Discover
Discover
Discover
- Get settled and explore different sciences/fields.
Discern
Discover
Discover
- Find faculty to potentially work with.
- Get involved in local community projects/work.
- If possible, get varied research experience.
- If you are thinking about attending graduate school, set a goal date of enrollment.
- Also consider taking a gap year(s) to help inform graduate school and career decisions.
Develop
Develop
Develop
- Start research and prioritize gaining skills.
- Finalize letter of recommendation contacts.
- Explore and apply to summer internships and fellowships.
- Take required exams.
- If you have decided on applying to graduate school, start building a list of schools.
- When building your list of potential schools, consider research opportunities, graduate student support programs and location of the university.
- Request letters of recommendation.
Decide
Develop
Develop
- Most PhD application deadlines are December 1-15th.
- Master’s program deadlines range and can be much later i.e., December-August for an August/September start.
- Keep in mind that some schools operate on rolling admissions, so getting your application in early may be important, even if they don’t explicitly state it.
- Arrange for transcripts and exams scores to be sent (8 weeks before application deadline)
- Prepare for interviews by talking to faculty members, reviewing online resources and turning to your career center.
- Receive decision letters. If you did not get in to graduate school, speak with mentors to evaluate your application package, identify areas to address and explore gap year(s) options.
- Finalize decision.