Tag Archives: Graduate school

Final Thoughts on Graduate School

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Do not let the scenic views fool you, grad school is alot of work

On May 4, I graduated with my Master’s degree after two years of hard work. Over the past two years, I have written about the courses I have taken and the books I have read, but in this post, I will try to wrap everything up and offer some advice to those interested attending graduate school in the near future.

One of the first things I learned at James Madison University was that graduate courses are very different from undergraduate courses. Of course, I was told this by all my professors at Missouri Southern State University, but there is really nothing to prepare you for the change. The work is more intensive and the expectations are much higher. The courses are also structured differently as most are seminar style in which a different book is read each week. Grades are handled differently as well. An “A” is still an “A”, but an “A-” might be considered a “B.” A “B” indicates that something was wrong, and anything below a “B” is a failure. In fact, at JMU if you received two “C’s” during the two years, you were placed on academic probation.

Writing is more intense as well. Papers are longer and expected to be more polished. This means that writing a paper the night before is no longer an option. I liked to allow myself several days for proofreading and editing.

With the increased reading and writing, it is important that you be very disciplined and have the ability to make the best use of your time. Most professors will give you a full semester schedule on the syllabus with due dates for all assignments and outline the readings. For me, I liked to keep a copy of each course calendar at my desk and from that I would make a to-do list for the upcoming week. This ensured that I had enough time to go through a book, look up a few reviews, and explore the author’s information. With papers, this gave me plenty of time to research, write, and edit my papers before they were due.

One thing to always include in a schedule is to make time for yourself. Free time is the best stress reliever. Whether you spend the free time at the gym, watching tv or a movie, or going out with friends, it is important you make this time for yourself. Graduate school is hard work and if you devote every waking moment to it, you will burn out quickly. Graduate school is not for everyone. There is a good chance that some of the people you start with will not be around at the end. Do not let that discourage you, however.

Article and Books – the readings for one semester of grad school

Then there is the capstone project….the thesis. Not all majors have this a requirement, but I had to write one. Most students enter graduate school with an idea of what they would like the research and who they want to work with. This will make things much easier moving forward. If possible, try to have a topic picked by the end of your first semester. Talk to your advisors and a possible director to determine the feasibility of your project. That will give you the second semester to begin gathering sources that you will then go through over the summer before your second year. I was lucky at JMU because we had HIST 673 in our second semester, and this allowed us to “test” our thesis topics. Use the summer before your second year to read the secondary literature and begin exploring the primary. Chances are, you will have to write a prospectus shortly after you return in the fall of your second year. In your third semester, you should begin to outline your thesis and put the pieces together. By Christmas break, having at least one chapter done is optimal, but each director has different deadlines and expectations. For example, I had three of my four chapters done before January 1. After you have written all your chapters, you will have a few weeks to edit. Hopefully your director is a punctual as mine was. I always had my chapters back quickly, with comments. The editing phase will be stressful, but you want to submit as complete a thesis as possible to your committee. This will make your final edits much easier. After the text is written, you will then have to put all the parts together along with a title page, table of contents, etc. All of which will be strictly outlined by the Graduate School. After you finish formatting you will feel an immediate release of tension!

As if the the thesis was not enough, there was one last test before I could graduate….the Oral/Comprehensive Exam (JMU’s comprehensive exam was oral, but some schools will have written exams). This consisted of sitting in a room with three professors of my choosing and discussing everything from my thesis to two years of course work and readings. It is certainly difficult to prepare for. Comprehensive exams is why you should take good notes in class and also as you read each book. Most comprehensive exams last about an hour and a half, and they will cover a great deal of information. Some of the information covered depends on who you choose for your committee, however. Some opt to have their comprehensive exam committee to be the same as the thesis committee. I did not go with option because I never had class with them. My thesis director was on my comprehensive exam committee, but the other two members were professors with which I had several courses. This gave them more information to pull from and gave me more to talk about for nearly two hours. The concept of oral exams seems terrifying, but once you are seated in the room, you will get comfortable because you will realize, as long as you studied well, that you know the information well enough.

I almost forgot to mention that while you are juggling courses and writing your thesis, it is very likely you will have an assistantship as well. Teaching assistantships can vary in their degree of difficulty. You may only have to grade and work with students, but some programs require that you also teach discussion sections. This means preparing for two mini-lectures per week. Again, this is all part of the concept of time management. I really enjoyed my TA positons with World History in the fall semesters and working with History Day it the Spring. Whether you have a teaching assistantship or a graduate assistantship, you will have to budget time for that as well.

One of the greatest aspects of graduate school is the people. You will become good friends with a number of the professors, but more important is your cohort. At some schools, the students in your cohort are competitors, but not a JMU. We were encouraged to work together (again, HIST 673 helped with this). It is important to remember that they are going through the same processes that you are, and if you are feeling overwhelmed, and you will, it is very likely they are as well. One of my favorite stress relievers was going out with them and having a drink or two and playing a game of darts. Again, have some fun. Do not let the school work take over your life for two years.

The last two years were full of ups and downs. There were weeks I was overwhelmed with everything, but there was always of the gratification of completing whatever task was causing my stress. Perhaps the most gratifying moment of the last two years was walking across the stage and being hooded at commencement on May 4. I feel that over the past two years I have grown as a historian, but more importantly, I have grown as a person. And I would not trade the experience for anything. 

Grad School Applications

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After choosing the grad schools you wish to attend, the process of applying to the schools will take a great deal of time and effort.  Although the requirements vary by school, most grad schools require the following materials:

APPLICATION

This will be required for all schools.  This is probably the easiest part of the application process since it requires mostly standard information such as legal name, address, major information, etc.  Many schools have digitized the entire application process making it simpler for the student and the institution.  When you fill out the application, you will be required to submit the fee which will range depending on the institution.

WRITING SAMPLE

This is probably the most difficult aspect of applying to grad school.  Most school want a sample that is 10 – 20 pages in length and displays a depth of research.  The first thing to consider is which of your papers to choose.  Choose a paper that has well researched, and, if possible, displays originality.  Once you have chosen your writing sample, edit, edit, edit.  The paper I chose was edited by three different papers and two fellow students.  This gives you a wider audience to help you clarify points that may not be common knowledge to those in your field.  Finally, it is important to choose a stopping point.  At some point, you have to say enough editing; it is ready.  You should then be ready to submit the paper.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

When researching schools, you should consider which members of the faculty you wish to work with.  It is important to write a slightly different statement of purpose for each school to which you are applying.  This will show the school that you have researched their institution.  Your statement of purpose should list your intent at each institution, including which professors you would like to work with.  You should also write about what you would like to do after you graduate from that institution.  Do you plan to go on for a PhD?  What type of career are you looking into?  Most importantly, have several people read this as well.  They can find simple error and issues with clarity.  Having a professor read your statement of purpose is a great idea since they probably wrote a statement of purpose during their graduate career.  Again, once you are happy with it, stop editing and consider it done.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Most people find this to be the easiest part of the application process, but it is probably the most important. Choose professors who know your research habits, classroom participation, and graduate intent.  Most schools require three letters and not all the professors have to be from professors within your major.  However, the majority should be from professors within your chosen major.  It is okay, therefore, to submit one letter from a professor within your minor field.  Once you have chosen the professors, provide them with all the address information they will need to submit their letters and be sure they get them in before the deadline.  Today, most schools accept letters online as well.

GRE SCORES

Perhaps one of the most dreaded aspects of applying to grad school is taking the GRE.  Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to take the test a few times if necessary and have the scores submitted to your chosen institutions.  Registration is all online and the test itself is given on the computer.  Before taking the GRE, purchase a preparation book and study it closely.  There are many books available and it is best to only choose one and follow their methods for preparation.  GRE scores are not the most important aspect to a graduate school when choosing from applicants, but it can make a difference in a competitive program, so take it seriously.

TRANSCRIPTS

This is fairly simple as well.  Have your current and previous institutions send official transcripts to all your chosen grad schools.  Some institutions may charge to send transcripts for you, but these are required to be considered.

DEADLINE

This is the most important!  Be sure everything is submitted before the application deadline.  This deadline will vary by institution and can also vary by program within an institution.  It is important to know all the deadlines for you schools well in advance of the date.  There is nothing wrong with having everything submitted in advanced of the deadline or calling the program to ensure that all your materials have arrived.

Applying for grad school can be very stressful, but it will not be near as stressful as the wait to hear the school’s decisions.

How to choose the right Graduate School

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After a year of graduate school, I decided to look back and share my experience of choosing James Madison University and the process I will use to narrow down my choices of PhD programs.

When choosing a grad school, there are many things to consider.  The school, surrounding community, and cost are just a few.  Here is a more comprehensive list in no particular order.

COST

When choosing a grad school one of the first questions asked is how much will it cost.  There are many aspects to grad school that we often do not think of.  Moving expenses, security deposits, utilities and bills.  The most important, of course, is the cost of the university itself.  How much is the tuition?  Is it by credit hour?  Are you eligible for in-state tuition?  Most schools will include a breakdown of your cost per year including room and board, tuition, books, and fees.

FINANCIAL AID

Most schools will offer some form of financial aid to assist students.  Unfortunately, federal grants are not available to grad students, only federal loans.  Many schools offer different types of scholarships and you should apply to any scholarships you are eligible for.  The most common form of aid offered to grad students comes in the form of assistantships.  There are three types of assistantships.  Research assistants assist professors with varying types of research.  This type is often used for the sciences.  Graduate assistants hold various types of positions including office positions and study groups.  Teaching assistants work with a professor with a large survey class.  TAs may or may not having teaching responsibilities, but will have grading responsibilities and are usually required to hold regular office hours.  The best thing about having an assistantship, however, is that most schools will offer a tuition waiver (for some or all your tuition) as well as a stipend.  This can greatly reduce the amount of loans necessary.  Not all schools or departments offer assistantships and it is important to check with all schools you are considering.

SIZE OF PROGRAM

When talking with graduate coordinators for your specific majors, you should find out how many students are in the program and how many professors are in the department.  If the department only has 10 professors and 50 grad students, it may be difficult to get one-on-one assistance with your thesis/dissertation.  At JMU, the ratio is approximately 1/1, but even a 2/1 ratio is fairly common.

FACULTY

In addition to finding out how many professors are in the department, you should also look at each professors biography provided on the department’s website.  This will provide a lot of information.  Where they went to school, publications, and their concentrations.  It is important to find a school that has a professor with a concentration similar to yours.  That person will likely be the director of your thesis/dissertation and be able to direct you to the correct sources.  You can also look up professors on ranking websites such as ratemyprofessors.com.  Knowing whom you want to work with can help you when you are writing a statement of purpose.

ACCREDITATION

Most students assume that all universities and all programs within a university are accredited, but they are sadly mistaken.  There are stories of students going through a programing and getting their degree only to be told that their degree is unaccredited.  It is important to know, medical programs and other programs are accredited separately from the university since there are different standards.  Luckily, there is an easy way to check accreditation of the schools you are interested in by visiting the Department of Education.

SCHOOL RANKINGS

There are several different ways to check the schools rankings.  The most common is US News & World Report, but there are many other online sources as well as print sources.  Be careful, however, because there are separate ranking systems for undergrad and graduate programs.

LOCATION

We often get excited about a school that we forget to look at several key factors of the schools location.  Is it in a large city?  Rural setting?  What types of stores are in the city?  All this can be discovered by looking at the city’s website or the local Chamber of Commerce.  Often either source will list what is available within the city.

COST OF LIVING

If you are looking at a school in New York City, you are going to pay a lot more for an apartment than someone living in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  There are several websites that list apartments available for rent within a city and you should look into this before considering the school.  This will give you an idea of what types of apartments are available and their cost per month.  Also be sure to find out what utilities, if any, are included in the rent.  Including in cost of living is the cost of movies, groceries, etc. in the city.  This should all be a part of your decision.

CAMPUS

The other thing to consider is the campus itself.  Is it large? Small?  In the middle of a large city?  What building is your department in?  What dining options do you have?  Is there a recreation center?  A campus should be a self contained city.  If you live on campus, you really should not have to leave to do simple tasks.

CAREER ASSISTANCE

Eventually you will get your degree and want a job.  Does the school help you with job placement?  Resume building?  All this professional development should be included within the price of your tuition.  Most universities have a career development center to help with these tasks and also provide job listings.

Graduate school is a serious decision and there are many factors that should look into choosing the right program.  The program is only a part of the full experience of the graduate school experience.  As I mentioned last week, your work load will increase and it is often easy to forget all that is offered to you by the university.  Next week I will look closely at the process for applying to graduate school.  Until then…

Reflections on the First Year of Grad School

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After completing my first year of grad school, I thought I would reflect briefly on what has transpired since last August.

The most important thing that I have gained from grad school is a more in depth understanding of the history field itself.  The courses I have taken have broadened my understanding of history and of Public History.  Learning about the historiography of history has been very important.

JMU’s Quad at Twilight

I have gained an even greater respect for the professors I have worked with, not only at JMU, but at Crowder and MSSU as well.  The professors I have worked with at JMU not only teach classes, but direct thesis committees, oral committees and still find time to conduct their own research.  I have also had a little insight in to the world of teaching when I was given the opportunity to prepare a lecture for my TA course last Fall.  I only prepared one 50-minute lecture, but it took over 2 hours to prepare.  Keeping the material fresh and engaging students are not easy tasks and I am glad to have had that experience.

Finally, some advice, grad school is every bit as challenging and involved as everybody said it would be.  There is a massive amount of readings, and not only for courses, but for thesis research as well.  This summer I have a list of approximately 50 books to look over for my thesis research.  My advise for handling this work load is creating checklists.  I create a checklist each Thursday of things I need to have done before the end of the following week.  This allows me to not only see what needs to be done, but also helps me budget my time.  More importantly, however, is giving yourself time for things you enjoy.  I make time to sit and watch the race each Sunday or watch the newest episodes of my favorite TV shows.  It is important to take time for yourself.  If all I did was school work all day, I would have gone crazy last September!

I have found that I have grown as a professional and a person by moving to Virginia and taking on grad school.  I look forward to my second year and what will follow.

Graduate School and the iPad

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I have owned an iPad since last April, but never really used it to its fullest potential on campus.  Last semester, I took a picture of all the books and articles I read through out the semester.  The fact of the matter was I downloaded all the articles from BlackBoard and recycled them at the end of the semester since I had saved a digital copy on my computer.  This made me realize that I really needed to use the iPad for more than just email, web, and entertainment.  There had to be an app that would allow me to create a folder system for my classes, and there was.  I found the app GoodReader for $2.99.  I figured it would be worth it for an app that worked on the iPad and iPhone (since I have both).  I purchased the app last fall and began to work with it.  I decided it was the best candidate for this semester.

Steve Jobs Unveils the iPad, January 27, 2010

A week before classes began, I created a folder system within GoodReader which broke down the course by week.  This would allow me to download the PDF files from BlackBoard directly to GoodReader on the iPad and place it in the proper folder.  It may sound complicated, but it makes things much easier than keeping track of a paper version of the article.  After all, printing the articles seemed like a waste of paper when I could just as easily read them on the iPad.

When the semester began, I downloaded the readings for week two for my courses and placed them within the proper folders.  I always have my iPad with me on campus, and so now when I have a free moment, I can read articles for class while on campus.  With the paper versions, I would have to bring them with me if I wanted to do that, and there is no guarantee free time will present itself.

After working with the iPad for almost a year, and experimenting with reading PDF files on it for three weeks, I can honestly say it makes my life easier.  I could have just as easily purchased a laptop (or kept my MacBook), but the iPad is much thinner and a pound lighter than the lightest MacBook Air.  The touch interface also make the reading of articles easier as I can easily adjust the zoom using a pinching motion.  As a student, the iPad does everything I want it to do and more.

Screen shot of GoodReader’s Folder System

Apple’s Steve Jobs described the iPad last year as “magical.”  But he was not far off.  There is something more intimate about the iPad over a laptop or even a desktop.  I find that I am using the iPad more than my iPhone!  I may be a little biased, but the iPad is truly a multi-talented product that has changed the way we think about computing.  That was evident at this years Consumer Electronics Show.  Over 40 new tablets were demoed and will be released by the end of this year.  The iPad is making my grad school experience a little easier, and I look forward to using it for years to come!

Next weekend, I will begin reviewing my classes by looking at HIST 696.  Until then…

-Eric

(P.S.  I wanted to take a little space to express my sincere wishes that Steve Jobs get well soon so that he may return to Apple from his Medical Leave of Absence.)

The end of the first week…

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The first week of this semester seemed to drag on forever.  My classes are spread further apart, but I really only have to be on campus Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Four-day weekends sound nice in theory, but they are far from reality.  Those days will be spent reading, writing, and researching (the real three R’s!).   This weekend I have several things to read plus a five-page paper and that is a light load!

This semester is going to be much more involved than I had anticipated.  For HIST 696, we will write several papers, have a semester long project, as well as attend lectures by guest speakers and take field trips.  For HIST 593, we will spend the semester reading about the techniques of historic preservation while spending the semester working to get a local property on the National Register of Historic Places.  And there is HIST 673.  It is called Graduate Research and Writing Seminar.  The name makes me sick to my stomach.  This course consists of writing two twenty-page papers and submitting them to the other students for review.  Meaning, not only do we have to research and write two twenty-page papers, but we have to read everyone else’s as well.  (I will describe each course in a later blog entry)

And that brings me to the topic I have been trying to avoid….History Day.  Unlike Missouri, each region has to handle its own forms, money, and entry information.  JMU still uses a paper system and it is my job to get a more efficient online system in place.  Working with Dr. Dillard and the department secretary, I hope to have a new website in place by the end of this week!  I spent this morning designing a webpage for our secretary to implement.

Despite all the work required, I DO NOT regret graduate school nor my decision on coming to JMU.  It is going to be a long semester, but there are key strategies to making this semester doable.  Remember those twenty-page papers?  If I write those as two thesis chapters, then I am half way home before my second year of grad school begins!  And the experience I will gain from HIST 593 will look great on a resume!  HIST 696 is about Public History, my concentration, and will be a great learning experience.

Remember, as Ralph Ransom once said, “Before the reward there must be labor.”

-Eric

Beginning Semester 2

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The break is about over!  Classes begin at JMU on Monday and I am looking forward to getting back to work.  I have all my books and am ready to go!  This semester will be different from the first in that there will not be any uncertainty for the first few weeks.  We all know exactly what to expect.  The three courses I am taking could not sound better!  The majority of those who voted in my poll chose HIST 593 as their choice and I can certainly understand why.  Historic preservation (architectural) is a very important skill for a public historian and having the opportunity to place a historic building on the National Register of Historic Places will be a worth-while experience.

As you may have noticed, some of my more resent posts have not been about grad school, but about subjects that interest me, and, I hope, interest the readers.  I plan to do this more often this semester and share some of my historic interests.  I will also try to explain each course in more detail after I have had a few weeks to feel them out.  I think this semester will be better than the last because I am now well adept to the expectations of grad school.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I have a new position this semester.  My Teaching Assistantship assignment will be History Day.  I do not have alot of details, but should find out everything next week, so you can expect an update on History Day then.  I helped with History Day at MSSU and I look forward to doing it again!

Until next time…

-Eric

Year in Review: 2010

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As we look forward to 2011, I thought I would take a look back at 2010.  This year has proven to be one of the most important years in my life.  It began by starting my final semester at MSSU.  After receiving acceptance letters and graduating with my Bachelors degree, I wound up in Virginia.

Driving in 2010: August trip to Virginia (Red) and December Trip home (Yellow)

JANUARY

-January 11 – Began my internship at George Washington Carver National Monument

-January 18 – Began my final semester at Missouri Southern State University

FEBRUARY

-February 24 – Senior Assessment Day at MSSU

MARCH

-March 6 – Co-coordinated History Day competition for Missouri’s 6th Region

APRIL

-April – Received acceptance letters from James Madison University and Washington State University.  After speaking with both, it is clear that I will only receive funding from JMU unless someone leaves the program at WSU.

-Accepted the offer from JMU

-Began looking for apartments in Harrisonburg, Virginia

-April 24 – Completed my internship at GWCNM

MAY

-May 22 – Graduated with my BA in History from MSSU

-Found an apartment in Harrisonburg and paid the security deposit

JUNE & JULY

-Packed

-House sat for two friends

-Made final preparations for moving to Virginia

-July 21 – Started this blog!

AUGUST

-August 2 – ABF U-Pack took my stuff to Virgina

-August 10 – Leave for Virginia.  Stayed overnight in Lebanon, Tennessee

-August 11 – Stopped in Bristol, Tennessee and toured Bristol Motor Speedway . Stayed overnight in Lexington, Virginia

-August 12 – Arrived in Harrisonburg, Virginia (my first time seeing Harrisonburg, and my apartment, in person)

-August 14 – My parents left Virginia for Missouri

-August 23 – Orientation for the Graduate School in the morning – A seminar for TA and GA students in the afternoon

-August 27 – Orientation for the Department of History

-August 30 – Beginning of first semester at JMU

SEPTEMBER

-September 18 – Made a trip to James Madison’s Montpelier, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and James Monroe’s Ashlawn-Highland

OCTOBER

-October 17 – Attended the Kevin Harvick Fan Club Gathering in Kernersville, North Carolina

NOVEMBER

-November 10 – Presented my lecture to my TA class

-November 22 – Registered for Spring 2011 courses

DECEMBER

-December 10 – Final day of classes

-December 11 – Final exam for TA course

-December 14 – Left Virginia for Georgia, had to avoid the winter storm in the Midwest.  Stayed with my Aunt and Uncle.

-December 15 – Drove the rest of the way to Missouri.  My first time being home since August 10.

History 592, Material Culture…

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

History 592, Material Culture, was the only class that I was able to choose this semester.  I chose it because it seemed as though it would be a great introduction to the Public History (despite the fact a class I will be taking next semester is call, Introduction to Public History).  I have not been disappointed by this course.  The professor, Dr. Gabrielle Lanier, is an architectural historian who has documented many sites.  In fact, all the examples and photos she has used in our class (and she typically has over 100 per lecture) have been from her collection.  Dr. Lanier is a favorite of most the grad students in our department.  Incidentally, I will have her for two of my three courses next semester.

The course is a combination of grad students and undergrads.  We all meet from 9:30 – 10:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the three grad students meet for a fourth hour on Tuesday afternoons.  We complete all the same assignments as the undergrads, just on a graduate level.  In addition, the book list I provided earlier for the course is for the graduate section.  There are three different books the undergrads use.  I did purchase one of the three because it is a classic of Material Culture and that is James Deetz’s In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life.  The other books for the course include: Waste & Want, Refinement of America, New Urban Landscape, Material Christianity, and Chesapeake Family & Their Slaves.

The course is fairly straight forward.  We get a broad overview of the various aspects of Material Culture after which we can take classes which focus more on individual matters.  The subjects covered by the course include: methods of material studies, archaeology of American life, material culture of death (particularly headstones), architectural landscape, artifacts vs. documentary evidence, domestic environments, museum exhibits, cultural landscape, clothing, urban landscapes, industrial landscapes, foodways, garbage, and technology.  A full course!  With every topic, Dr. Lanier has carefully selected journal articles which describe the study of the particular field and issues associated with it.  Her lectures add to our understanding of the topics.  This class will prepare me for two of the classes I will be taking next semester, but you will have to wait to find out what those are!!  Registration begins tomorrow!

In addition to daily readings, the course consists of several papers.  1. An object analysis in which and object is physically describes but also put into historical context.  2. An evolution of a 18th or 19th century probate inventory.  This assignment was very enjoyable.  I was assigned the probate inventory of Joshua Pusey of Chester County, Pennsylvania.  My task was to pull as much information as I could about his life, property, family, and occupation from the inventory. 3. A review and critique f a history museum exhibit.  This paper is due this coming Thursday and I have yet to start it.  Still trying to decide what I would like to write about for this one!  4. The final paper is over a topic of our choosing related to material culture.  I have decided to do an in depth study of fall-out shelters from the Cold War Era.  In addition to the papers we also had a out of class midterm and will have an out of class final.

The afore mention papers are required of both undergrads and graduate students.  For our fourth hour meeting, we have to write and review/reaction paper of what we read for that week.  This week I read a book that I chose from a preselected list and I will report on it during our meeting on Tuesday.  We have read a wide variety of things, but the readings generally correspond with the subjects from the undergrad portion of the class, but just a more in critical or complete view.

The course requires a lot of work, but I have really enjoyed the readings and feel like I am prepared for my classes in the Spring.

As I mentioned earlier, registration for Spring classes begins tomorrow and I met with my advisor on Friday.  I will be taking three classes, two of which are required.  I will write briefly about those three classes later in the week because I am really excited about all of them, but one in particular!  Until then…

-Eric

The Day Before…

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Today, I have been getting everything ready for tomorrow.  You know, the usual back to school things.  Packing the backpack with notebooks, pens, pencils, charging the iPad and iPhone, breaking out the new shoes, etc.  I feel ready and I am looking forward to starting school…however, there are a few things I need to update…

Friday at 3:30 I attended orientation for the History Department.  This was a great opportunity to meet the other students in the program.  Several professors were there as well.  All in all, there was not a lot of new information presented.  Again, the fact that as grad students we are considered faculty by the university and by the professors of the department was stressed.  This was solidified when I was given a key to my office and was given a key to the classroom that I will TA.  Having a key somehow makes everything legitimate!

Jackson Hall – The Department of History

Anyway, during the meeting we were given general information, much of which I have heard many times.  Graduate courses are different from undergraduate courses and there will be more work required.  What will be difficult to get used to is having courses in the evening and only once per week!  That means more information in a class meeting, but more time outside of class to do course work and research.  The professors also explained the expectations for TAs, which I heard on Monday.

The most important piece of information I received during the hour meeting was the course outline for the Public History program.  Here is the plan I will follow:

-FALL 2010 – HIST 671 (Research Methods), HIST 653 (Patterns of World History), HIST 592 (American Material Culture)

-SPRING 2011 – HIST 673 (Advance Research Methods), HIST 696 (Intro to Public History), Elective

-FALL 2011 – HIST 700 (Thesis), HIST 640 (Internship), Non-US Elective

-SPRING 2012 – HIST 700 (Thesis), Elective, Elective

Of the 12 courses I am required to earn my M.A., I only get to choose 4!!  I have looked at the graduate catalog and really want to take the four other Public History courses they offer as long as they are available!

On a surprising note (or perhaps not), I have heard the two most unpopular words at MSSU: hiring freeze.  JMU also has a hiring freeze in effect and there have been deep cuts in the budget.  Despite this, we were assured that if we needed money for research or for conferences, they would get some, maybe not 100%, but some money together to help with expenses.  The History Department is one of the largest department on campus (YES, I did type that correctly!!) and has access to funds.  I plan to take advantage of this because the documents I need for some research are in New York City and Washington D.C., but I will keep everyone updated on that!

As I said, tomorrow is the first day of courses.  I have the course I am TA for at 12:20 PM and HIST 671 at 6:30 PM.  Monday, however, is when I have office hours from 9 – 10 AM and will probably get to campus about 8:30 to avoid the traffic.  I know where I WANT to park, but that does not guarantee anything!!   The parking sticker I paid for is jokingly called a “Hunting Permit” by the students.  Meaning you are allowed to look for a parking spot, but not guaranteed one!  The good news, however, JMU recently purchased the old Rockingham Memorial Hospital campus which has two parking decks and several parking lots (with 700 parking spots) and four major buildings.  This area has been renamed North Campus and has added about 50 acres to campus.  I have parked in one of the new parking decks my last two times on campus and it is very close to the quad, which will make it very popular!

I will update next weekend with stories from my first week as a grad student. Until then…

-Eric