BOOK REVIEW


by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com


GOOD BOOKS, LIKE PRECIOUS GEMS, ARE TO BE TREASURED. W


hether you are thinking of earning an advanced degree or getting ready for advanced


degrees, here are a few publications that are a must read.


The Ph.D. churn is estimated to be 25 percent and as high as 50 percent— primarily because people don’t have a strategy for completion.


From his vantage point as executive director of the National GEM Consortium, Howard Adams wrote the timeless classic, Successfully Negotiating the Graduate School Process: A Guide for Minority Students, first published in 1990.


In this 32-page resource, Dr. Adams set out to answer all the “informational needs” of GEM students. Questions run from who should consider a graduate degree to finding financial support, graduate admissions tests, programs and institutions, and what the admission process is like.


Adams also provides a self-assessment check that helps you decide if graduate school is for you. Working through the form line by line should give you insight into your motivation and need for graduate study. Next, he walks you through when you should begin making plans.


Waiting until your senior year can limit your opportunities and eliminate some program choices, Adams says.


So if you’re contemplating graduate school, the sooner you start, the better.


THREE KEY THINGS TO NOTE ARE:


1. Make applications. 2. Follow through on the process. 3. Do it by the spring of your junior year of undergraduate study.


Do the math on costs and financial assistance, such as the total cost for each term and activity fees.


For fellowship/assistantship recipients, always keep in sight the duration of the award and what it takes to remain eligible.


The Graduate Admissions TimeLine provided halfway through the guide is priceless. It’s like a large operational map, with a field version of a NASA operation room backed up on a personal level.


Other Howard Adams books that are beneficial to students that have made the decision to attend graduate school and need more information about the graduate school process or how to select a program that’s right for them are: Graduate Research Orientation: A Workshop Approach, Student Workbook; Making the Grade in Graduate School: Survival Strategy 101; Focusing on the Campus Milieu: A Guide for Enhancing the Graduate School Climate.


Adam also provides you with a set of 11 questions to ask about universities or programs. They run from the research qualities of faculty to just how adequate facilities are, degree requirements, support services on campus, and how long it will take you to complete your program.


For more insight on surviving and excelling in the doctoral program, read Adams’ Mastering the Ph.D. Process: Tips for Surviving and Excelling in a Doctoral Program.


For more on negotiating the graduate school process, be sure to review questions in A Guide for Minority Students.


Adams received his bachelor’s


degree in biology from Norfolk State College in 1964. He also received his master’s degree in biology from Virginia State College (now Virginia State University) in 1968 as a National Science Foundation In- Service Fellow. Adams enrolled in Syracuse University’s higher education administration program, receiving his Ph.D.in 1978. Adams then accepted the position of executive director of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. In 1989 President Ronald Reagan appointed Adams to a U.S. congressional task force on women, minorities, and the handicapped in science and technology. Adams founded his consulting company, H.G. Adams & Associates, Inc. in 1995.


22 HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | FALL 2016 www.hispanicengineer.com


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