Beyond Undergrad

​If you want to start graduate school the following school year (no gap year), at the latest, start looking before the Fall term of your last year in school so you can…

• Give yourself time to determine if your potential mentor and university are the right fit for you

• Check if they have funding or taking in new students for the year/term you would like to start

Who you would like to work with

• Reach out to them as soon as you know you would like to know more about their research

• Have meetings with them, get to know them, and check the vibes out!

Where you would like to go to school

• Can you imagine yourself living there?

• Given that tuition is covered and a livable stipend is provided, can you afford to live where the university is located?

  • Rent will most likely be the biggest aspect of it

    • ​Ex: google “corvallis oregon apartments for rent” => look through listings, and consider costs for utilities and basic necessities => Would you use all of your stipend each month? Or would you be able to save some each month? 

What you would like to study (i.e., subject, master’s or PhD)

• Knowing what you like to do can make it easier to search for a potential advisor/mentor

• It also helps the potential mentor determine if what they do can be a right fit for you

What your goals are

• Do you want to learn more about a subject? Techniques? Modeling? This also helps your mentor have a better idea of what type of projects they have where you can reach your goals. But it also can help you in your search for a potential mentor

• Most schools on their website will state what they suggest, some, however, will require you to have already contacted a professor and/or list potential faculty mentors

• Applications have a fee, so really consider if the program is the right fit even if you haven’t contacted someone

• A non-thesis program will most likely not require you to have a potential mentor, so it’s also good to have an understanding of what type of program you want (certificate, non-thesis or thesis master’s or phd)

  • ​OSU does offer a graduate school preparation course (GRAD 420)

Some programs do not require you to have a masters degree before starting a Phd; however, some strongly suggest you do a masters first before going on to a PhD for various reasons

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• Look at what career you want and look into the requirements; don’t do more work than what’s necessary to do what you want to do for a career

• ​Talk to someone like the CEOAS Director of Graduate School Services, Robert Allan, or a professor where you can discuss what routes and options you have

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• Do you have any projects that you’re looking to bring a student on?

• What type of work do you do? (i.e., coastal or open ocean, method of data collection or analysis)

• Do you use coding? What coding source do you use?

• ​What funding is available?

• When could I start?

  • ​Sometimes professors will say that they’re not taking students for the upcoming academic year. For example, they could say that they’re not accepting students for Fall 2024, but are looking for students to start in Fall 2025

• Are there papers that you can read?