Well folks, it's done! Last month, I successfully defended my dissertation, and the experience was way more fun than I had expected it to be. Last week, I finished the minor revisions requested by my committee and submitted the final version of the dissertation to the Graduate College (final deposit is anticlimactic, despite its finality).... Continue Reading →
It's been a hot minute since I posted here! It's been a very busy 3 months behind the scenes: in addition to starting a full-time job as a managing editor (hello, semi-decent pay and retirement fund), I've been putting the finishing touches on my dissertation and preparing for my defense. But first, a super fun... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, I offered some gift ideas to brighten any tired, broke grad student's holiday. But what if you are the tired, broke grad student? How can you possibly keep up with the expectation to purchase gifts for all your family and friends when you barely have any slush in your monthly budget? I feel... Continue Reading →
As a new school year gets underway, one enigmatic creature will be reappearing on university campuses across the country: the graduate student (scholasticus laboriosus). Frequently mistaken for their cousins the undergraduates (scholasticus iunior) and faculty members (scholasticus beneficiarius), graduate students make up a vital part of the university ecosystem. Let's learn a bit about the... Continue Reading →
My cohort rejoiced last Spring when all three of us passed our PhD comprehensive exams. We were ABD! We were finally free to read only what we wanted to read! But that joy quickly turned to melancholy as the Fall semester plodded on and we saw each other less and less, each of us immersed... Continue Reading →
"Three to five weeks" - originally published 4/13/2011 It is all too easy for graduate students to reach a financial breaking point. No matter our field, we are all overworked and underpaid, even those of us who are lucky enough to be funded with assistantships and covered by university health insurance (thanks, union!). Focusing on... Continue Reading →
It's not easy, but it is possible.
Life news for those of you who haven't been listening to me complain for the last several months: I just took my PhD comprehensive exam last Saturday. In my program, that means a six-hour essay exam on passages chosen at random from a massive reading list of the Greek and Latin canon. It was an... Continue Reading →
Medea Palatina 