Networking and Next Steps

Part 1: Building Your Network

When you registered for this course, you may or may not have had a clear understanding of the advanced graduate degree path you planned to pursue. As you reflect on what you have explored in your coursework and from your colleagues this semester, you may have gained additional insight on this important decision. The choice of a degree path is very personal and is based on your passion and the goals you want to reach. Do not worry if you are still not sure which path is the best one for you. Your student advisor can assist you by answering any questions you might have.

As you have engaged in interactions with your Instructor and colleagues, you may have begun to sense how important it is to build a network of individuals to support you in the degree pathway and specialization you select.

Many of you will attend a residency, and this is an excellent way of meeting people and forming relationships. Having a network of colleagues who are traveling an advanced graduate degree path at the same time you are is an excellent support system and may contribute to the success you have in the program. Networking, however, does not have to occur in a face-to-face setting. You might find that using Skype, smart phones, social media, and other methods are useful ways to stay connected and to support one another.

For Part 1, write a brief description of the degree path and specialization you believe you are planning to pursue. Then, explain at least two strategies you are likely to use to build a network with colleagues and explain why these particular strategies would support professional collaboration.

Part 2: Next Steps

In this module's Discussion, you assumed a professional role associated with your degree path and specialization. In your post, you explained how you might approach the case study problem from the perspective of this role. In Part 1 of the Assignment, you wrote a brief description of the degree path and specialization you intend to pursue. For this part of the Assignment, you will explain how you might approach a topic about which you are passionate based on the degree path and specialization you are pursuing.

When you began this course, you identified topics about which you are passionate. You also began considering how obtaining your advanced graduate degree might help you make a difference in one of these areas. Select one of these topics to address for this Assignment.

Be sure to review the Degree Path Road Map to consider how professionals with different degrees address education-related problems. Reflect on how you might approach a problem related to your selected topic from the perspective of the degree path and specialization you are pursuing.

For Part 2, based on this reflection, identify two goals - one personal and one professional -that will support you as you continue on your chosen degree pathway.

Submit a 3- to 4-page paper in which you accomplish the following:

• Write a brief description of the degree path and specialization you plan to pursue.

• Then, explain at least two strategies you are likely to use to build a network with colleagues and explain why these particular strategies would support professional collaboration.

• Explain how you might apply the perspective of your degree pathway and specialization to a problem related to a topic about which you are passionate.

• Identify two goals-one personal and one professional-that will support you as you continue on your chosen degree pathway. Explain how these personal and professional goals inform how you might address a problem related to your topic.