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Important Tips for Doctoral Students
1. Write something everyday. Don't worry about how it looks or reads. Getting your ideas down on paper helps formulate the end result. It also gets you in the habit of writing.
2. Keep your portfolio up to date. Don't wait until the last minute to do it!
3. Read! You can complete all of your reading assignments on time if you read only 30 minutes per day.
4. Each course has multiple assignments associated with them. Use them to further your research and build a comprehensive literature review on your research interest.
5. Save and organize all of your readings! This is important because you need to be able to easily access articles while writing and creating reference pages. Hindsight is perfect, but use a little foresight here. It will save you time and a lot of stress.
6. Make ALL of your papers count for more than one thing! You should be able to use a portion of each paper in your final dissertation proposal.
7. Get to know all of the professors in the Ph.D. program and their research interests. This will enable you to name your dissertation chair and committee more easily.
8. Make a time line of the semesters and courses you plan to take during your tenure as a doctoral student. Discuss your time line with your mentor. This will eliminate any surprises that might cost you extra time and money down the road.
9. Complete the required research courses as soon as possible so as to acquire the skills needed for most of your assignments.
10. Join the Doctoral Student Organization. This will enable you to get to know all of the professors, doctoral students and their research interests.
11. Remember that no matter how frustrated, angry or tired you get, it will all be worth it in the long run!
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