(UMD/UMaryland-College Park) The chemical engineering department requires that each phD candidate

How this student rated the school

Research Quality	D+	Research Availability	A
Research Funding	D	Graduate Politics	A-
Errand Runners	C	Degree Completion	B
Alternative pay [ta/gsi]	D	Sufficient Pay	C
Competitiveness	B	Education Quality	C
Faculty Accessibility	A	Useful Research	F
Extracurriculars	-	Success-Understanding	B+
Surrounding City	B+	Social Life/Environment	-
"Individual" treatment	B-	Friendliness	A-
Safety	C-	Campus Beauty	A-
Campus Maintenance	B+	University Resource/spending	B

Describes the student body as: Describes the faculty as: Friendly, Helpful

Male

Lowest Rating Useful Research	F

Highest Rating Research Availability	A

He cares more about Useful Research than the average student.

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Chemical Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
The chemical engineering department requires that each phD candidate work a minimum of two and maximum of four (I believe this number fluctuates with the size of the undergraduate class) semesters as a teaching assistant. Teaching assistants do not receive any compensation or any health benefits from the department. I do not currently, nor have I ever, received any funding from this department, though I have paid the University thousands of dollars for 'research credits' (paying for the "opportunity" to work for them for free I suppose).

While most of the faculty members are very nice and very helpful on an individual level, I often think the department as whole sees me as a source of free labor. I understand all programs require at least some free labor from their students, but I personally haven't seen any other programs require up to four semesters of unpaid TAing in service of the department.

Responses

The University of Maryland - College Park is an excellent school and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a top-notch education. The professors are all very knowledgeable and passionate about their subject matter, and the campus is beautiful. The only downside is that it is located in a fairly urban area, diamonds rings for cheap so there is not much in the way of nature or outdoor activities nearby.

Ask a Question or add a response!