Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

Grad Students' Words of Wisdom

Portrait of graduate student Laura Austin

Laura Austin

Advice for Prospective Grad Students...

My first piece advice to prospective grad students would be to find a lab or an advisor that you mesh well with and are excited about working with. If you are on the same page and feel comfortable from the start, it makes all the difference. After that, trust yourself and your abilities! You are capable of more than you think.

Portrait of graduate student Kiran Bains

Kiran Bains

Advice for Prospective Grad Students...

Grad school opens doors! SO many doors were opened up for me just in the last two years of my degree.
Make sure you choose an adviser who is well-known in the industry because they will help you grow quickly in the field. I saw my adviser as a professional mentor and I'm able to go to her with questions about the industry. She has given me so much insight into the future of our professional field which has helped shape my future career goals. Take advantage of all the mentorship opportunities that you can. Grad school is the BEST place for that! Finding mentors when you're not a student is hard. Being a student is a great excuse to find mentors who will be so strategically useful to you, if you take advantage of your time here!

Brendan Laframboise portrait

Brendan Laframboise

Advice for Prospective Grad Students...

To any undergraduate student that wants to pursue graduate school, my best advice would be to study hard, celebrate your academic victories, and don't get caught up on your failures. Everybody has a story of a course they wish they did better in, or a midterm/exam that was an unexpected curveball, but as long as you learn from your past and keep pushing forward, things will work out for the better.

Portrait of graduate student Joshua Salamun

Joshua Salamun

Advice for Prospective Students...

The faculty profiles page, on the Food Science Department website, is very useful to help find research projects that you may be interested in. Do not hesitate to email or talk directly to the faculty members. They are always welcoming, and can even help you apply for scholarship funding! 

Portrait of graduate student Katie Francis

Katie Francis

Advice for Prospective Grad Students...

Make your research project/thesis something you're passionate about. If you have a great idea, take it to a professor and see if you can make it into a project.

Portrait of graduate student Grace Teng

Grace Teng

Advice for Prospective Grad Students...

Pick an advisor you work well with! Or make sure to meet your advisor before committing to doing grad studies with him/her.

Alex Robinson

Alex Robinson

About the City...

“I love Guelph for the downtown area especially the farmer’s market, the pubs, and all of the great outlets for outdoor activities. There’s a strong culture in Guelph that creates a strong community feel to the city.”

Portrait of Amanda Avison

Amanda Avison

Words of wisdom for a prospective grad student...

 You get out of your education what you put into it.

Portrait of graduate student Danielle Julien-Wright (PhD, Population Medicine) in the Albert A. Thornbrough Building, University of Guelph

Danielle Julien-Wright

Advice for Prospective Grad Students… 

Identify your passion and reason(s) for wanting to become a graduate student. Write them down, type it up, post it large and visibly on your desk or wherever you do your work so that it remains a constant reminder of why you are doing what you are doing and will motivate you through the hard times that every graduate student has and does go through, so that you can always see the light at the end of the tunnel.