3. From… To…

4.  Recruit the best graduate students
 Help students thrive at USC
 Provide professionalization opportunities
 Expect students to become stewards of
their discipline
 Expect students to graduate in a timely
manner
 Position students to land a great job

5. Year 5
• Write dissertation
Year 4 • Publish papers
• Continue research • Defend
• Attend dissertation
Year 3 conferences • Interview for
• Pass Qualifying • Apply for external job/postdoc
Examination funding • Graduate
• Establish Diss.
Year 2 committee
• Formulate
• Take courses
research
• Look for an
• Begin research
advisor
• Establish Quals.
Year 1 committee
• Take courses
• Get familiar
• Pass
screening
exams

6.  Based on my observations, the quot;successfulquot; students have done the following:
established a research topic early; worked as a Research Assistant;
cultivated relationships outside the department – Edson SOCI
 Talk to the other students in your class. The sooner a new student does that
the sooner you realize that it is hard for everyone and you are not alone in
this – Jessie MATH
 Find an advisor that compliments your personality and who you can get
along with personally... just because you're interested in the same things
academically doesn't mean you will be a good match – Rowan GEOL
 Stay on top of things but don't forget to give yourself time off. Just because
you're a grad student doesn't mean you can't take the weekend/evening off
– Rowan GEOL
 When in doubt, ask a senior student in your department – Seth COLT
 Be humbled by the infinity of knowledge out there, understand that there will
always be more to read, research, and do than can be humanly done, and
appreciate the magic of the tiny piece you got, Accept it: We're all idiots! –
Sharon ASE

8. You’re doing your future…
 Present at important
conferences
 Publish in good journals
 Apply for external funding
 Enter scholarly competitions
 Write a grant
 Develop curricula as a
Teaching Assistant
 Develop networks with non-
USC faculty

9.  Read until your brain hurts, and then read some more.
 Ramen. Ramen. Ramen.
 Girlfriend? I think I had one of those once.... – Seth COLT
 Keep in mind that nobody is impressed with your
ability to get by while doing as little as possible.
 Given the long time scales of grad school, regular
consistent performance will mount up rapidly.
 Fun is good. Too much fun is bad.
http://totaldrek.blogspot.com/2007/09/unhelpful-hints.html

10. Commencement ceremony, Alumni Park

11. …a good one!

12. Recent Faculty Positions Recent Postdoc Positions
 Yale  Harvard
 Harvard  Stanford
 Ohio State  MIT
 Kansas  Brown
 Georgia Tech  USC
 University of Missouri  Cambridge (UK)
 UC Irvine  UCLA
 UC Santa Cruz  Cornell

13.  Faithful
 Scholarly
 Skillful
 Courageous
 Ambitious