Today Dr. Ranita Chatterjee graced our meeting with her wisdom and experience about her own, as well as the general, steps one takes to become a PhD. She outlined three main components that influence one’s academic career and those are: mentors, determination, and the overarching narrative of one’s goal.
Though most of us only know what is academically prudent to ask, Dr. Chatterjee shared her own personal journey to graduate study. Born into a family of academics, Dr. Chatterjee was first mentored by her parents who always encouraged her to seek higher education.
While Dr. Chatterjee attended the University of Calgary, she was convinced that she would pursue a career in the sciences and took everything from biology to zoology, but an illness forced her to leave the science labs that were aggravating her health. Turning to the humanities, Dr. Chatterjee chose to study English hoping eventually to become a scientific journalist. Though english was not a subject she was exceedingly passionate about, Dr. Chatterjee fell in love with the subject when she discovered theory; its formulaic philosophy appealing to her scientific mind.
Graduating with a BA in English with a minor in Biology, Dr. Chatterjee applied to several MA programs in Canada, choosing to go east of her Calgary home to McMaster University near Toronto. At twenty-two years old, graduate school seemed daunting as Dr. Chatterjee was surrounded by more experienced scholars, yet she was determined to continue with her education.
Getting into a Master’s program proved fairly easy compared to the immense process of applying to doctoral programs of which none accepted Dr. Chatterjee. With few options, she chose to attend University of Waterloo to obtain an M Phil, which is a degree between an MA and a PhD. A year later she reapplied and was accepted into the University of Western Ontario in late July (a decision that came about because she was waitlisted).
From this long arduous journey to the highest level of graduate school and its completion years later, Dr. Chatterjee offers the following tips:
Be Diplomatic
Though there may be some professors that do make your day, you should always maintain good standing with them. You never know who may be on the admission committee or friends with the right people.
Build a Relationship with Professors
Professors are a wealth of knowledge and the only way to get a good letter of recommendation, or ask someone to mentor you, is to first build that relationship with them. Visit during office hours and discuss something in their field. A good scholarly topic will always open up communication.
Choose a Mentor
Mentors will the the key to academic success and guidance. Build that relationship and then listen to their advice. They are in the field you wish to study. Thus, they will know what schools would be best to apply to and which scholars might help you to get in. Mentors can also advise on which courses to take in order for you to have the best advantage. Mentors can also help by becoming advisors for scholarships such as the Pre-Doc that is due every year at CSUN in March.
When Applying to PhD Programs
1. Ask yourself why you are doing it, because a doctorate will not guarantee you a job.
2. Think of the complete package when applying to the PhD program:
a. GPA must be high, close to 4.0
b. break 700 in the GRE, aim for a high score in the subject area. The admission committee won’t look at it unless it comes down to two people and the score must break the tie
c. Writing sample- must match the statement of purpose area of interest. If your sample is written about something different, you must explain why with a good reason
d. Statement of interest: What you want to do in your PhD, like a proposal for the dissertation, but you need a bridge for what you did in you MA and what you want to do in the PhD program. Must be short and be concise, clear, and superimpose a narrative of your choice to go into a doctorate program
e. Letters- You do not want form letters from professors. Some letters ask about your percentile rank and personality so you want a professor who really knows you and your work.
The Narrative: Make sure you mention your own experience in your application such as clubs in which you have served as an officer or any work experience. Always include this in your statement to show your life experience.
How to Choose a School:
Pick a school that offers the three areas of interest you wish to study and explain in your statement how this will factor in, as well as the authors you want to examine.
Rejections are a sign that you tried, so do not become discouraged.
Once in the Program
You will spend two years taking classes and most likely teaching.
Some people who cannot manage time spend this year slacking off, panic and then fail. This is where determination and discipline play a role.
ABD Level: All but dissertation level is where you have passed exams and then you must complete your dissertation. This is a lonely time where you research and write. At times critiques from your mentor may become daunting, but personal determination and a supportive mentor will help.
The Job : You must be willing to move anywhere there is a job. Dr. Chatterjee’s own path brought her from Canada to Salt Lake City, Utah to Vassar College in New York and finally to us, in sunny California.
AGSE thanks Dr. Chatterjee for sharing her knowledge, advice and most of all, her story of struggle, disappointment, rejection and ultimate determination and success.
McMaster University is in Hamilton, not Toronto.
ReplyDeleteThe following is some helpful information from Andrew Bond, CSUN alumnus and doctoral candidate at UC Riverside.
ReplyDeleteQualification exams differ from school to school. At UCR, our standard exam style consists of 3 written exams (1 in each of your 3 areas of study) which are 3 hours in length, and a 3 hour oral exam. You have a faculty member for each area who helps you construct your reading lists and, later, the exam questions you might encounter in the writtens or oral.
Our new exam format, approved by grad division recently and available to my cohort and any thereafter, does away with the timed written exams and replaces them with a portfolio. In this will be an original, article-length, publishable paper that speaks to your specialized research field (the area out from which your dissertation will eventually come). In addition to the paper, the portfolio will contain additional documents such as sample undergraduate syllabi for each research area (something you'd need in interview/teaching folders) and a preliminary draft of the dissertation prospectus.
The scope of the areas of study for exams is usually limited to a broader, major era (in my case, 20th c. and contemporary American Lit), a minor area, usually theoretical (for me: theorizing race, nation, and empire), and a special/research topic that will be the focus of your portfolio paper and, later, your dissertation (mine is in Asian American literature with specific focus on Korean American cultural and literary texts). The reading lists for the major and minor areas are approximately 40-50 texts each, and the list for the research/special topic is made up of 60-80.
The oral exam still takes place over 3 hours, but is more geared toward the student presenting research and having a dialogue with the examiners in which he or she can exhibit mastery of their primary field of research while also showing proficiency and coverage in the major and minor areas.
This new exam format ties professionalization into the exam process while also providing candidates with a practical transition into the dissertation phase of his or her PhD process. Many schools are opting for this format, but many still use the timed writing method of testing, as well. I just wanted to supplement Dr. Chatterjee's experiences from her PhD program with some of my own since I'm currently working on my areas petitions and examination reading lists.
Andrew Bond
-BA in English from CSUN, spring '09
-MA in English from UC Riverside, spring '11
-testing to advance to candidacy for a PhD in English at UC Riverside in spring '13
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