Intro to Grad School

These are resources to help you navigate your graduate student experience in the Department of Communication and Journalism (CMJ) at the University of Maine.

Forms and Checklists 

CMJ Documents

• Understanding Forms
• CMJ MA checklist
• CMJ PhD checklist
• CMJ MA thesis application form
  • See an example: MA Thesis Application- Example (PDF)
• CMJ MA-Praxis track templates for proposal and reporting
  • Most updated version available in this folder: Google Drive
• CMJ Graduate Student Handbook
  • Most updated version available in this folder: Google Drive
• CMJ Annual Graduate Student Review documents

UMaine Graduate School Links

• Forms & Documents
• Graduation Checklist (updated each semester with new dates)

Navigating Graduate School

“Hidden curriculum”-related resources

• Calarco, J. M. (2020). A field guide to grad school: Uncovering the hidden curriculum. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  • Copy at the Fogler Library. Access for one user at a time. Several hard copies are also available in the Graduate Student Lounge in Dunn.
• Toor, R. (2019). Ten tips to help you ‘win’ at graduate school. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
• Revuluri, S. (2018). How to overcome imposter syndrome. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
• Schwartz, M. A. (2008). The importance of stupidity in scientific research. Journal of Cell Science, 121(11), 1771. Download The importance of stupidity (PDF)
• Schlosser, L. Z., Lyons, H. Z., Talleyrand, R. M., Kim, B. S., & Johnson, W. B. (2011). Advisor-advisee relationships in graduate training programs. Journal of Career Development, 38(1), 3-18. Download Schlosser et al – Advisor advisee paper (PDF)
• Gardner, S. K., & Holley, K. A. (2011). “Those invisible barriers are real”: The progression of first-generation students through doctoral education. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(1), 77-92. Download Gardner Holley – Invisible Barriers (PDF)

Moving to Maine 

• Information on our page: Moving to Maine Guide (2024).

UMaine Graduate School Resources

• UMaine Graduate School Mentoring and Advising Compact
• UMaine Graduate Workers Union

Research Resources

UMaine Institutional Review Board (IRB)

• Overview
• CITI training instructions

UMaine Fogler Library Resources

• Grad Guide to Library Services at UMaine
• CMJ Library Guide

Citation Resources

• Purdue OWL (APA citation resource)
• Fogler Library Guide on Citation Managers

CMJ theses and dissertations

• Digital Commons (search and download PDFs of recent UMaine theses and dissertations)