You've applied, been accepted, made it through the first semester, and now you're beginning your second semester of classes. Time to start honing your memorization skills, and prepping on those late night cram sessions, right? Wrong. The course work you are embarking upon is a whole different animal.
Undergraduate level classes are notorious for their need to cram large amounts of information into small chunks of time. Because of that, a student is usually learning general information on a variety of subjects, without the time to get to know any one subject too deeply. Information, at this stage of the game, is used to establish the basic framework of the subject itself. In graduate school, the skills needed to learn and the objectives themselves become very different.
Rote Learning Vs. Understanding
In graduate school, the emphasis shifts from the need to
memorize information to the necessity of actually understanding it. The general points and
overviews that you worked so hard to remember are now put into play with intensive reading
and research meant to develop your comprehension and your analytical skills. Generally,
the number of tests taken in the course of your classes is drastically less than in your
undergraduate years. Instead, writing and research becomes far more important in your
quest to learn. It's no longer as important to <i]remember a fact as much as it is to know where
to find it.
What do you DO with all of that Knowledge?
Gone are the days of book reports and 5-7 page papers on a
general topic. The goal of your coursework now is not so much to show the professor that
you've been paying attention, but that you are using the lectures and your reading to
integrate that knowledge into something original and new. There is a great deal more
freedom in subject matter and research at this level of academics. Here is where you'll
find you not only learn something, but are given the chance to approach it from an angle
or perspective that you find useful to your own educational goals. The end to strive for when working on your papers is not
to dazzle them with information, but to identify clear, well-supported arguments and to be
able to take apart information in a critical fashion and use it.
But That Syllabus! All of Those Books!
A little secret for all of those students who are just getting a look at the syllabi and
are hyperventilating at the thought of reading so many books. Very often, professors on
the higher academic levels will but up to a hundred books on their recommended reading
list- but don't panic! You're not really expected to read them all. Supplemental lists are
meant to provide additional references in which a student can consult in order to further
their understanding of a subject or of the professors objectives. Often they are of great
help in getting the inside perspective on a topic, but seldom is the student actually
expected to digest them all.
