While certain aspects of academic life are relatively straightforward, others are not, and expectations in academia can be significantly different than those of either military or civilian life. To that end, this page hopes to provide a primer for life in academia and to help student veterans in their transition into academic life.
The following glossary of terms, provided by Undergraduate Advising, may also help orient you to the university.
Advising
The purpose/importance of an advisor (for undergraduates)
Your advisor is your sources of academic and professional advice. Chances are that he/she has dealt with problems similar to yours or knows people to whom to refer you. In some departments, your advisor might be a faculty member, or it might be a professional advisor without teaching responsibilities. You don’t have to figure everything out for yourself.
Choosing an advisor (graduate students)
On the graduate level, an advisor is even more important since it is he or she who will guide you in the selection of a research project on which you will write your thesis (MS) or dissertation (PhD). As you progress through your graduate degree work and research you will be working closely with this individual and will eventually develop a colleague-to-colleague relationship with them. Depending on circumstances, your relationship with your graduate advisor might be something that continues throughout your professional life.
Graduate Degrees
Some students choose to continue their studies beyond their Bachelor’s degrees and pursue either a Master’s degree or a PhD. A Master’s degree requires from one-to-three years (on average) and might or might not involve the completion of a research project on which a report or a more detailed document, called a thesis, is written. The PhD requires on average of three-to-five years beyond a Bachelor’s degree and, in all cases, requires a research project on which a comprehensive document, called a dissertation, is written. On your way to completing and defending your dissertation, sometimes in a public setting, you will be required to pass examinations to demonstrate your capabilities. These exams are called (variously) qualifying and/or preliminary examinations.
Academic Structure
Your undergraduate courses can be taught by graduate students who have been prepared for their teaching duties through specialized courses taken in conjunction with their graduate studies. Most of your courses, however, will be taught by professors (assistant, associate, or full) or instructors who, in most every case will have their PhD’s and many years of teaching experience.
Adjustment
As with any new job, your first months as a college student will require a bit of a re-adjustment. However, with the help of your advisor and the companionship of your fellow students, you might come to regard your university experience as the among the best years of your life.