<p>I have recently been admitted to Stanford University. This has caused me to start thinking about the distant future.</p>
<p>I am interested in going into teaching at the college level (history or sociology or something of that sort). My parents didn’t attend college and I have so many questions about my future. I realize this is a long way away, but I know nothing. These are basic questions.</p>
<li>How long does it take one to get a PhD? Do you get a masters first or can you do it all in one swipe? </li>
<li>How much will this cost me? I know there is financial aid, but how much? After undergrad, my parents can’t finance my graduate education. How much are the average expenses after financial aid?</li>
<li>How competitive are admissions? If I wanted to do graduate work at Stanford, how successful will I need to be in undergrad? What things do graduate admissions officers value as far as out-of-the-classroom activities?</li>
<li>What would be the general process for getting involved in teaching at the university level?</li>
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<p>I’d like any other generic advice as well. Thanks! I feel the same way about high school; I want to go shake freshmen and tell them everything I know four years later.</p>
<p>First, congratulations. Let me try to answer your questions one by one.
1. How long does it take one to get a PhD? Do you get a masters first or can you do it all in one swipe?
In most disciplines, students study for the Ph.D. rather than for a M.A., unless it is a terminal M.A. degree. Ideally, universities like their students to do their Ph.D. in 5 years: 2 years of coursework leading to the Ph.D. general exam, one year to explore a research topic, one year of research and one year of writing. But in many, perhaps most cases, students take somewhat longer, especially if learning languages is involved or if the fieldwork is in difficult conditions.
2. How much will this cost me? I know there is financial aid, but how much? After undergrad, my parents can't finance my graduate education. How much are the average expenses after financial aid?
In many cases, students who are admitted into a Ph.D. program receive fellowships. Depending on the institutions, it can be an outright fellowship for the whole of the 5 years (Princeton), or a combination of outright fellowship and teaching fellowships. Teaching fellowships usually start after the student has passed the general exams.
3. How competitive are admissions? If I wanted to do graduate work at Stanford, how successful will I need to be in undergrad? What things do graduate admissions officers value as far as out-of-the-classroom activities?
Most universities encourage their students to go elsewhere for graduate studies so as to be exposed to different professors, different sets of interests, perspectives, methodologies. Graduate admissions consider only the academic record of the student, not extracurriculars, so it won't matter if you crewed for Stanford or not.
4. What would be the general process for getting involved in teaching at the university level? See my answer to #2.</p>
<p>Once you get into Stanford, you will meet graduate students who act as TFs. You will get to know a lot more about what they do then.</p>
<p>The way grad school works is that you serve as indentured slave labor for your university, doing research for your professors and teaching undergrad courses as a TA. In exchange for five years of hell, they give you a Ph.D.</p>
<p>Here are some thoughts on the PhD/academic career path from one of Swarthmore's most well-liked young professors, Timothy Burke:</p>
<p>One thing I would absolutely urge if you see this as a future career direction: make sure you have reading knowledge of at least one, and preferably two, foreign languages before you go to graduate school. This is especially true if you think you are not "good at languages", or don't like studying them. I have seen at least two studies that suggest the single most important factor in whether a student actually completes a Ph.D. is whether the necessary languages were mastered before admission to the program. Obviously, if you plan to do sociological studies of folks in western India, you'll need to know Gujarati. But more generally, historians learn German and French, and sociologists German and the language of the culture they study. </p>
<p>At any rate, when you get to Stanford, check with the departments in which you are most keenly interested. Alternatively, you can go to various graduate program websites, and see what they say about language study. Whatever you do, don't put it off.</p>