Admission to graduate school: what future scientists need to know

At the end of the university, the graduates face an extremely important question of choosing a further path in life: whether to go to work on a specialty, choose another profession, go on to get a second higher education or to realize oneself in science. The last path is usually chosen as units. Admission to graduate school is a responsible step, signifying a willingness to give his life to science. And, in our country, almost free of charge! Since the post-graduate scholarship without experience does not differ much from the student's scholarship, and science requires sacrifice. Material. And sometimes very significant. Financing almost all universities in our country leaves much to be desired. However, often this fact does not stop those who wish to create a career in science. What drives these people? Who needs admission to graduate school and why?

• People who dream of being useful to their country, society, making a breakthrough in domestic science. For such people there is simply no other way! However, they need to be prepared for the fact that all their efforts can go unnoticed and moreover - nobody needs. In our country.
• If you have been dreaming of teaching at a university since childhood, graduate school is designed for you. But be prepared for the difficulties: it's not easy to get a Ph.D. degree and it's even harder to get a position as an assistant professor at the department. Strive for this while still a graduate student: ask for the clock, the post of assistant chair, a senior researcher.
• If you are planning to get a Ph.D., and then leave our homeland and work abroad. In this case, make sure that you are expected in the proposed country: take part in international conferences, internship programs for scientific personnel abroad, etc.
• If you were in love with student life, you absolutely do not want to leave the university walls that have already become native, and there is no particularly suitable work, you can also try to enter post-graduate school. But be prepared for the difficulties: graduate school is fundamentally different from the student body - it requires you to show dedication to science and the chosen research topic, which takes a lot of time, energy and finances.
• If you really do not want to join the army and admission to graduate school - the only chance to avoid it! You, in principle, will achieve the goal, but at the same time, are you sure that postgraduate studies are better than the army?

Conditions for admission to graduate school are less stringent than it seems to most of the graduates:

• You have the right to act if you have a diploma in the chosen specialty and certain successes in it.
• You will need to pass an interview with the prospective supervisor and get his support.
• Take the entrance exams. There are three of them: according to the chosen specialty, philosophy and foreign language.
• Have scientific publications within your subject matter (in the absence of them, an abstract).
• Have copies of your documents and photos with you. And also a medical certificate of health.

In fact, if you have an agreement with the supervisor, everything else is just a formality.

Examinations in postgraduate study do not represent any difficulty: you pass your specialty (in which you know theoretically excellently), a foreign language (you also plan to take part in international conferences and have to represent their Motherland with dignity) and philosophy (since a true scientist can not help being a philosopher in the shower). After 3 years of training (full-time) or 4 (on correspondence), you will have to pass all the same exams for approximately the same program, but because: do not rush to throw out didactic materials and cheat sheets!

Admission to graduate school is an important decision in life, and therefore, before taking it, think again about whether you are sure that you want to put your life on the altar of science.