By Riley Eike
Staff Writer
The Career and Professional Readiness Center (CPRC) held informational sessions every day this week to promote higher education. The sessions included a round table discussion led by professors with their doctorates, to instruction on how to create an impactful graduate school essay, to why students should consider getting an MBA.
Last year, programs were created to discuss graduate school and to encourage more students to consider applying for graduate school at St. Bonaventure. Dr. Daniel Ellis of the English department, Dr. Benjamin Gross of the sociology department, Dr. Maddalena Marinari of the history department and Dr. Xiao-Ning Zhang of the biology department came together to form a round table to talk about graduate school, Ellis said.
This year, the CPRC expanded on this event and dedicated a week to helping students understand graduate school and deciding if it is right for them.
Monday, Gross, Marinari and Ellis sat with students at “Pursuing the Doctorate and Becoming a Professor: A Roundtable Discussion for Humanities and Social Sciences Majors.”
“In a lot of high level positions at some point there is a ceiling that you hit, and if you want to move up you need a Ph.D.,” Dr. Marinari said.
Graduate school differs from undergraduate, presenting students a more extensive workload.
“At some point in this level of academia, being exposed to all the knowledge and discussions something will click and you will find a dissertation.” Marinari said.
While it is not impossible to switch your dissertation during school as Marinari did, it is important to pick a topic that is interesting and meaningful to you that you wish to learn more about, Marinari said.
One is “not pigeonholed in being a teacher” once they achieve their Ph.D. Gross said.
In addition, it betters your knowledge and increases your likelihood of being hired, according to Ellis.
“A Ph.D. will not count against you,” Ellis said.
Ellis said the things that make up a life of academia are “research, teaching and service.” He also said in order to consider furthering your education these aspects of academia should always be on your mind.
According to sophomore French and journalism and mass communication double major, Emily Rosman, the event was informative and she planned to attend more of the week’s events.
From these events, the CPRC, as well as academic advisors, will help students decide if graduate school is their next step.
