CMSI Releases New Guide for Minority Serving Institution Students Applying for a Ph.D.
Philadelphia, Pa., August 13, 2018—The Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) has published a new guide to help students at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) better understand the doctoral admissions process.
“This guide was crafted with first-generation MSI students in mind,” said Daniel Blake, lead author of the guide and Research Associate at the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions. “The goal of this guide is to offer essential information on how to prepare for the application process and what factors to consider when making the decision of which program to enroll in.”
The guide seeks to demystify the Ph.D. application process and provide ease to students who are interested in taking the first step toward attaining a doctoral degree. With sections on the various parts of the doctoral application, the guide gives readers an overview of what the application process requires.
“Primarily authored by current doctoral students, this guide fills in gaps of knowledge that are often left out of graduate school advising,” said Andrew Martinez, Research Associate at the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions.
Written in an accessible manner — without jargon — this guide can be used for all students interested in advancing their post-baccalaureate education. Much of the guide considers common challenges students may encounter and urges them to engage in self-reflection regarding their motivations for pursuing a Ph.D.
The guide comes free of charge and is readily available on our website. Full copies of the guide can be found here.
About The Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions
The Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions brings together researchers and practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. The Center’s goals include: elevating the educational contributions of MSIs; ensuring that they are a part of national conversations; bringing awareness to the vital role MSIs play in the nation’s economic development; increasing the rigorous scholarship of MSIs; connecting MSIs’ academic and administrative leadership to promote reform initiatives; and strengthening efforts to close educational achievement gaps among disadvantaged communities. For further information about the Center, please visit www.gse.upenn.edu/cmsi.
