Publications as a MSc and Phd student

[Guest sixster]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know how many publications people in the grad pool generally have to be considered a competitive applicant?

 

Thanks

[Guest Talon01]

You're probably not going to like this answer but I believe that it depends...

 

You won't get accepted based solely on number of publications and you won't be rejected solely on lack of publications... applications (and people) are much more multidimensional than the number of publications they have (I'd hope!), and the ADCOM knows this

 

Good luck

[Guest jeffpr]

This can vary depending on the field you study in. For a Master's degree in the biological sciences, in my experience, you should definitely be able to get one publication where you are the primary auther. It is also easier to switch directly from a Master's program to a Phd program in the biological sciences (without actually finishing your Master's), so this option may not apply. Some people may only get 1 or 2 publications in their Phd; the majority of their publications will probably come as a postdoc, where you will spend a few years doing research to establish yourself. After all, you will never get a job in academia if you don't have a solid research foundation already built.

 

These publications should also be in reputiable journals, not in journals that nobody reads. That is not to say you will get your articles published in Science or Nature, but the journals should have an editorial board that consists of well-known people in the field you are researching in.

 

A bit off topic but I don't think there will be any special treatment by the adcoms if you have 2 publications or 6. Conversely, if you are at an advanced stage of education, you should be able to provide sufficient evidence that you have been carrying out relevant research and that you have done something if you have been a graduate student for more than a year. Best o' luck to ya.

[Guest waitingINwonder]

Talon01:

 

I'm a bit confused as to how you can infer that we won't be rejected solely on the basis of lack of publications considering that when they indicate that we will be considered in the graduate student pool, the package that they ask us to send is basically completely to show proof of productivity. Obviously they are attaching a lot of weight to how well our experiments in graduate school have turned out which is ridiculous because this obviously depends on the project and the nature of the research. I think this would all make much more sense if they just did what Toronto does and ask all grads for the same package then decide from there. I also think it is very wrong that there have been cases where UOttawa admits a student into med school that is in the middle of a graduate program - that is ethically questionable.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

I don't recall the Ottawa and UofT graduate productivity packages being all that different. I submitted virtually identical packages to each school a couple of years ago and received interviews from both based on those packages.

 

In any case, there's more to graduate productivity than papers. Included under the productivity umbrella are: presentations, awards, conference attendance, participation in graduate life, e.g., via committees, fora, etc. There is probably a correlation between the extent in participation in the above and how dedicated/passionate a student is about their work.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest NurseEpi]

I have a question about graduate productivity packages. Are the admission committees only interested in things that we've done during grad school or will they consider productivity since graduation as well? I completed a MSc in Epidemiology and as several people have already mentioned, the opportunity to publish results and attend conferences etc. depends largely on your area of work.

 

As a grad student I only had one published abstract and a couple of presentations. Since graduating and working in the real world for a few years, I have managed to get my name on several publications and have delivered presentations at a couple of large international conferences. Will the adcoms give any consideration to this? Forgive me if this seems like a very simple question.

 

Thanks,

NurseEpi

[Guest AliatUofT]

Hi NurseEpi

 

they will look at your publications for a year after your graduation date.

so if u publish a paper after a year of graduating then they wont consider that as part of your grad productivity.

does that make sense?

 

hope that helps

 

Ali

[Guest Talon01]

I'm just saying that there's going to be more than just the number of publications you have considered when they decide if they should make you an offer. For instance, I know people in the program who were just published now (after getting into medical school). However, I don't know if they were accepted based on their undergrad marks (no proof of productivity required).

[Guest Gordo58]

When I applied as a MSc student in 2002 I had 1 first author paper, and 1 conference presentation... but i was considered in teh undergraduate pool and did not have submit proof of productivity. Hope this helps!

 

Gordo

[Guest waitingINwonder]

Hi - just thought I would give some accurate information:

 

If you are asked to submit a graduate package, all they are looking for are good grades and RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY as measured by conference presentations (not just going to conferences) and publications - there is no consideration for involvement in graduate student life. So, if your gonna do a grad degree before applying to med school and they tell you that they want a grad application package, then you better have some productivity.

[Guest Anna]

I am not a graduate student so I may be out on left field, but wouldn't the ADCOM consider graduate life by reading your autobiographical sketch? I mean if you put down President of Grad Student Association, I would think that they would consider this. Or as a grad student do you not fill out the autobiographical sketch?

 

Anna