Program-Assessment

I think the LDT program is innovative and on the cutting edge in terms of learning practice at UGA.  I found this out when talking with other doctoral students about their programs.  But it was really exemplified during a breakfast session with a visiting guest speaker where she mentioned that her hopes for future scholars entering the job market would consider developing a common thread with their research.  This topic was discussed during my first semester in the doctoral program.  It was great to see that something that I think is expected in our department is an aspiration for students in others.  Another benefit of our program is the closeness of the faculty and the students.  While I haven’t met everyone, I feel like there is cooperation, friendliness, and positive collaboration between all individuals within our program.  I don’t think other programs offer this same level of community.  My last kudos for our program is the flexibility with classes.  I love, although am sometime challenged by, the flexibility within our program.  This is something that I did not experience in other programs.  It seems unique to our program.  This flexibility relives some of the stress and pressure of the challenges in being in a doctoral program while understanding and respecting that we’re older students with complex lives that may get in way of our studies.  I know I’ve recently had experience with that and was grateful for the understanding and flexibility in the program.

 

Suggestions

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A suggestion I have for the program is the idea of peer-mentorship.  I’ve heard of some medical programs that create a big/little sister or brother relationship between their first-year medical students and senior students (senior meaning they’ve been in the program at least a year and not necessarily senior as in about to graduate).  This person would be available to answer questions dealing with the unknown and uncertain nature of the program for a first-year student.  I understand that it can be difficult to add another layer onto the young scholar’s life and we have such a good track record of already providing informal peer-mentorship.  The only thing I can think of to improve the doctoral experience is having an impartial someone with some experience that students can go to for advice.  I don’t think this is a necessity, but it might be a nice feature to add to the program to demystify the research process for the novice scholar.  This has been something that was helpful for me during my first year and I believe it could be helpful for others.  It also can serve as practice for when we take on faculty positions and to advise students.