Students finding what they love

With convocation just a few short months away, many fourth-year students are looking forward to completing their undergraduate degrees and moving on to their next step - perhaps a first job or graduate school. For those who decide to pursue graduate studies, choosing a program can be tough.

Enter Schulich Medicine & Dentistry's annual Graduate Studies Preview Day. Held on January 16, the event drew students from across campus and a variety of backgrounds.

Fourth-year student Kathy Nguyen, a double physiology and psychology major, came out to explore her options after graduation. "You have a goal in mind when you start in first year, but as you get older, you realize there are a lot of options after graduation. It is important to check out all opportunities."

Nguyen's friend Shradha Madur, a double major in medical sciences and medical cell biology, hopes to go to medical school following graduation. She came to learn more about the Neuroscience and Anatomy and Cell Biology Clinical Anatomy graduate programs to keep her options open.

While many who came through the doors were in fourth-year, some students, including Mauricio Velado Diaz came to get an early start.

In his first year of the Medical Sciences First Entry program, Velado Diaz wanted to learn more about the Physiology and Pharmacology, and Anatomy and Cell Biology Clinical Anatomy programs. "I know I'm looking a little early, but I am hoping to find out more about what I want to do, and find out what I should be taking now to get ahead."

Making a final decision on what to do after graduation may not be easy, but Graduate Studies Preview Day can at least take some of the uncertainty out of the process.

Hosted by the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs office at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Graduate Studies Preview Day brought together all 17 programs at the School offering MSc and PhD degrees, as well as representatives from Western's School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. Undergraduate students from across all of Western's faculties were invited to learn more about the School's programs.