Welcome to Graduate Studies Q&A

1. Welcome to Graduate Studies Q&A Presented by the Office of Graduate Studies, International Affairs, and the Council of Graduate Students

2. Why Graduate School There are several things to think about when you consider graduate school such as your career interests/goals, pay scale, and job market. Career Goals: • PhD:  Freedom to develop your own research ideas and pursue them.  A career in academia is an option if you are interested.  There are certainly non-faculty positions for PhDs as well. • MS:  Gives you the option of working in industry, often in higher titled/paying positions and with more challenging responsibilities. 

3. Why Grad School Continued… Further more, there is a predicted 22% increase in occupations requiring a PhD between 2006 and 2016.  Likewise there is an expected 20% increase in those requiring a Master's. For 2008 - 2009 Missouri S&T full-time average annual salary, http://career.mst.edu/salaryhiring/salary.html Source: Council of Graduate Schools Pay Scale  Median Salary: Doctorate:  $80,860 Master's:  $63,856 Bachelor's:  $50,856 Job Market 2008 unemployment rates: Bachelor's:  2.8% Master's:  2.4% Doctorate:  2.0%

4. About Rolla/Missouri S&T

5. About Rolla Rolla is a city of about 18,000 located right in the middle of Missouri less than 100 miles from St. Louis, Jefferson City, Columbia and Springfield. In fact, our slogan is "The Middle of Everywhere" and it's very nearly true. http://www.rollacity.org/ http://www.rollanet.org/

6. About Our Campus S&T’s 284-acre campus is located in Rolla, MO, a town of 18,000 in the heart of the Ozarks. The university is home to 46 research and academic support centers. We enroll more than 6,100 students, approximately 1600 of which are graduate students. The S&T campus is located within walking distance of a grocery store, downtown shops, and housing.

7. Fast Facts • 34 Graduate Certificates offered • 28 Master’s Programs offered • 20 PhD programs offered • 11 degrees offered entirely on-line • 175 classes offered on-line • 54% international students • 999 students from 50 countries

8. Fast Facts cont. Enrollment • 6815 total students • 1610 Graduate Students • 598 MS Students • 401 PhD Students • 896 students from 49 countries • Faculty Student Ratio: 14:1 Faculty • 400 faculty • 99% of full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty have a PhD or the highest degree in their field

9. Rankings • 52nd among the nation’s best engineering schools (U.S. News and World Report “America’s Best Colleges Guidebook 2008”) • A top-20 program for “best career/job placement” (The Princeton Review, 2008) • Career Fair with over 300 employers represented • 5 of Missouri S&T’s graduate programs were ranked among the top 50 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for 2009.

10. Rankings cont. • No. 5 specialized STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) research university in the USA as rated by Academic Analytics, LLC, 2008 • S&T is one of American’s 30 safest college campuses (Reader’s Digest 2008)

11. Funding and Job Placement Funding in 2008 • 566 students supported on assistantships/department fellowships • 1459 Graduate Students Job Placement • Average starting salary for graduate students: more than us $67,500 • Key Schools for: • Garmin International (1 of 8) • Nucor Corporation (1 of 4) • US Steel (1 of 12) • Toyota (1 of 6)

12. 12 State of the Art Interdisciplinary Research Centers Center for Bone and Tissue Repair and Regeneration (CBTRR) Center for Environmental Science and Technology (CEST) Center for Excellence for Aerospace Particulate Emissions Reduction Research (CEAPERR) Center for Infrastructure Engineering Studies (CIES) Energy Research & Development (RERDC) Environmental Research Center for Emerging Contaminants (ERC) Intelligent Systems Center (ISC) Materials Research Center (MRC) Missouri Transportation Institute (MTI) Rock Mechanics and Explosives Research Center (RMERC) Technology Transfer and Economic Development University Transportation Center (UTC)

13. Programs Offered Aerospace Engineering (MS/PhD) Applied & Environmental Biology (MS) Applied Math (MS/MST/PhD) Biomaterials (MS) Business Administration (MBA) Ceramic Engineering (MS/PhD) Chemical Engineering (MS/PhD/DE) Chemistry (MS/PhD) Civil Engineering (MS/PhD) Computer Engineering (MS/PhD/DE) Computer Science (MS/PhD) Electrical Engineering (MS/PhD/DE) Engineering Management (MS/PhD) Environmental Engineering (MS/PhD) Geological Engineering (MS/ME/PhD/DE) Geology and Geophysics (MS/PhD) Nuclear Engineering (MS/PhD/DE) Petroleum Engineering (MS/PhD/DE) Physics (MS/PhD) Systems Engineering (MS/PhD) Technical Communication (MS/MA) Information Science & Technology (MS) Manufacturing Engineering (MS/ME) Math/Statistics (MS/PhD) Mechanical Engineering (MS/PhD) Materials Science & Engineering (MS/PhD) Metallurgical Engineering (MS/PhD) Mining Engineering (MS/ME/PhD/DE)

14. Admissions Process

15. Funding

16. Q: How can I find information on assistantships, fellowships and scholarships? A: All funding decisions are made directly by the academic departments Contact the graduate staff person in your department for further information on how they make those decisions and what steps you should take to be considered for financial assistance.

17. Q: What is a TA A: Teaching Assistantship (TA) is a source of funding that is offered to graduate students. The student is required to assist in the teaching of undergraduate courses in their discipline. TAs receive a stipend and their out-of-state fees are waived. These positions are usually only offered to international students after their first semester.

18. Q: What is a RA A: Research Assistantship (RA) is a source of funding that is offered to graduate students. The student is required to assist in performing research for a particular grant the professor has received. RAs receive a stipend of .25 FTE or more and their out-of-state fees are waived.

19. Q: How can I get a RA/TA position? A: RA positions are offered by individual faculty to assist them with a specific research project. Contact the graduate staff person in your department to find out how to apply for such positions. The practice of mass-emailing every faculty person in a department in strongly discouraged and is often counterproductive. TA positions are usually awarded by the department. Visit with the graduate staff person in your department to learn their process for applying for these positions.

20. Q: What is the difference between doing research and being an RA? A: All students writing a thesis/dissertation are required to do research. RAs receive a stipend and out-of-state tuition waiver to do their research, but they are restricted to working on whatever research the grant is supporting.

21. Estimated Cost of Attending http://sfa.mst.edu/costs/index.html

22. IMPORTANT: If you have not already done so, please fill out the brief survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6GHVP8

23. Housing Options • On-Campus • Off-Campus On-campus housing is available, but most of our students choose to live off-campus.

24. Off-Campus Housing • If you prefer to live off campus there are ample housing opportunities within easy walking distance. Contact local real estate agents in Rolla for more information. • Need a roommate? • International Orientation is an excellent time to meet other students looking for roommates. • Admitted Students Discussion board is another great place to find others seeking roommates.

25. Please feel free to email us with any questions or concerns you may have at mstgrad@mst.edu

26. I-20

27. Q: When will I receive my I-20? • An improper or missing financial statement is usually the largest component to any delays in creating/sending I-20’s.

28. Q: Do I need an additional I-20 for my family? A: Yes. All dependents need an I-20/DS-2019. • Additionally, the financial statement needs to include $3000.00 for a spouse and/or $1500.00 per child. Please contact the International Affairs Office at ia@mst.edu and they can assist you.

29. Q: Can I pay my SEVIS fee before I receive my I-20? A:No, you will need your SEVIS ID number, which is in the upper right corner of the I-20, when you make your SEVIS payment. • Since the SEVIS fee can only be paid over the internet or through the mail, you need to be sure to use the SEVIS ID as printed on your I-20/DS-2019. • By request, we can email the SEVIS ID.

30. Please feel free to email us with any questions or concerns you may have at ia@mst.edu

31. Academics

32. Q: What is a credit hour? A: A credit hour is the number of hours each week you should expect to spend in the classroom* for a particular course. Most of our courses are 3 credit hours. *Please understand that this does not include the time you will spend out of class studying and completing assignments.

33. Q: How many credit hours should a master’s student take their first semester at Missouri S&T? A: This is a decision your advisor will help you make after you arrive. To be considered full-time you are required to take 9 credit hours in the Fall and Spring semesters.

34. Q: Can I work on my dissertation/research while completing my coursework? A: In many cases it is possible, but we encourage you to discuss this possibility with your advisor.

35. Q: How many credit hours will I need to get my degree? A: M.S. – the minimum number of credit hours is 30. Ph.D. – the minimum number of credit hours is 72 beyond the bachelor’s degree.

36. Q: How long will it take to get my degree? A: Assuming satisfactory progress is made… M.S. – approximately 2 years Ph.D. – varies by discipline Ex: approximately 3 ½ -4 years (for engineering disciplines)

37. for attending today.

38. If you have other questions please send us an email at mstgrad@mst.edu

39. Or visit a Grad Chat session held each Monday and Thursday 9:00-11:00 am CST http://grad.mst.edu/prospectivestudents/GradChat.html

40. This concludes the formal presentation part of this webinar. Please feel free to send any additional questions you have to us via chat and we will be happy to answer them.

41. IMPORTANT: If you have not already done so, please fill out the brief survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6GHVP8

42. Nick Codutti Why MO S&T? Expanding my horizons using the network Missouri S&T provides to you and the credibility of the school. August was my first month here and by September I had companies interviewing me based on the same degree I had …that wouldn’t have looked at me without S&T on my resume.

43. Pay ScaleMedian Salary: Doctorate:  $80,860 Master's:  $63,856 Bachelor's:  $50,856

44. Job Market 2008 unemployment rates: • Bachelor's:  2.8% • Master's:  2.4% • Doctorate:  2.0%

45. Fast Facts • 34 Graduate Certificates offered • 28 Master’s Programs offered • 21 PhD programs offered • 11 degrees offered entirely on-line • 175 classes offered on-line • 26% female, 74% male • 8% underrepresented minorities • 54% international students • 896 students from 50 countries

46. Rankings • 52nd among the nation’s best engineering schools (U.S. News and World Report “America’s Best Colleges Guidebook 2008”) • A top-20 program for “best career/job placement” (The Princeton Review, 2008) • Career Fair with over 300 employers represented • 5 of Missouri S&T’s graduate programs were ranked among the top 50 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for 2009.

47. Pay ScaleMedian Salary: Doctorate:  $80,860 Master's:  $63,856 Bachelor's:  $50,856

48. Fast Facts • 34 Graduate Certificates offered • 28 Master’s Programs offered • 21 PhD programs offered • 11 degrees offered entirely on-line • 175 classes offered on-line • 26% female, 74% male • 8% underrepresented minorities • 54% international students • 896 students from 50 countries

49. Job Market 2008 unemployment rates: • Bachelor's:  2.8% • Master's:  2.4% • Doctorate:  2.0%

50. Rankings • 52nd among the nation’s best engineering schools (U.S. News and World Report “America’s Best Colleges Guidebook 2008”) • A top-20 program for “best career/job placement” (The Princeton Review, 2008) • Career Fair with over 300 employers represented • 5 of Missouri S&T’s graduate programs were ranked among the top 50 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for 2009.