Occasionally the Graduate School Dean or staff members are asked for a general overview of graduate education and the role of the Graduate School at MSU. This presentation covers both of these topics.

1. Graduate
Educa+on/Graduate
School
at
MSU
Karen
Klomparens,
Dean
April
16,
2015

2. Grad
Ed
at
MSU
• Opened
the
Grad
School
in
current
configura+on
(as
a
“real”
GS)
in
1994
under
Provost
Simon
upon
rec’d
from
a
faculty-­‐grad
student
commiPee.
• All
AAU
universi+es
have
a
graduate
school
• Graduate
educa+on,
especially
doctoral
educa+on,
is
linked
to
research

3. ChiPenden
Hall

4. Graduate
School
Mission
statement
Bolder
by
Design:
Student
experience,
int’l
reach,
enhance
research,
stewardship,
high
performance
The
Graduate
School
is
an
advocate
for
quality
graduate
educa+on
at
MSU
in
all
its
diverse
dimensions.
In
partnership
with
the
colleges:
– Quality
graduate
and
grad-­‐professional
programs
– Student
success—+me
to
degree,
comple+on
rates,
placement
– Diversity
and
inclusion

5. Graduate
Educa+on
• Advanced
educa+on/training
in
a
subject
area
• Master’s:
coursework-­‐based
(most)
or
research-­‐
based
(a
“thesis”—50-­‐150pp)
• Doctoral:
– Ph.D.
focus
is
research
(a
“disserta+on”—
100-­‐300pp
original
contribu+on
to
knowledge)
– Other
doctoral
degrees
are
“advanced
prac+ce”

6. Graduate
Educa+on
• Graduate-­‐professional
degrees
are
medical
(MD,
DO,
DVM)
or
Law
(JD)
– different
tui+on
structure
– different
semester
length
– Medicine:
coursework
over
2
years,
then
prac+cal
experience
(“clerkships”)
– Law:
coursework
and
prac+cal
experience
over
3
years

7. The
numbers
• Graduate
and
graduate
professional
students
~20%
of
MSU’s
total
student
popula+on
• Students
from
all
50
states
and
130
countries
• 4340
Master’s
level;
3305
doctoral
level;
3500
grad-­‐professional
level
(+
Law:
64M,
815
JD)
• 20
different
Master’s
degrees;
4
different
types
of
doctoral
degrees;
4
different
grad-­‐
prof
degrees

8. The
numbers
• Numbers
of
Ph.D.
students—as
linked
to
research—is
a
key
component
of
AAU
criteria
for
membership
• MSU
has
fewer
Ph.D.
students
enrolled
and
degrees
granted/year
compared
to
most
of
the
CIC
and
AAU
• Successful
universi+es
support
most,
if
not
all,
Ph.D.
students
with
assistantships
or
fellowships.
MSU
does
this.

9. The
numbers—financial
support
• 3175
grad
assistantship
appointments—for
3000
individual
graduate
students
(Spr
2015)
– 1266
teaching
assignments
– 1723
research
assignments
(20%
general
fund,
80%
faculty
external
grants)
– 186
teaching
“excluded”
assignments
(not
in
GEU,
tutors,
graders,
etc)
Some
SU
instructors/online
teaching

10. The
numbers—financial
support
• Graduate
fellowships:
40
5-­‐year
full
packages
fellowships
for
Ph.D.
students
(1
fully
endowed)
MSU
competes
with
AAUs
to
recruit
the
best
Ph.D.
students.
MSU
has
<50%
of
what
other
public
AAUs,
<20%
of
private
AAUs.
• Fellowships
to
support
presenta+on
of
research:
2014:
144
to
int’l
venues
($250K)
383
awards
($350K)
for
domes+c
venues
• 200
disserta+on
comple+on
grants
annually

11. The
numbers—financial
support
• Debt
(~35%
of
grad
students
are
int’l
&
not
eligible
for
federal
financial
aid)
Master’s:
$35,843
(50%
domes+c
borrow)
Doctoral:
$39,062
(25%
domes+c
borrow)

12. Importance
of
Grad
Ed
• Many
entry
level
posi+ons
now
require
a
Master’s
degree
vs.
30
years
ago
(educa+on,
social
work,
nursing)
[licensed
professions]
• Many
workforce
sectors
encourage
employees
to
pursue
Master’s
degrees
or
grad
cer+ficates
to
“keep
up”
with
knowledge
– MSU
offers
88
grad
certs
and
M
degrees
online
or
“hybrid”
to
fulfill
workforce
needs

13. Importance
of
Grad
Ed
• Many
professions
require
grad-­‐professional
degrees:
e.g.,
medicine,
vet
medicine,
law
• Research
capabili+es
(Ph.D.
degrees)
help
solve
socie+es’
problems
(e.g.,
water,
environ,
energy,
health),
contribute
to
innova+on
• Faculty
posi+ons
across
the
U.S.
and
world
require
a
Ph.D.
degree.
– >50%
of
MSU
Ph.D.
grads
go
to
higher
educa+on
– 50%
to
private
sector,
government,
non-­‐profits

14. Importance
of
Grad
Ed
• Grad
TAs
help
undergrads
learn
and
succeed
– Training/orienta+ons
by
Grad
School
partnered
with
Colleges
– Min
English
competency
&
courses
for
improvement
– Approx.
1200
TAs
across
freshman/soph
courses
– Dedicated
TAs
and
faculty
–preparing
grad
students
for
faculty
posi+ons
– Cer+fica+on
in
College
Teaching
Program

15. “Visibility”
of
grad
ed
• AAU
membership
criteria
include
#
Ph.D.
(research)
degrees
awarded
• “World”
rankings
increasingly
focus
on
research—linked
to
Ph.D.
students
• U.S.
News
&
World
Report
includes
some
grad
programs
(MSU:
educa+on,
I/O
psych,
family
medicine)
• Great
grad
programs
help
aPract
great
faculty

17. What
Grad
School
does
• Approve/process
~770-­‐780
documents/year:
2013-­‐14:
224
Master’s
theses
and
543
doctoral
disserta+ons
• Liaison
to
University
CommiPee
on
Graduate
Studies—academic
governance
policy
ac+ons—
policy
improvements
over
last
20
years
• Workshop
in
responsible
conduct
of
research
for
~350
students,
faculty,
postdocs/year
• Builds
community
among
grad
students,
postdocs
and
faculty

18. What
Grad
School
does
• Externally-­‐funded
grants-­‐-­‐for
student
success
– Nat’l
Ins+tutes
of
Health:
“BEST”
grant:
Broadening
Experience
in
Scien+fic
Training.
Biomed
workforce
(S.
WaPs)
$1.25M
over
5
years
– Nat’l
Science
Founda+on
(NSF):
AGEP
grants:
Alliance
for
Grad
Ed
and
the
Professoriate
(A.
Nunez—collabora+ve
in
MI
and
CIC-­‐wide
on
postdocs)
(diversity
focus)
– NSF:
CIRTL:
Center
for
Research,
Teaching
and
Learning
(H.
Campa)
MSU
one
of
original
2
(with
Wisconsin)
now
a
21
University
collabora+ve
– NSF:
CAFFE:
Center
for
Academic
and
Future
Faculty
Excellence
($1M
over
4
years)
– Council
of
Grad
Schools:
Preparing
Future
Faculty
for
Assessment
of
Student
Learning
(McDaniels)

19. NSF-­‐AGEP
Alliance
for
Graduate
Educa:on
and
the
Professoriate
MSU-­‐AGEP
Community
2014
Impact
Par:cipa:on
of
MSU-­‐URM
Doctoral
Students
Features
of
AGEP
Domes:c
Underrepresented
Minori:es
(URM)
:
AFRICAN-­‐AMERICAN
NATIVE
AMERICAN
LATINO/HISPANIC
Ini:al
emphasis
in
STEM,
now
in
all
areas
of
scholarship
MONTHLY
MEETING
ACTIVITES:
Invited
speakers,
CrossTalk
presenta:ons,
Science
&
Society
discussion,
Networking,
Group
Trips
of AGEP
participants
completed a
graduate degree
since 2005
• STEERED
BY
GRADUATE
STUDENTS
• SELF-­‐SUSTAINING
COMMUNITY
• VIBRANT
SUPPORT
COMMUNITY
• PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
• PRACTICE
PRESENTING
WORK
TO
PUBLIC
OUTSIDE
THEIR
DISCIPLINE
• PREPARATION
FOR
JOB
INTERVIEWS
0
100
200
300
400
2008
2015
PARTICIPATION
IN
MSU-­‐AGEP
HAS
GROWN
SUBSTANTIALLY
OVER
THE
PAST
7
YEARS
“The
AGEP
community
has
been
a
constant
source
of
support
and
inspira+on
during
my
+me
at
Michigan
State.
Mee+ng
regularly
with
a
diverse
group
of
scholars
from
different
backgrounds
and
various
research
interests
encourages
me
to
think
about
my
work
as
an
emerging
social
scien+st
in
new
ways”
62%

20. 48%
90%
Academic Career Stages
Undergraduate
Summer Research
Opportunities Program (SROP)
The Summer Research Opportunities Program
(SROP) is a gateway to graduate education at
Michigan State University (MSU).
• Intensive discipline-specific and professional
development training
• Informal gatherings between interns,
graduate students and faculty
• Provides infrastructure to several summer
programs on campus
• Typically runs between May and July
Alliance for Graduate
Education and the
Professoriate (AGEP)
The AGEP Learning Community monthly
meetings support the professional development
of our graduate students.
• Invited speakers
• CrossTalk presentations
• Science & Society discussions
• Informal Networking
• Group Trips
• Regional Conferences
External Faculty Visits
• Faculty from institutions serving large
numbers of URMs visit campus and
establish faculty adjunct appointment status
at MSU
• In the Fall, the AGEP community meeting
includes external faculty visitors.
Center for Academic and
Future Faculty Excellence
CAFFE is the product of an NSF Innovation through Institutional Integration
(I3) award to MSU.
CAFFE provides connections at key transitions between stages, as individuals
progress from undergraduates to members of the professoriate.
AGEP Graduates become
External Faculty Partners
after a mentored postdoctoral
experience
External Partners
endorse and recruit
SROP interns
2014 Outcomes
77%
www.grad.msu.edu/SROP
www.grad.msu.edu/AGEP
www.CAFFE.grd.msu.edu
SROP
AGEP
External
Faculty
Michigan State University CAFFE: Connections for Transitions
2012 -2014
graduating
SROP seniors
in graduate or
professional
programs
AGEP
participants
completed a
graduate
degree
since 2005
MSU AGEP
doctoral
alumni
working in
academic
settings
SROP Students
participate in AGEP
Meetings and AGEP
Members serve as
summer mentors

21. What
Grad
School
does
• Na:onally
recognized
website
for
Career
Success
across
mul+ple
career
paths
• Career
and
professional
development—leading
the
U.S.
• TA
Program
and
“Inside
Teaching
MSU”
• Ph.D.
Career
Services
(with
MSU
Career
Services/
VP
Stu
Affairs—partnership
is
unique
)
• Grad
Student
Life
and
Wellness
(with
VP
Stud
Affairs—partnership
is
unique)

22. EXPLORE professional development resources
ASSESS your professional skills
CREATE your career and professional development plan
USE professional development tools
BUILD professional portfolios
Visit Career Success @ careersuccess.msu.edu
Stoddart & Campa CGS 2014

23. What
Grad
School
does
• Policy
interpreta+on
• Orienta+ons
for
new
grad
program
directors
and
grad
secretaries/coordinators—improving
quality
of
programs
and
student
success
• Web-­‐interface
data
collec+on
in
“GradInfo”-­‐-­‐TTD,
comple+on,
placement,
diversity
• Web-­‐interface
Ph.D.
program
planning
• MSU
Postdoc
Office
– Approx.
400
postdoctoral
trainees
and
research
associates
(another
AAU
criterion)

24. What
Grad
School
does
• Diversity
ini+a+ves
– Bridge
partnerships
with
MSIs
– Na+onal
recruitment
strategies
– Federal
agency
workforce
focus
(NIH,
NSF)
• NSF
AGEP—STEM
focused
grad
students
and
postdocs
– Summer
Research
Opportuni+es
Program
(SROP)
• CIC
wide
program
• Prepares
non-­‐MSU
undergraduates
for
MSU
grad
programs

25. SROPSummer Research Opportunities Program
2012-2013 SROP college graduates in graduate or
professional school
77%
SROP 2014 students planned to apply to
MSU graduate programs87%
Professional Skills Strengthened
31% 35% 37%increase in understanding
research process
increase in understanding research
literature
increase in
research skills
“SROP confirmed my love for the research world and helped me improve the skills necessary
to excel as a researcher.” -2013 SROP Student
Faculty Mentor Opinions
96% 90% 96%
pleased with SROP student’s overall
progress
pleased with SROP student’s final
research presentation
would recommend SROP student for
doctoral training
Michigan State
University
2012 - 2014
Other than SROP, 10+ other summer programs benefit from SROP infrastructure

26. What’s
next?
• Con+nued
focus
on
increasing
diversity
• TA
Program
and
prepara+on
for
faculty
roles
focused
on
student
learning
and
student
success
• Increased
use
of
data
to
support
grad
program
quality
improvement
• Expanding
our
programs
for
student
success
• Leadership
development
across
career
paths

27. Graduate School on Social Media