Starting a PhD program can seem a bit like a black hole of unknowns, even though there are lots of resource out there. I decided to put together a list of some of the resources, people and things I have read that have been the most helpful in the first two years of my own program.
1. Follow Jess Calarco on Twitter, even if you're not a Twitter person. Specifically read the "hidden curriculum" thread.
2. Read Lesley Bartlett's Partial advice for early career scholars
3. Read some grad school bloggers/profs writing about grad school to figure out what this black box of grad school looks like for different people (there are heaps, these are just four, would highly recommend the top one):
4. Start using a citation manager (zotero, endnote, mendeley), yesterday. Aka, ASAP. See my post on citation managers.
5. Know that you won't ever be able to read everything, and if you are, you are probably doing something wrong. Learn to skim read (read the intro, headings, and conclusion). Learn how to write a rhetorical precis; it will be helpful, promise. Also, use google docs.
6. I would recommend creating a concept map every semester (including before your first semester) so that you can document how your thoughts are changing over time. Concept maps can be done in a lot of ways. I create mine in google docs, and include the following sections:
Reflection paragraph - thoughts about what I have learned, how things have changed, how I would describe my interests (and how they are/have changed if applicable).
Things I need or want to learn more about - a list to keep me accountable, and to make me think about things I want to do next past on that reflection.
Overarching questions - they big overarching questions I'm thinking about (there may be many sub questions).
List of key researchers - exactly what it sounds like (I like to include in parentheses what they focus on that is applicable to me, e.g. refugee education, child protection, ethics of research with refugee youth, refugee law).
Key articles - any key articles that are framing my thinking (I skipped this at one point and regretted it).
Organizations - I added this last semester because there were some organizations I started to follow related to the work I thought I was interested (not necessary, but can be helpful).
Regional focus - resources, professors, articles related to your regional focus, if applicable (so basically a mini version of everything above, for the region or country).
Major unanswered questions - exactly what it sounds like, things that I think are big questions someone needs to answer (e.g. maybe me).
7. Start a fellowships spreadsheet *with deadlines*. Would recommend sorting them by their deadline. Also, be sure to start keeping track of fellowships you might be eligible in years 3 and 4, but not 1 and 2 before you have passed your exams (you may need to apply in year 2 for year 3).
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