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evaluate.htm
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HOW
TO EVALUATE A PROGRAM
Graduate programs spend considerable time
evaluating their applicants, and you should be equally serious in
evaluating the programs. After all, selecting a graduate program is one
of the most important decisions you will ever make. Here are some issues
that you need to address before you make your decision:
- What can the program offer you for the
entire duration of your graduate career? You may think you know
exactly what you want to pursue, but you could change your mind. The
program should be broad enough to offer a reasonable spectrum of
research training. If you are not wedded to any one area of
neuroscience, then this issue is even more important. Look over the
research interests of the program faculty and identify those
individuals with whom you might want to work. Contact them to learn
about current research projects. Ask them to send reprints of some
of their research and see if this is the type of work you want to
pursue.
- What type of financial support does
the program offer? Are fellowships available or will you be required
to work as a teaching assistant? If the latter, how much work is
involved? Is financial support available beyond your first year? Is
such support available for the duration of your graduate career?
- How good is the program? Some
important considerations include: the number of faculty members with
external funding, the number of research papers published during the
last two or three years, and the types of journals in which these
papers appear. It also is useful to know how graduates of the
program have fared in the field. What types of positions do they now
hold? How successful are they in their own research? Have recent
graduates been placed in their top choice of postdoctoral positions?
You can apply these same types of questions in evaluating potential
research advisors.
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