Getting ready for Registration

Marisa Panzani

We are getting ready to place registration holds for any official documents that have not yet been received by the Office of Admissions. Please be sure to once again check the online application to track whether or not we have your official documents.  Information on what documents are needed and how to best get them to us can be found here.

Thank you for your patience as we move to CUNY First student registration system. Many of you have already logged in to claim your account, we are in the process of loading the last of the records and you will be hearing from us next week about how to log in to register.  If you have not received an email letting you know how to log in to claim your CUNY First account by 8/2, please email admissions@gc.cuny.edu

 

 

Advice to new graduate students

Marisa Panzani

You are starting a new graduate program in the Fall.  What better time to seek out some advice from scholars who have been down this road before you?

We highly recommend the blog post from our very own Grad Center student, Danica Savonick entitled Dear Fellow Graduate Student.   Additionally, we recommend reading two great articles for new graduate students appeared that appeared in The Chronicle several years ago: An Open Letter to New Graduate Students and Too Much Self-Doubt? Try Thinking Like a Creator.

And while you haven’t even started yet, here is a short article giving some great advice on how not to become a PhD non-completer.

Have you read any advice about starting graduate school that you’d like to share with other incoming students?  Post a link in the comments section!

credit to David Whittaker @rundavidrun

New Students Day August 23rd

Gerry Martini

Please mark your calendars.  More information will be posted at a later time.

 

New Students Day/Orientation

Thursday, August 23, 2018

10am to 4pm

The Graduate Center, CUNY

365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street

New York, NY

 

 

Dining Commons

Specially priced student meals are available (with CUNY I.D.) in the Dining Commons Cafeteria, 8th Floor, 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. during the semester and, on a limited basis, during the week preceding the start of classes.

Ten Things to See Your First Week Exploring the City

Christina Katopodis

When you come to visit New York as a tourist, it’s important to see the big historical sites like the Statue of Liberty and the September 11 Memorial, or you might want to eat at famous restaurants like Ess-a-Bagel and Carnegie Deli. When you come to live in New York, however, you’re probably looking for local favorites that are less crowded than Times Square. Here’s a list of ten things to do that you might consider your first week getting acquainted with the city.

  1. Walk around the Reservoir in Central Park and visit the Metropolitan Museum then walk uptown on 5th Ave to see the Museum of the City of New York. You might stop for lunch at Earl’s Beer and Cheese.
  2. Walk through Fort Tryon Park and visit the Cloisters.
  3. After an orientation event at the Graduate Center, walk downtown on 5th Avenue to get a burger or a milkshake at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, then walk across the street to the Eataly market. If you’re in the mood for dumplings, walk down 5th Ave from the Graduate Center to 32nd Street and take a right into Korea Town to go to Mandoo Bar. If you like craft beers go to Rattle N Hum on 33rd Street between 5th Ave and Madison for delicious sliders and 30+ taps. If you like wine, go to The Archive. If you’re vegan, try Franchia. It’s amazing.
  4. Cross the Brooklyn Bridge and get dumplings in Chinatown on the Manhattan side or a slice at Grimaldi’s on the Brooklyn side, then hop on the subway to get to Prospect Park and walk around Park Slope.
  5. Visit Chelsea, go to the Chelsea Market and walk along the High Line. If you’re interested in Chelsea’s night life try the Gotham Comedy Club and Trailer Park Lounge.
  6. Go to the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue, get your library card and have a look around. Maybe eat lunch on the grass in Bryant Park.
  7. Get off at the Spring Street or Astor Place stop on the 6 train, walk above ground and take in the East Village and Lower Manhattan. Go to S’Mac for macaroni and cheese, Cafetasia for Thai food, 10 Degrees for wine and cheese, McSorley’s for beer, or Swift for your local pub fare with a literary twist. Then see a show at the Public Theatre.
  8. Go to Union Square and see people playing chess, playing music, or a dance group performance. Familiarize yourself with Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, and hop into a bar or restaurant you’ve never been to before.
  9. Walk around Hell’s Kitchen and pop into the Amish Market or grab some Ethiopian food at 47th Street and 10th Ave or a delicious brunch at 44 ½.
  10. Walk uptown from the Graduate Center to take in Grand Central station on 42nd Street and Park Avenue. Enjoy the breath-taking ceiling and atmosphere and then walk through the market to get fresh vegetables, artisan cheeses and baked goods.

Make sure you bring cash with you everywhere because you’ll find that many places do not accept credit cards and only take cash. Also, bring a subway map with you—not only to navigate the subway but also to help you navigate neighborhoods. You can use Google Maps or HopStop on your phone for help with directions, but most people on the street are kind and helpful if you ask them for directions. Find another pedestrian like yourself who isn’t in a hurry on the sidewalk or perhaps stopped and waiting for the light to change at a crosswalk. Whether you’re interested in walking or biking outside in a park or doing something indoors on a rainy day, there’s always something to do in New York City. Part of the fun is getting lost and finding a hole-in-the-wall with great food and good people.

 
Christina Katopodis
Second Year English PhD Student

Doctoral Certificate Programs at the GC

Gwen Shaw

Although getting  your Ph.D. might seem like enough work (for a lifetime…), the GC offers several unique opportunities for additional bells and whistles to add to that fancy degree, like Doctoral Certificates! These certificates allow you to engage in interdisciplinary research in areas that are related, but outside, your home discipline. These doctoral certificates are approved by the state and give you the experience to work and teach in interdisciplinary fields for which there is no Ph.D. degree at the Graduate Center.

You can earn a doctoral certificate in the following areas:

Each of these programs consists of about five classes, or 15 credits: two or three core courses and two electives from anywhere at the GC (often these come from your home discipline, but don’t have to). Depending on the courses taken and the certificate program, you might even be able to use a cross-listed course twice for two different–yet applicable–certificates! This means that your New American Cinema class might count for both the Film Studies elective AND the American Studies elective! Use the links above to contact the Certificate Program with any questions or for more information.

So why bother? The certificates give you a theoretical and practical foundation through core courses in an interdisciplinary field of interest. In addition, because they are recognized by both the GC and the state, they appear on your transcript, which may come in handy when you’re on the market [for a *fingers crossed* tenure-track job]. Some of these interdisciplinary subject areas are also ones that are difficult to find in doctoral programs (although not impossible), so the doctoral certificate is an excellent way to demonstrate your interest in multiple areas at a doctoral level while earning your Ph.D. in one of the 30+ programs available at the GC. Consider it an enhanced non-related minor in a different discipline.

The upshot: If you have the time and desire, the certificate programs are a great way to broaden your knowledge and credentials to cover a wider range of interesting, interdisciplinary work. You’ll meet people from many different programs at the GC in your core classes, and learn new perspectives and methodologies.

Ask me; I’m earning five certificates, both for my own edification and research, as well as for my future job prospects. It does increase time-to-degree: I’m taking an extra year of coursework to finish everything (plus I came in without a M.A., so I am not as pressed for time as some of my colleagues who entered with one). That said, if you can spare the extra couple of classes, the certificate programs are a wonderful way to interact with colleagues from many different fields and work on complex problems with new, different, and exciting tools.

Gwendolyn Shaw is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Art History Program at the Graduate Center.