, he pivoted to
running a huge circus institute in San Francisco. While far from a predictable
linear influence, all of his graduate research deeply informed his work in
politics and culture and opened opportunities and connections that have led to
a satisfying, exciting life.
While
other friends from graduate school have become professors, a career I must
confess is one of the most fascinating and enriching I can imagine for myself,
others became psychotherapists, film producers, entrepreneurs, politicians,
travel writers, social workers, activists, curators and professional artists in
theatre and beyond. Some went to work for Google or Facebook. One even became a
monk. Graduate school does deepen and specialize your focus, but it neither
guarantees nor restricts your career.
Graduate
school can also influence your life in other ways: like most of my friends from
those days, I met my spouse in grad school. There’s something about working in
an intensified way that helps you meet those with deeply connected interests.
Grad school also can help you travel the world, live in places you have always
wanted to and meet people with lifestyles you never imagined.
If you
want to explore graduate school options, you should start looking now. Even if
you need a break before you commit to more years in the classroom, writing your
cover letter and CV, asking for letters of recommendation from professors and
getting good advice from those at Trinity who can best help you are all better
while they are fresh. You want letters from faculty who remember specific
details of your papers and projects; a few years (and a couple hundred
students) after you graduate, our memory of you fades into generalization.
Also, many programs have application due dates in early December.
How do
you look for programs? Start by asking your advisor if you’re interested in
going further in the field you majored in here. She or he will know which
programs are good and, most importantly, which experts in the field you should
try to meet. Undergraduate schools are best chosen for their well-rounded
education, opportunities to discover and try many things and to synthesize
different ways of thinking. One of the best ways to choose graduate school is,
rather, to seek the professor who has written a book in the field that deeply
influenced you or who does work that you want to extend.
It may
well be that you are burned out and need time off. Traveling the world, doing
internships or just working can help freshen your mind and help you decide what
you really want to do next. It may also alleviate fatigue that can come from
going straight away. Try to figure out what you need, but applying now can help
keep your options open. Many programs will even allow you to defer entry for a
year if they want you. Money can also be an important factor. Medical school
and Law school can be very expensive, although they often lead to fairly
lucrative careers and so, financially, are worth it. Most decent PhD programs
in the humanities are the opposite of expensive: they pay you to go (with
fellowships, assistantships and other kinds of work you can get teaching
undergraduates or helping your professors with research).
You may
even realize that you do not want to go to graduate school at all, which is an
equally valid decision (although one best made after exploring what graduate
options there are; you may be surprised how many exciting programs suit your
interests). Just consider the possibility that you might best deepen your
passion and expertise in a particular area through working with top people in
that field.
Good
luck!
Kyle Gillette
Class Marshal
