Discover Rackham
Rackham’s Resolution Officer Is Here to Help You
Having problems or concerns related to your academic or personal life? Perhaps I can help. My role as Rackham’s Resolution Officer is to help graduate students and postdocs resolve a wide range of concerns, problems, or conflicts. Perhaps you are trying to manage an...
We’re Flattered, but Please Make the Articles Stop
Every few weeks or so, someone writes another article about how humanities Ph.D. programs are a bad choice and how grad students are either victims who have been bamboozled into a dead-end career in a dying field or are the children of privilege or—my personal...
A Day in the Life of a Grad Student Mom
Because your job CAN be fun! Excited to be part of a wonderful team! 5:42 am “Wake up, mama! Mama, wake up! Wake up! Wake UP!” I hide my head in the comforter as I try to convince Aida, my two-year-old daughter, that we still have 18 minutes of sleep left. After...
Newest Member of the ‘Just Married’ Wagon
I have been on a hiatus since my last blog post. Coming here to U-M five years ago, I expected to graduate with a Ph.D. before changing my marital status but sometimes the least expected relationships happen at the most unexpected times. As though being a graduate...
My Disillusionment, and How I Consequently Made Friends in Graduate School
I was having a talk with my bestie about making friends in graduate school. I’ve been in my program for close to 3 years now, since I came straight out of college. She worked for a couple years and then went back to graduate school for architecture this past fall. I...
Go Blue, Live Green: Building Community Through Sustainability
One of the hallmarks of U-M's commitment to sustainability is that it is a truly inclusive endeavor. While Michigan boasts hundreds of courses and dozens of academic programs related to the environment and sustainability (many of them housed within Rackham), one does...
Student Spotlight: Amy Krings
Amy Krings received her Master’s in Social Work from Michigan and settled into her field. She bought a house, she got a dog, and she saved for her retirement fund. Her life was stable and on an upward trajectory, but there was still something missing. “If it hadn’t...
Setting Your Own Goals for Graduate School
Here is a problem: attrition rates in graduate school are high and are increasing per year. The percentage of students who don’t complete graduate school can be anywhere from 20% to 60% of the cohort size (depending on which study you read). That’s 20% to 60% of...
A Social Life in Graduate School Is Just as Important as an Academic Life
Believe it or not, having a social life is an integral part of graduate school. When I first started graduate school, most of my friends were people that were in my cohort. However, as people have started finishing, moved to other places while still in the program, or...
For Rackham Students with Emergency Financial Needs
Attending graduate school is a significant investment of time and money. Some students leave full-time employment to pursue a graduate degree and find themselves balancing the costs of graduate school and daily living on a fixed income. What do you do in the event of...