So You Want To Go To Graduate School?

Roxie Bustamante (right), and her fellow graduate student suite mate, Marissa Williams.

Roxie Bustamante (right), and her fellow graduate student suite mate, Marissa Williams.

“I think I decided to go to grad school for a very poor reason, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Justin Keene said.

Keene is an assistant professor in the College of Media and Communication. Although he may have started graduate school for the wrong reasons, he quickly learned it was the right choice for him. Keene earned his bachelor and masters degrees from Texas Tech, and is currently completing his doctoral degree from Indiana University. He now teaches electronic media and communication classes at Tech.

“I got into grad school here in 2007, and within, like, the first two weeks of grad school, I decided that I wanted to be a professor,” Keene said. “So, then I just kind of set my mind towards that goal.”

Not everybody goes to graduate school because they want to teach. Many choose to go to graduate school because they would like to be in a management or executive position. Roxie Bustamante is currently enrolled in the professional masters program. Bustamante said the 30-hour-credits program prepares her for a professional career in the communication industry, rather than a teaching career.

Bustamante aspires to be the next Oprah Winfrey, but decided to pursue a masters degree for job security.

“So, it’s kind of a back up plan if I, like, don’t make it.”

“Journalism, it’s a great field, but at the same time, getting a job in the actual field is quite difficult. So, it’s kind of like a back up plan if I, like, don’t make it, I guess in general, somewhere as a reporter,” Bustamante said hesitantly. “I can at least go into another field of communications.”

Bustamante said the information you learn in graduate classes is different from undergraduate courses. She described the learning as a lot denser, which surprised her. She said she thought she knew it all after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in journalism, but still had a lot to learn about theories in the field. Bustamante said this is both a good and bad thing.

Emily Pellegrini, a senior journalism major graduating in May, began taking graduate school classes this past semester. Pellegrini has a part-time job with local news station FOX 34. She quickly found she was more suited for the working world.

“I think the experience I’m getting from there will benefit me more than going to grad school.”

“I decided to go ahead and pursue the real world and see what the experience is like, and try to meet people and network and whatnot, and kind of keep grad school on the back burner,” Pellegrini said. “And, I’ve ended up really enjoying the broadcast world, and I think the experience I’m getting from there will benefit me more than going to grad school, so that’s why that’s taking more precedence right now instead of the grad classes.”

The idea that experience is more important than higher education is common in the journalism industry. However, Bustamante said having a master’s degree can lead to higher pay and better positions for public relations and advertising majors.

Bustamante spends a lot of time in her office on the 6th floor.

Bustamante spends a lot of time in her office on the 6th floor.

Part of the graduate program includes being a teaching assistant in a media and communication course. Bustamante said this typically consists of taking attendance and corresponding with students, but it really depends on what instructor is being assisted. Bustamante said this is a paying job, and the wages are similar to what you would make working anywhere part-time.

Once a student finishes a master’s degree, a logical next step is to pursue a doctoral degree, or Ph.D. Typically, only people who would like to stay in academia or do research choose to do this program. Keene said it is a lengthy process, which he began in 2009. He is currently finishing his dissertation, which will eventually be around 160 pages.

“The phase I’m in, there’s a reason the mortality rate is pretty high; it’s hard, it’s really hard,” Keene said.

Bustamante's full calender proves that graduate school is no joke!

Bustamante’s full calender proves that graduate school is no joke!

Keene’s research focuses on what happens when a stimulus is both positive and negative, and how people react to that. He said this final research project has stemmed from work he started at Tech while in the master’s program. Keene said this is typical for most research projects.

Earning a degree from a school where the student is not in attendance is not easy. While finishing his Ph.D. at Indiana University, Keene has been teaching at Tech. He said although this seems odd, it is typical at this point of education. He said he spent the first three years of the program in Bloomington, Ind., and after applying for many teaching jobs, returned to his hometown of Lubbock to teach.

“There’s a reason the mortality rate is pretty high; it’s hard, it’s really hard.”

One aspect of graduate school that has been difficult for Keene is juggling work and family. Keene’s wife, Johanna, has been through every aspect of graduate school with her husband, pursuing a master’s degree herself. Keene said this has helped, since she understands what he is going through.

“In my acknowledgements in my dissertation, I say this about Johanna,” Keene said. “She’s my best friend, and like, my greatest advocate. But she is also my harshest critic.”

Keene said graduate school is not for everyone, and that is okay.

“If what you want to do is prolong your undergraduate experience, booze it up three nights a week, don’t pay attention to your readings still, lose your syllabus after the first day, you’re going to hate grad school. It’s going to be such a beat down for you,” Keene said. “But if you want to learn something at a really high level, and you want to be excellent at something, and you want to try to grow your understanding about what we do in communications, then grad school is for you.”

About Sarah Self-Walbrick

Graduate Executive Director — Mass Communication Graduate Student, Class of 2017
Sarah, a Lubbock native, has two bachelor of art degrees in electronic media and communication and journalism, and is pursuing a master's in mass communications. She loves Texas, her husband and dog, and good storytelling.