Preparing for Graduate School Instructor: VRM Rister, SSS Learning Specialist Katie Braun Time: Monday & Wednesdays, 2:00-3:00, MLK Center Office Hours: By appointment Email: valerie.rister@uky.edu Phone: 850-257- 9797 How do I know if Graduate School is Right for Me? How do I determine if I would need higher than a Bachelor degree for my field? What is the graduate school looking for and do I have it? If these are questions that you are asking, then you need to participate in this course. Course Description: Students will be provided with information and resources necessary to prepare for the graduate school applications, interviews, test, financing, as well as, whether graduate school is for him/her. In this class, students will be able to discuss their findings, create an individual action plan, and work collaboratively on strategies for the GRE. Students will be provided the key strategies for the quantitative section that are necessary for building the foundation for preparing for the GRE. Additionally students will be provided with strategies for the verbal sections that are necessary for being successful when taking the GRE. Students will be provided with target questions that may resemble test questions that may appear on the GRE. Outside of class work students will visit graduate schools to get an understanding of the differences in schools and learn to evaluate information. Staff and tutors will provide, as much, support as the student requests to help in his/her understanding of the basics in preparing for graduate school. Prerequisites: Students must be or at the equivalent of sophomore standing (60+hours) and have a 2.5 GPA. Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to Assess his/her level of interest in graduate school Complete a graduate school search for field of study Identify the skills and educational experiences to launch your career Relate and apply your studies to actual professional settings Apply critical thinking & problem solving skills necessary for professional/graduate degree Network with other undergraduate, graduate, and faculty members in your field Identify, Write, &Refine your graduate & career goals Articulate career/graduate school goals in written form Apply strategies in preparation for Graduate Record Exam Evaluate differences in graduate school programs Create an individual action plan for graduate school/career
Materials: GRE Preparation text (Cambridge) Access to a computer/lab time & home GRE Prep computer disc Calculator Writing Utensils Vocabulary Cards WOVS (Work Opportunity Values Survey) Course Assignments: 480 points Projects: 100 points Individual Action Plan: 20 points Students will create an action plan that outlines their career goals and aspirations, what he/she values in the field, what he/she sees as their strengths and weaknesses, graduate school or professional schools, experiences needed to aid in success. Presentation: 50 points After 12 weeks of working on researching their careers and graduate schools, students will present both their action plan and schools in a presentation format. Creating a CV : 10 points Students will create a webpage that has all of his/her experiences in undergraduate career in the format of the curriculum vitae Graduate School Visits: 20 points These are scheduled on Fridays due to trying to impact other class schedules as well as getting opportunities to meet professors on campus, talk to students, and tour the campus. Students will be encouraged to go and the schools chosen will be based on inventory of students major interests as well as time frame (day trips due to cost). Exams & Dates: 280 points Pre- Test 10 points ( Wednesday August 28 ) MIDTERM: Full GRE Exam: 100 Points ( Wednesday October 23) FINAL: Full GRE Exam: 100 Points ( Wednesday December 18) 14 lab quizzes = 70 points Assignments: 100 points 5 short essays = 100 points
Course Policies: Assignments are to be submitted electronically to the instructor s email (valerie.rister@uky.edu ) by midnight of the next class. Example: Assignment given on Monday 9/2 would be due by midnight Monday 9/4, which is the night of the next class meeting. Since the class is here to develop your goals for higher education it is imperative that you submit the assignments on time for they lead into the upcoming discussions. IF you are unable to submit the assignment, you will not have the opportunity for late assignments. The lack of internet access or system down will not be an accepted reason for not having the assignment turned into the instructor. IF this does happen, you may walk the assignment into the instructor s office by 9am the day it is due (office located in the Main Building 3 rd Floor Room 311). Attendance: You may miss one class with no grade penalty. Each additional unexcused missed class will result in a loss of points for that day (assignment). If you are needing to miss more than one class you need to bring in either a doctor s reason via note from the doctor (they can be requested at the time of your appointment), or documentation of the incident causing you to miss multiple class sessions. For further explanation of attendance policies here at the University of Kentucky you may visit the UK website and look up attendance policies in the Bulletin. Excused Absences: Students need to notify the professor of absences prior to class when possible. S.R. 5.2.4.2 defines the following as acceptable reasons for excused absences: (a) serious illness, (b) illness or death of family member, (c) University- related trips, (d) major religious holidays, and (e) other circumstances found to fit reasonable cause for nonattendance by the professor. Students anticipating an absence for a major religious holiday are responsible for notifying the instructor in writing of anticipated absences due to their observance of such holidays no later than the last day in the semester to add a class. Information regarding dates of major religious holidays may be obtained through the religious liaison, Mr. Jake Karnes (859-257- 2754). Students are expected to withdraw from the class if more than 20% of the classes scheduled for the semester are missed (excused or unexcused) per university policy. Verification of Absences: Students may be asked to verify their absences in order for them to be considered excused. Senate Rule 5.2.4.2 states that faculty have the right to request appropriate verification when students claim an excused absence because of illness or death in the family. Appropriate notification of absences due to university- related trips is required prior to the absence. Academic Integrity : Per university policy, students shall not plagiarize, cheat, or falsify or misuse academic records. Students are expected to adhere to University policy on cheating and plagiarism in all courses. The minimum penalty for a first offense is a zero on the assignment on which the offense occurred. If the offense is considered severe or the student has other academic offenses on their record, more serious penalties, up to suspension from the university may be imposed.
Plagiarism and cheating are serious breaches of academic conduct. Each student is advised to become familiar with the various forms of academic dishonesty as explained in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Complete information can be found at the following website: http://www.uky.edu/ombud. A plea of ignorance is not acceptable as a defense against the charge of academic dishonesty. It is important that you review this information as all ideas borrowed from others need to be properly credited. Part II of Student Rights and Responsibilities (available online http://www.uky.edu/studentaffairs/code/part2.html) states that all academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own thought, research, or self- expression. In cases where students feel unsure about the question of plagiarism involving their own work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the matter before submission. When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, wording or anything else from another source without appropriate acknowledgement of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else s work, whether it be a published article, chapter of a book, a paper from a friend or some file, or something similar to this. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student, and the student alone. When a student s assignment involves research in outside sources of information, the student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where and how he/she employed them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the organization, content and phraseology intact is plagiaristic. However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas which are so generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain (Section 6.3.1). Please note: Any assignment you turn in may be submitted to an electronic database to check for plagiarism. Accommodations due to disability : If you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please see me as soon as possible during scheduled office hours. In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must provide me with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (Room 2, Alumni Gym, 257-2754, email address: jkarnes@email.uky.edu) for coordination of campus disability services available to students with disabilities. Classroom Behavior Policies: Our classroom does not permit the use or the presence of cell phones during class as well as the lab. Having respect for the classroom environment is key to gaining understanding of the material and position at hand. Additionally, we will respect opinions of others and use language that is indicative of an educational and professional setting.
Tentative Schedule of Course Events: Week Day Event 1 1 Diagnostic Test 2 What is Graduate School, Professional School? Do I need a graduate degree? Graduate school (Speaker/presentation) Major/Career research Determine what degrees are necessary for career goals Create career goals (WOVS) 2 3 Sentence Completion Strategies 4 Quantitative 3 5 Graduate School Research Spend time researching schools Make & Prioritize your list of target schools Choose a program Find the following: Culture, Rankings, Average Starting Salary, Placement Rate, Location, Campus, Class Profile, Cost, Specialized vs General Program, Curriculum, Class Size, Grading Policy, Financial Aid Options, and services for students. 6 Quantitative Lab 4 7 Graduate School Research Discussion/Presentation 8 Quantitative 5 9 Biographical Statement (writing) 10 Quantitative 6 11 Midterm (second GRE Test Schedule in SSS) Undergraduate Research/Research Experiences Make a list of potential recommenders Obtain applications from schools of interest (most are on- line) Begin drafting your essays Ask for financial aid, scholarship applications 12 Quantitative 7 13 Verbal Reading Comprehension Strategies 14 Quantitative Lab 8 15 Verbal RC Strategies 16 Quantitative 9 17 Graduate School Research: The Interview The Curriculum Vitae Finalize essays (Edited/Reviewed) Prepare for Interviews 18 Quantitative 10 19 Writing Strategies 20 Quantitative 11 21 Verbal Strategies 22 Quantitative 12 23 Presentations on Graduate School/Career 24 Presentation on Graduate School/Career 13 Finals Week
College Visits are on Fridays outside of the regular scheduled class meetings. Projects: Individual Action Plan: Students will create an action plan that outlines their career goals and aspirations, what he/she values in the field, what he/she sees as their strengths and weaknesses, graduate school or professional schools, experiences needed to aid in success. Presentation: After 12 weeks of working on researching their careers and graduate schools, students will present both their action plan and schools in a presentation format. Creating a CV Students will create a webpage that has all of his/her experiences in undergraduate career in the format of the curriculum vitae Graduate School Visits: These are scheduled on Fridays due to trying to impact other class schedules as well as getting opportunities to meet professors on campus, talk to students, and tour the campus. Students will be encouraged to go and the schools chosen will be based on inventory of students major interests as well as time frame (day trips due to cost). The following are the graduate schools we will be visiting: University of Louisville Georgetown College Bellarmine University University of Indianapolis IUPUI Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis Butler University The Ohio State University University of Cincinnati Belmont University Vanderbilt University University of Tennessee Middle Tennessee State University Fish University (?)