Career Development
Center
  Occidental College
 1600 Campus Road,
Coons 109
 Los Angeles, CA
 90041-3314

 Email: careers@oxy.edu
 Phone: 323.259.2623
 Fax: 323.341.4900

Graduate and Profession Education Information

How Do I Choose A School?

Start Early! Give yourself a year or more to explore and choose.

• Consult Peterson's Guide to Graduate Study (available in the Occidental College Library and the Career Resource Library) to locate universities offering programs in your chosen field. Make some preliminary selections and then research them.

• Check out what the web has to offer! There are web sites to different graduate programs and related information. Use Yahoo! or another web directory to locate resources that may be of use to you.

• Get copies of the University Bulletin/Catalog - Graduate Edition. Review program descriptions and requirements. Contact the department directly for materials that describe the department, program and courses in more detail.

• Do some library research in your field of interest. What are the current issues and who is writing about them? Notice the authors' institutional affiliations.

• Consult resources such as A Rating of Graduate and Professional Programs in American and International Universities (Gourman Report) in the Occidental Library.

• Contact professional organizations for a list of officers or get a book from their most recent national or state convention. Notice who is active and where they are located. Contact a few of these people and ask for their recommendations

Visit the department(s) before making your final decision. Your selection process involves more than just choosing a university. Your satisfaction will depend on the compatibility of the department and program with your goals and purposes for graduate study. The kind of information you need is not necessarily all in print and will require some investigation. 

Consider the following:

"Culture" of the Program

• Is it research or application centered?

• Are faculty members active in their fields?

• Is the program stable or in transition?

• Are faculty tenured?

• Is there collegiality among the faculty?

• Is there opportunity for student involvement with the faculty in grant activities?

• Is there evidence of good communication with students?

You can find this information out by talking to faculty, staff AND students; sitting in on a class or two, if possible; and observing the surroundings, interactions between people in the offices, etc.

 

Quality of the Program

• Is the program accredited? If so, ask to see a copy of the accreditation review.

• Is the program ranked?

• Do faculty stake claim on certain courses? If so, their names will appear in the catalog.

• Talk with current students about their perception of the program quality.

Costs of Your Degree

• Is the institution public or private? Private is more expensive.

• Is it located in your state of residence? If not, find out about the Academic Common Market in the Ready-Reference section. Tuition costs for students from out-of-state are approximately three times more expensive. 

• Is the program year-round (summers too)?

Certification and Licensure

• If you are entering a field where this is a factor, be sure the program will fulfill the necessary requirements. Licensure is the legal status granted to an individual by the state. Requirements vary by specialty and by state. In most states, in order to present yourself as a counselor, lawyer, doctor, etc., you must be licensed. 

• Certification is a credential issued by a credentialing entity to an individual. It shows that some minimum standard of training and education for your profession has been met. It is generally not required to learn about the requirements BEFORE you begin a program.

Other Features of the Program

• Different schools offer similar degrees, but lengths of programs (number of credit hours required for graduation) may vary widely. Make sure you know what you're getting into.

• Will required classes be offered when you need them?

• Ask students about their experiences in the program.

• Find out how many students will be admitted.

• Class size has a significant impact on the educational experience, especially regarding teaching styles and testing.