Managing the Graduate School Experience: From Acceptance to Graduation and Beyond - Hardcover

Managing the Graduate School Experience: From Acceptance to Graduation and Beyond pitches itself as the streamlined, comprehensive guide to the doctorate. . . .A chapter called 'Can I Really Get a Ph.D.?' gets the ball rolling with discussions of the impact of study on family life, the importance of time management, learning types and reasons for wanting a Ph.D. Further chapters discuss choosing a program and degree type (including online) and financing one's degree - including how to avoid financial aid scams. For those who've decided to proceed and have been accepted, there's talk of choosing a dissertation committee, preparing for comprehensive exams and pitching a dissertation idea. There's some practical advice on how to defend a dissertation and a note on what's next - such as how to copyright or publish one's work. * Inside Higher Ed * In this book, the authors fully discusses and explain all aspects of the graduate school process, including the program of study, finances, delivery systems (online and on campus) the committee process, comps, the proposal and how it is connected to the thesis/dissertation. With this clear and succinct information, the graduate student is in a much better position to develop an advanced degree program that will fully and adequately meet personal and professional goals and objectives. -- Craig Swenson, PhD, Chancellor Emeritus & Professor, Argosy University System The authors have been rigorous guides and friends to many graduate students. Their biases come through loud and clear - the most successful students 'own' their education. They seek to shape their educational experiences to their own unique needs, rather than passively accept whatever is 'thrown their way.' This guide to graduate study is both practical and very thorough. It will take the mystery out of the process. The authors share with their readers the importance of parsing the tasks, breaking them down into its component parts, each to be dealt with in its own time. -- Dwight Allen, EdD, Eminent Scholar of Educational Reform, Emeritus, Old Dominion University; former Dean of the School of Education, University of Massachusetts Among the uncertainties of life that potential graduate students face these days, perhaps none is so complex or so crucial as the decision to earn a graduate degree. Against the increase in earning power that an advanced degree affords, prospective graduate students must confront a daunting array of tasks and obstacles to success. Issues of which program to choose and how to pay for it are coupled with questions about how graduate school works and how to be successful once the decision to begin has been made. Not surprisingly, prospective graduate students both need and want a clear and comprehensive guide to graduate school; and in this book, they have it. -- J. Bruce Francis, PhD, Distinguished Senior Faculty and Former President, Capella University

Knowledge is power. Simply stated, Managing the Graduate School Experience: From Acceptance to Graduation and Beyond provides graduate students with power as it helps them to understand and complete a graduate degree, regardless of how the degree is offered - online or on-campus. It also encourages them to take control of the graduate school process as much as possible and negotiate with faculty and the administration regarding all aspects of the program. Some additional key features of this book include: *Experienced faculty members who have served on more than 400 graduate committees, have chaired more than 100 doctoral dissertations and eighty master's theses, and have instructed thousands of learners on their journey to earning their degree *Reflections of more than fifty cumulative years of graduate school experience *A non-technical, no jargon, easy-to-read style. Succinct and to the point *A Student centered approach that has helped hundreds of graduate students complete graduate degrees