So now you are in Grad School, how “friggin” nice for you!!

1. So now you are in Grad School, how “friggin” nice for you!! AED 615 Fall 2006 1st Class Meeting

2. Can I just cruise or what?… • Form your graduate committee • Select a Committee Chair • Select your Committee members • A minimum of three faculty members from your department of your grad major. • A committee member may be from another department. Look for faculty that can advise you in your area of study.

3. Meet with your Advisor • Determine if you are planning to do a Thesis or Curriculum Project. • A student seeking a Masters of Science in Agricultural Educationdegree will complete a thesis. • A student seeking a Masters of Agriculturedegree may complete a curriculum project. • Both will require you to prepare in a similar matter. • Decide on a topic.

4. When do you want to finish it? • Go to the Graduate College web site. • Find the deadline for submitting completed paper work for graduation. • Work backwards to allow plenty of time for final revisions after you have successfully defended your work.

5. Meet with your Committee • Arrange a Proposal Committee Meeting to discuss your topic and procedure. • Prepare a 15-minute powerpoint presentation illustrating your topic, method, and proposed date of completion. • Ask your Committee members if they prefer to have drafts of your chapters given to them to review as you they are completed, or if they want the whole package at once. • Set a deadline for drafts, final draft, and comp date.

6. Your “Defense” • When you have completed all of your coursework, and are near the end of writing your thesis or project, set a date and time for your Defense with your Graduate Committee. • Check with your Committee Chair on your progress. • Caution: If you plan to defend over the summer, be ready to have several dates in mind, as Committee members do take vacations!!!

7. Your “Comps” • When the time is near, your Committee Chair will contact your Committee members and request written questions to be submitted for your Comprehensive Examination. • You will be provided with the questions and be given 24 hours to complete the exam. • You must submit your responses to your Committee Chair. • Your Committee Chair will send your responses to your Committee members for review and evaluation.

8. Your “Comps” • Be sure you have copies of your completed chapters for each Committee Member. • This is your project, you must accept the responsibility for making the appropriate copies and getting them into the hands of your committee members. • Proofread your copy, several times, before you send it to your committee members. • Poor grammar and mistakes in copy make it difficult to see what the idea of your thesis or project is really about and frustrates your committee members. • Don’t waste their time!!

9. Your D-Day • Arrange for a meeting room with Sue in the Dept. Office. • Dress professionally. • Refreshments are an option. Plan at least 2 hours for the meeting. • Prepare a powerpoint presentation of your five chapters. • Other grad students may be invited to sit in on your presentation of your topic and findings. • Your defense should be a presentation and discussion of your findings and conclusions of your work. • Your defense should not be an editing session!!

10. Your D-Day • Following your presentation, you will meet with your committee. • Guests will be excused. • Your committee will discuss with you the results of your Comprehensive Examination. • Your ideas and philosophy will be challenged!

11. Your D-Day • At an appropriate moment, your committee will ask you to leave the room. • Your committee will deliberate on your work and understanding of your grad experience. • Your committee chair will ask you to return to the meeting where you will be presented with the results of your defense. • You will be congratulated on your achievement, or • You will not be recommended for completion and may need to make further revisions to your work.

12. Final Note… • Graduate School is not for every college student. • A successful Master’s degree candidate must have: • superior writing skills, • be confidant in their ability to complete the task, • tenacity (focused on the task at hand), • ability to go locate answers, • have the resources to successfully complete their thesis or project.

13. What your Graduate Committee does not want to hear… • Whining. • Don’t complain about the cost of textbooks. • Don’t complain about the cost of courses. • Don’t complain about the number of edits you have to make or the number of times you have to correct your drafts of your chapters. • Don’t complain about the amount of work an instructor assigns in class.

14. What your Graduate Committee does not want to hear…(continued) • Excuses. • Don’t plan a wedding around the time you plan to finish up your thesis and defense.

15. Finally, • The Graduate College has a timeline regarding class work and completing the degree, if you fail to complete your work before the allotted time expires, you may have to go back and repeat the course work no matter what grade you received.