Academic Experience at Michigan State University

Chunyu Guo

When I first arrived here, the classes were the first culture shock for me, which was very different from the class I previously had before in China. We were assigned to do great amount of reading to buttress our background knowledge.  Besides, different from classes in China, different kinds of group study and group discussion during class were very common here.  The class atmosphere was very free. Students were not restricted to break in to ask questions or share opinions. In order to get adjusted to the class as soon as possible and follow up the professors, I pushed myself to raise at least two questions while reading and tried to speak at least one time during class. Due to inadaptation to English study environment, I spent much more time reading than other American students and practicing presentation in the front of class.  Besides, as a student who preferred to listening lectures quietly, I found it a big challenge to talk freely during class. I can still remember the first time I talked about one of my viewpoints in a policy class, my hands didn’t stop trembling until the end of the class. It took me one whole semester to get used to the class here, which has not only improved me with English expression and communication skills, but also trained me with critical and independent thinking abilities.

Except for regular class, the systematic course design and academic training have largely improved my logical thinking ability. First, the MPP program put lots of emphasis on quantitative analysis. We are assigned with a series of statistical analysis classes, learning to use the quantitative analysis tools to conduct policy analysis. Second, this program focus on personal interest development and cross-subjects learning. There are specific advisors in my department, who will meet with each student individually to talk about their research interest and career goal, so as to provide specific suggestions. Third, this program not only provided us with academic training but also practical training by putting us into real working environment to apply the knowledge into practice. Each student are required to do internship during these two years. I finished my internship in Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. This is a very valuable experience, which make me get a much broader and deeper idea about American government internal organization function and system but also has trained me with much more professional working skills.

One month ago, I received the offer letter from the headquarter of the United Nations, where I am about to do internship for two months in New York. In the future, I am about to continue my research career path. Looking back to the past two years, I want to express my great appreciation to all my friends, professors and families. Thanks a lot for your support, kindness and instructions. Without any one of you, I cannot reach where I am right now.

         2015年8月，我通过密西根州立大学和四川大学“3+1+x”项目来到美国开始攻读公共政策硕士学位。最初来到这里上课带给我的第一个冲击便是巨大的学习压力和不同于以往的课堂形式。作为一门社会科学学科，我们每天都会需要进行大量的阅读来充盈我们的知识储备。 另外，与国内课堂不同的是，这里的教授会安排各种形式的小组讨论和小组学习，即使是在课上，课堂氛围也非常自由，学生可以随时提问和发表观点。为了能让自己融入课堂，更好地跟上学习节奏，在完成平时课堂任务的同时，我要逼迫自己在读过的文章中提出至少两个问题，然后在课堂上至少找到一个机会发言。为了能够提出问题，加之刚到这里时对英语语言学习环境的不适应，每天都需要花费大量的时间阅读。而作为一个在国内大学课堂上从来都是托着腮听讲习惯了学生，上课发言对于我是一个很大挑战。我还记得第一次课堂发言结束以后，我的手一直抖到了下课。这种学习方式我用了整整一个学期的时间才慢慢适应，而这带给我的不仅仅是英语水平和表达能力提高，更重要的是一种批判性思维模式和自主独立思考的习惯。

         除了日常阅读和课堂讨论，科学的课程内容设计和学术训练也让我的逻辑思维和分析能力不断加强。首先，这里的学术研究非常重视定量分析，学院为我们安排了一系列统计类课程，学习使用通过统计工具进行可量化的政策分析。第二，重视跨学科和个人兴趣发展，我们专业有专门帮助学生选课和职业规划的咨询老师， 他们会和我们每一个人进行定期与不定期的单独面谈，了解我们每个人的政策研究兴趣点，然后根据我们的兴趣给我们推荐不同类型的课程组合。第三，学术与实践训练相结合。除了课程学习以外，我们还需要进行课外实习实践，我实习的单位是密西根州州政府环境质量部门，这段宝贵的实习经历让我对美国的政府体系和运作方式有了更加深一层的了解，也让我对学过的知识有了另一个层面的理解。

         一个月前，我接到了联合国实习的邀请信，将去纽约联合国总部进行为期两个月的实习，随后我准备将学术科研的路继续下去，未来做一名大学教授。回顾这两年的时光，我想感谢所有在这里帮助过我的人。来到一个陌生的环境里生活和学习两年免不了遇到许多困难，感谢所有教授对我的悉心指导，感谢同学们给我的鼓励和帮助，感谢家人一直以来给我的支持。