The PhD-to-Be Podcast

In Episode 19 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly interviews her friend and colleague, Megan Klavitter, a professional MBA student from the TCU Neely School of Business. Megan gives insight into her experiences as a graduate student in the professional MBA program by sharing how and why she decided to pursue this degree, the application process, and what she has learned about being a young profession...

In After School Snack #3 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly reminisce over their favorite childhood books. They talk about the role reading had in their lives growing up, their love for libraries, and how this shapes who they are today. What were your favorite childhood books growing up? Let us know by emailing us at thephdtoebpodcast@gmail.com.

In Episode 18 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Kaila, her guest for today’s episode, share how they narrowed down their research interests. They reflect on what their areas of research were back in their master’s program and how they have grown or changed over the years. How did you arrive at your current research interests? Let us know by emailing us at thephdtobepodcast@gmail.com.

In Episode 17 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Mark, her guest for today’s episode, talk about the emotional toll of comprehensive exams. They each talk about the emotional labor they experienced while preparing for and taking their comprehensive exams, and offer advice for those who will be taking comprehensive exams. Have you taken your comprehensive exams? What were your experiences like? L...

In Episode 16 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly discuss the statement of purpose, also known as a personal statement, a crucial component of graduate school applications. In the episode they refer to “5 Graduate School Statement of Purpose Examples (And Tips) from Indeed , and they read the statements of purpose they wrote to apply to their current PhD programs. If you are in a graduate...

In Episode 15 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly talks about her experiences with burnout in graduate school. She gives insight into how burnout has manifested for her and what she has learned in the recovery process. She ends the episode by reading a book called Just For Today by Saint John XXIII which is a book that reminds us to make the most out of every day. Hope you enjoy! Do you have any ques...

In Episode 14 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we interview Reese Brown, a graduate of the TCU English accelerated master's program and founder of The Cohere Collective, a holistic self-ascension hub that helps its community better themselves, and therefore for the word around them. Reese gives us insight into her unique graduate program experiences and how her bachelor's and master's degree...

In Episode 13 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we reflect on the spring 2023 semester. We look back and reminsce on the highs and lows and rejoice that we are one semester closer to a PhD. How was your spring 2023 semester? Let us know about your semester by emailing us at thephdtobepodcast@gmail.com.

In After School Snack #2 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we reminisce on what our lives were like in high school. We share a few stories and reflect on how different life was back in the day. Do you have any fun high school stories you'd like to share? Email us at thephdtobepodcast@gmail.com.

In Episode 12 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we talk all about academic conferences. From finding a conference you might want to apply for to talking about what happens at conferences, we give advice and share our conference experiences. Have you been to an academic conference? What was your experience? Email us at thephdtobepodcast@gmail.com

Today's episode is dedicated to Nataly's friends Kaila and Mark. On this day, Kaila is celebrating her 30th birthday and Mark is graduating with his PhD from Oklahoma State University. In this episode, Nataly interviews Kaila, Mark, and Sean, her three best friends from Oklahoma State University. They reminisce on how their friendship came to be and the impact that this friendship has had...

In Episode 10 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss what is it like being a graduate student and a teacher. We talk about the highs and lows, how we try to balance being a graduate student and a teacher, and give advice on the things we have learned in the process. Are you a graduate student who also teaches? We would love to hear about your experiences! Email us at thephdtobepodcast@gmail.com

In Episode 9 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we interview our friend and fellow TCU PhD student Natalie Shellenberger and learn about her experiences as an older graduate student. Are you an older graduate student? What is your experience like? We would love to hear from you! Email us at thephdtobepodcast@gmail.com. Follow Natalie's podcast @culture_composition.podcast on Instagram and listen on Spo...

In Episode 8 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss the pros and cons of taking a gap year between degrees. Dallas shares her experiences in taking a gap year between her bachelor's and master's and her master's and PhD. We use UC Davis' "Should I Take a Gap Year Before Graduate School?" and Northeastern University's "Gap Year Before Grad School: Things To Know&quo...

In Episode 7 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we react to videos which argue why you shouldn't get a PhD. We reacted to "Why you shouldn't apply for a PhD" by Simon Clark, "Why I'm Not Getting a PhD (and Why Maybe You Shouldn't Either) by Chloe Landis, and "Should I Do a PhD? 5 Reasons NOT to Do A PhD!" by Dr. Hayley Stainton from YouTube. What reasons do you agre...

In After School Snack #1 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, we reminisce on life growing up in the 90s and early 2000s. From Britney Spears to Nintendo 's "GameCube," listen to us reflect on simpler times. What did you love when you were growing up? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Email us at thephdtoebpodcast@gmail.com

In Episode 6 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss what we love about graduate school. What do you love about graduate school? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Email us at thephdtoebpodcast@gmail.com. Disclaimer: We recognize that there are issues with the institution and therefore graduate school. Across graduate programs, graduate instructors or assistants are overworked and are cheap labor f...

In Episode 5 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we reflect on the first half of the 2023 spring semester. We discuss how our teaching is going, how our projects towards our degrees are coming along, and reflect on anything that this semester has thrown our way. Listen and reflect with us on the first half of the 2023 spring semester. Do you have any questions? Are there any topics you want them to cover? E...

In Episode 4 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss the things we miss about being undergraduates like being able to wear baggy t-shirts and running shorts to class or having more time on our hands. Listen to us talk about how the graduate school experience is different than the undergraduate experience. Do you have any questions? Are there any topics you want them to cover? Email them at thephdtobe...

In episode 3 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we share our personal testimonies of faith and talk about how our faith sustains us through graduate school. We also discuss how the demands of graduate school have made it difficult for us to make time for our faith. Listen and relate to our struggles to make our faith first while in graduate school. Scripture shared in today's episode: Isaiah 41:10: Fear no...

In Episode 2 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we took the "Are You Ready for Grad School?" quiz from scribd.com to talk about the various factors you should consider before applying and attending graduate school. We go through each question from this quiz and reflect on how we responded to them when we were thinking about graduate school.  Do you have any questions? Are there any topics you wan...

Welcome to episode 1 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast. In Episode 1 you will learn about Nataly and Dallas, your hosts for this podcast. They will discuss why they chose to go to graduate school and why they decided to create a podcast all about their experiences and knowledge with graduate school. Enjoy! Do you have any questions about grad school? Are there any topics you want covered? Email the hosts a...