When it comes to the graduate student experience, people talk about the role of the supervisor a lot. We often discuss picking a supervisor and managing your advisor. A recent blog post over on Thesis Whisperer called “How to get a rock star supervisor” offered recommendations on what students should consider when looking for a supervisor. More...

Whether you’re finishing your first year of teaching or your fifth, I hope that you are ending on a high note, feeling productive and satisfied with your performance in the classroom. Even if the year wasn’t perfect, it is still worthwhile to step back and consider your teaching successes. More...

By now, teaching assistants have read the last term paper, marked up the last test, and submitted the last grades of the year. At least I hope that’s true for your sanity’s sake, as it is June 12 and several weeks into pool season. Ideally grading went smoothly: all your students turned in stellar, original work and their (and your) hard work throughout the semester was amply rewarded with an accompanying boost to their GPAs (and your student evaluations). More...

Most of these travel grants require you to pay up front for your trip, including airfare, mileage, hotel or room, library fees, visas, and food. You are only reimbursed after the trip. For poorly paid graduate students, the economic burden of this type of grant is heavy, making it potentially risky; however, it is often the only way for us to get any work done. More...

Just like most of us aren't going to be tenured professors when we get out of grad school (so we should think about what else we want to do), most of us won't be doing the same work we do now after graduation. Being a teaching assistant doesn't always mean teaching our own classes - so we might not have that experience until we’re somewhat locked into a teaching career. More...

Well, for starters, it signifies that school is technically out. Happy dance! Time for a vacay, but wait...! You and I both know that summer is the time to do some serious grinding. More...

Since about, oh, November 8, 2016 or so, rural America has taken some heat in the form of articles, analysis, and celebrity thinkpieces by authors hailing from more densely populated places. The political divide between urban and rural dominates the headlines but, after splitting my years with near-perfect symmetry between town and country, I’m more interested in the lifestyle differences that don’t show up in the ballot box and, particularly, how a rural environment might lend itself to graduate study. More...

Here at GradHacker we’ve written a lot about how to prepare for presentations and how to improve your presentations. One thing we haven’t really touched on is the benefits of recording your presentations and watching the recording afterwards. More...

By GradHacker. Last-minute shopping ideas for the grad student in your life. It’s that time of year again. Have a graduate student on your holiday shopping list and need a last-minute gift idea? Our GradHackers have a few suggestions for you. More...