Success for Graduate School
By
Robert Harden, D.Min.
Dean of Harrison
School of Graduate Studies
rharden@sagu.edu
Everyone is capable or willing to complete a graduate degree... Allow me to encourage you in your pursuit of higher education! I have taken the liberty of offering a few questions and words of advice for anyone who wants to be a successful graduate student. You must ask yourself:
1) Are you willing to pay the price? You must consider what price you are willing to pay to be successful as a graduate student. Have you seriously considered completing an advanced degree or is it just a fanciful idea? There is a price to everything in life, and you must weigh the cost carefully. It may mean many hours of reading, studying and writing. It may mean questioning old belief systems. It may mean balancing life’s priorities to include the investment of graduate education. I am not talking about sacrificing your relationship with your family or with the Lord. But a new outlook is required for serious study. You cannot enter graduate education half-heartedly: you are either "in it" or not. If you decide you are "in it" then expect to pay the price required.
2) Are you willing to listen to a professor who will challenge you with information that you may not feel comfortable receiving? Graduate studies require depth and persistence. There is no point if you are not willing to address new concepts, deeper understanding and mature thought. This is not to suggest that you agree completely with everything that a professor says. In fact, at the graduate level you can and should expect to question ideas that vary from traditional modes. You can and should be willing to engage in dialog that enhances the study and clarifies the ideas presented.
3) Are you a continual learner? Too often, we think we know it all, have heard it all or seen it all. But have we learned it all? You must be hungry to be a learner. Develop a hunger to search out truth.
4) Do you have the right attitude? A graduate student must bring him or herself under the guiding hands of seasoned, mature individuals from whom they can learn. A wrong attitude often expresses itself as "I don’t need this - I know more than the professor" or, "I am more knowledgeable in this area." A graduate student doesn’t ignore the knowledge they already have but they filter it through the eyes of someone who can help them see the total picture. A graduate student recognizes the professor is gifted by God for the task at hand.
5) Do you crave feedback? In order to receive meaningful feedback you must always be an effective listener and reflect on the information you have received. Do not be afraid to ask for feedback; welcome it positively. Learning will often require follow-up; this means developing action-plans, checking on progress and getting further assistance.
6) Have you made the commitment to finish? There are many rewards for finishing a graduate program; the pride that you and your family feel when they see you dressed in your academic regalia at graduation; the degree that you clutch in your hand as you cross the platform; the handshake that you receive from the dignitaries; the satisfaction of knowing a task is well done and new successes are before you! Perhaps the best of all is the sense of accomplishment that you feel knowing you paid the price and finished a race that not everyone could run!