Bike sprocket
"Project 365/91" by Phil Tomlinson | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Tues., May 12, 2015

A plan helps you make the most of your summer. Use these steps to organize your professional and career development and get a head start on academic work.

  1. Select a topic early in your doctoral program. 
  2. Ensure your topic is doable in one year. 
  3. Develop a clear statement of your research problem and solidify the scope of your project. 

Most graduate students find themselves with research responsibilities, and for many this may be the first time they're given the opportunity to help run a lab.

In life and graduate school, sometimes "stuff happens." Despite your best intentions and thorough planning, complications arise: advisors leave, research stalls, bureaucracy slows you down, etc.