Graduate Studies

1
Graduate Studies

• International Student Orientation

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Graduate Studies

• Scott Webster
• Director, Graduate Studies Admissions
• 121 Foster Administration Building
• 508/ 999-8026, phone
• swebster_at_umassd.edu

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Goals for this Session

• Provide context for graduate study
• Describe academic programs of university
  so you will understand all that we do
• Explain academic organization of university who
  does what whom to see
• Review graduate policies and procedures
  with emphasis on academic requirements
• Offer Advice for Success

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Graduate Study Context

• Highest Level of Educational Attainment
• of U.S. Population, 2005
• Some high school 8.5
• High school graduate 32.2
• Some college 16.8
• Associate's degree 8.6
• Bachelor's degree 18.1
• Master's degree 6.8
• Doctoral degree 1.2
• Professional degree 1.5

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Graduate Study Context

• ? UNESCO estimates that 781 million adults in
  the
• world are illiterate.
• ? About 64 of those adults are women.

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Graduate Study Context

• According to the U.S. Commerce Department, over
  an
• adult's working life
• -- high school graduates can expect, on average,
  to
• earn 1.2 million
• -- those with a bachelor's degree, 2.1 million
  
• -- those with a master's degree, 2.5 million
• -- those with doctoral degrees 3.4 million
• -- those with professional degrees 4.4 million.

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Graduate Study Context

• ? The World Bank defines extreme poverty as
  living on less than US1 per day, and moderate
  poverty as less than 2 a day.
• ? It has been estimated that 1.1 billion people
  have consumption levels below 1 a day and 2.7
  billion live on less than 2 a day.

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Graduate Study Context

• ? Today, there are more than 58,000 graduate
  programs.
• ? As the host of 22 percent of the worlds
  international students, the United States is by
  far the preferred destination.

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Graduate Study Context

• ? Annually, more than 500,000 students came from
  around the world to study at schools of higher
  education in the United States.
• ? India, China, and Korea are the top three
  countries of origin for international students
  enrolled in U.S. graduate schools. Together,
  they account for approximately half of the total.
• ? Students from the Middle East account for 5
  percent of total enrollment.

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Graduate Study Context

• ? Among international students, business and
• management is the most popular field of study.
• ? Engineering is the second most popular.

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Graduate Study Context

• ? UMass Dartmouths total student population is
  approximately 9,000.
• ? Graduate students number approximately 1,100.
• ? 24 Masters programs
• ? 6 Doctoral programs

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Academic Programs of University

• Refer to handout.
• List of Colleges and Departments
• Shows all academic programs
• Find your academic program
• Look at other UMass Dartmouth programs

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Academic Organization of University

• Refer to handouts.
• Different roles and functions at each level
• Departments and Graduate Program Directors
• Whom to see for help start with Graduate Program
  Director or Faculty Advisor

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Graduate Policies and Procedures

• Graduate Catalogue
• Refer to this book often.
• Review its contents and read key sections.

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Description of Your Program

• Second Half of Graduate Catalogue
• Find your own program
• Study what it says (check with department for
  updates)
• Faculty, qualifications and research interests
• Overview of program
• Specific requirements and choices
• List of actual courses
• Ask questions see Advisor or Graduate Program
  Director

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Description of Your Program

• Register for Courses
• ? Graduate courses are numbered 500 and higher
• ? www.umassd.edu/courselistings/courselisting.cfm
  
• ? www.umassd.edu/coin
• ? University Enrollment Center, 508/999-8857

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Description of Opportunities

• Front Section of Graduate Catalogue
• Graduate Opportunities starts page 10
• Library Computing Research
• International Students starts page 38
• Services and Support starts page 41
• Academic assistance, other assistance
• Activities, athletics, arts and lectures . . .

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Graduate Academic Regulations

• For example...
• Registrationfull-time status, leave of absence,
  course credits, add/drop, etc. pages 19-20
• Grading System pages 20-22
• Absence for Religious Holidays page 21
• Degree Requirements pages 26-29

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Advice for Success

• Dont Do Anything to Risk your Visa Status
• Full-time load towards degree 9 credits minimum
• Special waiversthese must be authorized
• Continuous enrollment /academic progress
• If assistantship, do not ignore tuition bill
• Employment/practical training
• Current local address
• Always ask questionsof the right people!
• See Christina Bruen and/or Scott Webster for help

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Advice for Success

• Get to know your Advisor, Graduate Program
• Director, and and other faculty. These persons
• Plan your research/creative work as well as
  coursework
• Arrange your thesis or project
• Monitor your performance and progress
• Your Advisor expects you to ask questions and be
• engaged. Be an active partner in your education.

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Advice for Success

• Be active participant in class and out of class
• Ask questions, in and out of class.
• Take advantage of office hours.
• U.S. faculty expect you to talk in class, to ask
  questions, to interact with them.
• If you do not, they may think you are not
  interested in the class or in learning!
• Research/creative participation is part of your
  learning.

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Advice for Success

• Understand U. S. Classroom Conventions
• Many professors act informal (dress, speech).
• They allow you to be relaxed with them,
  personally.
• They expect you to have high academic standards.
  
• Homework and exams are a part of your learning.
• Learning out of class being responsible to
  learn.
• The professor makes the rules for his or her
  class.

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Advice for Success

• Learn Academic Conventions and Expectations for
  your academic field and in U.S.
• Using research, textbooks, library references
• Academic honesty and plagiarism--see p. 23
• Quoting and paraphrasing documentation of
  sources
• Group-work vs. individual work
• Always ask questions about Academic Expectations!

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Advice for Success

• Have fun in addition to working hard at
  academics.
• Athletics, Sports (what is football in the
  U.S.?)
• Arts, lectures, and other campus events
• Explore off campus
• U.S. presidential election this fall
• Travel, go to the mountains or beach, be a
  tourist
• Go shopping try the mall (but dont
  spend too much!)
• Go to the movies, theater try night
  life see Boston
• Meet other students introduce yourself
• Enjoy being here! (A time of adventure)

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Advice for Success

• You just might be a graduate student if...
• ...you can analyze the significance of
  appliances you cannot operate....your office is
  better decorated than your apartment....you are
  startled to meet people who neither need nor want
  to read....you have ever brought a scholarly
  article to a bar....you rate coffee shops by the
  availability of outlets for your laptop....you
  have ever discussed academic matters at a
  sporting event....you have ever spent more than
  50 on photocopying while researching a single
  paper....there is a microfilm reader in the
  library that you consider "yours."...you
  actually have a preference between microfilm and
  microfiche....you can tell the time of day by
  looking at the traffic flow at the
  library....you regard ibuprofen as a
  vitamin....you find the bibliographies of books
  more interesting than the actual text....you
  have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of
  relaxation....you find yourself explaining to
  children that you are in 17th grade (or
  higher!)....you often wonder how long you can
  live on pasta without getting scurvy....you look
  forward to taking some time off to do laundry.
• ...you have more photocopy cards than credit
  cards.

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Advice for Success

• AND . . .
• Always accept free food!