Q&A Grad School Experience Year II Part II

This article is part of a series of articles where I repurpose some of the questions I have answered on Quora about being a Ph.D. student and what graduate study in mathematics is like. The previous installment is located here. Note that these responses are largely reflections of my personal experience and are only partially based on fact.

Why do many graduate students struggle with time management when they first begin their studies?

In many cases graduate students are supported financially through the program (tuition + living stipend) provided they perform teaching duties for the department: lecturing, office hours, grading, proctoring, and sometimes other things as well. This is often a new responsibility as many graduate students do not have teaching experience before enrolling. It is also a significant time commitment that graduate students are expected to manage while being a full-time student and conducting research. And what about that student organization you want to be a part of? It really starts to feel like a lot.

Also, compared to undergraduate courses, graduate courses have a tendency to demand a greater depth of understanding material, which might require a greater amount of time reviewing class notes, working homework problems, and study for exams. Individual assignments may take far longer than one would otherwise expect, even with group collaboration and attendance at office hours.