Graduate School

Considering grad school? The following tips and resources along with an interview with Jen Malkowski (PhD candidate) will help with your decision making! 

Why should you go to graduate school?

1. Contribute to the public good
2. Ensure quality of life
3. Its where the jobs are
4. Higher degrees net higher salaries
5. Engage in research
6. Personal satisfaction

Info on CU's graduate programs
Program Application Guidelines
Ranking and Stats about CU
Questions about Funding

Start preparing for the GRE now and have Kaplan send you GRE question of the day! 

An Interview with Jen Malkowski:

Why would you recommend grad school to undergraduate communication students?

Graduate school presents a great opportunity to meet other smart, driven people with similar interests. It wasn’t until grad school that I could honestly look around myself and say “these are my people!” In graduate school I was encouraged to embrace my inner-nerd and I would recommend the experience to anyone that considers themselves curious, hardworking, and a fan of some issue or topic that they’d like to really dive into and learn more about. 

What do you wish you knew about grad school before applying?

I learned quickly that graduate school demanded a lot from you: time, energy, and deep, critical thinking which, quite honestly, sucked at first. I wasn’t prepared for trying really hard and still coming up short, or I guess more realistically, trying really hard and coming up average. The thing is, grad school is full of smart, talented people and I guess I wasn’t used to the rhythm and rigor of being surrounded by other driven, smart people who pushed me harder than I had been pushed in my previous academic experience.

How many graduate schools did you apply to?

For my master’s I applied to four schools, for my PhD I applied to ten, which is crazy! Time-wise and money-wise applying for school is consuming

What is one piece of advice you would give someone applying or in grad school?

Learn how to be your biggest fan and your own coach. There’s a lot of solo time in grad school which means you have to learn how to keep yourself motivated independent of constant affirmation. On that note, grad school is a lot of hard work followed by submitting work that, for the effort involved, feels like deserves fireworks, or at least a pat on the back. Unfortunately, although other people are happy and proud for/of you everyone in grad school is busy, busy and so you’ll need to figure out your own measures of success and your own modes of celebration when you meet your goals.

How did you choose which graduate school program best fit your interests and desired career path?

Honestly, I spoke with people I admired, asked for their opinion, and then did a lot of snooping online. And, let’s be honest, I went to San Diego for my BA and MA and landed in Boulder for my PhD - location matters to me and really helped me narrow things down. There are smart people everywhere; be honest with yourself in terms of what type of surrounding you need to thrive personally and professionally. I think there is room to be super selfish in how you go about selecting potential programs so talk with people that can help you identify what matters to you most and then aim big, but be strategic. I got rejected from a program I thought was “OMG! Totally my dream place to land!” – tragic? No. Honestly, I can’t even picture myself anywhere else and I guess that’s kind of how life goes. You make decisions and then you work, daily, to make whatever decision you made your “best decision.” Truth is, I would have been a good fit a lot of different places so be open during the process of program selection and application (and rejection!).