28 Best Apps For Grad Students To Boost Their Productivity

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The transition from undergraduate to graduate studies can be daunting, especially regarding research. As an undergraduate, you get to write on topics that interest you, and you're assigned to research myriads of topics to prepare you for your upcoming graduate studies. Then you get to graduate school, and for your first semester or so, every class is a research class. You must read, summarize, and write about other academics' research before you can even begin working independently.

This can be overwhelming, especially if you don't have strong research skills. The good news? There are tons of apps to help graduate students with research, including AI-powered tools that can help you write, summarize, and organize your research efficiently to produce high-quality work in no time. Unriddle's AI research assistant is one such tool that can help you achieve your academic goals and improve your writing and research skills.

What Does Every Grad Student Need?

1. Upgrade Your Laptop

One of the best tools for graduate school is a modern laptop. What is considered a modern laptop? We recommend a few specifics for your grad school laptop: an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256 GB SSD hard drive, a Wireless network adapter, and Windows 10 64-bit.

Other considerations for your grad school laptop include screen size, weight, other software, and warranty. Most colleges and universities offer student discount programs where you can save some money. However, expect to pay between $500 and $1,200 for a quality laptop with these recommended specifications.

2. Organize Files in the Cloud

The following essential tools are dedicated cloud storage and document space. Many choices include Google Drive, Box, Office 365 OneDrive, and Dropbox. Cloud storage allows you to save documents for courses, research, or other graduate school files. Bottomline: You will always be prepared for every class in grad school. We suggest creating folders for each course, research, and administration file. This will keep things organized and easy to find. The cloud storage option is also essential because you can access files anywhere.

Your files will always be available if you need to access something quickly on your phone or from a library computer. Another critical aspect of cloud storage is that all your documents are always backed up. So if your computer crashes or you lose a storage device, you never have to worry about losing your essential graduate school files. Nowadays, most cloud storage providers offer free storage, ranging from a few gigabytes to upwards of 15 gigabytes.

The free tier meets your needs unless you have large files. However, these providers offer additional storage for minimal monthly (or yearly) fees. What about a flash drive? There are potential times when you will need to have a flash drive to move data from one place or person to another. It is probably not a wrong purchase to have one, at least 16 GB, although, in most instances, you can simply share or upload via your cloud storage.

3. Useful Productivity Apps

Similar to cloud storage, there are many useful apps for graduate students. Technology is a must and one of the only ways to be successful in grad school. Apps that help with project and task management, scheduling, time management, research, and writing are all necessities in today's colleges. Although thousands of apps exist, we narrowed down those we thought were must-haves.

4. An Everyday Bag

One of the things every grad student needs is a good bag. It doesn’t matter if you prefer a backpack or a carry bag, but a good bag is essential for graduate school. Bags for grad school are necessary because you will often be commuting to campus for courses and other program requirements.

You want a bag that has a laptop storage pocket and other places for books, notepads, and other grad school supplies. A bag with a drink holder is also helpful for those long days on campus or in the lab. One of the best gifts for starting grad school is a bag!

5. A Welcoming Workspace

Finally, a dedicated workspace in your home or apartment is critical. You will need a quiet place to concentrate on difficult classes and your program’s research. Make sure the space is functional and inviting.

It has to be where you want to work for several years. Include a functioning desk, comfortable chair, and creature comforts such as music and natural lighting. Setting up a good work environment will help you excel, especially during the first months of graduate school.

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6 Tips To Excel In Grad School

1. Get Organized: Time Management Techniques for Graduate Students

One of the best ways to succeed in graduate school is to try and finish assignments early. That way, you can receive feedback and have more time to revise and improve your work.” While no single solution works for everyone, there are some tried-and-true tips that many grad students find helpful. For example: Make a designated study area in your home. If you often do computer work from your couch or bed, try sitting in a dedicated study space instead.

It doesn’t have to be fancy; you just have to be comfortable and set up in a way that encourages you to focus. Your grades – and your back – will thank you! Write down important dates. Take time each week to review deadlines for homework, papers, tests, meetings, etc. Give yourself plenty of time to start something and work on it for a few days instead of frantically finishing it the night before it’s due.

Set expectations with your family and friends. Earning a graduate degree is a big time commitment. Talk honestly with your loved ones about upcoming changes in your schedule and/or availability — and what kind of support you’ll need from them. The more people you have in your corner, the more likely you are to find success in graduate school.

2. Connections Matter: Build Relationships With Fellow Graduate Students

“Go make some friends” may be what you were told to do on your first day of elementary school. It was good advice then – and it is good advice now. The support and fellowship offered by other members of your graduate program can make all the difference. “You will make friends that you’ll learn to lean on and who will lean on you in return,” Creighton graduate student Natalie Torres offers. “If you rely on the people around you, you will excel.

Here, we’re all family.” Even in online classes, there are ways to connect with fellow students. You don't have to go at it alone, whether you connect through group messages, direct messages, phone calls, or video chat software. Learning to support and lean on your peers will benefit you in the long run.

3. Master Your Writing Skills

In graduate school, students must be prepared to perform in-depth research and communicate ideas. Students must be able to write academically appropriately using Standard English grammar and often by mastering writing styles such as APA Style. Quality writing will be a key component to your graduate-level success. Being able to communicate is a valuable skill both for school and for a career.

And, like any skill, such as playing a sport or learning a foreign language, communication requires practice and can always be improved. Thus, don’t hesitate to take advantage of the resources available at your school. For instance, at American Public University, students can access free online tutoring services through our library department.

4. Accept Help From Support Services

Along with your peers, use every resource, every connection, and every form of assistance offered by your program. A good graduate school will offer dedicated student support services to help with financial aid literacy, career planning, and everything. Most faculty and staff are happy to assist you, but it’s up to you to ask for what you need. “Remember that grad school is a school for adults, meaning you are expected to advocate for yourself,” says Dr. Faith Kurtyka, academic advisor and English professor at Creighton University.

“You should keep in regular contact with your advisor and instructors about what’s going on with you in your personal life that might affect your graduate work.” Being honest with your faculty and leaning into them for help with issues you may face – personally and professionally – can make all the difference. When Dr. Kurtyka recalls the students she’s witnessed fail graduate programs throughout the years, she feels this was the crucial missing piece.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time the problems could have been avoided if the student had maintained contact with the professor about what was going on that prevented them from completing their work successfully,” she explains.

5. Stay Calm and Take it One Step at a Time

When you think about how to succeed in graduate school, it’s easy to focus solely on the end goal. Depending on the specific program, the entire process could take a year to two or more. That full road ahead can seem daunting, especially when beginning your journey. Make an effort to celebrate the smaller milestones along the way.

Focusing on one course at a time – even one assignment at a time – can help keep things in perspective and help you build the momentum you need to keep progressing toward the finish line. And remember: you don’t need to wait until graduation day to put your degree to work. All the skills and training you acquire can be immediately applied to your current position.

6. Prioritize Your Well-Being

There’s a lot of pressure to “do it all” in today’s society. While being a go-getter is typically a positive trait, it can also lead to burnout. Achieving balance with a hectic schedule can seem impossible, but being intentional about setting aside time for you is key. Self-care can bring you joy, relaxation, or fulfillment, whether getting extra sleep, cycling, or reading a good book.

In the spirit of the Jesuit value of “unity of heart, mind, and soul,” consider all aspects of your life during your pursuit to find success in graduate school. If things start to feel overwhelming, get some fresh air and remember why you chose to go back to school in the first place. After all, we are holistic beings, and as a Jesuit university, we encourage you to care for your whole person.

18 Best Apps For Grad Students To Boost Their Productivity

1. Unriddle AI - Writing and Reading Assistant

Unriddle is a remarkable tool that enhances the reading and writing processes. This app allows you to quickly find information in documents, simplify complex topics, take notes, and write with the power of artificial intelligence. Unriddle generates an AI assistant on top of any document so you can swiftly find, summarize, and understand information without endless skimming.

Unriddle understands the meaning behind your writing and automatically links you to relevant things you’ve read and written about. Highlight text and Unriddle AI will show you the most pertinent sources from your library using AI. Never lose a citation again. Generate text with AI autocomplete to improve and expand your writing, with suggestions based on the context of your work. Step into a collaborative workspace where everyone can contribute and chat with the same documents in real-time and much more!

Read faster & write better — try Unriddle for free today.

2. Penultimate - Note Taking

Penultimate is a convenient and intuitive note-taking app that allows you to scribble on your iPad with a stylus just as you would on a paper notebook. While some people are comfortable typing their school notes on a laptop or mobile device, nothing replaces the versatility and ease of taking notes by hand.

3. Evernote - Syncing Notes

Evernote automatically completes the transfer process of syncing your notes so you can concentrate on taking notes. If you study and complete assignment works on multiple devices, you don’t want to hassle with manually importing all those notes from device to device. This app also includes a handy audio recorder that you can use to record lecture highlights and brainstorm ideas for your following paper.

4. IStudiez Pro - Assignment Tracking

IStudiez Pro syncs with your calendar to keep track of your assignments and help you prioritize them. Have trouble keeping track of all your assignments? Which one should you be working on today? Use it to visualize your academic week and alert you when assignments are near due.

5. Asana - Group Work Tasks

Asana lets you plan, organize, and track your next group project. Depending on the specific academic discipline it covers, the typical grad school program will require a decent amount of group work. From assigning tasks and subtasks to monitoring progress on a dashboard display, this app holds each team member accountable for moving the project forward.

6. Dropbox - File Storage

Dropbox lets you save important documents and access them anytime for as long as there’s an internet connection. It is one of the best apps for graduate students. The app lets you share files, images, videos, documents, and other essential files with your colleagues, instructors, and friends. Dropbox allows you to access your documents while you’re on the go.

7. Google Drive - File Storage

Google Drive is a must-have app for graduate students, similar to Dropbox. It is one of the safest places to save your files for group work, assignments, and collaboration. You can upload videos, documents, images, and other required documents that are important for your graduate education. Through Google Drive, you can access your files anytime, anywhere.

8. iProcrastinate - Productivity Boosting

iProcrastinate helps graduate students narrow down long-term homework assignments into more organized and manageable components, prioritize specific tasks, and organize all to-dos and reminders into one place. This app is one of the best apps for graduates. Graduate students’ task lists can be shared with and modified by their colleagues, friends, and classmates, which makes it an excellent tool for group work and projects.

9. Slack - Communication Hub

Slack is today's top app for team communication and collaboration beyond the group project. With a platform that resembles a social network, this app encourages collaboration by making online interactions quick, easy, and even fun. You’ll never want to email a classmate again after trying Slack.

10. Outliner - Writing Assistant

Outliner is the best app for graduate students to organize their tasks and thoughts into an easily manageable outline format – whether you’re on the go or working at your desk. An outline is one of the most challenging tasks when creating a term paper.

11. PDF Expert - Organizing PDF

PDF Expert is a must-have for every graduate student. It is perfect for organizing and annotating all their PDF documents. PDF Expert can also automatically sync with Dropbox, enabling you to access annotated documents from any device at any time.

12. InstaGrok - Educational Search Engine

InstaGrok is an internet search engine like Google; however, it is an educational search engine that deals with academic information that ranges from general concepts to specific facts and statistics. In addition to print resources, this app can instantly connect you to a broad array of online images and videos.

13. Mendeley - Research and Management

Mendeley is one of the best apps for graduates who are serious about research. It is similar to a personal research assistant, which helps you collect, manage, cite, and share research works. Through Mendeley, graduate students can browse the app’s catalog of more than 30M research works/papers with significant references and make personal libraries per project they’re working on.

14. Encyclopedia Britannica - Largest Encyclopedia

While Wikipedia might be a quick and easy source of basic information on various topics, this publicly edited website isn’t authoritative enough for graduate school. This is where the Encyclopedia Britannica app comes in. A trusted name in reference books for centuries, Britannica currently supports the world’s largest online encyclopedia and offers easy mobile access through its digital app.

15. Pocket - Organization

Pocket helps you organize and keep interesting distractions at bay. You can use Pocket to bookmark articles and websites you can’t read right then and there but want to revisit later. One of the noteworthy features of this best app for graduates is that you can read any type of articles, blogs, webpages, and other online content you’ve saved without an internet connection.

16. Instapaper - Offline Reading

Instapaper app lets you quickly transfer web content (from articles and emails to pictures and videos) to your mobile device for offline storage and access. Although your campus offers widespread wireless coverage, you cannot expect to remain connected to the internet everywhere you go.

17. SyncBackFree - Storage Platform

SyncBackFree not only synchronizes stored files across multiple devices but also allows you to schedule regular backups and rename multiple files to avoid loss and confusion. If your cloud-based storage needs exceed the capabilities of Google Drive, consider installing the SyncBackFree app.

18. Sleep Cycle Alarm - Tracking Sleep Cycle

Sleep Cycle Alarm helps analyze graduate students’ sleep routines/patterns to wake them up even in the lightest sleep phase. This app helps them track how much sleep they need since having a good night’s sleep is essential for good health. Working and busy graduate students generally have days where they don’t get enough sleep.

What is The Best Note-Taking App For Graduate Students?

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle is one of the most popular apps widely used by graduate students for studying and note-taking. It allows users to read through PDF documents, newspapers, textbooks, magazines, and Kindle books on a straightforward and easy-to-use interface.

OneNote

OneNote is hands down the most used note-taking app of all time. It's free on the iPad and usually free for most students with Microsoft Office. OneNote offers extensive features, making it a versatile tool for various note-taking needs. While it may be a bit clunkier than some newer apps, its consistency and variety of features make it a reliable choice for many users.

iCloud Notes

Apple's in-house notes app is a close second for note-taking. The app offers the ability to create folders, different text sizes/styles, and different colors. Though more limited in what it can offer, it excels in jotting down to-do lists and shorter notes. It's an app frequently visited for work-related thoughts and personal notes on recipes, books to read, or workouts to try. Many lists often reside in this app.

Notability

Notability is the best, most intuitive tool for PDF annotating. All annotation tools are available at the top, allowing users to flag favorite pages and leave post-it notes. File organization in Notability is similar to a filing cabinet, with each document stored separately in different folders. However, storing files individually can sometimes lead to an unruly interface and slowdowns in syncing when devices run out of space.

Goodnotes

Goodnotes ranks fifth on this list but is by no means the least. It is an excellent digital planning platform that visualizes documents as "notebooks" with customizable covers. This format can help users transition from paper to digital planning, providing a familiar experience of opening a notebook to visit the pages of a planner.

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5 Best Planner Apps for Grad School

1. Todoist: The Task Management Tool That Helps You Visualize Your Workload

There’s something so satisfying about crossing things off a list. The online version would be Todoist, a to-do list planning app. Students can organize their calendar events, projects, and homework in multiple visualizations, like calendar view and Kanban boards. We also love how you can prioritize tasks with highlights. Todoist isn’t just a place to organize lists.

You can track time for study sessions and view productivity insights to improve your study flows. The app has an impressive 8.9/10 rating on TrustRadius with minimal bad reviews. The only downside we could think of is that the free version might not be able to manage everything on a student’s plate.

2. myHomework Student Planner App: The Simple Yet Effective Student Planner

Don’t be fooled by the basic website. Established in 2009, myHomework Student Planner App has a strong reputation among students and teachers. The app has a 4.5/5-star rating on Apple, with almost 4,000 reviews. The interface is simple and intuitive, with a calendar view for homework and tests that you can filter by teacher or theme.

Each task comes with an automatic reminder should you need it, so there’s no need to create separate ones for each task. Some students lament the app’s lack of integration features with Google Calendar and other apps, though most reviews state the app gets the job done. Another downside is the free version’s ads, which can get annoying.

3. Microsoft To-Do: A Fresh Take on a Popular List App

A reworking of the long-appreciated Wunderlist, Microsoft To-Do has continued to evolve its features to make it stand out among student planner apps. One feature that stands out in To-Do is that things you didn't check off from previous days stay in the “Yesterday” box. That way, you can choose which items to transfer to "My Day" and plan a better time for those that won't fit today's schedule.

To-Do allows you to sort tasks into basic lists that you set up, such as "Work," "Home," or "Lab." You can then add subtasks to the items on each list. For example, if your list includes "Presentation for econ class," create subtasks for "Brainstorm subjects," "Find sources," or other project milestones.

To-Do also consists of some features that will please visually oriented people. Dark mode is helpful if you review your day before sleep or when you first wake up. You can also change each list's background with many modern and inspiring designs.

4. Power Planner: An Established Student Planner App

Power Planner is a well-established student planner app with many of the same features as myHomework and iStudiez, like entering your schedule, keeping track of your GPA, and viewing assignments and exams. Though the app is full of useful features, the developer's responsiveness is one element that sets it apart from similar apps.

Power Planner is updated regularly, offering continual improvements to its features. The GPA calculator is more robust in this app, with its "What if?" feature, which calculates what scores you need on assignments to get an A in a class. It also includes notifications for due dates coming up. The paid version allows you to enter more grades and stores your GPA info from one semester to the next.

5. ClickUp: The All-in-One Productivity Tool for Students

ClickUp is the only productivity platform built to tackle everything from complex projects to your daily assignments on one screen. With hundreds of customizable features to organize documents, take notes, schedule due dates, and more, ClickUp is a great daily planner for students at every level. ClickUp's flexible organizational hierarchy breaks course loads into manageable tasks, subtasks, and checklists.

There are over 15 ways to visualize your schedule in ClickUp, including a dynamic calendar, list, and everything view for a high-level look at all projects and deadlines. ClickUp's home feature syncs with your favorite calendar app to conveniently present your classes, reminders, and messages alongside your upcoming tasks.

Read Faster & Write Better With Unriddle

Unriddle AI allows you to read faster and write better. Quickly find info in documents, simplify complex topics, take notes, and write with the power of AI. Unriddle is trusted by thousands of researchers and students, from the classroom to the boardroom. Unriddle generates an AI assistant on top of any document so you can quickly find, summarize, and understand info.

Unriddle AI understands the meaning behind your writing and automatically links you to relevant things you’ve read and written about. Highlight text and Unriddle will show you the most relevant sources from your library using AI. Never lose a citation again. Generate text with AI autocomplete to improve and expand your writing, with suggestions based on the context of your work. Step into a collaborative workspace where everyone can contribute and chat with the same documents in real-time and much more!

Read faster & write better — try Unriddle for free today.

Read Faster & Write Better With Unriddle for Free Today

Unriddle AI understands the meaning behind your writing and automatically links you to relevant things you’ve read and written about. Highlight text and Unriddle AI will show you the most relevant sources from your library using AI. Never lose a citation again. Generate text with AI autocomplete to improve and expand your writing, with suggestions based on the context of your work. Step into a collaborative workspace where everyone can contribute and chat with the same documents in real-time and much more!

Read faster & write better — try Unriddle for free today.