Is Grad School for You?

Graduate and Postdoctoral StudiesMcGill University

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Should I go to Grad School?

• The decision-making basis should be:

• A genuine interest in your area of studies

• Thorough analysis of your long-term goals

• NOT to avoid making career planning decisions

* Having a Master’s or PhD does not automatically make you more or less employable.

Things to do first

• Explore career possibilities upon bachelor graduation

• Consult career advisors and alumni in your own faculty

• CaPS offers excellent advising services and career planning resources

• Conduct a self-assessment of the “soft”, transferable skills you would need in your future career

• Where can you best develop them?

Things to think about

• Can I take a year off to ‘see the world’?

• Will it be hard to come back to school?

• Should I get some work experience in a related field?

• Should I take several streams or concentrate on one subject area?

• Should I stay at McGill or go somewhere else?

Options

• Master’s Degree

• Professional Degree

• Doctoral Degree

• Graduate Diploma or Certificate

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Master’s Degree

• Requires a Bachelor’s Degree

• Extensive Research and Analysis

• Advances Career and Earnings Potential

• Can often choose Thesis or Non-Thesis option

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Doctoral Degree

• Original research in a specific field with a supervisor (prof. advising on research)

• Requires a Bachelor’s Degree

• Normally requires a Master’s Degree (some exceptions)

• Research- and Work-intensive

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What’s the Difference?

Master’s Degree (Academic)

• Average Length: 2 years

• Career-oriented (usually)

• Most require a thesis

Doctoral Degree (Academic)

• Average Length: 4-7 years

• Research-oriented• Typically requires a

dissertation

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McGill’s General Admission Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree • Requirements vary by program (

http://coursecalendar.mcgill.ca/gps200910/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm)

• Minimum CGPA* over duration of Bachelor’s: 3.0• OR Min. GPA over last 2 years of Bachelor’s: 3.2• Int’l degree equivalencies available

http://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply/prepare/requirements/internationaldegree/

* CGPA = Cumulative Grade Point Average

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Application Considerations

• Who will write your letters of recommendation?– Graduate programs generally require letters of

recommendation from professors – Become involved in research throughout your

undergraduate career– Try to have something published

• Honours Programs will give you an “edge”

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McGill Graduate Studies: A Global Reach

• Highest proportion of international students in any Canadian university

• In Quebec, a student visa allows you to work for three years after graduation

• ~60% of the new professors (since 2000) were recruited from outside Canada

• Important global connections with other universities, hospitals, governments, industry and NGOs

• Opportunities to conduct research anywhere in the world (graduate students and alumni around the world)

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McGill’s research changes the world

• Flexibility - Interdisciplinary research approaches• Top research scholars with international reputation• Real world impact• $375.75 million awarded in research funding in

2006-07 (McGill and affiliated hospitals)• McGill hosts top researchers from around the world, notably

through the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program and McGill’s Japan Visiting Scholars Initiative

• Advanced facilities befitting graduate students’ talents• i.e. new open-concept Life Sciences Complex, new high-tech

music building, living laboratories, four affiliated hospitals in Montreal

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McGill: Dollars and Sense

• McGill is aiming to provide multi-year graduate funding packages

• In 2007, $3.5 million into new funding for international graduate students

• International doctoral students pay same tuition as domestic students through the MIDAs program

• McGill funding:• fellowships, awards, stipends, teaching and research

assistantships, and external training grants• Reasonable tuition rates compared to peer institutions in

Canada and the U.S.

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McGill’s Graduate Offerings

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Visit our program pages to view all our graduate offerings!

https://home.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/programs/

Useful Links

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Arts OASIS: After a B.A. degree: What about graduate studies?

http://www.mcgill.ca/oasis/ba/graduate/

McGill Prospective Graduate Students Website

http://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/

CaPS: Applying to Graduate Studies and Professional Schools

http://www.mcgill.ca/caps/students/graduate-studies/