Graduate Equivalent

"But, I've done a PhD amount of research!"

"Laurel council demands a graduate degree's worth of work for a Laurel elevation"

"This Kingdom Arts and Sciences entry was as much work as a Masters/PhD!"

"This project will take as much time as a graduate degree!"

Let me tell you, exactly, how sick I am of hearing this argument. In case you didn't figure it out, I have a Masters degree in a hard science, and am currently working on my PhD.

Now, there may very well be some disciplines where one can get a graduate degree for a hobby amount of work, but mine is not one of them. Having people compare the amount of work that went into my Kingdom A&S entry (which is 40 pages long) or my Laurel (an accomplishment that I am very proud of) or anything in the SCA with my graduate degrees makes me grind my teeth, splutter, and start shouting.

Yes, it is true that learning a subject in the SCA involves many happy hours of reading, recreation, and synthesis. But until you have spent years of your life, full time, every weekend, every night, on that one subject, please don't compare. Please.

Let's just start with my Masters degree. I took something along the lines of 40 credits of 500 level classes. Each class (approximately 4 credits per class) involved learning totally new skills, becoming highly proficient at them, deeply researching the subject, taking expert level tests, applying the knowledge to my own and my classmates research, performing independent research (designing projects, carrying out tests, analyzing data, writing the entire protocol, results, and discussing my findings in the context of current knowledge, presenting to my classmates for critique, and getting graded in a way that effects my entire future) ON.EACH.SUBJECT.

So, think 10 totally different Kingdom Arts and Sciences entries in two years. And that is just the coursework.

I have taught my work subjects to high school students, the public, undergraduates, and graduates. I have helped design projects for others. I write grant proposals, permit applications, reports, posters, talks, lectures, chapters, scientific papers, games, letters of recommendation, plans, notes, summaries, and occasionally, news articles. I read scientific papers and books on modeling schemes, new plans for statistics, recent research in my field, methods, analysis, related topics, related organisms, teaching methods, outreach concepts, global and local issues, mapping technology, and calibration. My current to-read folder has 53 papers, dissertations, and chapters in it. 

So. If you are ready for just a little bit of the graduate experience, write me a 3 page proposal on why your research is essential (with up to four additional pages of citations). This will fund your next 3 years of life, or you will starve. You have 4 weeks. While doing that, invent 3 totally unique ways to make your research relevant and accessible to the general public. In addition, teach 40 undergraduates everything you know, every week, for 3 hours. Design new ways of teaching them the material, make a powerpoint presentation, guide them through the exercises, write and grade tests. Also, mentor 5 upper division undergraduates in research, study design, and everything else you know about science. Your permit (which includes a complete study plan) was due a month ago. You will need to fund your permit, outreach, and any teaching materials out of your teaching stipend (which just barely covers your rent).

In order to graduate, please read everything ever written about your subject, design a project that no one has ever thought of (but that does not require any money or time, since you have neither), test it, and do that entire project, while doing all the other things I listed above. Oh, and take 500 level classes (so, do all the reading, research, etc, for each of those, most of which does not overlap with any of the other things you are doing).

Did I mention the oral examination covering all possible subjects in science, any question that your 5 person committee of professors can think of, for 3 hours? That's graded pass/fail, so good luck. Some programs also have cumulative exams, you'll have 24 hours to complete those.

In addition, you will need to present your work at professional meetings (which you must pay hundreds of dollars to attend) where the experts in your field will judge your work. 15 minutes to convince the experts in your field that your results are correct! Your career opportunities will be judged on how many scientific papers you publish, also graded on how impressive of journals you can get them in to. To do this, you need to have results from the experiments you designed and performed (outside of your classes) and write them up to a professional level, and go through plenty of bureaucracy, plus drafts, plus edits. You are also expected to do service to the scientific community, in the form of organizing meetings, reviewing papers for publication, maintaining websites, organizing speaking tours (and assisting visiting speakers), attending various meetings, talks, seminars, committees, and workshops.

So, for fun, when I am taking a break, I read archaeological reports, and sew things that I think those reports suggest. If you would like to tell me that my occasional sewing adventures are the same amount of work as my incredibly stressful graduate career, I would like to smack you.

I have seen many incredibly impressive Kingdom Arts and Sciences entries, but I have yet to read the documentation for one that I feel is the equivalent of a graduate degree.  As a Laurel, I can tell you that in the past 10 years, the Laurel council of the Kingdom where I reside has never, not ONCE, not EVER, expected a graduate amount of work from a candidate.  Having taught undergraduates and read many of my fellow graduate students' papers, I would say that the average research in the SCA is upper division college, but that the acceptable range for both Laureling and winning competitions includes a decent High School level of writing.  NO ONE expects you to do a graduate amount of work in the SCA.  No, really.