Students are encouraged to become actively involved in both cooperative and independent inquiry, involving critical thinking about complex problems and ideas, and leading to reflective professional leadership through participation in graduate degree programs or non-degree professional certification options. Every program in the Department offers a combined emphasis on scholarship and professional preparation, focusing on the connections between theory, research, and practice. This Web Site provides program details, specific information, and advice to assist students in seeking admission to the Department and in planning programs of study. However, although student independence and initiative are necessary and valued in the Department, students are encouraged to make active use of the resources available through their faculty advisor.
Regular contact is vital to student success.
For example, the transition from course work to independent research often poses difficulties for graduate students. Identifying and defining research problems, designing and conducting research, and analyzing data require levels of knowledge, ability, and confidence that should be engendered through course work, but faculty and advisor help in this transition is often vital. Students should feel invited to engage faculty and especially their advisors in conversations and exchanges to help them in this process. No quality graduate program consists only of formal or course-related activities. Informal exchanges among students and between faculty and students, guest lectures, department symposia, social events, and student-organized study groups bring richness of texture and coherence to graduate study.