Guide to Picking Graduate School Classes

Taking classes is my favorite aspect of being a graduate student. Research is boring and solitary. You sit alone for many hours, waiting for that one moment of revelation, only to realize that you made an error somewhere at the very beginning, and have to start all over again. Classes, on the other hand, are fun. There is something I find particularly enjoyable about having an elderly gentleman explain things to me for a few hours a week. Analyze that as you will.

Schools vary in the requirements that are necessary for various graduate programs, but you almost always get to spend at least one full year taking classes before you have to focus most of your time on research. I think that you should make the most of that time. And so, to commemorate the start of the spring semester, I am offering a short guide to picking your graduate school classes. (I want to point out that most of what I write is from an engineering/math perspective, and I make no effort to generalize my advice for other disciplines).

1. It's all about the professor. This is the most important thing to remember when picking classes. Not counting requirements that you can't avoid, picking a good class is mostly about picking a good professor.

2. Just because a professor is extremely prominent in his field doesn't mean that he will be a good teacher. (I have tried for numerous degrees, in fact I've one of each; Of course that makes me eminently qualified to teach). Here are a few things you can do to make sure that you don't get stuck in a class with a professor who only cares about winning the Nobel Prize, and knows nothing about education:

• Ask your friends, go on message boards, and ask around the department. You may not always be able to find out who the great teachers are, but you will certainly be able to find out who the crappy ones are. Fortunately, the truly awful ones usually have a reputation, and it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out which ones to avoid.
• Google the professor. Check out some of his papers and conference submissions, but mostly try to see if he is a real prick on message boards and newsgroups. If he constantly starts flame wars with 12 year-olds on the Stargate Atlantis newsgroup, maybe you want to avoid this guy. On the other hand, maybe you don't. Get as much information as possible, and make an intelligent assessment.
• Email the professor before the class starts. Ask him lots of questions. Ask him to borrow the textbook before the semester begins. Really try to harass him. If he is responsive and helpful, that is a good sign. If you never hear from him (unless he is on sabbatical or in China), chances are that he will not be too receptive to your questions when the class begins either.

3. Even if you don't particularly care about the subject, still consider taking the class if it's taught by a great professor. However, make sure that the subject matter is not so far out of your reach that you will have difficulty passing. For example, if you are an English major, don't take Brian Greene's "Advanced Geometric Concepts for Physics" class. Rather, wait until he teaches something of the "Physics for Poets" or "Gravity is Your Friend" variety.

4. Take classes where you have to do homework. Homework is fun. When you move on to research, you will focus on enormous, and often, unsolvable problems. That is a very disheartening sort of situation to be in, and can really crush your spirit. So, while you have the opportunity, take classes where you can do homework with solvable problems. There is a lot of joy and fulfillment in solving a problem and getting the right answer. It's a good feeling, and you are well advised to seek it out before you move on to working on p=np.

5. Avoid taking a class just because it fits into your schedule. Sometimes the temptation is too great, but at least try to find another reason for taking the class.

6. Take as many workshops as you can afford to pay for. Workshops are a great way to meet new professors, and work with a small group of people. Professors who decide to teach a workshop are really passionate about the subject matter (since, in most cases, they really need to push the department to allow them to organize the workshop), and this usually makes for a great class. Plus, the commitment is short, so if you are not so much into the subject (or the professor), you won't have to suffer for too long.

7. Don't try to master more than one new technical skill in any given semester. Learning a new technical skill (particularly when it comes to programming) at a graduate level is not easy. So, try to avoid taking a Perl class in the same semester as a Java class; don't try to become a SQL expert in the same semester that you take your first LISP class, and so on. Graduate classes in such practical subjects are always extremely difficult and require a ridiculous amount of work. Unless you need to acquire that skill right away for some aspect of your thesis (or for a job), do them one at a time, and try to pair them with corresponding theoretical subjects (i.e. a Database Programming class goes well with Monte Carlo Simulation).

8. Avoid classes that are popular with undergrads. Undergrad curriculums are structured differently from graduate ones, and the professor will have to focus most of his attention on the undergrads. Also, undergrads who take advanced level classes (especially in the engineering departments) are so so so annoying (I know, because I was one).

9. Take classes with your friends. Most graduate classes will require you to do projects in small groups. It's a good idea to be in a class with your friends, and thus, form a group with people you know and like. You don't want to be the loser who has to get placed into a group by the Professor. That's socially awkward, and you probably won't have as much fun working on the project as you would if you were in a group with your friends. It's also better to form project groups with friends because it allows you to resolve scheduling and work distribution conflicts in an amicable fashion.

10. If you need an easy A, take a Stats class in a non-math/engineering department. A lot of pseudo-science departments (such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science) offer their own Statistics classes, outside the school's math and engineering departments. These classes are always full of humanities-minded individuals who dread the very idea of having to do any sort of simple calculation. Such classes are usually taught by an Adjunct Professor who will be delighted to have at least one person who understands the material. Once word gets out that you know how to solve the problem sets, women will want to date you, men will want to change the oil in your car (or vice-versa) and most importantly, you will get that A, having put in very little effort.

Now, if only I could follow my own advice.