Each Thursday afternoon throughout the fall 2019 semester, the Graduate School has hosted a Preparing for Graduate School seminar, aimed at helping our undergraduate students prepare for the graduate school selection and application process. The seminar, led by Wright Culpepper, Director of Recruitment for the Graduate School, focuses on getting prospective graduate students to approach the graduate school process differently than their experience selecting an undergraduate institution.
“When selecting an undergraduate institution, students sort through a variety of aspects to determine how they may fit at a school, such as large versus small; public versus private; athletics versus no athletics; and majors available,” Culpepper said. “While these may come into play at some level in the selection of a graduate program, we encourage students to focus primarily on their fit within an academic unit.”
The seminar breaks down how students can find their fit in a graduate program and
spends time breaking down the common components of a graduate school application,
which differs greatly from an undergraduate application. Students can expect to receive
general guidance on how to put together a competitive application beyond having a
strong academic history and standardized test scores. While most of the seminar shines
a light on the application process, the final piece is a discussion on how to pursue
funding for graduate school.
Is this seminar only for students who want to stay at UofSC for their graduate studies? “By no means! This information will be useful for students looking to apply to any graduate program at any school. While any student interested in any graduate program is welcome to attend, we believe that with more than 240 graduate programs here at UofSC, students will leave the seminar with an idea of what programs here fit their interests and how to competitively pursue them,” Culpepper responded.
Preparing for Graduate School will be held on the third floor of the Russell House in the ODK/Mortarboard on the following dates for the Spring 2020 semester:
Monday, February 10, 2020
12-1 p.m.
Monday, March 2, 2020
3-4 p.m.
Monday, April 6, 2020
12-1 p.m.
If you have questions, contact Wright Culpepper at culpeppa@mailbox.sc.edu.