Guide To Preparing Students for Graduate School in Physics and Related Fields

Faculty, instructors, adjuncts, teaching staff, and others who serve as instructors of record for courses. This term does not include instructional support staff who support the teaching of courses.

A phenomenon in which a person doubts their own skills and accomplishments, attributes their success to luck rather than hard work or skill, and fears that they are an impostor who does not deserve the things they have earned. We use the original term, impostor phenomenon, rather than the more commonly used term, impostor syndrome, to emphasize that this is not a medical condition to be attributed to individuals, but a phenomenon shaped by interpersonal and social contexts that may lead people, particularly those from marginalized groups, to question their skills and accomplishments. Review article

Unconscious and automatic attitudes or stereotypes about groups of people that impact one’s understanding of, actions toward, and decisions regarding individual members of such groups. For example, research shows that many people in the US, even those who consciously believe that all people are equal, implicitly have biases associating Black people with criminality and Asian people with being foreign, and not associating women with science. Implicit bias has measurable consequences in the world, with research demonstrating, for example, that people rate job applicants with names typically associated with women and/or people of color as less qualified than those with names typically associated with white men, and that students rate female instructors as less competent than male instructors. Everyone has implicit biases, and countering such biases requires explicit training and/or intervention strategies such as intergroup contact, perspective-taking, and exposure to counter-stereotypical exemplars. Review article

Faculty, instructors, adjuncts, teaching staff, and others who serve as instructors of record for courses. This term does not include instructional support staff who support the teaching of courses.

Faculty, instructors, adjuncts, teaching staff, and others who serve as instructors of record for courses. This term does not include instructional support staff who support the teaching of courses.

Society of Physics Students. Website

American Physical Society. Website

Society of Physics Students. Website

American Institute of Physics. Website

People of color and others with marginalized ethnicities, women and others who experience misogyny, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others who have traditionally been marginalized in society and in physics. According to the TEAM-UP Report, marginalized groups are “groups of people defined by a common social identity who lack adequate social power or resources to design, build, or perpetuate social structures or institutions that reflect the centrality … of their identities, proclivities, and points of view. … They need not be underrepresented or numerical minorities, but often are.” We use the term marginalized groups, rather than minorities, underrepresented groups, or other commonly used terms, because people in these groups are not always minorities or underrepresented, and in order to convey that underrepresentation is the result of marginalization rather than a statistical accident. Another common term is minoritized groups. While we use this general term for brevity and readability, it is important to recognize that the many different groups encompassed by this term face different challenges and have different needs that should be addressed individually whenever possible, to learn the terms that people ask to be called, and to recognize that these terms may change over time.

An APS-led program that increases the number of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students who earn PhDs in physics by ​​creating sustainable transition programs for graduate students at a national network of doctoral-granting institutions, and by providing undergraduate ​​students with research experience, advanced coursework, and coaching to prepare them for a graduate school application. Website

An APS-led program that facilitates and supports mentoring relationships between faculty mentors and Black, Latinx, and Indigenous undergraduate physics students at their own institutions and that holds an annual conference for mentors and mentees. Website

American Physical Society. Website

American Institute of Physics. Website

A program based on the University of Colorado Boulder Learning Assistant model in which undergraduate students are recruited and trained to support other students in small group work in courses using research-based pedagogy and encouraged to become K-12 teachers. Learning Assistant Alliance

An equilibrium in which work and other life roles are not in opposition. This term can be problematic because it implies that work is not part of life and/or that work and life are in opposition to each other. For some people, the metaphor of balance gives the impression that this requires constant struggle and puts the onus on the individual to achieve balance. We use this term because it is commonly recognized and understood. However, it is important to recognize the role that departmental policies and practices play in creating an environment that supports making work-life balance an easily achievable goal.

Faculty, instructors, adjuncts, teaching staff, and others who serve as instructors of record for courses. This term does not include instructional support staff who support the teaching of courses.

A phenomenon in which a person doubts their own skills and accomplishments, attributes their success to luck rather than hard work or skill, and fears that they are an impostor who does not deserve the things they have earned. We use the original term, impostor phenomenon, rather than the more commonly used term, impostor syndrome, to emphasize that this is not a medical condition to be attributed to individuals, but a phenomenon shaped by interpersonal and social contexts that may lead people, particularly those from marginalized groups, to question their skills and accomplishments. Review article

People of color and others with marginalized ethnicities, women and others who experience misogyny, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others who have traditionally been marginalized in society and in physics. According to the TEAM-UP Report, marginalized groups are “groups of people defined by a common social identity who lack adequate social power or resources to design, build, or perpetuate social structures or institutions that reflect the centrality … of their identities, proclivities, and points of view. … They need not be underrepresented or numerical minorities, but often are.” We use the term marginalized groups, rather than minorities, underrepresented groups, or other commonly used terms, because people in these groups are not always minorities or underrepresented, and in order to convey that underrepresentation is the result of marginalization rather than a statistical accident. Another common term is minoritized groups. While we use this general term for brevity and readability, it is important to recognize that the many different groups encompassed by this term face different challenges and have different needs that should be addressed individually whenever possible, to learn the terms that people ask to be called, and to recognize that these terms may change over time.

Faculty, instructors, adjuncts, teaching staff, and others who serve as instructors of record for courses. This term does not include instructional support staff who support the teaching of courses.

A document used for curricular design that identifies the learning opportunities designed to address each program-level student learning outcome. An assessment plan typically includes a simplified version of a curriculum map, which shows only when and where in the curriculum (typically in courses) each program-level student learning outcome is assessed. Program-level student learning outcomes may be addressed and/or assessed in curricular and co-curricular activities, including courses, laboratory experiences, seminars, internships, research, and capstone experiences. Robust curricular design and student learning assessment plans don’t merely address or assess an outcome at one point in the curriculum; rather, each outcome is addressed at different levels (introduction, emphasis, reinforcement) throughout the curriculum and assessed in several places and at different degrees of mastery (emerging, developing, proficient). Consult your office of assessment for institution-specific recommendations. For more details, see the section on How to Assess Student Learning at the Program Level.

A nationally recognized model of teaching and learning in which undergraduate students are recruited and trained as “peer-leaders” to support other students in small group work in courses using research-based pedagogy. PLTL originated in chemistry courses and has expanded to all STEM disciplines. Peer-Led Team Learning International Society

A program based on the University of Colorado Boulder Learning Assistant model in which undergraduate students are recruited and trained to support other students in small group work in courses using research-based pedagogy and encouraged to become K-12 teachers. Learning Assistant Alliance

People of color and others with marginalized ethnicities, women and others who experience misogyny, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others who have traditionally been marginalized in society and in physics. According to the TEAM-UP Report, marginalized groups are “groups of people defined by a common social identity who lack adequate social power or resources to design, build, or perpetuate social structures or institutions that reflect the centrality … of their identities, proclivities, and points of view. … They need not be underrepresented or numerical minorities, but often are.” We use the term marginalized groups, rather than minorities, underrepresented groups, or other commonly used terms, because people in these groups are not always minorities or underrepresented, and in order to convey that underrepresentation is the result of marginalization rather than a statistical accident. Another common term is minoritized groups. While we use this general term for brevity and readability, it is important to recognize that the many different groups encompassed by this term face different challenges and have different needs that should be addressed individually whenever possible, to learn the terms that people ask to be called, and to recognize that these terms may change over time.

An ideology that argues that one does not or should not see race, and/or that the best way to address racism is to treat everyone the same and not discuss racism. Many scholars argue that this ideology is harmful because ignoring racism makes it difficult to understand and fight racism, and because people who espouse this ideology are not able to understand the full experiences and identities of people of color, whose lived experiences are profoundly impacted by race and racism. Review article

Society of Physics Students. Website

Previously known as Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP). Conferences for undergraduate women and gender minorities to explore education and career opportunities, find mentors, and learn from fellow students who are women, gender diverse individuals and underrepresented identities in physics. Website

National Society of Black Physicists. Website

National Society of Hispanic Physicists. Website

Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science. Website

Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Website

National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals. Website

People of color and others with marginalized ethnicities, women and others who experience misogyny, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others who have traditionally been marginalized in society and in physics. According to the TEAM-UP Report, marginalized groups are “groups of people defined by a common social identity who lack adequate social power or resources to design, build, or perpetuate social structures or institutions that reflect the centrality … of their identities, proclivities, and points of view. … They need not be underrepresented or numerical minorities, but often are.” We use the term marginalized groups, rather than minorities, underrepresented groups, or other commonly used terms, because people in these groups are not always minorities or underrepresented, and in order to convey that underrepresentation is the result of marginalization rather than a statistical accident. Another common term is minoritized groups. While we use this general term for brevity and readability, it is important to recognize that the many different groups encompassed by this term face different challenges and have different needs that should be addressed individually whenever possible, to learn the terms that people ask to be called, and to recognize that these terms may change over time.

People of color and others with marginalized ethnicities, women and others who experience misogyny, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others who have traditionally been marginalized in society and in physics. According to the TEAM-UP Report, marginalized groups are “groups of people defined by a common social identity who lack adequate social power or resources to design, build, or perpetuate social structures or institutions that reflect the centrality … of their identities, proclivities, and points of view. … They need not be underrepresented or numerical minorities, but often are.” We use the term marginalized groups, rather than minorities, underrepresented groups, or other commonly used terms, because people in these groups are not always minorities or underrepresented, and in order to convey that underrepresentation is the result of marginalization rather than a statistical accident. Another common term is minoritized groups. While we use this general term for brevity and readability, it is important to recognize that the many different groups encompassed by this term face different challenges and have different needs that should be addressed individually whenever possible, to learn the terms that people ask to be called, and to recognize that these terms may change over time.