Becoming a Researcher: Making the Transition to Graduate School

Entering a graduate program in the sciences or social sciences requires a transition from structured undergraduate learning using prompts for reading, writing, and exam-taking to an unstructured environment of knowing a field of study, identifying research problems, and answering questions to fill a gap in knowledge that is reported in a thesis or dissertation. Faculty members and students often assume that gifted undergraduates will “figure it out when they enter graduate school,” but students do not have independent research skills at the beginning of graduate programs. Becoming a Researcher in focuses on the transition from structured learning to independent research with exercises on routine setting, time management, peer review, and essay writing to focus on research topics. Exercises concern adopting new habits and mindsets that are essential for success in graduate school. Lessons from the exercises help students design a research proposal. At the end of the first year of graduate school, students should be well on their way to becoming a researcher.