For students like Adam Hesterberg ’11, the senior thesis — the culmination of four years of study at the University — will mark the beginning, rather than the end, of their academic careers.
“Being exposed to independent work junior year and preparing the senior thesis are often ways that people find out if academia is a field they would want to enter,” Hesterberg said, adding that students who enjoy conducting research for their junior papers are more likely to apply to graduate school. “Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t,” he said.
Unlike pre-medical, pre-law and pre-finance students, those interested in pursuing careers in academia said they are less worried about grades and are more concerned with fully immersing themselves in a field to which they plan to dedicate their lives.
Hesterberg, a math major, plans to pursue doctoral studies in combinatorics, a branch of mathematics closely related to computational computer science.
Though the field may seem narrow in scope, history major Miranda Sachs ’11, who plans to study French history at the graduate level, said that most post-graduate studies are quite focused. “Grad schools don’t take that many students, so they need someone who specializes,” she explained.
Students said that, contrary to popular belief, academic research is not an isolated field.
“It’s not a dead thing; academics don’t just sit in libraries all day,” Sachs said. “It’s a chance to build bridges,” she added, explaining that the research she does in the United States would allow her to connect with academic communities abroad.
“It’s quite social. You’re not just working by yourself for five years,” said Keisuke Ishihara ’10, a chemical engineering major who will attend Harvard next year to study systems biology.
Though the path to academia varies widely, all pre-academics are motivated to dedicate many years to their studies.
Students explained that the length of time needed to complete doctoral degrees varies by discipline. In the humanities, doctorate degrees take roughly seven to eight years to complete, depending on when students finish their dissertations. Science graduate programs usually take about four to five years to complete, and most students engage in post-graduate work that lasts one to two years afterwards.
According to the Graduate School website, in the history department, the median number of years in which graduate students completed their Ph.D. fluctuated from year to year. In the 2005-06 academic year, the median time for Ph.D. completion was 5.5 years, but in the 2008-09 academic year, it was 7.2 years. The median number of years to complete one’s Ph.D. in the chemistry department, however, remained at roughly 5 years from 2005 to 2009.
Sachs also added that humanities Ph.D.s are more likely to be immediately eligible for tenure-track positions.

Ishihara said that most students don’t firmly decide whether or not they will pursue academia until they have entered graduate school.
Michael Li ’07 GS, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in operations research and financial engineering, said it wasn’t until his second year pursuing his M.Phil. at Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar that he realized he wanted a future in academia.
Others decide to pursue academia after entering the workforce, while some choose that path after volunteering or traveling abroad with organizations like the Peace Corps or Teach for America. More frequently, students apply for fellowships in their senior year of college and enroll in a graduate program afterward, like Li.
But English professor Jeff Dolven said that seniors should avoid directly entering graduate school.
“The only advice I consistently give is not to go to graduate school right out of college: Giving yourself a year to see a bit of the world, entertain other options and decide if graduate study is something you really want to do invariably leads to a better experience on the way to the Ph.D.,” he said.
Unlike with some other paths, grades play less of a role in graduate school admissions.
According to the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences admissions website, “Faculty recommendations and the applicant’s statement of purpose are carefully weighed. Research papers, publications, and other original works may also be considered by the admissions committees during their evaluations.”
Matthew Lazen, director of studies for Butler College, said that candidates for graduate school are evaluated holistically.
“I feel that students greatly overestimate the importance of their GPA for all post-graduate paths, but I believe that it is certainly less important than some other factors for students who are going to graduate school,” Lazen said in an e-mail. “My sense is that most graduate schools take the time to evaluate candidates holistically, and good recommendations, or any particular accomplishments that show great intellectual promise, will be more important to them than overall GPA.”
Many of those interviewed also placed a heavy emphasis on building good relationships with professors, since faculty recommendations are a crucial component of graduate school applications.
Institutional support is also available for students interested in applying to graduate school.
“Career Services offers career panels featuring faculty speakers who offer their insights regarding important aspects of graduate school planning and study are held throughout the year. Additionally, a Graduate and Professional School Fair is held each fall, where over 150–200 schools come to meet with Princeton students,” Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, director of career services, said in an e-mail.
Cole Crittenden, director of studies for Whitman College, said that residential graduate students at Whitman “host an informational study break each fall semester where they talk about why they chose to pursue graduate studies, the application process and their experiences as graduate students here at Princeton.”
Sachs said that she found it very helpful to meet with Associate Dean of the College Frank Ordiway ’81, who also coordinates postgraduate fellowship advising.
Students noted that the reputation of the program and professors are more important than the “name brand” of the school. “It’s more about who you study with rather than where you go,” Li said.
Li explained that students will either have a specific program or professor in mind, or will ask a departmental adviser or favorite professor for suggestions on where to apply.
Potential graduate students said they will not let the many road blocks lining the path to a Ph.D. deter them from pursuing their goal, citing a strong interest in their subjects as their motivation.
“The stakes and the chances of failure are both higher now than they’ve ever been, and they’ve always been pretty high. But this goal is important enough to me — both in the name of my own personal happiness and in the name of the greater good — that it’s still worth it to me to invest all I’ve got in trying to attain it,” Emily Rutherford ’12 said in an e-mail.
Michael Gelbart ’10 said, “When you talk about your own work, it’s what you’re really excited about — even if it’s to say in the end, ‘Ah man, today it really didn’t work.’ ”