How to Navigate the Course
Take note of each lesson and its topics. Familiarize yourself with the purpose of each topic.
Navigating AAP’s Guide to Grad School
Our recommendation is to start at the beginning of the course and work your way through the topics of each lesson. You may also navigate straight to the topic using the outline, “Elements in Guide to Grad School”. This is a great way to create your own road map in preparing for graduate school if you just need to work on specific elements of your graduate school preparation.
Lessons in Guide to Grad School
There are 9 lessons in Guide to Grad School to help prepare you for graduate school. Click through each lesson below to check out the topics.
Each lesson is sprinkled with activities, videos, podcast episodes, and suggested activities. As you can see, there’s more to graduate school preparation than just your applications.
Introduction Lesson
The Introduction lesson is designed to give you an orientation to the Guide to Grad School course.
Exploring Lesson
“Exploring” topics walk you through how to explore your career and graduate school possibilities.
Building Lesson
“Building” topics help you build your skills to become a competitive applicant for graduate school.
Mastering Lesson – Part I
Part One of “Mastering” is a longer, but more in depth, lesson. This lesson helps you start to plan on mastering the skills needed to apply to graduate school.
Mastering Lesson – Part 2
Part Two of “Mastering” is a longer, but more in depth, lesson. This lesson helps you start to be strategic the mastering of skills needed to be successful as a graduate school.
Mastering Lesson – Part 3
Part Three of “Mastering” is finalizing details for your applications while starting on specific application elements. This lesson guides you to act on the skills you’ve gained and start putting your application together.
Applying Lesson – Part 1
Part One of “Applying” guides you in completing your graduate school applications. This lesson helps you to remember the details and use good practices when completing your online applications for graduate school.
Applying Lesson – Part 2
Part Two of “Applying” helps you during the waiting game. This lesson reminds you of all the loose ends to tie up before graduate and guides you on deciding which program is best for you.
Quick Learn Topics
Preparation Elements in Guide to Grad School
We have also organized the topics covered in Guide to Grad School by Application Elements and Competitive Elements. Below, you can navigate through the application elements on the left and the elements that make an applicant even more competitive on the right.
Our recommendation is to start with the “Exploring” lesson and work through each topic consecutively in order to complete each lesson, but if you are pressed for time and need the topics just for a specific element within your application, we have organized them here for you. You can click on the “Navigation” button in the menu bar above, or you can follow the “Quick Learn” icons for each element to move to the next topic. Keep in mind that the application elements (below) are not within the same lesson like outlined above.
All application elements are submitted online. Your application will include:
Résumé or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Contact Information for your Letter of Recommendation Writers
Written Statements (research, personal, purpose, etc.)
There may be other elements required based on your specific field
Parts of the application that others submit on your behalf include:
Official Transcripts
Letters of Recommendation
Scores on Standardized Tests (GRE, GMAT, etc.)
Application Elements
Graduate Programs
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Explore Your Career Goals | Exploring |
| 2 | Identify Graduate Programs and Schools | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 3 | Attend Graduate School Fairs | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 4 | Plan to Apply to Graduate Programs | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 5 | Research Your Top Graduate Programs | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 6 | Finalize List of Graduate Programs | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 7 | Start Applications | Applying – Part 1 |
| 8 | Request Transcripts | Applying – Part 1 |
| 9 | Decide on Your Graduate Program | Applying – Part 2 |
| 10 | Consider Alternative Pathways to Graduate School | Applying – Part 2 |
Letters of Recommendation
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Develop Relationships with Faculty and Staff | Exploring |
| 2 | Maintain Faculty Relationships | Building |
| 3 | Securing Letters of Recommendation | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 4 | Network with Possible Recommenders | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 5 | Ask Faculty for Letters of Recommendation | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 6 | Organize and Request Letters of Recommendation | Applying – Part 1 |
| 7 | Thank Your Network | Applying – Part 2 |
| 8 | Reach Back Out to Your Professional Network | Transitioning |
Resume & Curriculum Vitae (CV)
| Topic | Lesson | ||
| 1 | Get Involved and Give Back | Exploring | |
| 2 | Engage in Undergraduate Research and Experiential Learning/Explore Summer Research Opportunities | Building | |
| 3 | Build Your Network through Conferences and Professional Organizations | Building | |
| 4 | Actively Engage in Undergraduate Research and/or Experiential Learning/Apply to Summer Experiences | Mastering – Part 1 | |
| 5 | Create Artifacts of Your Research and Experiences | Mastering – Part 2 | |
| 6 | Start Applications | Applying – Part 1 |
Personal Statement
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Build Your Educational Elevator Speech | Building |
| 2 | Identify Graduate Programs and Schools | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 3 | Reflect and Create an Online Portfolio | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 4 | Draft Admission Essay(s) | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 5 | Finalize Application Statements | Applying – Part 1 |
Funding Options
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Identify Graduate Programs and Schools | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 2 | Learn About Funding Options | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 3 | Plan to Apply to Funding | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 4 | Complete Funding Applications | Applying – Part 1 |
Admissions Test
(e.g. GRE, GMAT)
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Identify Graduate Programs and Schools | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 2 | Identify Admissions Test Timeline | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 3 | Continue to Study and Register for Admissions Test | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 4 | Continue to Study and Schedule Admissions Test | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 5 | Take Admissions Test(s) | Applying – Part 1 |
Competitive Elements
Academics
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Develop Your Course Plan | Exploring |
| 2 | Focus on Your Academics | Exploring |
| 3 | Academics as a Strength | Building |
| 4 | Combating Senioritis and Taking Challenging Courses | Applying – Part 2 |
Networking
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Build Your Network through Conferences and Professional Organizations | Building |
| 2 | Build Your Educational Elevator Speech | Building |
| 3 | Attend Graduate School Fairs | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 4 | Network with Possible Recommenders | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 5 | Visit Campuses and Meet with Students and Faculty | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 6 | Thank Your Network | Applying – Part 1 |
| 7 | Reach Back Out to Your Professional Network | Transitioning |
Research & Experiences
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Develop Relationships with Faculty and Staff | Exploring |
| 2 | Engage in Undergraduate Research and Experiential Learning | Building |
| 3 | Explore Summer Research Opportunities | Building |
| 4 | Actively Engage in Undergraduate Research and/or Experiential Learning | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 5 | Apply for Summer Experiences | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 6 | Create Artifacts of your Research and Experiences | Mastering – Part 2 |
Community Impact
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Get Involved and Give Back | Exploring |
| 2 | Add Value to Your Community | Building |
| 3 | Lead in Your Community | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 4 | Spread Your Impact to Help Other Students | Applying – Part 2 |
| 5 | Balance Family and Friends with School | Transitioning |
Wellness
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Explore Grad Prep Resources | Building |
| 2 | Utilize Grad Prep Resources | Applying |
| 3 | Combating Senioritis and Taking Challenging Courses | Applying |
| 4 | Implement Healthy Habits | Transitioning |
Grad School Finances
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Prepare Your Finances for Graduate School | Exploring |
| 2 | Investigate Grad Prep Expenses | Building |
| 3 | Build Your Budget for Grad School Prep | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 4 | Learn About Funding Options | Mastering – Part 2 |
| 5 | Plan to Apply to Funding | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 6 | Complete Funding Applications | Applying – Part 1 |
| 7 | Decide on Your Graduate Program | Applying – Part 2 |
Campus Visits
| Topic | Lesson | |
| 1 | Attend Grad School Fairs | Mastering – Part 1 |
| 2 | Plan to Visit Campuses | Mastering – Part 3 |
| 3 | Visit Campuses to Meet with Students and Faculty | Applying – Part 1 |
If you have questions about the lessons or topics at any time, please do not hesitate to email aap@ucf.edu.
What Do these Icons Mean?
Guide to Grad School Icon Key
In Guide to Grad School, we use icons to note what type of resources you should expect while navigating through each topic. Below you will find a list of icons and their titles to help you better understand and navigate the course.
Content
Content
with Resources
Instructions for navigation
Prepare for graduate school now by marking this topic complete: click the “Mark Complete” button below in the bottom left hand corner to keep track of the topics you’ve completed. Then, click the “Next Topic” button below in the bottom right hand corner to move onto the next topic within the lesson.