1. education
2. alumni and reunions

Graduate Education/Graduate
School at MSU
Karen Klomparens, Dean
April 16, 2015
Grad Ed at MSU
• Opened the Grad School in current
configuration (as a “real” GS) in 1994 under
Provost Simon upon rec’d from a faculty-grad
student committee.
• All AAU universities have a graduate school
• Graduate education, especially doctoral
education, is linked to research
Chittenden Hall
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 education at MSU in all its diverse
dimensions. In partnership with the colleges:
– Quality graduate and grad-professional programs
– Student success—time to degree, completion rates,
placement
– Diversity and inclusion
Graduate Education
• Advanced education/training in a subject area
• Master’s: coursework-based (most) or
research- based (a “thesis”—50-150pp)
• Doctoral:
– Ph.D. focus is research (a “dissertation”—100300pp original contribution to knowledge)
– Other doctoral degrees are “advanced practice”
Graduate Education
• Graduate-professional degrees are medical
(MD, DO, DVM) or Law (JD)
– different tuition structure
– different semester length
– Medicine: coursework over 2 years, then practical
experience (“clerkships”)
– Law: coursework and practical experience over 3
years
The numbers
• Graduate and graduate professional students
~20% of MSU’s total student population
• 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 gradprof degrees
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 universities support most, if not all,
Ph.D. students with assistantships or
fellowships. MSU does this.
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
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 presentation of
research: 2014: 144 to int’l venues ($250K)
383 awards ($350K) for domestic venues
• 200 dissertation completion grants annually
The numbers—financial support
• Debt (~35% of grad students are int’l & not
eligible for federal financial aid)
Master’s: $35,843 (50% domestic borrow)
Doctoral: $39,062 (25% domestic borrow)
Importance of Grad Ed
• Many entry level positions now require a
Master’s degree vs. 30 years ago (education,
social work, nursing) [licensed professions]
• Many workforce sectors encourage employees
to pursue Master’s degrees or grad certificates
to “keep up” with knowledge
– MSU offers 88 grad certs and M degrees online or
“hybrid” to fulfill workforce needs
Importance of Grad Ed
• Many professions require grad-professional
degrees: e.g., medicine, vet medicine, law
• Research capabilities (Ph.D. degrees) help
solve societies’ problems (e.g., water, environ,
energy, health), contribute to innovation
• Faculty positions across the U.S. and world
require a Ph.D. degree.
– >50% of MSU Ph.D. grads go to higher education
– 50% to private sector, government, non-profits
Importance of Grad Ed
• Grad TAs help undergrads learn and succeed
– Training/orientations 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 positions
– Certification in College Teaching Program
“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: education, I/O psych, family
medicine)
• Great grad programs help attract great faculty
What Grad School does
• Approve/process ~770-780 documents/year:
2013-14: 224 Master’s theses and 543 doctoral
dissertations
• Liaison to University Committee on Graduate
Studies—academic governance policy actions—
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
What Grad School does
• Externally-funded grants--for student success
– Nat’l Institutes of Health: “BEST” grant: Broadening Experience
in Scientific Training. Biomed workforce (S. Watts) $1.25M
over 5 years
– Nat’l Science Foundation (NSF): AGEP grants: Alliance for Grad
Ed and the Professoriate (A. Nunez—collaborative in MI and CICwide 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 collaborative
– 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)
NSF-AGEP Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate
MSU-AGEP Community 2014 Impact
Participation of MSU-URM Doctoral Students
62%
Domestic Underrepresented
Minorities (URM) :
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
NATIVE AMERICAN
LATINO/HISPANIC
STEERED BY GRADUATE STUDENTS
SELF-SUSTAINING COMMUNITY
VIBRANT SUPPORT COMMUNITY
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICE PRESENTING WORK TO PUBLIC
OUTSIDE THEIR DISCIPLINE
of AGEP
• PREPARATION FOR JOB INTERVIEWS
participants
completed a
graduate degree
since 2005
•
•
•
•
•
Initial emphasis in STEM, now in all
areas of scholarship
400
Features of AGEP
PARTICIPATION IN MSU-AGEP HAS GROWN
SUBSTANTIALLY OVER THE PAST 7 YEARS
300
200
100
0
2008
2015
“The AGEP community has
been a constant source of
support and inspiration during
my time at Michigan State.
Meeting 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
scientist in new ways”
MONTHLY MEETING ACTIVITES: Invited speakers, CrossTalk presentations, Science & Society discussion, Networking, Group Trips
Michigan State University CAFFE: Connections for Transitions
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)
2014 Outcomes
Center for Academic and
Future Faculty Excellence
77%
2012 -2014
graduating
SROP seniors
in graduate or
professional
programs
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.
SROP Students
participate in AGEP
Meetings and AGEP
Members serve as
summer mentors
SROP
External Partners
endorse and recruit
SROP interns
AGEP
participants
completed a
graduate
degree
since 2005
90%
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
AGEP
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.
AGEP Graduates become
External Faculty Partners
after a mentored postdoctoral
experience
48%
MSU AGEP
doctoral
alumni
working in
academic
settings
www.grad.msu.edu/SROP
www.grad.msu.edu/AGEP
www.CAFFE.grd.msu.edu
What Grad School does
• Nationally recognized website for Career Success
across multiple 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)
Visit Career Success @ careersuccess.msu.edu
EXPLORE professional development resources
ASSESS your professional skills
CREATE your career and professional development plan
USE professional development tools
BUILD professional portfolios
Stoddart & Campa CGS 2014
What Grad School does
• Policy interpretation
• Orientations for new grad program directors and
grad secretaries/coordinators—improving quality
of programs and student success
• Web-interface data collection in “GradInfo”--TTD,
completion, placement, diversity
• Web-interface Ph.D. program planning
• MSU Postdoc Office
– Approx. 400 postdoctoral trainees and research
associates (another AAU criterion)
What Grad School does
• Diversity initiatives
– Bridge partnerships with MSIs
– National recruitment strategies
– Federal agency workforce focus (NIH, NSF)
• NSF AGEP—STEM focused grad students and postdocs
– Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP)
• CIC wide program
• Prepares non-MSU undergraduates for MSU grad
programs
SROP
Michigan State
University
2012 - 2014
Summer Research Opportunities Program
Other than SROP, 10+ other summer programs benefit from SROP infrastructure
77%
2012-2013 SROP college graduates in graduate or
professional school
87%
SROP 2014 students planned to apply to
MSU graduate programs
Professional Skills Strengthened
31%
increase in understanding
research process
35%
increase in understanding research
literature
37%
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
96%
Faculty Mentor Opinions
90%
pleased with SROP student’s overall
progress
pleased with SROP student’s final
research presentation
96%
would recommend SROP student for
doctoral training
What’s next?
• Continued focus on increasing diversity
• TA Program and preparation 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
Graduate School on Social Media