Areas of Study

devinsberries · June 2013

I am primarily focusing on people who are victims of clergy sexual abuse and those that have been kicked out of church or not welcomed into churches because of sexual orientation.

kerbohl · June 2013

@devinsberries Ah, the serious cases. I think that will be a really interesting thesis, but also quite disheartening because of the serious topic.

kipnus · June 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?

Grad

2. Major?

I'm working on an M.A. in Physical Education. For my undergrad I did a combined Bachelor of Education (Secondary, major in PE, minor in English) and Bachelor of Physical Education.

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)

I'm using the Sport Commitment Model to look at determinants of sport commitment in students on high school swim teams. I'd like to see if their commitment to the swim team extends to the sport of swimming, and if their swim team participation has any effect on their physical activity levels.

4. Favorite thing about University?

I love the flexible hours. I've also loved every single one of my graduate classes. My university's Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation is world-class and it's cool seeing my professors publishing books and being cited in articles all over the place.

5. Worst thing?

I hated my undergrad experience in the Faculty of Education. There was way too much group work and "busy work" that had no relevance in an actual classroom. My teaching practicums were also awful. I cried every night when I got home.

6. Anything you wish you did differently?

I sort of wish I had just done a Bachelor of Physical Education, with a practicum that would have given me more options in the field. However, getting a Bachelor of Education allowed me to teach overseas for two years, which was a very valuable experience.

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

Yes. My dream job would be acting as a youth sport consultant and educator, but I also enjoy teaching undergraduate classes at the university. If my thesis goes well, I'll probably go for a PhD.

skirat32 · June 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?

I just finished my undergrad and taking a year off before I start grad school.

2. Major?

I got my degree in Mathematics-Economics and I'm planning to go to grad school for Business Analytics.

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)

For my thesis, I looked at the different economic aspects of Wal-Mart. The first part was a reproduced analysis about the imbalances of large retailers importing from developing countries (the main players being Wal-Mart and China). The other part looked at the ethical aspects of Wal-Mart's economic process.

4. Favorite thing about University?

I went to school in central NY, so it was gorgeous. I loved the personal connections with professors. A professor I only had my freshman year, still knew me by name when I graduated.

5. Worst thing?

I would have to agree with group projects. They were always too much work and drama for such a small portion of our final grade.

6. Anything you wish you did differently?

I graduated in 3 years and worked 2-3 part-time jobs, so it would have been nice to have the extra year to space things out and focus better. However, being in a military LDR from New York to California was a bit stressful and emotionally straining.

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

The grad school program I am trying to get into has a very high job placement rate after graduation. So fingers crossed I'll be able to start my career in analytics in 2 years.

lovesclimbing · June 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad? Undergrad
2. Major? Journalism

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand) N/A

4. Favorite thing about University? Learning new things.

5. Worst thing? Spending money and not making very much.

6. Anything you wish you did differently? Nope, not really

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study? I'd like to. I'm the Copy Editor for my school newspaper this fall. I'm currently an intern at my city's only daily newspaper. I'm hoping that will give me an edge at applying for a job next year with them.

irishdanigirl · June 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?

Undergrad at Iowa State

2. Major?

Biology: pre-PA

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)

I haven't done research for a thesis but I was involved in molecular genetics research for about a year and half.

4. Favorite thing about University?

It is absolutely beautiful, especially central campus! Also that there's a lot of flexibility within my degree program to take the classes I actually want to take.

5. Worst thing?

I hate the cold so winter-time here isn't my favorite!

6. Anything you wish you did differently?

I have no regrets

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

I'm planning on attending a PA program sometime after I graduate and hopefully pursuing a career in the medical field!

Viczaesar · June 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad? I'm a doctoral candidate (ABD)

2. Major? Religious Studies, specializing in Early Christianity/Ancient Mediterranean Studies

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand) My dissertation is about the evolution of narrativity in the development of Christian and Jewish identity in the second through fourth centuries. I'm looking in particular at a 4th/5th century Jewish anti-gospel and situating it within the historical, political, social, and religious context of Late Antiquity

4. Favorite thing about University? Teaching, collaborative research

5. Worst thing? Teaching (sometimes), being broke

6. Anything you wish you did differently? I wish I took a year off between my BA and my MA

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study? My goal is to get a job as a professor, either at at Lib Arts program or at an R1. There really isn't that much else you can do with a PhD in Religious Studies, plus that's my passion.

ravenray · July 2013

@viczaesar Your topic is so interesting! That is a really neat topic.

Viczaesar · July 2013

Thank you, @ravenray

KaySea6213 · July 2013

@ravenray I don't have a specific period yet, I'm mostly interested in the creative writing aspect.

MissBeccaMN · July 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?

Im currently an undergrad! planning to start a graduate program next summer!

2. Major?

Zoology with a focus on cell biology and pre-health sciences. Minor in Chemistry

4. Favorite thing about University?

Its a beautiful small campus. Fargo is a medium sized city, everything is here I need and the city isnt too HUGE!

5. Worst thing?

WINTER...need I say more?

6. Anything you wish you did differently?

I wish I fould have decided what I wanted to do a little sooner...oh well Im glas i went through all the classes I did, no matter how unneeded they were!

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

Im going on to graduate school to become a Physician assistant, Then i plan to work as a PA

dbanana · July 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad? Grad student

2. Major? Mental Health Counseling... yay!

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? No thesis for me! My program is a terminal masters; I might go back in a few years (I'm a pretty young grad student as it is) to get my Ph.D., and I know I probably won't be able to continue with whatever I started.

4. Favorite thing about University? I went to my dream undergrad school, which was a huge school (the largest in the US), and now I go to a much smaller college closer to home. I love them I'm just a short drive away and now I don't miss so many family functions.

5. Worst thing? I actually don't like my school! The program in wonderful, but it's in such a tiny town that it makes me miss my undergrad university.

6. Anything you wish you did differently? Although I could have waited another year to continue on at my undergrad university, I really love the girls in my program and it has worked out fantastically!

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study? Ish. Although my focus is mental health counseling, my true passion is forensics; my internship is at a correctional center, counseling inmates. I really hope to continue doing this type of work.

ETA: better paragraph spacing

dbanana · July 2013

@catrb89 - another forensic lover! Forensic assessments are probably my biggest interest, too!

Kida07 · July 2013

Oh! I'm an undergrad doing a Medieval History major. Um...favorite thing about university.. The library! Not! Actually its Starbucks. Worst thing..the research papers..I mean honestly! They take hours! I once stayed up until four in the morning finishing one. Wish I had done differently? Honestly..not really.. I'd say Im fairly happy with my degree..Am I happy with my degree? Yes! I love history! Am I obssesed with history? Absolutely!

katerhune · July 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?
Undergrad

2. Major?
Microbiology

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)
I'm currently working in a lab, and I will be doing my undergrad honours thesis in this lab. It's on structural virology, and I am working with the VEE virus. When a virus infects a cell, it essentially turns it into a virus factory. We are looking into the structural changes that positive-strand viruses cause in infected cells, particularly in the mitochondria. My thesis will be on those changes caused by a wild type virus compared to those caused by a mutated version of the virus that lacks certain proteins. I just started in this lab and am entering my sophomore year, so I have a lot to learn, but I am definitely excited!!

4. Favorite thing about University?
I come from a small-town school with a terrible science program, so I love going to a school that is so focused on the sciences because I've been learning so much and having a lot of fun in labs!

5. Worst thing?
My fiance goes to a university 3 hours away

6. Anything you wish you did differently?
Taken less credit hours in my Freshman year

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

Definitely! But I've got lots of school ahead of me before I get a career

HTR10 · July 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?

Grad

2. Major?

Sociology with a specialization in Medical and Aging/The Life Course

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)

I have a Master's that I finished before beginning this program and it was on the experience chronic lower back pain...I will likely expand this or at least focus on pain for my dissertation (which is what I'm trying to do now!)

4. Favorite thing about University?

The "freedom" I have now...since I'm just dissertating.

5. Worst thing?

The politics in academia...and the "freedom" I have now LOL. Motivation is scarce over here!

6. Anything you wish you did differently?

Perhaps getting a Master's degree first, but I wouldn't have met my fiance then so I guess I don't regret it

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

Absolutely! That's the goal anyway. Academia is the end goal but I wouldn't mind just doing research

Aray82 · July 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?

Grad

2. Major?

PhD in English Lit

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)

I look at the interaction of different religious and spiritual belief systems with some of the major movements in early 20th century British poetry. My dissertation is tentatively titled, "The 'Fact 'of God': Form and Belief in Modern British Poetry. Each chapter focuses on a different British modernist poet: WB Yeats, TS Eliot, Ezra Pound, Mina Loy, and Basil Bunting. I really enjoy picking apart pieces of writing like some people like to take apart the insides of a car and just really delve into how every word, phrase, and line break is working to contribute to a work's message. Moreover, I find it fascinating how modernist poetic theory affects the presentation of different belief systems in surprising ways and in turn, how the use of different religious doctrines and spiritual philosophies affects the poetry. This project has not only allowed me to continue doing what I love with literature, but has also allowed me to learn so much about different religious and spiritual traditions. Christian Science, Anglo-Catholicism, ancient Greek burial rites, Buddhism, and occult magic are just a few of the areas I've had to delve into. I actually started out working on women in Victorian novels before switching to modernist poetry and once I finish this dissertation (God willing!) I'd like to get back to this area someday. I'd love to write a book about late Victorian/fin de siècle/early modernist women writers revise and re-imagine inherently patriarchal religious structures in order to derive more meaningful spiritual experiences. Sorry, I hope this wasn't more nerdy than you were looking for :P

4. Favorite thing about University?

I teach while working on my dissertation and I really like having a job that involves equal parts social interaction and individual study. I enjoy interacting with my students, but I also like having days where I can be by myself and do my own work. As someone who spends a good part of the day at a desk, I also love that I can go running outside most times of the year here in the southwest, and that for only $50 a semester I can take as many Pilates, yoga, spinning, and Zumba classes as I want at the school gym--pays for itself in no time!

5. Worst thing?

There's been a lot of negative energy going around about the academic job market, both in my department and just online in general. It can be challenging to tune it out and just keep pushing through with my own work, especially since I'm coming up on the job market soon.

6. Anything you wish you did differently?

I might have thought more carefully about the consequences of going to school thousands of miles away from my family and friends in NYC and Connecticut, how seldom I'd get to see them, all the weddings and baby showers I'd miss, etc. On the other hand, I did meet the love of my life here which would never have happened had I stayed on the east coast for school, so I really can't complain

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

Yes, but I'm also open to other related options. I could teach in a good private high school, be involved in grant writing at a university or nonprofit since I did a lot of grant writing for a

conference we hosted last year and to support my own research and conference travel, help design online courses for schools starting to go digital, really anything that utilizes my skills and experience. My fiancé is also an academic, so we are pretty much open to moving to wherever the best job offer is for either one of us. Ideally, it would be somewhere further east, either near his family in Nebraska or mine in Connecticut. Incidentally, if you know of any positions for British literature or early American history profs coming up in the next year, holla back!

margaretskye · July 2013

1. Undergrad

2. Philosophy

3. Not yet, but since I'm in the honors program I will be starting a thesis this coming year (my junior year).

4. Getting to choose classes based on my interests, not having to take early classes if I don't want to, independence.

5. Gen eds.

6. Nope.

7. I'm planning on going to law school after graduation. Currently I work as a research assistant in the human dimensions of forestry, and I've held that job for 5 years.

ravenray · July 2013

@Aray82

Wow! I love your thesis! That sounds really really interesting!

I'm so glad to see an English PhD on here. What is your favorite poem that you are working on?

kerbohl · July 2013

@viczaesar I second that topic being really fascinating! Sorry for the late reply, no internet for about three weeks. Have you done any studies on the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian relations in medieval Spain? Al-Andalus was really fascinating - I did at least two papers on it, one on shared spaces and the converting of Jewish synagogues into Christian churches and vice versa during the medieval period.

kerbohl · July 2013

@Kida07 Another medieval studies student! Awesome! I was talking with two American soldiers this week and they were completely shocked that I had a Masters in Medieval Studies. They didn't realize such programs existed.

Kida07 · July 2013

@kerbohl yeah. The problem is only three universities have degrees here in Canada. So I have to transfer to a University in Great Britain for a Masters or Higher. UVic, UofC and MacMasters Universities have Bachelors programs.. But If I want to teach or become a museum curator , I need a Masters.

kerbohl · July 2013

@Kida07 I went to do my masters for Medieval Studies at Utrecht University in the Netherlands - if you are going overseas, I highly recommend there. It's been a blast. I did the two-year research Masters, but I believe there is a one year program. I even got to do a semester at University of Toronto as part of my study (so I got to come home for a few months, which was excellent because FI took that opportunity to propose). I also hear good things about the Masters at York University.

Have you looked into Fordham? I tried to get in, but then realized that I was a crazy person because it was so insanely expensive. But their online databases are awesome.

RBriggs19 · July 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?

Undergraduate

2. Major?

Forensic Science with minors in Math & Chemistry

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)

I'm currently working on my thesis researching the ability to estimate bullet calibers by the holes left at a crime scene. I want to be a firearms/toolmarks examiner and I chose this after discussing with firearms examiners near home- it is a common question but with no literature to back up the opinions/findings.

4. Favorite thing about University?

It's small and personal. I like being able to recognize faces as I walk through campus and feeling as if my professors truly care about my success.

5. Worst thing?

Parking-every day is a struggle.

6. Anything you wish you did differently?

Become more social my freshman year. I don't seem to have many friends on campus and now that I live off campus it is even harder.

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?

Yes! I graduate in May and I'm already scanning for my dream job!

RBriggs19 · July 2013

@catrb89 and @dbanana very cool to see other forensic lovers! I have such a passion for it!

pibetafly09 · July 2013

1. Just graduated in May with B.S. Thinking about going back to grad school next year (just need to find a job first)

2. Secondary Education with teaching endorsements in Spanish, English, and English as a Second Language

3. Don't have one yet. Still deciding what I want to go to grad school for. I'm kind of thinking administration so I can be a principal.

4. Everything. I loved my sorority, my friends, my college town, football games, classes (didn't think I would miss it while in school), late night study sessions, etc. Seriously, I miss everything. It doesn't help that most of my friends are going back and I'm stuck in my hometown with no job prospects.

5. Graduating! It went too fast

6. I wish I would have chosen a better major. I loved my major and think I would make an amazing teacher, but this job hunt is making me wish I would have been a business major.

7. I'm already starting to look into other opportunities because I am losing faith in finding a teaching job.

pibetafly09 · July 2013

elBecko said:

Hey @pibetafly09, don't lose hope so easily!!! Most of the teachers I know (and I come from a family of teachers) had to substitute for 1-2 years before they found a permanent job. My FI was really lucky and found one after only one semester of subbing (middle school English). I know, having lived with him during the 9 months he was applying for jobs, that it's an incredibly frustrating process, but he is really glad that he held out. And while subbing doesn't pay a ton and has no security, it was a way to pay the bills and to get to know tall of the local principals (who have a lot of hiring power in this state)

Thank you for the encouragement! I am finding myself turning into such a Debbie Downer these days but I need to remember it will all happen in time. I am applying for subbing positions in my new area and hoping it leads to something! Right now I am all dressed up in interview garb and waiting on a phone call for a Skype interview for a teaching job in a new city. Fingers crossed!

MSU05 · July 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?
Grad

2. Major?
Undergrad-Dietetics, Grad-Public Health with a certificate in PH administration.

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)
Currently I'm trying to decide what to write my capstone paper on. I have too many interests in public health. I'm thinking it will be related to nutrition, food safety, infectious disease, or vaccine preventable diseases.

4. Favorite thing about University?
MSU's program is all on-line so it is very flexible

5. Worst thing?
I don't really get to know anyone in my program.

6. Anything you wish you did differently?
I was actually accepted into the program in 2010 but turned it down to apply to 2nd degree/accelerated nursing programs (I didn't get in to one), so I wish I would have just done my master's first. But you can't go back in time, so I am just happy they accepted me the 2nd time I applied, lol.

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?
I currently work for a local health department as a peer educator but the job is only for current students. I am hoping to find something new after graduation in May 2014.

MSU05 · August 2013

@elBecko Hello fellow public health student!!!! My degree will be just a general MPH but I will also have a graduate certificate in public health administration. I don't find administration to the most exciting thing in the world, but I thought it might be helpful for future jobs. What's your concentration?

ShellLillian · August 2013

1. Undergrad or Grad?
Undergrad, and I don't think I'm going to continue school afterwards

2. Major?
Advertising and PR with minors in film and psychology

3. If you are doing research for a thesis, what is it about and why did you pick it? (We all love learning so feel free to expand)

4. Favorite thing about University?
I honestly hate it.

5. Worst thing?
I have had so much trouble making friends since I go to a very large, strange school

6. Anything you wish you did differently?
I wish I hadn't gone to school and instead had used the money to start businesses.

7. Are you planning on getting/have a job in your area of study?
I currently work in my field and I plan to for a little while, after a few years I might leave and do other things

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