Next Steps - 2

What else can you do to further your career or educational aspirations during your time at West Chester or any other Master’s program? Last time I talked about presenting your research, showcasing the upcoming Graduate Symposium this month. Today I want to talk about other ways to search for conferences and getting published.

Due to my deep entrenchment in the world of history and historical societies, all of my links here will be for history based conferences and publications. That does not mean, however, my means of research are not valid for you as well. Let's start with online networks.

If you were to go to Google and type in history networks, one of the first things that pops up is H-Net. This is a VERY valuable tool for any historian, and I know there are other "nets" out there for other academic fields. What is great about finding one of these online networks is that everything is sent via email - so there is no website you have to check every day. I get at least 20 emails a day (some of which I do delete) that discuss reviews of new books, conferences, and calls for papers. I even had the ability to specialize my threads by selected History of Science and Medicine. Perfect for me!

It also helps to email other professionals in your field. Networking does not have to be as hard as it sounds. I was a bit overwhelmed at the idea of trying to find a PhD program for my seemingly over-specialized, academically bi-polar brain. Since I want to study medico-military history, I contacted the Army Medical Department because they have an excellent program - but it's only for military personnel. The response I got was awesome and he helped push me in the right directions.

Because of the likes of H-Net and the AMD, I have been able to connect with historical societies for history of medicine and military history. I joined both the HSS (History of Science Society) and the AAHM (American Association for the History of Medicine), both of which had student rates that were VERY affordable! All together I think it's 60 bucks for both for the whole year. I get journals in the mail and email updates as well as access to all past journals on JSTOR. We all know JSTOR! It's awesome.

H-Net and the two societies also make Calls for Papers public on a daily basis. While many of the conferences are currently still out of my league, it does not hurt to apply and get your name out there. Don't see yourself short. Make sure you really dive into the nitty gritty of your field and make yourself known. You have gotten this far for a reason; let's push it just a bit more!!

Hope this was informative... Any questions, email me. :)

Next Steps - 1

Ok, I know I have not written in a long time. It's been crazy in the office, at my other job, and this semester is very busy with papers and the like. I am attempting to write two term papers on two totally different topics... It should be interesting. At least they are both on two different aspects of the History of Science and Medicine so I can get some background on that before I go apply for my PhD... Which brings me to the topic of this blog.... Next Steps.

Some of you may stop at your Masters, some of you may want to continue on (which is what I would like to do), but no matter your decision you can always keep learning. So, what are some of the next steps?

1) Present your research. At every Masters level, each student has the experience of writing a very intricate, research intense paper. These are the ones we are all most proud of. The time we put into these papers is far beyond anything we have done before, we may even have the chance of presenting to your class. These are the papers you should try to present at graduate conferences. One such conference is coming up in April.

This Graduate Student Symposium is a great way to get your feet wet in the Conference world. You will get feedback from your peers and wash away those public speaking fears. I applied to present, and you should too.

Since I know we all have so much to do as well as seriously short attention spans, I am going to make this a series of blog entries. The following entry, hopefully tomorrow or Friday, will be about finding that right PhD or other graduate program.

New Semester, New Goals

Well the Real World came up and bit me this week, just as the semester started no less. Haha. It's back to school, back to two jobs, and back to letting you all know how great West Chester is!

So I should probably start by giving myself a pat on the back. I did really, really well in my classes last semester. They were both a lot of hard work, but both extremely rewarding. I owe it all to the great professors I had. believe it or not, I really wish both classes extended into this semester so I could have both of them again. The other students in both of those classes were all very insightful and intelligent. Combined, the professors and students made for an excellent work environment.

Next, I want to let you all know that I will be discussing my PhD journey on here as well. I finally feel comfortable enough in my abilities to really start looking for programs to matriculate into in the fall of 2013. I did a lot of research over the break, sent a lot of emails and received a lot of great responses. So look forward to a bunch of anxiety ridden rants!! haha.

Finally, I would like to know if there is anything you all would like me to go over. Please leave comments so I know what you would like me to cover.

Thank you all!

Jenna

Area of West Chester

Hello, again, everyone! I hope you all are doing well this fine, dreary December day! Well, at least it is a bit dreary here in West Chester, PA.

Today's post is going to be a bit about West Chester and the surrounding areas, so you know what you are getting yourself into if you choose to go to school here.

A lot of you have been asking me if it is worth coming to West Chester when most of the good internships are in Philly, Baltimore, Wilmington, and even DC. The answer my friends, is yes.

First, West Chester is a great place to live. Whether you live right in the borough or in the surrounding area (like myself) there is always something new to see and/or do. The borough, consisting mainly of Gay, Market, High, Walnut and Church street is a tight-knit comnunity of small business owners. There are an incredible amount of unique shops in the area. The FOOD scene here is West Chester is incredible as well! I could go on and on about all the amazing place to eat and buy groceries right in town. There is also a farmer's market from May to December. AWESOME produce.

On a more academic level, West Chester houses the Chester County Historical Society as well as several law firms. There are plenty of places to get internships and research opportunities right here in town.

Then of course there is Philadelphia. Perhaps the Mecca of academic and social scenes in this particular area. If you want to venture to Philadelphia, which of course I always would suggest, it is a very easy commute. You can drive yourself (though that might not be so easy with traffic) but then you have to find a place to park. I recommend using the bus/train systems. Super easy, super affordable, and you can get anywhere you want in Philly. The bus stops here on campus and there are train stations less than 4 miles away.

The train is your best bet for Baltimore and DC as well. 30th Street station in Philly can easily get you to both of these places.

As for Wilmington or other places in DE, you would have to drive. It's super close, but traffic can sometimes be a bit much on 202.

West Chester is such an amazing place to be. From the food, to the resources, to the peace and quiet I have living just outside the borough. It's such a perfect place to go to school because it's far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city taht I can get stuff done easily without too much distraction. However, when I want a distraction, I head on down to the city for some good food or even to watch my Phillies and Eagles!!

(I go to Chester for my Union. :) )

Thanks guys!
Jenna

GSA and Social Networks

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fabulously overfilled Thanksgiving. I know I did. I do love some celery soup and cranberry sauce! YUM! And now it is December. YAY!


Anyway, I apologize for the lack of updates. Between a crashing computer (with two papers due no less) and the Holiday, I was out of the Internet world for quite some time. But I am here today with a new blog on some very important topics: The GSA (anyone guess what it stands for?!) and the grad studies social networks.


We will start off with the simpler, but just as important, portion of this post. The social networks. I am sure we all know the story on how facebook took down myspace with one fell swoop, right? Well, if not, it doesn't matter. What is important is that you know how to get the most info as possible on West Chester.


Please follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/wcupa_grad
Please "like" us on facebook at www.facebook.com/wcugrad.


I work very hard to update all of these for your benefit! Show me some love!


The next portion is on the importance of the GSA to graduate life here on campus. The Graduate Student Association (did you guess that?) is THE group for graduate students here at WCU. As an executive member of the GSA, students can become involved with many of the committees here on campus. Last year I was active in the CAPC committee which voted on changes and additions to various curriculum. It was an awesome experience.


More importantly, the GSA helps out with conferences and research. There are two different grants one can apply for to complete various research projects. For more info go here: http://www.wcupa.edu/_admissions/sch_dgr/gsa.asp


They also throw social events for graduate students. The next one is December 9, 2011 at Landmark Americana in West Chester. Please email gsa@wcupa.edu if you would like to attend!


Leave comments people! I am starting to think no one reads these :(


Have a great day!
Jenna

Graduate Assistantships

So, I have been receiving a lot of emails with a lot of very important questions about the Graduate Assistantship programs. My GA position has been wonderful and extremely helpful financially, and I really do consider myself lucky.


First, I'll give you all the background info on the positions on campus. There are two types of assistantships: part time and full time, each with their own benefits.


Full-time: 20 hours/wk, up to 12 credits of tution paid (must take at least 9), 5000/yr stipend. The downside is you cannot work more than 10 hours off campus, then.


Part-time (what I have): 10 hours/wk, 6 credits of tuition paid (must take 6), 2500/yr stipend. You can work off campus.


How to find an assistantship?      You really need to be proactive about it. I was really lucky. I knew the girl who had the position before me, and she got me the interview. I had done something similar in undergrad, which is what I think gave me the leg up in the competition. Here are somet things to do:


1) Go to the grad assistant page (http://www.wcupa.edu/_admissions/sch_dgr/assistantships.asp) and see what positions are currently listed.


2) Don't see anything you like? Contact your program coordinator (located here: http://www.wcupa.edu/_admissions/sch_dgr/grad_coordinators.asp) and ask if there is currently anything available in your program.


3) Still nothing? Contact any other place on campus you think you might want to work (library, res life, etc) and ask.


4) Fill out the grad assistant application at the bottom of the page (http://www.wcupa.edu/_admissions/sch_dgr/grad_coordinators.asp).


5) Send it in and note you are currently applying to the school.


6) BE PROACTIVE and constantly ask if there is anything available. I did not have a position my first two semesters.


How much work is the assistantship?       Depending on what position you take, your duties and schedule will be different. I work for the Grad Studies office so I do a lot of office type stuff - filing, databasing, looking up lost files - and a lot of stuff that has to do with prospective students - blogging, emailing, calling. I am very lucky in that I can set my hours from week to week (dependent upon my other work schedule). But everyone is different. I put in 10 hours a week usually over three days. During the heavy application season, I usually am here a lot more.


I can't say enough how lucky I was to get the position I did. I work with some awesome people and it is always a great time here in the office. I love my position and would not trade it for anything. Is working, going to school, and having a GA position easy? Not all the time. It's a lot of work and I really need to manage my time, but it's worth it.


please feel free to comment with questions or to email questions. I am always checking my emails!!


Jenna

What are the Professors Like?

Hello again!


This is what I am going to do. I am going to think of questions you all may have, and I am going to blog an answer... The answer, of course, will be shaped by my experiences.  So, here is question number one:


What are the professors like?


I have liked (to absolutely loved) every single on of my professors so far. Obviously there are going to be some professors you connect with better than others, but at least in my experience they have all been wonderful


Just like the rest of the professors on campus, my history professors are well known in their field. Their publications are pretty extensive, and we do have some book editors in our department. I think that is really cool, to have professors at our University that actually put collections of essays together for books. Think about all the work that goes into that! Having to go over every essay, make sure each fits with the theme of the book (if you are looking for an example of what I am talking about, look up William Hewitt's Defining the Horrific).


I could go on and on about all of my professors here, but I think I'll focus on my two for this semester - since we have already done some really cool things in both classes. My Monday class is Problems in Medieval Culture. Basically the class is designed to focus on the major historiographical questions about the fall of Rome through the end of what we call the Middle Ages. Since you are not all history majors, I'm just going to tell you why I like the set up of this class. The professor does assign a great deal of reading for each week, but nothing overwhelming (at least not to me anymore). He opens each class with asking us to tell him what the important points of the reading were. That's the best part. He has us all in a circle and the class debates the issues pretty much the whole class (we have presentations, too, but for this blog that's not so important). He interjects his opinions and answers questions, but it is awesome to have such intellectual conversation for the night. What I love the most about this professor is that he is extremely helpful. At any time you can go to him and ask for help in any aspect of the class. While he has a very laid back classroom atmosphere, he is not easy - by any means. He challenges all of us every class to think and every paper to prove what we think. But, like I said, any questions about what his grading means, and he'll answer it completely honestly.


My Thursday night class is America Goes to War - basically the philosophy and culture behind American wars. We started with WWI and go up to today. This class is filled with an array of media. We watch movie clips, read books, articles, listen to lyrics of songs and show how they relate to American War Culture. The set up of any class is pretty much the same as Monday - open debate/discussion. The best part about this class so far, though, would HAVE to be the talk we went to (on campus) last Thursday. Our professor managed to get - through his incredible connections - a Lt. Col and Col in the military to give a discussion on Counterinsurgency. Whether you are a war nut or not, you cannot deny that being able to gain an unclassified look into American military would be an awesome experience. And it was. I even got to talk to both officers afterwards, and they gave us their email addresses for further questions! This professors has a lot of these talks set up this semester.


Obviously it looks like my classes have been pieces of cake, but they aren't. They are both very demanding and challenging. So let's look at some sub questions:


Are the professors hard? Yes.


Are the professors demanding? They want you to reach your full potential.


Are they fair? Yes. They can't expect you to become great if they don't treat us all the same.


Do they want you to succeed? Absolutely! They wouldn't be helping us get published or push us towards conferences if they didn't.


Are they fun? Some more than others. But all take the strenuous life of graduate school and make it as calm as possible.


Feel free to go to the website, www.wcupa.edu/grad, and click on departments to look up faculty in your program. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!!