The thesis: for most students it is the central experience of graduate school. Some master's programs don't require a thesis, but most have the option. If your goal is getting a Ph.D., then you will almost certainly spend several years working on a dissertation. Since this is such an important part of the graduate school experience, here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a program to meet your needs:

• Your team: While the thesis or dissertation will have your name on it, the process requires a lot of teamwork. The good thing about graduate school is that you can more or less choose the members of your team. This is why considering the faculty and their background is one of the most important things you can do before deciding on a program.

• Your judges: Writing a thesis involves selecting a thesis committee. Depending on the program, the committee is a group of anywhere between three and five professors that serve as readers and evaluators of your work. Choosing a program with at least a few like-minded professors can be a big help to you.

• Your mentor: Selecting your thesis advisor is arguably the most important decision you will make as a graduate student, so careful research on your part can save you major headaches. If you know what you want to study, you are ahead of the game and are likely to be familiar with some of the major names in the field. If the research being conducted by one of the professors at a particular school is important to you, and you feel that working closely with that person can benefit your own research endeavors, then you should probably apply to that school. This is your chance to work with the "celebrities" of your chosen field.

• Your program: Remember that different programs have different reputations. English literature departments, for example, can vary greatly from school to school. If you want to research late 20th century American travel writers, you probably shouldn't apply to the program that gained its reputation from its research in medieval studies.

Before making your decision, try to get an interview with the person whose research you are interested in. This can help you in many ways. First, it might give you an edge in the admissions process. If the person you interview with finds that you have much to learn from each other and that your relationship can be mutually beneficial, you can bet that they will lobby for your admission into the program.

Another reason to meet with this person beforehand is to decide whether or not you can work closely with this person. You may be meeting on a weekly or even daily basis in some instances, and you want be sure that those moments will not be marred by personal differences.

Remember to look into the rest of the faculty of the department or the university to see if you can benefit from any other sources. You might want to think about a back-up thesis advisor, because five to seven years is a long time and things can change!