Cultivating Gratitude

As we near the holiday break, we express our sincere gratitude to you, grad students across the University of Washington tri-campus. As graduate students, you are an integral part of the university eco-system and beyond. You’re all working so hard to make important contributions to your families and communities, to teaching and research, and to professions and industries within and outside of academia.

We hope you take time during the break to recognize all of the small and big milestones you’ve achieved during the quarter thus far!

At this time, we also invite you to cultivate gratitude for individuals, loved ones, and communities who have encouraged you and offered you a sense of grounding in your life. This can include writing and sending a thank you message, prayer or meditation, or pausing to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings when you go for a walk. And did you know that cultivating gratitude has positive outcomes? Research shows that practicing gratitude promotes our individual, interpersonal, and community health and well-being. To whom would you like to express gratitude?

Best Regards,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School

Ethan Kruse

When Ethan Kruse was an undergraduate, his friends noticed that as soon as he walked outside, his eyes would naturally drift up – to the sky and the stars. Now, he’s a sixth-year Ph.D. student in Astronomy using the eclipse method to discover new planets. While the upcoming “Great American Eclipse” on Aug. 21 isn’t directly relevant to his research, for many of his colleagues it will be “the chance of a decade – or even a century – to do some really cool science,” science that’s “about answering some of the fundamental questions that humans have been asking for forever. Where did we come from, are we alone in the universe, and what’s in store for the future? The more we understand how planets form in general, the more we can understand about our own earth and solar system, and how it fits into the bigger picture.”

Read a Q&A with Ethan

Professors on Pedestals – Updated

Is there a place on campus where I can learn how to address/talk to professors? I have been in the US for about six years now, but I am originally from a culture where one is supposed to show respect to people older than you. I therefore still cannot bring myself to address a professor by name (as my other fellow graduate students do), or write an email to them without putting in multiple “Thank you for your time!” and “Sorry to bother you…”.

When I read my own emails that I send out to professors, it’s cringeworthy, since I’m so deferential. It’s worse when the professors I address are just a couple of years older than me. I want to learn to get over this. My friend recently pointed out that calling someone “Prof. X”, and writing so many Thank Yous and Sorrys in email skews the power dynamic a bit too much, and that I should treat professors as colleagues if I want them to treat me as one.

How do I learn this? I hang out with a lot of American friends but somehow this is something I’m unable to learn. —Anonymous

This question was originally published in November 2016. The responses have been slightly updated for accuracy as of January 2019.

Hi, there. In order to address your question, I reached out to several campus partners. I hope their multiple perspectives and experiences are helpful.

Ziyan Bai is a graduate student assistant with the Graduate School’s Core Programs and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs:

“For the past couple years, I have organized a workshop on “Communicating with Faculty” for international grad students. At the workshop, a panel of three faculty members and four advanced international graduate students from social science, science, engineering, and humanities shared communication tips and strategies including communicating in person or via email. We have a summary of notes from the panel.

I also get this question many times during my one-on-one mentoring with new international grad students. This is not an uncommon situation. The bottom line: find a middle ground that you find comfortable with the degree of reverence you show in the email or talking in-person. Usually international students find it uncomfortable if they try to “get rid of” their home culture in order to fit in. There is no universal standard in communication, so staying connected with home culture and being open to learn new culture at the same time is recommended.”

Note: The “Communicating with Faculty” Workshop is being offered this May. Details will be announced in the Graduate School Digest and on the Graduate School’s events calendar.

Era Schrepfer is the executive director of the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), which offers a wealth of support and programs for international students at UW:

“We hear this question pretty frequently. I usually suggest visiting the professor during office hours and being totally honest about this with them directly. Just say, ‘I’m from XXX and in my country we are taught from an early age to treat teachers much more formally, so the culture in the classroom here is hard for me to get used to. I want to be successful in your class and for you to feel comfortable. What do you suggest to help me with this?’ Usually, they really don’t mind being treated more formally by international students, but it helps to start off the quarter with a conversation.

Sometimes, it’s easier to feel comfortable with a professor when you know them a little bit on a personal level, and it’s meaningful to the professor as well. So ask them questions about themselves. Have they ever been to your country? How long have they been teaching? Where did they go to school? It’s helpful to find some common ground with them and see them as people just like you. Power distance is one of the most challenging cultural elements! I know a lot of alumni who still struggle with it many years after coming to the US!”

Elloise Kim is the president of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, and an international student herself:

“As someone who is from a similar culture, I totally understand why you are hesitant to freely communicate with people like faculty members. In my home culture, a respectful manner for people who are older or hold a higher position is obligatory. Yet, if people here can interpret your attitude not necessarily as carefulness but as cultural clumsiness, you may want to question for whom you insist to keep such manners.

I’d like to suggest to learn American cultural manners in the way you have learned English. In other words, think of it as a foreign language. Its syntax and phonetics would be very different from those of your original language. But, you have to learn and practice it in the way the language is spoken by native speakers. You do not become a totally different person while speaking English – rather, you are speaking another language still being yourself. Likewise, ways of communication need to be learned and adjusted. You can be very polite in a different way!”

Words of Wisdom from Experienced Grad Students

A few weeks ago, Core Programs hosted its annual fall welcome for international graduate students with more than 120 students in attendance! During the event, experienced graduate students were asked to share their tips and strategies with incoming international grad students.

We found the majority of these insights are helpful to all graduate students across the University of Washington. Take a look at some of these tips and see which work best for you:

Don’t hesitate to speak up if you have a question.
Don’t try to perfect, just work hard and do your best.
You are not alone.
Learning to cook for yourself will save you money.
A big part of doing good research is about revising, revising, and more revising.
Consider “light therapy” during the winter if you are experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder. There are options for free light therapy (for students) at The Counseling Center and Hall Health.
Go to campus events for free food (and building community).
You are more than good enough.
Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.
It can be good sometimes to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Save Sundays for adulting (e.g. go over your weekly budget, write a list of errands, cleaning, etc.

We hope you find these insights useful, and let us know what works for you!

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
University of Washington

How to study for general exams

I could use some advice on how to study for General Exams in the social sciences. I’m especially having trouble getting through all the reading I’m supposed to do! Any tips on *how* to read for exams? How about studying for generals, more broadly?

–Anonymous

*A version of this question and the subsequent student answers were first posted in the UW Graduate Student Facebook Group. They have been edited for clarity and re-published anonymously with the permission of the question-asker.

Hi, there!

Whew. What a great question! Preparing for General Exams is one of the most challenging and daunting aspects of a doctoral career, but I’m confident with a strong plan and your determination, you’ll enter your exam well-prepared!

Let’s start with how to prepare for General Exams more broadly. Thankfully (for you and for the Guide), UC–Davis has a comprehensive and accessible guide with tips for approaching your general exams.

This guide breaks preparation into five, concrete steps: understand how the qualifying exam works; know your examiners’ interests and personalities; prepare early; reduce your stress; and have an exam day plan. Check out the article for more advice on putting these steps into action!

Inside Higher Ed also features a guest blog post from Ph.D. candidate Stephanie Hedge on studying for General Exams. Hedge recommends writing every day, as well as reading previous exams and writing practice questions.

I hope that these resources, combined with conversations with your advisor, committee members and peers, will help you to feel more confident in how you organize yourself for the General Exams.

The other piece you asked about is how to read all the material you need to cover for your General Exam in a timely fashion. The Guide has gathered several responses from people who have completed their General. Read them below.

On the whole, they made it clear that you should be strategically skimming these texts — not reading them cover to cover — and focusing on the material as it relates to your research and the history of the field.

“Resist the urge to read everything cover to cover. Instead, skim through the entire book or article — spending at most 20 minutes on this step — and then speed read through it focusing on the beginnings and ends of each chapter. If anything doesn’t make sense, go back and read more carefully.”

“Write a mini review for each book from the perspective of your research and your reading list. For me, this helped me read strategically and also better remember what I read. Your committee might be different, but for my purposes knowing the highlights of an argument was important but knowing what X author said on page 53 in the footnote (for instance) was not. And that made it easier for me to read quickly.”

“Read reviews by others to get a second opinion on books you have to skim.”

“Try focusing on the network of conversation as opposed to a single article or book. For example, think about how author X responds to author Y, author Z disagrees with author Y’s response, etc. If you can keep track of that (especially as it relates to your questions) then you don’t need to devote nearly as much time to reading each piece itself, and the intro/conclusion plus footnotes will be enough to tell you how an article or book fits into rest of the literature.”

You will likely find it helpful to develop a system to organize all your reading notes.

One student suggests: “Try using your phone for notes. You may use Siri to dictate important sentences (verbatim or your own analyses/connections to other work, with a symbol to differentiate them). At the end, you should have about a page or two per book or article. That way, it’ll be easier to review that before your exam!”

This Grad Hacker article suggests a few different strategies: using a Wiki, a blog, or even an old-fashioned scrapbook!

Best of luck!

–The Grad School Guide

Ask the Grad School Guide is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the Guide doesn’t know the answer, the Guide will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The Guide is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Postdocs, Take Stock of Your Skills!

As the season turns to fall, it’s a good reminder to check in with how your career preparation is going. In past newsletters, we have shared tips and resources about career exploration, self-assessments, informational interviews, assessing readiness for academic careers and other elements that are so essential to the career preparation process. Regardless of your next job, it can help you to spend time reflecting on skills, competencies and unique strengths you’ve developed through graduate school and during your postdoc fellowship training.

You have developed skills that are valuable to your next employer, whether you are going into an academic career or seeking a position in other sectors. And you have developed skills and strengths whether you know it or not! It can help in your process, particularly if you are experiencing self-doubt or imposter syndrome when it comes to the job search (we all experience this!), to have a former co-worker or current team member give you feedback on what they see as your unique strengths and contributions to the team. Here are just a few examples of how accomplishments that may feel routine as part of your extensive training really are giving you great skills:

Completion of your Ph.D. or a postdoc project requires you to become skilled in project management, leadership and organizational skills. You are responsible for setting and meeting deadlines, reporting on results to your PI and mentors and building new collaborations as your project evolves and new questions arise. It’s also likely you’ve organized a department speaker series, hosted an outside speaker or helped to organize a conference. These activities reflect a range of skills that many positions in diverse sectors will appreciate.

You are comfortable presenting your work, which is likely very complex and technical, to a variety of audiences. Through your training, you’ve learned to ‘read the room’ and present your ideas at an appropriate level. In a research group meeting, you can be very technical. Conversely, when describing your work to your family and friends, you likely use more generalities. You’ve learned to use the power of persuasion to convince funding agencies to support your work, for your committee to move you towards graduation, to set strategic visions for your project and to motivate other team members. These skills are invaluable both inside and outside of the academy.

You have learned to make progress even when not all of the information is known. The most exciting projects are the ones with outcomes that are unknown but once figured out, lead to new questions and avenues to explore. This requires comfort with ambiguity: the definition of a graduate and postdoc experience. Often times, the whole picture is unknown when you start a project, but you figure it out as you go along. Your ability to think on your feet, to manage stress, and to tolerate change is remarkable and should be highlighted.

A more expansive list of skills and competencies can be found here: (1) Professional Skills and Competency Checklist, (2) Core Competencies Self-Assessment Checklist, (3) UW OPA blog on transferable skills. By reviewing these common capabilities upon which employers evaluate applications, you can determine which skills you have already developed, and more importantly, identify those that need further attention before you feel fully qualified for a job. Also, remember that if a posting matches your skills by roughly 75 percent, it’s a good idea to go ahead and apply (see The Muse). Employers often identify all the traits an ideal candidate will have; however, most don’t fit the bill 100 percent. If you’re close, go ahead and apply! You are ready for your next professional adventure.

Creativity: Maybe she’s born with it; maybe it’s something she learned?

Is it possible to learn creativity and originality? Why are some people more creative than others? I find it hard to generate original ideas and research questions. I learn things because they are interesting but I find it hard to take it one step further and develop a follow-up research project. Is this because I do not have the capacity to be a scientist? Or can it be related to having a very hands-off advisor and being isolated so I don’t have anyone from whom I can learn these thinking patterns? I am surrounded by very creative individuals who constantly spew out original content that I myself cannot do. I feel like an employee surrounded by entrepreneurs. Am I hopeless?

— Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

This is a really interesting question! (Look, you’re developing great questions already!) I’ve pooled several resources that I hope, together, will give you the confidence, knowledge and motivation to kick-start your research.

To answer your question, I first turned to a couple experts right here at the University of Washington. I broke your question into two main ideas: “Is creativity malleable, and, if so, how do we build it?” And, “How can I develop a strong research question?” To answer the first question, I called upon Crystal Farh, associate professor of management at the Foster School of Business, who studies creativity. For the second question, I consulted Madeline Mundt, head of the Research Commons.

Since your question was so interesting, I also decided to consult another abundant (though occasionally unreliable) source of advice: Academic Twitter. I tweeted your question to Dr. Robert Epstein, a psychology researcher who studies creativity in business. Dr. Epstein replied and pointed us toward his 2015 article in Harvard Business Review on building creativity among your team.

I hope you’ll be relieved and excited to hear that yes, it is possible to develop creativity; creativity is a product of traits we can build in ourselves. However, these traits are not necessarily easy to develop. Please see the full answers from our experts, and a bit of advice directly from the Guide, below!

On creativity, and how to build it

Crystal Farh, associate professor of management, Foster School of Business:

“What an interesting question! First, let’s define creativity. Creativity is generating output that is both novel and useful. Research on creativity (at least in organizational settings) suggests that there are some individual differences that facilitate creativity — but interestingly, very few of those individual differences are “fixed” or “innate.” One of the key factors, for example, is knowledge. Creativity often emerges from the combination of new and old ideas in uncommon ways. Having knowledge, thus, and access to new information is one of the key ways to enhance one’s creativity.

Another key factor is motivation, particularly intrinsic motivation. Compared to more conventional types of work, creative work is challenging, ambiguous and often discouraging. There is a great deal of uncertainty around whether one’s ideas are good or not, whether others will positively evaluate those ideas or whether anything will come of those ideas. Thus, it takes a great deal of effort and persistence to keep at creativity, and motivation and self-confidence that one can be creative is hugely influential in predicting actual creativity. To be fair, creativity has also been linked to innovative cognitive style, which captures innate differences across individuals in their propensity to think in novel ways.

However, it is worth pointing out that knowledge and motivation are both malleable factors that are within the control of the individual and can be improved over time. It is also worth pointing out that creativity often emerges from engaging in the creative process — in other words, going through structured steps of generating ideas, reflecting on problems, and scanning the environment for relevant information and solutions. Again, these steps are within the control of the individual and can be developed. Moreover, there are a number of environmental factors (e.g., the behaviors of your supervisor, your coworkers/fellow classmates, support for creativity in the context) that also matter a great deal.

So, to address your question: you are not hopeless. There are lots of factors affecting creativity that you can nurture and practice over time. With sufficient knowledge and motivation, dedicated engagement in the creative process, and a favorable environment for creativity, I am confident that you will come up with your own exciting, creative research ideas.“

Developing a research question

Madeline Mundt, head of the Research Commons:

“A good place to start is to identify your subject liaison librarian and pay them a visit. Subject liaison librarians can help you generate and refine research questions, and they have in-depth expertise in research and developing research questions that will be applicable to the way things are done your field of study. Subject librarians help many students develop research questions, as it’s a very common question — definitely nothing that indicates you’re not cut out to be a scientist!

Subject librarians are also great people for students to connect with throughout their time here at UW, since they can help with much more than just generating research questions. They can help with research strategies, focusing topics, tracking down research, comprehensive literature searching, and more.“

Being gentle with yourself

I wanted to give you one more piece of advice, Anonymous, directly from the Guide. The way you talk about your peers and compare yourself to others in your lab makes me wonder if you may be experiencing a kind of imposter syndrome. I’d sum it up as “feeling inadequate or hopeless, specifically in your work, despite being quite adequate.” Please read the mentor memo and decide for yourself if you relate to these sentiments.

So, Anonymous, be patient with, and confident in, yourself. Remember that you were selected for your program and asked by your P.I. to join your lab for a reason. You are not hopeless — on the contrary — the fact you’ve made it this far is strong evidence that you are indeed cut out to be a scientist!

Wishing you the best of luck in your research and in your program! If you have any follow-up questions, or want to ask a different question, please do not hesitate to reach out. The Guide will be here!

— The Grad School Guide

Moving Past Perfectionism Into Wholeness

In this newsletter, we want to continue building on ways to cope with perfectionism by adding a few more ideas and strategies in support of your health and wellness as graduate students. Consider trying these out, and see what might work for you:

Feeling anxious. Often, perfectionism goes hand in hand with feeling anxious. For example, you may be pre-occupied with negative thoughts such as “I will never be good enough.” This is especially prevalent in academia where it can appear as though everyone else has gotten it all figured out. To manage this, try re-focusing your anxious thoughts and instead say to yourself, “I am working on this project one task at a time, and that is good enough.” Or “I don’t always have to be on top of things,” or even “My overall worth as a person is not defined by being an ‘excellent student’.” We know this is easier said than done, and yet just like with any life-long wellness strategy, it will take consistent, regular practice and setting yourself up with a wellness accountability partner or two.

Fearing failure. Ever spend too much time over-thinking and re-writing the same paragraph without going any further on a paper draft? Us too. Sometimes it’s fear of failure that keeps us stuck in a perfectionistic rut. Just like with any project, a way to move past getting stuck on writing is to set realistic and manageable goals for yourself. For example, rather than spending too much time on a single paragraph, try non-stop free writing for 15 minutes. While you are free writing, notice any perfectionistic feelings or thoughts but resist responding to or internalizing them. Stay engaged in your 15 minutes of writing, then take a five minute break. Then do another 15 minute round of writing; afterwards, you might have at least two paragraphs (and one or two ideas) to build your overall draft from. Doing manageable rounds of writing can help you see that you are making progress.

Resisting perfection. The stakes feel so high in grad school, especially when you feel like you are somehow “not smart enough”; when you are the first in your family to go to college let alone grad school; or when you don’t feel like you belong on campus. In these situations, you may feel the pressure to constantly prove yourself. Not only is this unrealistic and will impact your health in the long run: it is so far from the truth. While it’s important to be open to feedback from advisors and mentors in grad school so you can grow on intellectual and professional levels, it’s also important to let go of the need to be perfect for anyone. Mental health professional Ilene S. Cohen suggests several steps for letting go of perfection:

– Change your mindset. Resist the idea that you need to work hard in the hopes of gaining a person’s approval.
– Build self-reliance. Be open to failure and learn from trial and error.
– Learn to let go. Practice letting go of negative ideas you have about yourself.
– Make your own decisions. Trust in yourself to know what decisions are best for you.

Finally, working on undoing perfectionism also involves being in community. Reach out to trusted peers, loved ones and friends outside of academia, mentors and mental health professionals who can support your growth as a graduate student and your wellness as a whole person. Also, when you have the space and capacity to be supportive to your grad student peers, consider reaching out to let them know.

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School

Postdocs, Start on the Right Foot at UW!

The OPA had the pleasure of welcoming a group of new postdocs to the UW at our orientation on September 20, 2018. It was great to spend time with everyone at both the orientation and professional development sessions, as well as the Taco Bar to celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week. We truly value your role at the UW and want to help you achieve your professional and personal goals as you move toward an independent career.

For those who could not attend, or have maybe been at the UW for a bit but still have questions about resources and opportunities, we share some highlights of the resources and career development thoughts here:

The mission of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) is to holistically support postdocs throughout the UW. Our website provides resources for all aspects of your professional development: career exploration, skill building, writing productivity, grant writing, mentoring and support networks. In addition, you can schedule an appointment for a one-on-one discussion of your pathway to independence, strategies for managing conflict and career exploration.
The UW Postdoc Association (UWPA) works to establish and support a committed network of UW postdocs and provide professional support (e.g. career seminars, research symposium). The UWPA works to support postdoc parents with an innovative Postdoc Parent Group! Postdoc leaders are creating opportunities to improve postdoc experience at the UW.
A newly formed Diversity Postdoc Group is starting off this week, recruiting new members. Thanks again to postdoc leaders for stepping forward to create this group aiming to provide community building, mentoring and targeted professional development, and improve research and training culture. See announcement below for contacts and information on the first meeting.
If you are interested in an academic career, please look for upcoming announcements from the Future Faculty Fellows workshop and the Science Teaching Experience for Postdocs (STEP) program; both are open to all UW postdocs. We recommend attending the Future Faculty Fellows early in your postdoc experience as it helps you plan for your future.
The UW Career & Internship Center provides downloadable guidance documents focused on the job search for academic careers and diverse career pathways.
If you find yourself in a difficult situation and would like some advice, you likely know that you can reach out to your mentors, department chair and administrators, and us at the OPA. An additional resource is the Office of the Ombud, where you can receive confidential, neutral and informal guidance concerning job security, career advancement and research collaborations, and planning for difficult conversations.
The Institute of Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) provides access to funding (e.g., KL2) and workshops focused on career development and grant writing.
Finally, when looking to unwind from a long day of research, make your way to the Intramural Activities Building (IMA) or the Waterfront Activities Center (WAC) where, for a reduced rate, you can access the pool, fitness classes, workout facilities, and boat rentals. There really is no cheaper gym membership in town, and they have a Gear Shed where you can check out outdoor gear for your next adventure.

We closed with a brief workshop sharing tools and strategies for making the most of your postdoc experience. It is important to start planning your career progression, build your mentor team (individuals that are invested in YOU), set goals that are attainable and specific, explore diverse career pathways, and learn how to network more effectively. There are some great planning tools that can help you, such as ImaginePhD.com. Importantly, be open to new ideas and don’t be afraid to jump in a new direction. Keep a look out for our OPA professional development programming and e-newsletters where we will take a deeper dive into: Effective Individual Development Plans; Pathway to Independence; Careers in Industry; Diversifying Your Funding Portfolio, and much more. We want you to enjoy your time as a postdoc at UW, so let us know how we can help you be successful and feel supported.

It’s the big 5-0 for GSEE!

In 1970, the Office for the Recruitment of Minority Graduate and Professional Students was established at UW. While GO-MAP* has undergone several name changes, it has always worked to improve access, support and well-being for underrepresented minority graduate students.

In academic year 2019-20, this amazing office turns 50! I have charged a planning committee to establish a year-long plan to recognize, celebrate and advance the extraordinary achievements of GO-MAP. The planning committee will develop programming, public events, communication campaigns and various other endeavors to mark this important anniversary. Here’s to 50 more brilliant years!

– Becky Aanerud
Interim Dean, Graduate School

*GO-MAP was the name of a program that is now called GSEE, the Office of Graduate Student Equity & Excellence. Learn more.