There are key structural differences between undergraduate and graduate programs. Graduate school is not simply a continuation of college, only with more advanced courses.
Graduate programs do require some coursework.
A central part of most graduate degrees in the sciences, however, is an extended original research project that each graduate student must plan and execute. This research is performed under the guidance of the student's graduate advisor. Finding an appropriate graduate advisor is critical to one's success as a graduate student. The match between student and advisor should be a deciding factor in choosing a graduate program, not simply the reputation of the graduate school as a whole. Some guidelines on finding and contacting prospective graduate advisors are presented in the next section of this hand-out.