Director of Graduate Studies?

Question

Should I set up an appointment with him/her on the day I go on a campus tour? If so, what are they expecting from the meeting?

Answer 1

If you have already done your research about graduate programs in your field, and you already know the basics about this particular department, then you absolutely should attempt to set up an appointment with the DGS in the department to which you'll be applying.

The DGS will want to know why you wish to study in his/her department, what you hope to achieve, and what your preparation is for study within that particular discipline. S/he will also want to know something about your intended focus of study, what methodologies you prefer, and why you think this particular department would be a good fit for you.

You should have questions about the program's placement rate (what percentage of its Masters students go on to PhDs and where, or what percentage of its PhD students achieve employment and where). You should also ask what types of fellowships and assistantships are available, what they entail, and how many are awarded in this department. You should also ask whether teaching assistants are given pedagogical guidance, or whether they are expected to learn as they teach. You should ask about the thesis or dissertation requirements, if there is any related coursework, and how advisors are assigned or selected. You should ask if it would be possible for him/her to put you in touch with any current students. You should ask if most students complete their program.

I hope this helped.

Answer 2

The other poster is incorrect. At most universities, each department has its own director of graduate studies. The head of all graduate programs is a dean.

At many schools, the DGS won't talk to candidates. At others they will. It is to your advantage to get an interview if you can.

Let me tell you a story of how it might help. I got my PhD in Finance at Berkeley. The program gets between 250-350 applications per year and accepts between four and eight. All the top finance programs are similar. This means that anything you can do to stand out from the other 90-120 who are well qualified is important.

A friend of mine applied to both Berkeley and Stanford. He was about to take a business trip to San Francisco and called the DGS from both departments. The DGS at Stanford told him that they did not talk to candidates before making the decision. The DGS at Berkeley (Mark Rubinstein -- who is famous in Finance) told him to stop by -- then forgot all about it. When my friend showed up, Mark Rubinstein said "Well -- if I've seen your application, I rejected you -- because I know I haven't accepted any American students yet -- so let me check." He then went and found my friend's application -- which he had not yet read. He sat there & read it in front of my friend and then said "This looks pretty good -- you will probably get in." He now has a PhD from Berkeley. He did not get accepted at Stanford.

If you get an interview -- expect to talk about the same things you wrote about in your cover letter -- why you are interested in that school, what you can offer to the program, why you want a PhD, etc. By the way -- the correct anser to why you want a PhD is because you love the research.

Answer 3

It may be more beneficial to try to set up a meeting with the director of the program you are interested in. The Director of Graduate Studies is over all graduate programs. You would have to state the purpose of the meeting in order to set one up so based on your purpose that is what he/she would be expecting.