The Secret Syllabus

The Secret Syllabus equips students with the tools they need to succeed, revealing the unwritten rules and cultural norms and expectations not included in the official curriculum. Left to figure out on their own how the academic world works, students frequently stumble, underperform, and miss opportunities. Without mastery of the secret syllabus, too many miss out on the full, rich experience available to them in college. Jay Phelan and Terry Burnham share the essential lessons they have learned from struggling, unfocused students as well as award-winning college instructors and researchers. The Secret Syllabus draws on Phelan and Burnham’s experiences with thousands of undergraduate and graduate students. Weaving engaging storytelling with practical, actionable advice, they illustrate both productive and counterproductive approaches to achieving academic excellence, and highlight the importance of setting and attaining goals, nurturing strong relationships, developing resiliency, and more. This fresh, funny, and boldly innovative book enables students to develop the consistently winning and effective behaviors that will equip them to thrive on campus and beyond.

Jay Phelan received his PhD in biology from Harvard University and is on the life sciences faculty at UCLA. He is the author of What Is Life? A Guide to Biology and (with Terry Burnham) the international bestseller Mean Genes. Terry Burnham received his PhD in business economics from Harvard and is a finance professor at Chapman University. His books include Mean Markets and Lizard Brains. Twitter @TerenceBurnham.