Grad Path

Being a mom adds an extra layer of responsibilities to the already busy agenda of graduate students. Having a good support network and planning the days ahead are two tools that work for the Grad Path guests Ekaterina Lisovskaia, Ph.D. student at the University of Kansas, and Angie Hendershot, professor of the Practice and Ph.D. student at KU, who share their experiences with host Fernanda Silva.

When you are about to finish your graduate degree, besides being stressed about your thesis or dissertation, there’s another thing that is always in the back of your mind: What’s next? And many other questions come along with the first one. How do I apply for academic jobs? How do I know I am a good fit for the position? What materials are required for a job application? How do I prepare for a first-stage interview? Assistant Professors Jeff Conlin and Vaibhav Diwanji join host Fernanda Silva to discuss the challenges of getting an academic job.

If you are interested in getting a graduate degree but are unsure how to start the application process, episode 6 of Grad Path is for you! How to choose the university and program you are going to? What documents do you need to have when applying? What should you include in your personal statement? Who should write your letters of reference? Matt Tidwell, Assistant Dean for Graduate and Professional Studies, and Jammie Johnson, Graduate Academic Advisor, help host Fernanda Silva answer these questions.

Migrating from a professional life to an academic one might be challenging. How to know you are ready for that next step? What are the biggest challenges in the transition? How can your professional background influence your research and teaching?

To answer those questions, two great guests join host Fernanda Silva: Melissa Greene-Blye, who has worked as an anchor and reporter for 20 years and is now an Assistant Professor in the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of Kansas, and Scott Reinardy, Associate Dean for Student Success and professor at the JMC-School, who was formerly a sports writer and editor.

Finding strategies to be productive – and to avoid procrastination – is essential to succeed as a graduate student. Dealing with working, studying and researching can be overwhelming if you don’t have a good “plan of action” that fits your routine and needs.

Former J-School students, Dr. Matt Blomberg and Dr. Muhammad Ittefaq joined host, Fernanda Silva, to share their thoughts and experiences.

As a graduate student, you will hear a lot about research, journals, publications and conferences. But what are they exactly? Why do you want to join them? How does it help you in your career? Professors Joseph Erba and Chris Etheridge join host Fernanda Silva, J-School master’s student, on the Grad Path podcast to answer these and other questions.

In the second episode of Grad Path, we will discuss two important topics: Themes and Teams. How to decide on the subject for my research? Is it ok if the research interest changes along the way? How to work in teams to be more productive? These are some of the questions we will be answering.

Annalise Baines, doctoral candidate at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas, and Pamela Peters, doctoral student also at the JMC-School, will join host Fernanda Silva, J-School master’s student, for the conversation.

Today, we have one big question to answer: Got accepted to my graduate program, now what? What are the Steps toward getting a Master's and Ph.D. degree?

Having Dr. Matt Tidwell and Dr. Hyunjin Seo as guests, we will discuss the process of applying for a graduate program in the United States -- more specifically, at the University of Kansas. And then, what happens after you get accepted.

How's the application process? What's the difference between a professional and an academic graduate degree? Do graduate students have time to get involved at the university? When should students start working on their thesis or dissertation? These are some of the questions we will answer in this episode.

Welcome to Grad Path. This is a short trailer, briefly highlighting what you can expect to see in the upcoming episodes. The goal is to help and guide graduate students from all over the world before, during, and after their program.

How to apply for a graduate program? How to be productive in my research while working and studying? How to decide on the theme for  my theses and projects?  How to participate on conferences? These are some of the questions we will be answering here.

Hosted by Fernanda Silva.