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Table of Contents
The primary mission of graduate education is to prepare the next generation of professional, scholarly and educational leaders. In order to fulfill this mission, our research group seeks to instill in each student an understanding of and capacity for scholarship, independent critical judgment, academic rigor, and intellectual honesty. It is the joint responsibility of everyone in our research group to work together to foster these ends through relationships that encourage freedom of inquiry, demonstrate personal and professional integrity, and foster mutual respect. Graduate education encompasses four separate components: (1) preparation for and experience in a variety of teaching roles, (2) development of an individual research agenda, (3) opportunities for professional career development, and (4) active participation in a disciplinary or professional community.
As graduate students, you are responsible for working towards completion of your degree program in a timely fashion - that is typically 2 years for a master’s degree and 5 years for a doctoral degree. This means keeping track of degree requirements from your committee, the department and university. I expect this task to be taken seriously and with self-asserted leadership. It is expected that graduate students will gain expertise in a particular area of study and seek to expand the state of knowledge in geoscience education and related fields through the pursuit of a unique topic of scholarly research. As professionals-in-training, graduate students should learn how to impart disciplinary knowledge through appropriate forms of instruction and publication and how to apply that knowledge to particular business, industrial and social problems. Graduate students should seek out and utilize best pedagogical practices in their own teaching and encourage others to do the same.
Basic expectations for graduate students include:
“Don't come here to work, come here to be excellent”. - Horst Schulze
“A rising tide lifts all boats” or what’s good for my colleagues is good for me.
Every human being is important and deserves respect.
Assume positive intent, but own negative impacts.
Creativity and insights, bringing research to fruition
Leadership (in decreasing importance) within the group, the greater geoscience education professional society, the department, college, university and society.
Support and cooperation for group effort. Most great research is achieved by small research groups, not individuals.
Applying for awards, travel grants
<aside> 🧠 These are major aspects that I describe in letters of recommendation, along with teaching abilities for students interested in academic careers. Considering these throughout your career here means that I can write strong letters of recommendation for you in the future!
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Store your materials as a sub-folder within the Ryker Research Lab Google Drive. More information on this can be found on the Data and Deliverables Management Page.
Keep a running list of your accomplishments and attempted accomplishments, more information on that is also on the Data and Deliverables Management Page.
Life in general, but graduate school specifically, is incredibly chaotic. You will be working towards some of your greatest goals, and as such will be an incredibly busy human being. As you apply to grants, internships, service opportunities, awards, etc. keep track of these in a document that you can share with me and regularly look back on. This will help us track your progress and acknowledge how far you’ve come. From time to time, this can also be a helpful source of information to determine how you can continue to grow (e.g. you’ve found great opportunities for departmental service, let’s get you started on some national service opportunities).
Be sure to also keep track of the things that you tried but didn’t necessarily accomplish (e.g. applying to the NSF postdoctoral fellowship). Many of the things you apply to will take a tremendous amount of work, and when you look back you should be able to give yourself credit for the work put in regardless of whether or not you received the award.
I have high expectations for all my students from the undergraduate level to the doctoral level. However, I expect more out of the highest ranking students. I expect Postdocs to be role models for the Ph.D. students, Ph.D. students to be role models for the M.S. students, and I expect M.S. to be role models for the B.S. students. Regardless of degree type being earned, I will often ask a more experienced graduate/undergraduate student to show and perhaps work with another less experienced student a lab or field method or the “how to’s” (e.g., using our Google Drive, co-coding data, collecting surveys). I expect this task to be taken seriously, done in a timely fashion, and with self-asserted leadership. We are a group and we need mentorship between ranks to be the most productive we can be for the ultimate benefit of all members.
If you’re funded by a grant, it is very likely that Katherine has budgeted at least one conference trip per year for you, but it is still important for you to apply to financial support that is available to you! We go to conferences to share our work, learn from and network with others.
<aside> 🧠 This presentation is in-line with departmental requirements. I'll add that while the "in house" (e.g. departmental seminar) presentations count towards this requirement, it is strongly advised that you aim for external presentations to maximize your visibility and ultimately help you on the job search.
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Remember the SEOE lays out specific course requirements in the graduate handbook
Each student is responsible for planning his/her/their curriculum in consultation with me. You’re expected to focus on the coursework needed for your degree (described in the SEOE handbook — not linked because it updates relatively frequently and you’ll need to save the handbook for your start year). It is expected that you will take a mixture of courses from the SEOE and relevant departments.
<aside> 💡 Below are dropdown menus of courses. Click they dark grey triangle on the left and it’ll expand the menu!
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The Ryker Research Lab typically has biweekly lab group meetings (1 hour) that alternate with biweekly individual meetings (30 minutes). At group meetings, one of the group’s members will present their research (at that point) to the rest of the group; alternately, they can share a research paper with questions to consider, or we can meet about other matters (e.g., conference preparation). You should present your research orally, with handouts if you like, including whatever literature review, methodology, and initial research you have conducted. Consider what would be most useful for the group to give you feedback on. This is good practice for your presentation skills, it is good for the rest of the group to know what the others in the group are doing, it is good for me to keep up with your progress, and it is good for you to get feedback and comments about your work.
Full participation in these meetings is one of my expectations of you. Successful participation includes reading any necessary materials ahead of time, discussing ideas with an open mind, and being fully present.