Graduate School

1. Graduate School Tell Me About Graduate School

2. What Is Graduate School? • More In Depth Education • In Depth Research Experience • In Graduate School You Reach the Cutting Edge in Science & Engineering. • The Master’s & Ph.D. Degrees are the Most Advanced Degrees Available.

3. Masters Degree (M.S.) • A masters degree requires 1 ½ to 2 years to complete. • You take 24 more hours of technical electives. • You will research and write a thesis.

4. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) • The Ph.D. takes 2 ½ to 3 years past an M.S. • You will take 24 hours of technical electives beyond the M.S. • Research and write a dissertation. • This is the highest degree offered.

5. Direct Ph.D. • This is a Ph.D. obtained without taking an M.S. first. • The direct Ph.D. takes 4 years past the B.S. • You will take 48 hours of technical electives. • Research and write a dissertation. • A Ph.D. obtained without first getting an M.S. is considered fully equivalent to a Ph.D. obtained after an M.S. It is the same degree.

6. Advantages of Graduate School • Higher Salary – The average starting salaries for the various degrees are as follows: • B.S. - $51,888 • M.S. - $64,416 • Ph.D. - $80,206 • More Interesting & Challenging Jobs You are more likely to be in charge instead of a helper. You are more likely to have freedom to set the direction of work & propose new directions. • Much increased knowledge You will have much greater knowledge of electrical engineering and related disciplines. You will be much more of an expert. • More prestige – Dr. Brown!

7. Costs • Financial The cost of attending graduate school is about $18,000/year for tuition and $13,500/year for living expenses. Most graduate students are supported by Research Assistantships or Fellowships. (See next slide.) • Time – 1 ½ to 5 years, depending on the degree. • Responsibility – The jobs you are offered are likely to involve more responsibility.

8. Assistantships & Fellowships • “Easy to Get!” Most graduate students are supported by Research Assistantships or Fellowships. Few people go to graduate school on their own dollar! • Research Assistantship (RA) • Usually half time (20 hours/week) • Pays tuition + about $1000.00/month • In most cases you are being paid to do the same research that will become your thesis or dissertation. • Fellowship A fellowship is like a scholarship. It pays tuition plus living expenses, and no work is required.

9. GPA Requirement • You Need at Least a 3.0 GPA to be Admitted. • You Will Need at Least a 3.0 GPA in Grad School to Stay in School.

10. First Steps Toward Grad School • Choose a Specialty Area. • Decide where you would like to attend graduate school.

11. Choose a Specialization • A graduate degree is a specialty degree. You specialize in one area of electrical engineering. The main specialty areas are listed on the Electrical Engineering website. Click the “Future Students” link at the top. • The following are the main specialties • Bio-Medical • Communications • Computers & Digital Circuit Design • Control Systems • Electromagnetic Fields & Waves • Electronic Circuit Design • Nano-Technology & MEMs • Packaging • Pattern Recognition & Artificial Intelligence • Power • Semiconductor Devices & Integrated Circuits. • Detailed descriptions of each of these specialties can be found on the website.

12. Major Professors • A graduate student must have a major professor, or advisor. • Your major professor oversees your research and provides the lab & equipment for doing the research. • Your major professor advises you on what courses to take. • In most cases your financial support will come from one of your major professor’s grants. • Each professor has one or more specializations, and you will have to find a major professor doing research in the area you want to work in.

13. Which University? • University of Arkansas? • Somewhere Else? • MIT • Stanford • Georgia Tech • Texas A & M • Univ. of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana • etc.

14. Applying to Other Universities • Take the GRE exam. • Research a number of other schools on the web. • Choose three or four to apply to and research them thoroughly. • Email the schools you plan to apply to and find out how financial support is obtained. Also ask how major professors are obtained. • You will probably want a school which offers you both admission and financial support.

15. The University of Arkansas • No GRE required if your B.S. is from here & your GPA is at least 3.0 . • The most important thing is to find a major professor who is doing research in your specialty area, and wants you for his/her student. • Find out which professors are doing research in your specialty area.

16. Finding a Major Professor • The research page of the Electrical Engineering website (http://www.eleg.uark.edu/1108.php) lists faculty names. Click on names to read descriptions of their research. • Go talk to the faculty doing research you are interested in. Knock on their doors. They are actively looking for new students, so they will be glad to talk to you. • Each faculty member only has enough money to support a small number of students, so if the first person you talk to does not have money to support you, talk to your second choice.

17. How to Apply to Grad School • Walk over to the Admissions Office, and tell them you want to apply to graduate school. They will explain how to apply. • The Admissions Office is at 346 N. Arkansas Avenue. Walk around behind the building with a sign in the yard saying “Stone House”. Their phone number is 575-6246. • You can apply on the web if you prefer. Go to the Graduate School website.