Additional Career Resources

The time you spend in graduate school is well utilized when it includes thoughtful planning and preparation for your career journey. Advanced academic training provides an opportunity for you to not only master and contribute to your field of study, but to think critically and strategically about your professional next steps.

Although you may experience unforeseen twists and turns along the way, consider strategizing how you will spend your time completing your degree by developing a timeline of the major academic and professional goals you will fulfill during your tenure at GSAS. Create a rough outline of how and when you intend to accomplish these goals, including fulfilling major department requirements and integrating an internship opportunity into your required coursework and research.

No one-size-fits-all approach can capture your timeline-to-degree, and it will vary by discipline, field, advisor and committee requirements, and outside work and family commitments. But consider utilizing resources, such as a helpful essay by Ellen McCammon, which reflects on possibilities for master’s timelines, and an outline with proposed timeline-to-degree plans for doctoral students.