Grad School Induction

Induction for the IEP program was today. We met as a large group in William Robertson lecture hall - in all, 160 of us are enrolled in a 'taught' programme while 75 are in a 'research' program.

The logistics of email and facilities and other practical pieces were the main talking points before we were set off to our specific programs. Chad, our director, took the 53 or so of our program down the hall to discuss the program specifics. Before he started, he, as well as welcomed us to the university and the city of Edinburgh, congratulated us. "The IEP program is the most competitive, and the most popular programme, which is why it is also the largest. You should all feel very proud to be here, to have made the cut, from the 250 people that applied," he said. It was sort of special to hear that; Chad is very informal, very relaxed, and sort of 'gushes' a bit about all he talks about, which is very endearing.

The first task is to determine what my third course will be this fall. All of us in the cohort will take the required International Relations Theory course and Institutions and Policies of the European Union course, but we all have to choose one more to fill out our schedules. There is a variety to choose from, and obviously it will shape and determine the dissertation, so I will have to make some thoughtful decisions. I am inclined to take the International Political Economy course, because I think it would be important to shore up my relative weakness in that arena of thought, but I'm not sure if it would be my favourite. I've been given advice to go with what really interests me, but I think I have to be practical in what and where this degree may lead me too. The other choices are in Soviet politics, Social and Political Theory, Nationalism and International Security. One thing that Chad shared, that is a little different than I was expecting, is that we can take one of several law or management courses as well - which is interesting. Basically, that just provides for about 8 more choices and I was already struggle with too many options, so it's a mixed blessing. I will say, that it will be based on topics and interest and not on the work load, necessarily. After reviewing the abstracts, there is a 20 page paper or the equivalent of that as the assessment for every single course. Wow - 3 20 page papers in 12 weeks? Yikes - I'm getting tummy spins right now just thinking about it.

I'm off to campus tomorrow to sign up for the supplemental and required IPEU seminar, find the computing facilities and common rooms for my program. I'm in school again - hee hee. Feels weird. I think I like it.