Graduate or Professional Schools

Graduate school differs from an undergraduate education in that it involves specialized study and a more narrowed focus.

Many Middlebury alumni pursue advanced degrees, but only about 15 percent do so immediately after college. Most seniors work and explore their interests further before beginning graduate study. Graduate degrees can mean a significant commitment in time and resources, so you want to be ready to invest yourself in that degree.

Why Graduate School?

In some careers, such as medicine, law, clinical psychology, or college/university teaching, it is a required qualification. In other career paths, such as business or public administration, it may be advantageous to your career goals.

Academic Degrees

Academic degrees (MA, MS, PhD) are awarded in all liberal arts disciplines and typically involve original research. Master’s programs are typically two years. Doctoral programs (PhD) are longer; time to degree may be five to seven years, depending on the field of study.

Professional Degrees

These have a more career-specific focus, often combining clinical or professional internships with classes. Some examples include:

Architecture (MArch)
Business (MBA)
Medicine (MD, DVM, DDS)
Law (JD)
Education (MEd)
Fine Arts (MFA)
Library Science (MLS)
Social Work (MSW)
Public Administration (MPA)

If and When to Apply

Deciding if and when to apply requires careful consideration and planning. Here are some suggestions to help you begin the process of making an educated decision:

Evaluate your interests and goals and be clear about your reasons for pursuing a particular degree. Pursuing a graduate or professional program without a specific outcome in mind can be a costly decision that does not yield benefits. Graduate school should not be thought of as the option to take simply because you are unsure of what else to do; and remember, graduate school does not allow for the type of exploring that takes place in an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum.
Identify the type of work you would like to do when you have completed your degree, and whether or not this degree helps you in that career path.
Determine if you have the financial resources to cover the cost of graduate school and investigate alternative sources of funding such as financial aid, fellowships, and assistantships.
Talk with your faculty adviser and others who specialize in your areas of interest to determine whether or not graduate school is a good option for you at this time.

Middlebury Schools and Programs

As a Middlebury student, you have access to all of the institutions schools and programs, and in many cases funding and accelerated degree options may be available for Middlebury graduates.

Deciding Where to Apply

Once you know that you want to go to graduate school, how do you find the right program?

Finding the best programs requires research. Know what you’re looking for in a program. Gather information about programs from your faculty, Middlebury alumni, and recent graduates. Look at the online information for the graduate program, and talk with current students, professors and program directors there. Consult guides—many of which are listed below. And finally, visit the program if you can. In-person conversations, exploring the campus, learning about resources at the university and in the community can be invaluable.

Occasionally, graduate schools visit Middlebury for on-campus information sessions and informal interviews. To find out about these on-campus visits, check the CCI calendar.

Research

Knowing the answers to these questions can help you decide what is important to you and narrow your search:

Where would you like to be geographically? Would you prefer an urban, suburban, or rural setting? Are there particular cities or states you prefer, or where you’d like to work after graduate school?
How strong is the reputation of the program? What is the size of the faculty and faculty/student ratio? Are the top faculty teaching and/or conducting research? What areas of research are the faculty engaged in?
What areas of specialty or interest would you like to pursue? Does the curriculum offered reflect your interests? What characteristics distinguish this program from others in the same field? How much room for flexibility would you like? Is that flexibility available? Are there experiential components such as fieldwork or internships?
What are graduates of this program doing? What do they say about the preparation for their field that the program offered? What is the level of attrition? How long did it take them to find a position in their field after graduation?
What are the costs associated with the program? What are the tuition and fees? Are there opportunities for teaching, research, or program assistantships? If so, what are the stipends and/or benefits associated with them and how many students receive assistantships? Are there fellowships or other grant programs available?
What are the admissions statistics? What application materials do they require? What is the average GPA and entrance exam scores of those admitted? How selective is the program?

Online Resources

Gradschools.com
A comprehensive directory of master’s degrees, doctorate / doctoral degrees, PhDs and graduate certificate programs, both U.S. and international.
GoGrad.org
Provides an easy online platform where aspiring graduate students of all ages, backgrounds and specialties can get the information they need to make informed decisions about their education.
Peterson’s Graduate and Professional Degrees
Search for schools including online degree options. Includes information on planning for grad school, choosing a school, test preparation, and financial aid.
U.S. News and World Report
Lists of schools and articles about researching and financing graduate school education. Includes latest rankings.
The Princeton Review This site includes information on different graduate programs, including rankings of the top programs. Also has financial aid and test preparation information
CUR’s Registry of Undergraduate Researchers and Graduate Schools
This site is designed to match undergraduates with research experience with schools recruiting such students.

Additional Sites for More Targeted Resources

Idealist.org
The Idealist Grad Fairs connect prospective students with graduate schools in fields such as public administration, international affairs, education, public policy, public interest law, social work, nonprofit management, global and public health, theology, environmental science, and socially responsible business.
ThoughtCo
Guide to graduate school admissions.
CollegeNET
Allows applicants to complete, file, and pay for their admissions applications to some institutions. Offers search and other features.
“Everything I wanted to know about C.S. graduate school at the beginning but didn’*t learn until later”
A comprehensive and illuminating article from former Ph.D candidate Ronald T. Azuma.

Funding

There are several different ways to fund your graduate study.

Many students receive financial aid to partially or fully fund their graduate education. Your institution may have a mix of scholarships, grants, loans, assistantships, fellowships and general employment opportunities.

The first step to seeking and receiving any financial aid is to carefully review the financial aid web pages of any institution where you are applying for graduate admission. Note financial aid deadlines and requirements. Some may only require you to complete the FAFSA while others require supplemental materials and information. Your eligibility for financial aid will be determined by your school once all the application information has been received and reviewed.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to apply for all federal financial aid (grants, work-study, and loans). In most cases it is also required to secure institutional or state financial aid as well. Note that you can complete the FAFSA on January 1 of the year you plan to enroll, but no sooner. An important component of completing the FAFSA is timely filing of your previous year’s taxes.

Types of Financial Aid

Graduate Assistantships: These are typically work-based aid offered to perform research, teaching assistant positions, and administrative jobs. Many offer full or partial tuition remission and/or a salary. Some are awarded through your department as part of your admission package, while others can be found and applied for on the school’s employment website or directly through other departments in which you may have experience. Be sure to ask about assistantships when you request your application packet, as many positions have application deadlines that are earlier than your program’s application for admission.

Scholarships, Grants, and Fellowships: This type of aid does not require paying money back. Fellowships are very competitive and have early deadlines, so research for these should begin as soon as you have made a decision to apply to graduate school. Many grants and scholarships can be found and applied for through your department, others may be found through the graduate school admissions office, and still others come from private and nationally-funded sources.

Use web-based public and private scholarship directories to find options. Meet with advisors in the Fellowships Office in the CTLR for additional opportunities.

Federal and Private Loans: Loans are borrowed money that must be repaid with interest. Loan programs allow graduate students to borrow money to cover their education expenses. Parents may also borrow to pay education expenses for dependent students. Generally, loan amounts depend on the student’s year in school, cost of attendance, and the amount of other aid received. Federal loans are typically awarded on a need-based system by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Look carefully at institutional loan programs that are available, both the federal loans offered as part of your financial aid package as well as any recommended sources for low interest private loans. These loans can be an important resource if used wisely. Many of the links below provide detailed information about educational loans.

Additional Sources of Financial Aid Information

Chegg Scholarships: Personalized matches with over a billion dollars in scholarship awards. Selection of African American scholarships in particular is growing each day and is open to high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students.
FinAid: The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid, including information on a variety of financial aid sources.
Fastweb’s Scholarship Search: A scholarship database and website.
UCLA Grapes Database: A large listing of fellowships, scholarships, and grants.
Michigan State University Library: This contains a comprehensive database of Grants for Individuals. It includes a section on listings for Affinity Groups.
Edupass: Provides information for international students who are thinking about pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or professional education in the United States.
U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid: A comprehensive source of free information about how to fund higher education.

Personal Essay/Statement

There is an art to writing an essay or personal statement for an application to graduate school.

Below are some helpful tips for writing effective application essays from the Writing Center at Middlebury’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research.

Give yourself enough time to research, write, seek help, rewrite, and submit on time.
Do your research.
KNOW who they are and what they offer. What do they want from you? What do you want from them? What can you offer them? Specificity matters.
Identify information essential for this application.
Read the questions carefully and answer them all specifically.
Consider the story behind your résumé. The personal statement is where the facts on the résumé happen to a real person—you.
Identify key ideas and experiences that have shaped you as an individual.
Identify anecdotes and stories that are worthy of detailed retelling.
Identify concrete details that make the writing lively and original.
Identify an arc that connects your past experience to future goals.
Get in front of anything that doesn’t paint you in a good light. Have you grown, learned from this?
Engage in writing exercises to start writing immediately and to dwell in the concrete versus the abstract.
Kill clichés. Move beyond them. This committee will have heard them all and won’t appreciate hearing them again. You’ll probably have some clichés in your first draft. Take them out in your next draft.
Remember that your first draft is probably going to be boring—that’s O.K. You need to get your information down and then you can work on an arc that captures highlights and makes your statement engaging.
Make your first paragraph compelling. Don’t let the first paragraph put your readers to sleep. Look for a better first paragraph somewhere else in your draft.
Be specific. Be specific. Be specific.
Proofread all essays carefully.
Meet deadlines promptly.