Alvin Primack

Current and Former Grad Students’ Experiences:

Alvin Primack (MA Class of 2016)

What is the most challenging and rewarding part of the program?

The most challenging part of the program at Long Beach was becoming comfortable with the depth and breadth of approaches taught. The program requires graduate students to become truly proficient in both rhetorical and quantitative approaches to communication, and there are opportunities to learn performance and media/technology orientations in some elective courses as well. None of the graduate faculty teach these topics superficially, and therein lies the challenge and the reward. Becoming conversant with several approaches to communication studies provides the groundwork to teach a variety of courses and perform different kinds of research. While it is difficult, the program at Long Beach prepares graduate students well for a variety of PhD programs and teaching positions.

What kind of student should be interested in this program?

Speaking from experience, students who love the field of communication, want to learn how to perform good research, desire a serious intellectual challenge, and are interested in eventually pursuing a PhD, should consider Long Beach. Only scholars with serious interests in developing their research skills and expanding their knowledge of the field should apply.

What did your training here prepare you to do? 

Long Beach prepared me to become a contributing member of the field’s intellectual community. Through course work and counsel on personal projects, Long Beach helped me develop professional presentations for research conferences, prepare manuscripts for publication, and trained me to network effectively with other academics. Long Beach also prepared me to teach a variety of courses for which community colleges need experienced educators.

What advice would you give to a student coming to this program?

Speaking generally, a person gets out of the program what they put into it. The attitude that “B’s get degrees” will not cut it at Long Beach, and anyone coming into the program unwilling to fully dedicate themselves to it will miss out on a great education and numerous opportunities for personal and professional growth. This is not the school to go to if you want to party every weekend.

What were your reasons for coming to Long Beach?

The faculty were the key reason I chose Long Beach. They dedicate themselves to their students and serve as wonderful mentors and educators. The program also offers a diverse set of funded teaching positions, which provides experiences many other M.A. programs may not.