Gregory Murry
Ph.D. Candidate in Early Modern History
The history graduate program at Penn State has found a way to combine a most elusive pair of attributes: excellence and collegiality. The students around me are sharp, competitive, and successful, and I find them continually raising the level of my scholarship. But there is no undermining or viciousness. The culture is collaborative, supportive, and friendly. It is a culture that starts with our own faculty, whose work is indisputably world-class and who bring a charismatic approach to the classroom.
The faculty wants us to succeed, and to this end, they do a great job of keeping our long-term interests in mind. The training for teaching and grant writing is excellent, and we are encouraged to think about how to sell ourselves to potential hirers. As a result, our students consistently compete well on the grant and job market. My advisor has put me into networking contact with the most illustrious scholars in my field of Early Modern Italy, while the great mentoring and training I have received as a T.A. has made one of grad school's most potentially terrifying experiences one of the most rewarding.
Finally, I have to say a word about the funding, which has been one of the most surprisingly pleasant aspects of my experience at Penn State. Our department is committed to providing a decent living stipend, very good health care (even subsidized family benefits), and opportunities for other grants. I have been able to reach the writing stage of my dissertation largely because the department has been so supportive in all areas of graduate life: intellectual, social, and financial.