Graduate School

• More in-depth than at the undergraduate level

• Expectations of faculty are greater

• 1. More initiative

• 2. More reading

• 3. Use of journals

• 4. Being able to review the literature

Graduate school

• Carefully following all instructions

• Using APA style

• Purchase the APA Manual, 5th edition

• It is particularly important to use APA style for the internship or thesis

• Dressing appropriately for presentations

Required courses and Independent Studies

• No substitutions for required courses

• Limit on independent studies

• Remember that a course has 45 contact hours, and that a student should spend 2 hours for every hour in the classroom

• This means that an independent study should entail a MINIMUM of 135 hours, and likely more for a good grade

Independent studies

• A student doing an independent study should have a plan before getting permission to enroll, and be able to account for how those minimum 135 hours are to be spent.

Initial Study Plans & Applications for Candidacy

• A student should do an initial study plan during the first semester.

• After completing 9 hours he/she should fill out an application for candidacy

• A person may easily change the initial study plan

• If the student deviates from the application for candidacy form, other forms must be completed

Internships and Theses

• Which one?

• Your career goals influence your decision

• 1. If you have little work experience in the field, and do not ever plan to get a doctorate, an internship might be your choice

• 2. If you think you might go on for a doctorate, you should do a thesis

Guidelines for internships and theses

• The graduate school has developed guidelines for theses and internships, posted on their website. These must be carefully followed

• The department also has procedures and guidelines. These must be carefully followed

• http://www5.semo.edu/criminal• Click on programs and then on M.S. in Criminal

Justice

Guidelines

• There are procedures and guidelines for internships and thesis proposal and the thesis, as well as information about courses

• Generally these papers take about 2 semesters to complete

• DO NOT plan on graduating in a particular semester

Thesis & Internship

• DO NOT make life-altering plans contingent on graduating in a particular semester

• DO NOT make promises to employers as to when you will graduate

• Graduate students everywhere routinely tend to underestimate the amount of time needed to complete these projects

Theses and internships

• The poorer the quality of the work, the longer it will take for faculty to make corrections

• If the guidelines are followed, then the process will go more quickly and smoothly

• Following committee suggestions to the letter will also make the process move more quickly

Theses & Internships

• Do not pick and choose among the recommendations made by the committee

• Do all of them

• A few students have appealed to the Graduate Dean, trying to persuade him to override committee decisions

• This has not been successful

Theses & Internships

• In fact, the Graduate School has sometimes rejected theses that have been approved by the committee