Pursuing a graduate degree in political science is the first step in pursuing an academic or alt-academic career. Yet there is a large hidden curriculum in graduate school (pertaining strategies, norms, and practices that, when implemented, can help students navigate graduate school) that can be difficult to learn and navigate, even for the most successful undergraduate students and early career professionals who are beginning their graduate career. Beyond gaining entry to graduate school, surviving, and thriving as a graduate student, success requires insights into academia and political science that most undergraduates, recent college graduates or early career professionals simply will not know. Additionally, lack of access to this hidden curriculum most disadvantages first generation and minoritized students, which maintains inequalities in the discipline. Presently, the APSA leadership is increasing its efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion across the profession by addressing issues of climate, culture, and institutional and systemic inequality through a variety of measures: diversity and inclusion programming, presidential task forces and other council-backed initiatives. While this work is ongoing, this resource guide will attempt to fill the knowledge-gap for prospective and current graduate students, providing insights into everything from applying for admission and finding a mentor, to landing that first job – and everything in between.

Topics range from the mundane to the complex. Chapters are organized into the following sections: 

• The Application Process (e.g., admissions, graduate assistantships, selecting a program)

• On Campus (e.g., committees, comp. exams, dissertation, hostile cultures, and burnout)

• Professional Development - Scholarship (e.g., conferencing, grants, publishing)

• Professional Development - Teaching (e.g., preparing for first experience)

• Professional Development - Service (e.g., professional service and unionizing)

• Professional Development - The Job Market (e.g., network, alt-ac careers, interviewing)

• Climate and Culture in the Department and Profession (e.g., implicit bias, imposter syndrome, harassment)

• Strategies for Addressing Implicit Bias, Harassment, Assault (e.g., concerns for under-represented groups, including race, gender, sexuality, international students, and first-gen)

• Mental Health and Wellness in Graduate School (e.g., isolation, depression, and anxiety, accommodations)