The Academics' Forum: The Ideal Graduate Seminar
and Advisor: Graduate Student Perspective
Sylvia G. Roch
University at Albany
Graduate students are an excellent source of information when designing graduate seminars and deciding upon the best approach to mentor graduate students. As years pass, our perspective of our graduate student years may become distorted by our current positions, and expectations may change over time. Thus, I asked five senior I-O PhD students, Tiffany M. Bludau from George Mason University, Stephanie Seiler from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Nahren Ishaya from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Ryan Glaze from Texas A&M University, and Jessica Nicklin from the University at Albany, SUNY for advice regarding graduate seminars and advising. I thank them for their insightful responses. I expected some of their answers but found others surprising. However, what surprised me the most is the amount of agreement suggested by their responses. It appears that there is much agreement regarding how to design an ideal seminar and how to be the ideal advisor.
Please think about your one or two most favorite graduate seminars. Why did you like this(these) seminar(s)?
TB: My two favorite graduate seminars were my training and personnel selection classes. Both of them provided “hands-on” experiences. Looking back, these were basic projects (i.e., small-scale validity studies, training needs analysis/design), but these projects developed a foundation for my applied experiences and made the topic interesting. It was much easier to appreciate theory when we applied it. Both seminars also highlighted the basic knowledge and theory regarding each respective topic while incorporating current research as well.
SS: I think that seminars that require more than a set of weekly readings to discuss are the most useful. I personally benefit from more active learning. My favorite seminars have required all students to prepare written comments or questions every week or to respond to specific questions that the professor or other students propose. Also, short assignments that require students to work with published results (e.g., calculating effect sizes, converting and reanalyzing published results) are a great way for students to understand research methods and statistics.
NI: What I liked most about my favorite seminars were the applied projects. The projects provided opportunities to conduct research, work with and learn from other students, and improve upon writing, analysis, and presentation skills. Some of my most valuable graduate seminar experiences came from these applied team projects.
RG: The seminar I enjoyed the most involved discussing seminal articles and applying the concepts in an applied project. The course provided an opportunity to discover links between various journal articles and to understand how knowledge-guided decisions must be made in order to complete an applied project.
JN: 1. Training, because in addition to the research/theory, there were a lot of hands-on practical applications to the class. 2. Motivation, probably because the content was related to my research interests: interesting, applicable. I will say some of the most useful classes include psychometrics, multivariate, and cognitive psychology. All I-O students should take cognitive because it is relevant for many of our I-O areas: training, performance appraisal, and so on. Lastly, I do think there is value in taking business courses. If you want an applied job or to teach at a business school, there is value in having some management courses, or even marketing or finance—just to make you a more well-rounded and prepared professional.
How would you design your ideal graduate seminar (i.e., reading, tests, class projects, discussion, etc.)?
TB: First, I think all graduate classes should start with the basics of the relevant topic. I would have students read relevant handbook chapters or summary articles when possible as well as expose them to relevant seminal works. In addition, I think it’s helpful to gauge class knowledge in developing your reading list. If the class is predominantly first-year students, they may also benefit from a few chapters out of an undergrad text. If they’re more experienced students, you may want to tailor additional articles (beyond the foundational ones) around their work and research interests. With that in mind, I think it’s also beneficial to have students collect articles that interest them and present them, so I would have each student assigned to a week where they would select an article for the class to read and moderate a discussion on that article. In addition, I think class projects that apply course concepts are critical to learning. For more applied classes (selection, training), potential projects are easier to come by; for more theory-driven courses, students could review case studies and present an approach for dealing with the case based on theory and empirical research. These more applied skills would benefit both future academics and practitioners.
SS: I would assign one or two core readings every week and pose questions that require students to build on these readings by locating additional materials, writing a response in support of or counter to the author’s position, working with published statistics, or other active-learning activities. Class time would focus on addressing students’ comments and questions. Students would be encouraged to make use of the chalkboard to share their knowledge with the class.
NI: An ideal graduate seminar would have seminal articles, along with current articles for a specific topic. Students would be responsible for reviewing the articles before class and be expected to discuss issues and answer questions that are brought up by the professor and/or students. A semester-long class project that allows students to work in teams and present their findings may be beneficial. It would be ideal to have a cumulative in-class exam at the end of the semester so that students get practice at preparing their materials and studying a semester’s worth of class notes. This test preparation and practice would hopefully help students in graduate programs with a comprehensive exam requirement.
RG: An ideal seminar would include an extensive reading list with only a subset of the readings being required. This allows students who are particularly interested in a specific topic domain to gain a deeper understanding of the literature by reading additional optional readings. Furthermore, a well- developed reading list is a valuable resource for future courses and research endeavors. Also, seminars should include one major project. If the project is academic in nature, the project should result in a manuscript that can be submitted to a journal or conference. If the project is applied in nature, it should serve as a template for future projects.
JN: I think that the reading should be a combination of classic and contemporary articles. A book tends to serve as a guide (e.g., Guion), but is no substitute for articles. I never particularly cared for having to “write a question” to pose to the class for class discussion or having a weekly discussion leader. I would use most of class time to discuss the topic, perhaps dedicating the first quarter of the class to an overview of the topic (lecture style), and then allowing the class to discuss the topic and the articles. When possible I may try to bring in outside perspectives (maybe guest speakers/lecturers), case studies, or other opportunities for the students to become engaged with the material. Depending on the class, I would incorporate debates and/or papers. Both are useful and can be used to generate future questions for outside research. As for tests, I do recommend (I can’t believe I am saying this) in-class exams. In-class exams are important for committing the information to memory and for future recall.
What do you think is the most important thing when choosing an advisor?
TB: I think the most important thing is finding someone that you feel comfortable working with. You need to think about how you work and what you need from an advisor. Ask around. Don’t just select an advisor based on his/her research interests; make sure she/he is someone you can see yourself working with.
SS: You should feel comfortable interacting with your advisor. An advisor’s work and communication style should match or complement your own. Also, try to gauge whether the potential advisor is genuinely interested in working with you.
NI: I think it is most important to work with an advisor who has similar research interests. The advisor will be an integral part in a graduate student’s life when the time comes for writing a thesis (and dissertation). It is important to know that a student can count on an advisor to help tackle the body of literature for a research topic and brainstorm on research questions and proposed models.
RG: When choosing an advisor, it is important to consider the extent to which your research interests and work styles match. Research can become painstaking if you are not interested in the content domain. Therefore, you want to choose an advisor who is currently researching areas that you find interesting. It is also important to find an advisor who has a similar working style. For example, some advisors prefer to work under tight deadlines. This could be extremely stressful if you are not deadline oriented.
JN: The most important thing when choosing an advisor is research area of interest. Second, is level of comfort/compatibility.
How would you describe the perfect advisor?
TB: For me, a perfect advisor is someone who (a) is reasonably available to you, (b) cares about your development as a scientist–practitioner, and (c) can generally advise you regarding multiple streams of research and put you in touch with researchers who may know the answer if he or she can’t help. For your first few years, it is helpful to have someone that goes through projects with you and shows you step-by-step how to conduct analyses, manage data, and provide general feedback on how to improve your writing. Later on in your graduate career, this person will need to let you grow/develop on your own, but it’s important that he or she continues to provide feedback along the way.
SS: Flexibility is an important quality for any advising style; an advisor should be willing to adjust the type and level of supervision he/she provides to each student. The advisor should provide frequent feedback to students to help them discover their own personal strategies for success. As students progress through the program, they should be given more autonomy and opportunities for leadership.
NI: A perfect advisor should be able to guide his or her student towards opportunities that are suited to that student’s own specific research interests and/or professional goals. A perfect advisor really listens to the advisee and knows when and how to get a student to participate in opportunities that will help the student to develop skills and experiences well-suited to that student’s development.
RG: The perfect advisor is an active researcher who can effectively communicate ideas, concepts, and expectations to students. Furthermore, this advisor would instill self-reliance in students by delegating tasks that are challenging and providing only the necessary guidance.
JN: A perfect advisor is one who gives you the freedom to make your own decisions (and mistakes) but is supportive and acts as a mentor. It is important to have an “expert” to help you learn and grow; however, I don’t want to be micromanaged and have someone watching and critiquing every step. A perfect advisor lets you speak your mind and listens, yet offers honest advice/feedback when needed. A perfect advisor believes in you but does not patronize you. A perfect advisor is reliable and accessible. You can count on the perfect advisor.
What one piece of advice would you give to incoming graduate students?
TB: Learn when to say “no.” There will often be many opportunities for you to apply your skills throughout your graduate career, but for each one ask “Will this help develop me and advance my career?” Try to strategically identify opportunities that will benefit you in the long-run and utilize your skill set.
SS: Work with multiple mentors, including advanced graduate students. Not only does this give you more options in the event that your advisor cannot support you or leaves the university, it also helps you gain multiple perspectives and provides more research opportunities.
NI: It is so important to make friends with people in your program. The friends you make from your program may be in a position in the future where they can give you a job, provide employers with recommendations, or introduce you to their network of colleagues.
RG: The best piece of advice I received as an incoming graduate student was to develop relationships with the other students in the department. Senior students are a great source of information regarding research, course selection, and administrative concerns. Students in one’s own cohort are a great source of social support.
JN: You might feel like you are not sure what you are doing, but trust me, everyone else feels the same exact way. The first year is the hardest. If you can tackle the first year successfully, you can make it through the next four. It is all about believing that you can do it.