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Guidelines for CE Graduate Students
Bruce Thomson Josie Gibson
Graduate Advisor Coord. Of Advising
277-4729 277-6633
[email protected] [email protected]
Fall 2004
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Outline of Presentation
• Administrative aspects of CE graduate programs
• Academic requirements for M.S. & Ph.D. degrees
• Guidance
• Selecting an advisor
• Selecting a research topic
• Completing project/thesis/dissertation
• http://www.unm.edu/~civil/
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Top 10 Lives from Grad Students - 10
10.It doesn’t bother me that my old room mate is making $80K/yr working for an engineering design firm.
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Admission to CE Graduate Program
• Requirements:
• B.S. degree in engineering or science
• GRE (quantitative & verbal)
• Letters of recommendation
• Admission is by CE Graduate Advisor with consent of CE Graduate Committee
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Degrees
• WERC Certificate
• M.S. Degree in Civil Engineering
• Construction Hydraulics
• Environmental Geotechnical
• Structural/Mechs. Transportation
• Water Resources
• M. of Engr. In Hazardous Waste Engineering
• Master of Construction Management in progress
• Ph.D. in Engineering
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M.S. Degree Requirements - 1
• UNM 2001-2003 Catalog pg. 55, 375, 391
• Plan I - Thesis Option
• 30 credits + 2 credits seminar (CE 691)
• 24 credits classes
• 6 credits thesis (CE 599)
• M.S. Thesis - Public defense
• Thesis expected of students supported as TA or RA
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M.S. Degree Requirements - 2
• Plan II - M.S. Project
• 33 credits + 2 credits seminar (CE 691)
• 30 credits classes
• 3 credits M.S. Project (CE 588)
• Public defense of project
• Plan II - Course work only M.S.
• 33 credits classes + 2 credits seminar (CE 691)
• M.S. Comprehensive Examination
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Ph.D. Requirements
• Course work
• 24 credits beyond M.S. degree (pg. 376)
• 48 credits beyond B.S. degree
• 4 credits seminar (CE 691)
• Qualifying Examination
• Comprehensive Examination - Admission to Candidacy
• Allows enrollment for dissertation credits
• Ph.D. Dissertation - Public Defense
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Miscellaneous Points
• Core curriculum - Each area has 3 - 5 core classes, see CE Graduate Handbook
• Non-degree/transfer credits - A maximum of 12 credit hours of non-degree classes towards degree
• Time to complete degree:
• M.S. - 7 years start to finish (no exceptions)
• Ph.D. - 5 years after admission to candidacy
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Administrative Considerations
• Really Important forms (http://www.unm.edu/~grad/)
• M.S. - “Program of Studies”
• Submit at least 1 semester before graduation
• Recommend submitting after 18-21 credits
• Ph.D. - “Application for Candidacy” - After passing Comprehensive Exam
• Project/Thesis/Dissertation Defense, & M.S. Comp. Exams
• Notify OGS > 2 weeks before date of defense/exam
• “Intent to Graduate” form at start of last semester
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“Gotcha” Requirements
• “I” grades become “F” grades after 1 semester (2 years if not enrolled at UNM.
• Students can’t defend their Project, Thesis, or Dissertation if their GPA < 3.0
• Once enrolled in CE 599 (Thesis) or CE 699 (Dissertation), students must continue to enroll in these classes until graduation
• Students must be enrolled at UNM during the semester they intend to graduate
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Project/Thesis/Dissertation
• Committees must have 2 CE faculty
• Ph.D. Committee must have 1 outside member
• Work with major professor to select Committee
• Committee Members outside of UNM must be approved by OGS - takes ~1 month.
• Difference between M.S. Project & M.S. Thesis:
• Gray area
• Thesis must satisfy OGS requirements & appears in UNM library
• Students supported by UNM expected to do thesis
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Selecting a Topic
• Selecting a good project/thesis/dissertation topic is often the single most difficult task in a student’s career
• Generally topic selection requires iterative process
• Work with major professor
• Topic can be related to employment, however, there must be component of project done explicitly to satisfy UNM degree requirements.
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Criteria for a Good Project/Thesis
• Clear statement of research hypothesis or question
• Title
• Statement of objectives
• Some info. on topic is available to student
• Expertise is available on-campus or within professional community for assistance
• Resources (money, equipment, time) are available for project
• Project has well defined end point.
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A REALLY Bad Project/Thesis/Dissertation Proposal
• “I want to look at the following topic.”
• Contains no research hypothesis or question
• There is no definition of the project
• Contains no end point - how do you know when you’re done?
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2 Strategies for Selecting Topic
• Traditional strategy
• Pose research hypothesis or question
• Generate information to test hypothesis
• Analyze information to reach conclusion
• Inverse strategy - Used by part time students
• Identify source of information
• Examine data to determine if hypothesis can be tested
• Analyze information to reach conclusion
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Recommended Process for Research Project/Thesis/Dissertation - 1
• Submit detailed outline/proposal to major professor
• Clear title
• Statement of objectives
• Literature search with > 10 key references
• Proposed research method
• Expected results & how analyzed
• Begin work with major prof.’s consent
• Give committee members copy of outline/proposal
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Recommended Process for Research Project/Thesis/Dissertation - 2
• 30% completion meeting with Committee. Objectives:
• Obtain “buy-in” on project
• Solicit advice & guidance
• 70% completion meeting with Committee. Objectives:
• Identify potential “fatal flaws”
• Assistance in reaching conclusions
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Recommended Process for Research Project/Thesis/Dissertation - 3
• Notify CE Coord. of Advising 2 weeks prior to defense
• My students must post notice of defense
• Defense:
• Formal oral presentation
• 20-30 min. for MS
• 40-50 min. for Ph.D.
• Turn in final copies
• Thesis & dissertations to OGS by ~11/15 & 4/15
• M.S. projects due by end of semester
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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 4
4. I just have one more book/paper to read and then I’ll start writing
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Comment on Project/Thesis/Dissertation
• The Project/Thesis/Dissertation should be:
• Demonstration to UNM and the engineering profession of the student’s competence & professionalism
• Reflect the best work that the student can do given the resources (time, $$, equipment, etc.) available
• The student should be proud of his work and should enjoy the opportunity to present to his professors, peers, friends & family.
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Publication Issues
• Producing a publishable work should be the goal of every graduate student
• Authorship
• Negotiation between student & advisor as to who’s first author
• Projects resulting in a work product (i.e. SAND reports) should include advisor as co-author
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Expectations of Research Assistants
• RA’s are expected to work > 20 hours per week during school year and > 40 hours per week during summers unless informed differently by professor. Many students work much more than this.
• RA’s generally are allowed 2 weeks vacation per year
• Inform professor when you will not be on campus.
• Message: You’re here to get an education. Simply considering grad school as a job significantly devalues a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
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