spring 2010 issue of graduate schools magazine

Spring 2010

Tips on Making Graduate School a Breeze

Also Inside:

A Working Professional’s Reflection on Going Back to Grad School

Master of Art: Are Graduate Degrees in the Arts

a Necessity or Novelty?

Getting Into Graduate and Professional School

www.gradschoolsmag.com

1Visit us online at: www.gradschoolsmag.com

Welcome to the Spring 2010 issue of Graduate Schools Magazine (GSM). Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2010. You are about to

embark on the next chapter of your life. As many of you are aware, the current recession has signifi-cantly impacted the job market for recent graduates and Americans in general. A recent survey con-ducted by Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute says that the num-ber of companies hiring bachelor’s degree recipi-ents is estimated to drop nearly 1 percent for 2010. Yet companies hiring individuals receiving a Ph.D. will be hired at an increased rate of 20 percent and MBA graduates at 11 percent. There is no time like the present to adequately prepare yourself for the future. A graduate degree is an excellent prepara-tion tool. In this issue, you will find several articles addressing the current benefits of earning a grad-uate degree and ways to navigate the admissions and financial process. You will also find numerous graduate and professional programs. This issue will assist in figuring out your academic and career goals, in spite of the current economic climate.

Prince A. MhoonPublisher

Graduate Schools Magazine

Spring 2010

Publisher Prince A. Mhoon

Editorial Director Abena Lewis-Mhoon, Ph.D.

Director of Advertising

Prince A. Mhoon

Creative Director

Darlene Jones Powell

Executive Design Consultant Jason Charter

Online DirectorKelvin Ross

Editor Nat Stone

Feature Article Contributors JaSaun L. BucknerMarie M. Bangura

Erica Sewell-Alexander

For subscription/circulation information contact: [email protected]

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Publishers Letter

My extreme challenge was academic. Returning to school nine years after completing my undergraduate de-gree at Howard University has been one of the most chal-lenging, yet fulfilling, experiences of my life thus far. Like most freshmen, when I entered undergrad, I was beyond ready to leave home, meet new people and chart my own educational course. I chose to study communications after one semester as a business student. Attending a college as social and electric as Howard was fun but also created a real sense of community.

Once classes began everyone was at the starting block; there were hundreds of other students experiencing this new life right along side me. Coming into college, I had been well trained in studying and homework so the shift into college was not very startling in that regard. The big difference, of course, is that you have to take all of the responsibility into your own hands versus the angst-filled parental demands to study.

Fast-forward nine years. After an eight-year career in television and media, I was in a position to take a leap of faith and go to graduate school. I wanted to enhance my expertise with formal education and also prepare my-self for an ancillary career of teaching at the college level. So mid-career and entering my 30- something stage of life I started a part-time master’s degree program at the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism. I actually never consid-ered my age in the decision to go back to school, but I did have several vivid nightmares about failing a class and final exam I didn’t know I was registered for until the end of the semester.

One class comprised students just out of undergrad -- essentially babies in my eyes. In another class, a handful of students were closer to my age and were also working part or fulltime. Still I felt isolated in the experience. We all had full lives, away from each other psychologically and physically: no dorms, no cafeteria that creates the commu-nity you experience while in undergrad.

I struggled at first with the amount of work required for the program, because I was out of practice. But here is where the rewarding part of the experience kicked in… I shifted my approach. Instead of trying to recapture the student mode I mastered back in the last two decades, I approached school as a job. I outlined mini tasks on a five-day-a-week basis to help balance coursework between the two classes as if they were two separate work projects with milestone and deadlines with consequences.

I was getting stress headaches and losing sleep due to anxiety. I consulted a life coach and one of my best friends who just completed a mater’s program and reminded to


GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Master's Degree PrograMs

American University Communications (Film and Media Arts Journalism Public Communication and International Media) .......................................... 21

Boston UniversityOutreach Division of Graduate Medical Services Boston University School of Medicine (Bioimaging, Biomedical Crisis Management Biomedical Forensic Sciences, Clinical Investigation, Forensic Anthropology, Medical Anthropology and Medical Nutrition Sciences) ................................... 21

Brown UniversityThe Urban Education Policy Master’s Program ................................... Backcover

Carnegie Mellon University-H.John Heinz III CollegeSchool of Public Policy & Management and School of Information Systems & Management (Multiple Programs) .................................................. 6

Christie’s EducationArt (Modern Art, Connoisseurship and the History of the Art Market).............. 24

Dartmouth CollegeThe Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice Center for Education Recruitment and Admissions Master of Public Health, Master of Science ........................................................................................ 13

Erikson Institute Graduate School in Child Development (Child Development, Clinical Social Work, Childhood Education and Childhood Education Leading) ............. 10

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Aviation Safety and Occupational Safety ........................................................ 16

Emory UniversityEmory Graduate School (Multiple Programs) ...........................Front Inside Cover

Howard UniversityPublic History Program ................................................................................. 8

Temple UniversitySchool of Tourism & Hospitality Management .............................................. 25

Quinnipiac University Multiple Programs ...................................................................................... 20

Doctoral PrograMs

Boston UniversityOutreach Division of Graduate Medical Services Boston University School of Medicine (Bioimaging, Biomedical Crisis Management Biomedical Forensic Sciences, Clinical Investigation, Forensic Anthropology, Medical Anthropology and Medical Nutrition Sciences) ......................... Backcover

Dartmouth CollegeThe Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice Center for Education Recruitment and Admissions Master of Public Health, Master of Science ........................................................................................ 13


Howard UniversityPublic History Program ................................................................................. 8


BUSINESS PROGRAMS


Willamette University Master of Business Administration (MBA) ..................................................... 2

MEDIcAl PROGRAMS


Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine (OCPM) Podiatric Medicine ..................................................................................... 27


St. George’s UniversitySchool of Medicine ........................................................................................ 4

Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (UAG)School of Medicine ..................................................................................... 14

laW PrograMs

Quinnipiac University Joint Degree in Business and Law................................................................. 20

John Marshall School of Law ............................................................9

FEATURED ARTIclES

A Working Professional's Reflection on Going Back to Grad School .............................................................................................12

Tips on Making Graduate School a Breeze ..............................18

Master of Art: Are Graduate Degrees in the Arts a Necessity or a Novelty? .......................................................................22

Getting Into Graduate and Professional School ....................26

Table of Contents

Spring 2010

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4 Graduate Schools Magazine | Spring 2010

Being a Medical Student“I knew there would be obstacles to overcome in study-

ing at an international medical school, but I wouldn’t be here if the pros didn’t outweigh the cons,” declares Deon.

After two years as an EMT, Deon and his fiancée Mindy Cheng agreed that St. George’s was a great op-tion for the both of them. Mindy was also applying to study medicine and they decided to journey to the Ca-ribbean together.

In recalling his first year at St. George’s, Deon says, “The sheer workload of learning medicine was a little overwhelming at times. But I found that giving myself enough time away from the books was just as important as buckling down and studying.”

With HonorsDeon is a member of Iota Epsilon Alpha, St. George’s

University School of Medicine’s International Medical Honor Society. Iota Epsilon Alpha is an academic soci-ety; its precepts are grounded in humanitarianism, moral integrity, and academic excellence.

Iota Epsilon Alpha works to promote academic excellence not only in its members but also in the achievements of fellow colleagues. Through educational

assistance programs such as tutoring, the production of practice exams endorsed by course professors, and the organization of anatomy mock practicals twice a semes-ter, Iota Epsilon Alpha tries to assist fellow classmates and new first-term students as much as possible.

“I was accepted based on my academic achieve-ments,” Deon shares. “I chose to join because they run a diverse number of events –from mock practical exams to a biannual dodgeball tournament.”

Capturing the MomentWhen Deon is not studying or in classes, he can be

found behind the lens of a Nikon D80 SLR camera.

“As a medical student, I spend a good portion of the day sitting at my desk,” Deon states. “I found that hav-ing a hobby like photography is a great creative outlet for me.”

Although he owned several point-and-shoot cameras over the years, Deon didn’t really become interested in photography as a more serious hobby until he borrowed his father’s Nikon D70 two years ago. From there, he bought his own Nikon D50 and has since upgraded to a Nikon D80.

“I’m self-taught from books and lots of trial and error, but I would really like some formal training someday to improve my skills. I think I have some of the foundations but I still have so much to learn, which is in itself part of the appeal for me.”

Deon hopes to eventually develop more of a unifying identity to his work as well as a portfolio worthy of print or publication. For now, he takes advantage of the free moments to capture whatever he sees.

“One night I was so tired of studying that I went out-side my apartment building at 4 a.m. and pointed my

CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

Aerial View of St. Geroge's University in Grenada, West Indies

When Deon Lau graduated from UCLA with a degree in psychobiology, continuing on to study medicine in the states seemed pretty obvious. Deon spent most of his life in southern California, where he always kept medicine at the top of his list of careers to pursue. After completing two years as an EMT (first on an ambulance and then later in the emergency room of the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center), Deon’s choice to pursue medicine was solidified. Now Deon finds himself a third-term medical student at St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies.


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Carnegie Mellon University Tackles Complex Issues at the Intersection of Policy, Technology and Management. Research-ers at Carnegie Mellon's H. John Heinz III College have shown that public information readily gleaned from governmental sources, commercial data bases, or online social net-works can be used to routinely predict most — and sometimes all — of an individual’s nine-digit Social Security number.

Project lead Alessandro Acquisti, associ-ate professor of information technology and public policy at Heinz College, and Ralph Gross, a post-doctoral researcher at the Col-lege, have shown that public information readily gleaned from governmental sources, commercial data bases, or online social net-works can be used to routinely predict most — and sometimes all — of an individual’s nine-digit Social Security number. They found that an individual’s date and state of birth are sufficient to guess his or her Social Security number with great accuracy. The study findings were published in the Pro-ceedings of the National Academy of Sci-ence, and presented at the BlackHat 2009 information security conference in Las Ve-gas.

The predictability of Social Security numbers is an unexpected consequence of seemingly unrelated policies and technologi-cal developments that, in combination, make Social Security numbers obsolete for authen-tication purposes. Because many businesses use Social Security numbers as passwords or for other forms of authentication — a use not anticipated when Social Security was

devised in the 1930s — the predictability of the numbers increases the risk of identity theft. The Social Security Administration could mitigate this vulnerability by assigning numbers to people based on a randomized scheme, but ultimately an alternative means of authenticating identities must be adopted, the authors conclude. “In a world of wired consumers, it is possible to combine infor-mation from multiple sources to infer data that is more personal and sensitive than any single piece of original information alone,” said Acquisti.

”Future Social Security numbers could be made more secure by switching to a random-ized assignment scheme, but protecting peo-ple who already have been issued numbers is harder,” the researchers said. “Considering the ease with which Social Security numbers can be predicted, legislative and policy ini-tiatives aimed at removing the numbers from public exposure, or redacting their first five digits, may be well-meaning but misguided,” Acquisti said. “Given the inherent vulner-ability of Social Security numbers, it is time to stop using them for verifying identities and redirect our efforts toward implement-ing secure, privacy-preserving authentica-tion methods.”

The study is just one example of the unique collaborations made possible by Heinz College’s interdisciplinary curricu-lum, which merges policy, technology and management to produce graduates with the training to tackle society’s most pressing issues.

Heinz College is uniquely positioned for thought leadership at these important intersections.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

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Graduate Schools Magazine | Spring 2010 8

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People and community-based research are the focus of the Public History program at Howard University. In its first year, Howard interns conducted interviews for the Smithsonian Institution and developed projects for residents at a District of Columbia public housing com-plex. The Washington Post praised the award-winning program’s techniques.

In Howard’s Public History program students take core courses in museum, archives, and preservation. Oth-er classes include park management, film, and material culture. Internships are required. Jim Harper collected artifacts as an intern with the first order of African Amer-ican nuns. Rhonda Jones interned with House speaker Newt Gingrich and chronicled an African American church’s

Underground Railroad activities. Other students interned at the United States Congress, White House, Capitol Historical Society, Library of Congress, National Parks Service, Historic Landmarks Survey, and the Bet-hune Museum and Black Women’s Archive. Howard in-terns have served at the Departments of State, Commerce, Labor, Education, Transportation, and Justice. Spike Lee’s 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks and the Children’s Defense Fund have employed Howard interns. Public History graduates are employed at many of the above institutions and at the History Factory, Naval Research Center Archives, National Security Agency, and Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture.

Seminars enhance each student’s experiences. For the Black Fashion Museum Howard students devised pub-lic relations plans and access for handicapped visitors viewing Rosa Parks’ dress, the Black designer Elizabeth Keckly’s creations for first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, or the gown African American designer Ann Lowe created for Jacqueline Bouvier’s and John F. Kennedy wedding. Howard seminars have been directed by Robert Stanton, Director of the National Park Service; Spencer Crew, Di-rector of the National Museum of American History; Wal-ter Hill, National Archives’ African American specialist;

Cecil N. McKithan, Chief, National Register Program; and, Barbara Taggar, Underground Railroad/Network to Freedom Program.

Established in the pre-World War I era, the History Department of Howard embraced public historians from its inception. After teaching at Howard, Dr. Carter G. Woodson established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, the Journal of Negro History, and Negro History Week. Professor Woodson took Afri-can-American history to schools, churches, social clubs, and businesses.

Trust forms the program’s foundation. Ailene L. Stamp-er and other African Americans would not share their rare materials until the Humanities Council involved Howard University. Ruth J. Wilson said the Howard Public His-tory program made the North Brentwood’s Smithsonian exhibit possible. Dr. Camille Cosby entrusted the Na-tional Visionary Leadership Project’s syllabi, interview-ing, and internet-based videotaping strategies to Howard University interns.

Howard University’s Public History program promotes a wide range of enriched community-based research. The program infuses students with a sense of the value of contributing to the community. With its new approaches and practices, Howard’s Public History program docu-ments histories that might otherwise go untold.

¹From Clark-Lewis’ “Public History at Howard University” (2003) and used with author’s permission; Jones, (1999), Ruffins, (2002); Pelonis, (2002); Washington Post (April and June 1991). ²Frank Rich, “White History Month,” New York Times (1995); Sorin, (2002); Horton, (1999); Wellman, (2002); Little, (1997). ³Goggin, (1993). Washington Post (April 1992), (March 1994), and (July 1996); Wilson, North Brentwood, (1997). Goddard Persistence, Perseverance, and Progress (1996) “Cosby[’s] Project,” Tennessee Tribune (2002); “Visionary,” Washington Post (2002); “Living History,” Washington Times (1995).

Public History Program

Howard University’s


The School of Public Policy and Management at Car-negie Mellon University ranks among the top ten gradu-ate public affairs schools in the United States. Originally founded in 1968 as the School of Urban and Public Af-fairs (SUPA), the school endeavored to apply quantitative analysis to solve the challenges facing America’s urban centers.

William Cooper, the school’s first dean said the goal of the school was “to prepare men and women for intel-ligent action.” This was not just rhetoric. The program’s quantitative focus was an important departure from other policy institutions that placed more emphasis on political science in the curriculum. Students were encouraged to be action-oriented problem-solvers for real-world orga-nizations, for which they made policy recommendations, based on careful analyses of data, often overturning con-ventional wisdom.

Over the next four decades, SUPA expanded its aca-demic and research leadership to include areas such as Health care, Education Leadership, Crime Policy, and Arts and Entertainment Management. The school also recognized the increasingly important role of informa-tion technology, both as a tool for policy analysis, as well as a policy area itself. This led to the creation of Carne-gie Mellon’s graduate programs in Information Systems.

Today, SUPA has grown to become the H. John Heinz III College, encompassing the School of Public Policy and Management, as well as the School of Information Systems and Management. Separately, these two world class institutions are leaders in their fields. However, the schools share a unified faculty, without departmental boundaries. This allows Heinz College faculty and stu-dents to bring expertise in multiple disciplines to bear on the most complex problems.

The pairing of a public policy school and an informa-tion systems school is highly relevant in the digital age. First, policy makers recognize the critical importance of information technology in improving the quality of government and health care services, reducing costs and creating greater transparency to the public. Similarly, the societal-scale adoption of information technologies has elevated the importance of related privacy, security and intellectual property issues. Heinz College is uniquely po-sitioned for thought leadership at these important inter-sections.

If you are looking for a graduate education that fosters innovative solutions to real-

world problems, then visit us at www.heinz.cmu.edu.

Carnegie Mellon UniversityCONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

Historians today...Prepare for TomorrowPublic History gives you the Employment advantage

Focus: - Museums

- Archives

- Documentary Filmmaking

- Preservation

- Public Policy

- Cultural Resources Management

And much, much more!!!

Contact:Dr. Elizabeth Clark-LewisDirector, Public History ProgramFrederick Douglass HallHoward UniversityWashington, DC 20059202.806.6815 Howard

U n i v e r s i t y


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Every day, research reveals more about how growth and development in the first years of life influence the child’s capacity to learn, to work, and to love. One school in the U.S. focuses exclusively on the implica-tions of that research for those who work with, or on behalf of, children from birth to age eight: Erikson In-stitute.

Teachers, therapists, program directors, early in-terventionists, and others from across the country and around the world come to Erikson to take their prac-tice to the next level. Erikson’s master’s degrees in child development and early childhood education, graduate certificate programs, and doctoral program are based on the knowledge that to work successfully with chil-dren, you must know and understand them.

At the heart of an Erikson education is an apprecia-tion for whole child. Course work goes beyond physi-cal, cognitive, and social-emotional development to examine the child’s unique context, the complex web of relationships, affiliations, and values called family, culture, and community. It’s a context that helps shape the child’s world as surely as neural networks.

This approach to children has never been more im-portant. From city hall to the White House, there is growing acknowledgement that giving our children a

strong start in life is one of the best investments we can make. Issues such as early childhood policy, universal preschool, early intervention, and infant mental health are the subject of national debate and discussion—dialog that frequently features Erikson faculty and alumni.

State social service agencies and public school systems struggle to serve populations that are more ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse than at any time, and an increasing number of children—as many as one in five—have one or more risk factors that threaten to prevent them from reaching their full potential.

Erikson’s programs directly address the issues that early childhood professionals must face if they are to be effective in their practice with children and families from a variety of backgrounds. Along with compre-hensive knowledge of child development, Erikson pro-vides the opportunity to put knowledge into practice and develop the habit of professional self-reflection.

Internships and accompanying integrative seminars allow students to consider the impact of their beliefs, expectations, and actions on children—and vice versa. In the seminar setting, practitioners examine the val-ues, behaviors, and communication patterns on both sides of the professional relationship and learn to use colleagues for support and problem solving.

Students also join faculty on research projects and a variety of community initiatives. Because faculty re-search is applied research, not basic research, it often compliments students’ professional experience. Exam-ining how second-language learners acquire vocabu-lary, determining the unmet needs of Illinois pediatri-cians with respect to infant mental health, conducting research into how teacher preparation programs ad-dress diversity and whether they prepare teachers to meet needs of underserved children—these and doz-ens of other research projects have welcomed team members who are current students.

Erikson has always been deeply embedded in the community. From its early years, when it trained Head

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

The Biggest Impact You Can Make in Children’s Lives Starts Here

To know their world, step into ours.M.S. in child development

Dual degree: M.S. in child development/M.S.W. in clinical social work with Loyola University Chicago

M.S. in early childhood education (on campus and online)

M.S. in early childhood education leading to initial Type 04 certification www.erikson.edu

Chicago, Illinois


My extreme challenge was academic. Returning to school nine years after completing my undergraduate degree at Howard University has been one of the most challenging, yet fulfilling, experiences of my life thus far. Like most freshmen, when I entered undergrad, I was beyond ready to leave home, meet new people and chart my own educational course. I chose to study communi-cations after one semester as a business student. Attend-ing a college as social and electric as Howard was fun but also created a real sense of community.

Once classes began everyone was at the starting block; there were hundreds of other students experiencing this new life right along side me. Coming into college, I had been well trained in studying and homework so the shift into college was not very startling in that regard. The big difference, of course, is that you have to take all of the responsibility into your own hands versus the angst-filled parental demands to study.

Fast-forward nine years. After an eight-year career in television and media, I was in a position to take a leap of faith and go to graduate school. I wanted to enhance my expertise with formal education and also prepare myself for an ancillary career of teaching at the college level. So mid-career and entering my 30- something stage of life I started a part-time master’s degree program at the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism. I actually never consid-ered my age in the decision to go back to school, but I did have several vivid nightmares about failing a class and final exam I didn’t know I was registered for until the end of the semester.

One class comprised students just out of undergrad — essentially babies in my eyes. In another class, a handful of students were closer to my age and were also working part or fulltime. Still I felt isolated in the experience. We all had full lives, away from each other psychologically and physically: no dorms, no cafeteria that creates the community you experience while in undergrad.

I struggled at first with the amount of work required for the program, because I was out of practice. But here is where the rewarding part of the experience kicked in… I shifted my approach. Instead of trying to recapture the student mode I mastered back in the last two decades, I approached school as a job. I outlined mini tasks on a five-day-a-week basis to help balance coursework between the two classes as if they were two separate work projects with milestone and deadlines with consequences.

I was getting stress headaches and losing sleep due to anxiety. I consulted a life coach and one of my best friends who just completed a mater’s program and re-minded to use all of the resources available. They both advised that I speak to my professors more often when I’m feeling overwhelmed or restrained by a given time-line. Now, in my third semester I’m preparing my thesis project. I’m no longer putting myself through unnecessary last-minute pressure. I’ve learned the ben-efits of over planning and micromanaging my time and assignments. I’m excited about the personal reward of completing my program. I used school as an opportu-nity to not face my fears but convert my shortcomings to accomplishments.

JaSaun L. Buckner, M.A. Candidate 2010. University of Southern California

Feature Article

BACK2by Jasaun Buckner

Some people bungee jump, rock climb or even jump out of airplanes to face their fears and challenge themselves.

grad schoolA working Professional's Refelction on Going

grad school

14

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It is the oldest and largest private university in Mexico. In fact, it was the first private university in Mexico and has always been non-profit. With 5 campi in Guadalaja-ra, Jalisco, a campus in the state of Nayarit and a campus in the state of Tabasco, which includes another medical school, the UAG educational system runs the gamut from Pre-K to post graduate studies. Our system, which offers 38 undergraduate degrees, 20 masters and 3 doctorals, is comprised of an elementary school, two middle schools, three high schools, a community college system, continu-ing education and post graduate studies. In addition to an Olympic-sized pool, baseball and softball stadiums, a professional basketball court and a professional soccer stadium, the UAG has four major libraries, three conven-tion centers, the Ocho Columnas publishing empire and its own television station.

Yet by and large the most recognized of our schools in the United States is our highly-acclaimed School of Medicine in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Providing health care to the community at large and excellent physicians to many countries, the UAG School of Medicine has gradu-ated more than 74,000 physicians. Within this number you will find over 14,000 U.S. graduates from our Inter-national Program. Our U.S. graduates are bilingual, bi-cultural and bi-literate. They speak the language of the patient in many ways. It is not enough to speak a lan-guage; you must also “speak a culture”.

New CurriculumWith the ECFMG’s endorsement of our new 5-year

curriculum, the UAG begins a new era for U.S. students. During the first two years of basic sciences, our students are able to begin honing their skills as physicians by going out in the community. UAG students start seeing pa-tients from the very first semester through our Program of Medicine in the Community’s 17 community clinics.

Established in the early 1970’s, the PMC is the perfect venue for students to begin their clinical training early in their education. Not only does it reinforce their medical education in the environment where diseases are gener-ated but it also allows them to learn how to apply ap-propriate solutions to community health problems. The UAG still makes great use of the “house call” which helps them identify the social, cultural, biological and econom-ical factors that form part of the patient and the family.

Structured activities for learning in the PMC include clinical history taking, basic suturing, health surveys, pre-natal and puerperal care. Students also are able to be-come more involved with the community through talks which touch upon preventive medicine, national vaccina-tion campaigns, the benefits of pap smears, limitations from injuries, rehabilitation, epidemiological studies, morbidity information and basic research.

MediCal SChool GraduateS aNd

CouNtiNG

74,000The Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UGA) is a complete University established in 1935 for the purpose of education – period.

The Graduate Schools Magazine blog is an online interactive forum for prospective, current and former students.

In addition, graduate faculty and administrators are welcome to discuss various topics of interest in this online community.

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Being bilingual brings great advantages

Third year of the curriculum takes the students through the core disciplines preparing them for 4th year rotations in the U.S. or in Mexico through any of the 150 affiliated hospitals. To become familiar with the US medical system, students can do all or part of their 4th-year rotations in the U.S.

Harvard, University of California medical schools, Tulane, University of Texas medical schools, Baylor, Albert Einstein and USC Keck are some of the schools where our students do 4th-year electives. Because of the UAG’s quality of education and the great advantage of having students learn another language/culture, our students are not only accepted into prestigious rotations but are also invited to interviews for residency spots once they enter our fifth year, Internado. Many of our gradu-ates are picked up before the Match.

This fifth year – Pre-Internship or Internado – can be done in Mexico or the United States. Having an ad-ditional year of clinical, being bilingual and having the experience of working in undeserved areas makes our graduates an enviable commodity for the health care needs of today.

Receiving one of the best clinical educations avail-able, UAG graduates differentiate themselves by the way they dress, by the way they respect their peers and by their many accomplishments. What really sets UAG graduates apart from others, in addition to their being bilingual and bicultural, is how they learn to “care” for their patients.

With less than one million physicians actively practicing in the United States, the imminent retire-ment of physicians and an increasing population, there is a great need for health care providers. The Universi-dad Autónoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine is proud to provide our bilingual and bicultural graduates from the International Program of the UAG School of Medicine.


embry-riddle aeronautical University's Campus in Prescott, arizona

The faculty in the Department of Safety Science, which houses the master’s degree program, have expe-rience and education in both areas of safety. As a re-sult, students graduate with the capability to work in any sector (business or government) in the industry of their choice. Our graduates are employed in aerospace, insur-ance, the airlines, and private flight based operations, to name only a few.

Our graduates have attained a nearly 100% employ-ment rate over the 9-year history of the program (largely due to our active internship program). This figure has not changed even in this difficult economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that the demand for safety professionals will not decline over the next ten years, but will grow at the same rate as other disciplines.

what is safety?The field of safety is interdisciplinary. Safety incor-

porates knowledge from ergonomics and human factors, industrial hygiene, epidemiology, accident investigation (including, but not limited to, aircraft), ethics (as applied in a safety context), among a number of other areas.

CurriculumThe curriculum reflects the interdisciplinary nature of

safety. The master’s degree requires 36 graduate units (a typical semester course is 3 units), including the op-tion of a 3-hour graduate research project or a 6-hour thesis. The core curriculum consists of courses in ergo-nomics and human factors, occupational safety, aviation safety, quantitative methods, industrial hygiene, and re-search methods. The elective courses cover the span of occupational and aviation safety covering such topics as aircraft accident investigation, aircraft design for surviv-ability, epidemiology, industrial hygiene instrumentation, and safety ethics, The electives are supplemented by the interests of the graduate students and the faculty.

Departmental resources include:

the most complete general aviation accident • investigation laboratory in the nation,

new industrial hygiene and ergonomics • laboratories,

aviation safety and security archives,•

expert faculty with field experience, and•

small classes with personal attention.•

to study a Unique Blend of

Real education. Above all.

ContaCt us today to sChedule a visit Graduate admissions | 3700 Willow Creek Road | Prescott, aZ 86301

1-800-888-3728 | [email protected]

Master of science in safety scienceAviAtion SAfetyAccident inveStigAtion occupAtionAl HeAltH & SAfety

prescott.erau.edu/safetyscienceERAU_Ad_Half page.indd 1 1/6/10 2:05:13 PM

Most graduate programs

in safety offer a specialty in either

occupational safety or aviation safety.

However, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical

University (ERAU) in Prescott, Arizona,

students are afforded the unique

opportunity to study both disciplines in the

same degree program.&Aviation Safety

atOccupational Safety

an opportunity






An Opportunity to Study a Unique Blend of Aviation Safety and Occupational Safety at Embry-‐Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona

Most graduate programs in safety offer a specialty in either occupational safety or aviation safety. However, at Embry-‐Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Prescott, Arizona, students are afforded the unique opportunity to study both disciplines in the same degree program.

Embry-‐Riddle Aeronautical University’s Campus in Prescott, Arizona

The faculty in the Department of Safety Science, which houses the master’s degree program, have experience and education in both areas of safety. As a result, students graduate with the capability to work in any sector (business or government) in the industry of their choice. Our graduates are employed in aerospace, insurance, the airlines, and private flight based operations, to name only a few. Our graduates have attained a nearly 100% employment rate over the 9-‐year history of the program (largely due to our active internship program). This figure has not changed even in this difficult economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that the demand for safety professionals will not decline over the next ten years, but will grow at the same rate as other disciplines. What is Safety? The field of safety is interdisciplinary. Safety incorporates knowledge from ergonomics and human factors, industrial hygiene, epidemiology, accident investigation (including, but not limited to, aircraft), ethics (as applied in a safety context), among a number of other areas. Curriculum The curriculum reflects the interdisciplinary nature of safety. The master’s degree requires 36 graduate units (a typical semester course is 3 units), including the option of a 3-‐hour graduate research project or a 6-‐hour thesis. The core curriculum consists of courses in ergonomics and human factors, occupational safety, aviation safety, quantitative methods, industrial hygiene, and research methods. The elective courses cover the span of occupational and aviation safety covering such topics as aircraft accident investigation, aircraft design for survivability, epidemiology, industrial


the FacultyGary Northam, Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Department of Safety Science

Dr. Northam was appointed the Chair in July, 2005. • He came to ERAU Prescott from Parks College of Engineering and Aviation at Saint Louis University where he was a professor in the Aviation Science department, and Chair of that department for 7 ½ years. Dr. Northam teaches courses in aviation safety, aviation human factors, and pilot training. His areas of research include professional ethics, aviation human factors, and aviation safety.

Maxwell Fogleman, Ph.D., MPH, CPE, Associate Professor, Department of Safety Science

Dr. Fogleman has been on the faculty since August • of 2001. He came to Embry-Riddle from indus-try, where, among other positions, he worked as a research scientist at the Liberty Mutual Research Center in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. He teaches courses in ergonomics and human factors, statistics, and epidemiology. Dr. Fogleman’s areas of research

include occupational biomechanics and the epide-miology of occupational musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses.

Nancy Lawrence, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Safety Science

Dr. Lawrence has been on the faculty since August • of 2005. She came from the safety management program at Indiana State University. Dr. Lawrence teaches courses in industrial hygiene, occupational safety, and research methods.

William Waldock, Professor, Department of Safety Science

Professor Waldock is a retired aviator from the Unit-• ed States Coast Guard and has been on the faculty for over 20 years. He is a nationally recognized au-thority in air crash investigation. He teaches course in aircraft crash investigation and aircraft design for survivability.

Information: For more information, contact Dr. Maxwell Fogleman at [email protected].












How do I know this school is for me?

What programs do they offer?

Does this school offer internships/externships?

Will I be able to find a job?

Will I be able to pay for it?


What programs do they offer?

Does this school offer internships/externships?


Will I be able to pay for it?

Selecting a graduate school can be one of the

hardest decisions of your life.

Questions pop through your head :

Feature Article

by Marie M. Bangura, M.ED


Deciding to go to graduate school will help you earn more money in the long run; enjoy a much higher level of job and career satisfaction, and serve as one of the best personal investments. Gathering all the facts can help you make a more informed decision.

First, you must look within yourself at your current pathway and your proposed destination. You will need to analyze your strength, weaknesses, financial situation and social situation. You will also need to prioritize your needs. Then set short-term and long- term goals to help you keep your eye on the prize. This will require much research and footwork -- as well as compromising. You shouldn’t even think about taking the LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, GRE or other aptitude test without a good test guide or attending courses that are catered to the exam. Community colleges, assessment centers, YMCAs, high schools and libraries offer courses for test preparation

I chose a graduate school based on its tuition assis-tance for its full-time employees. Most colleges/universi-ties have tuition reimbursement programs that are offered through their human resources division. Previously, I had experience in banking and student lending, so I became a full-time employee in student accounts. I worked in this office for one year, which was the time required before the tuition assistance could be applied.

Depending on your field of study, inquire about in-ternships/externships that the school may have to offer. An internship is a work-related learning experience for individuals who wish to develop hands-on work experi-ence in a certain occupational field. Most internships are temporary assignments that last approximately three months up to a year. An externship is an opportunity for a student to engage in practice-based learning by actively participating in a field of interest. It’s similar to an intern-ship, but is generally of a shorter duration. Externships also tend to be less extensive than internships, and stu-

dents might not receive academic credit. The term “ex-tern” is also used to refer to a medical professional who is associated with a facility, but is not considered a full-time member of the staff.

Paying for graduate school without a budget or plan can be difficult.

Some things to consider when selecting a graduate school:

The cost/credit hour (stay in state if you can; most • in state colleges/universities are cheaper)

Housing (Graduate housing is an option)•

Books•

Transportation •

Federal Work Study is a federal program that is of-• fered by the government where students work and get paid.

For graduate students, there are subsidized graduate Stafford loans and unsubsidized Graduate Stafford loans. Subsidized Stafford loans are awarded based on finan-cial need. Any student who qualifies for this kind of loan will not be charged any interest while in school. Unsubsi-dized Stafford loans are not awarded based on financial need. Any eligible student can take out an unsubsidized Stafford loan. The best thing about Stafford loans for graduate students is that the annual loan limits are a lot higher than they are for undergraduate students.

Graduate students also have the opportunity to apply for federal Graduate PLUS loans. This federal loan has a low-fixed interest rate, but it comes with the flexibility of a private student loan. The Grad PLUS loan is based on credit rather than on need so as long as student has decent credit they can qualify.

To apply and learn more about Federal Student Aid, please log onto: www.fafsa.ed.gov. Please note this application is FREE.



TIPSGRADUATE SCHOOL

on making

A BREEZE

20

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Quinnipiac University has once again been named among the nation’s best universities providing a full range of undergraduate and master’s level programs in the U.S. News and World Report 2009 America’s Best Colleges issue. Quinnipiac ranked first among northern universi-ties with master’s programs having made the most prom-ising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, cam-pus or facilities.

There are about 2000 motivated graduate students earning degrees at Quinnipiac. A graduate degree from Quinnipiac will provide each of them with a positive career catalyst. Whether you’re looking to go further in your current field or break into a new career, a graduate degree from Quinnipiac will set you on your way. Our world class programs are designed to help students de-velop practical and highly marketable professional skills or prepare for further graduate degrees.

Turning Potential into PerformanceMBA, MBA in Health care Mgt, MBA – Chartered Financial Analyst, MBA – Supply Chain Mgt, JD/MBA, Computer Information Systems

The world is ever changing, and at an increasingly rap-id pace. Successful business leaders must possess the skills necessary to handle current – and future – business chal-lenges and opportunities. Our top priority is to prepare and challenge our students to demonstrate the advanced knowledge, skills, and professionalism required for excel-lence in professional practice and leadership. The high quality of business programs has been acknowledged by both the academic and business communities. We have earned full accreditation from the Association to Ad-vance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

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Teaching – elementary or secondary education, Educational Leadership

The School of Education takes very seriously its re-sponsibility to graduate new teachers and school leaders who possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions neces-sary to provide all children with the education they need and deserve. The School envisions that its graduates will be teachers and school leaders who display three funda-mental attributes: the ability to engage in sound practice which is informed by educational theory, commitment to equity and social justice, and dedication to engaging in deeply reflective, mindful practice. The Master of Arts in Teaching program is fully accredited by the Na-tional Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). NCATE accreditation provides formal recog-nition at the national level of the quality of our programs, our faculty and our teacher candidates.

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That is why the serious professional chooses Quinnipiac for advanced degrees. A master’s degree from the School of Health Sciences or College of Arts and Sciences at Quinnipiac University helps you develop the resources to contribute to this demanding life. We emphasize the importance of the health care team and the value of in-terdependent health specialties. We show you how ad-vancing technologies in diagnosis and care extends your abilities and effectiveness. We offer volumes of new, us-able knowledge about medical techniques and scientific research.

Law – JD, JD/MBA

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Ever since I knew what a fashion designer was, I wanted to be one. When it came time to choose a major, I had my parents sup-port in selecting a BFA in Fashion Design. Neither of them knew any designers personally, and I have no doubt that part of the tears shed when dropping me off at Virginia Commonwealth University, was based on feeling like they were watching tuition go down the drain right along with my future. Unbeknownst to me, or anyone else (especially Uncle Larry who always asked, “now, what is your major again?”) I ended up with a pretty successful career. I gradu-ated in four years and landed an assistant designer job at Armani Exchange straight out of school. Within five years I was earning six figures, while my lawyer friends were struggling to pay their loans. Of course this was in a more optimistic economic time, when even third-generation college students could afford to be aspirational about their career and education.

Today, while the myth that art careers are irrelevant has declined, the outlook on the economy exposes a tug of war between necessity and novelty in major choices. We have a juxtaposition of “reality” TV competition shows (a la “Project Runway,” et al), with job loss and difficulty in retaining college loans. The persona of a creative professional has become glamorized while the promise of job place-ment and sustainable income is paramount. Even classic majors such as Philosophy are being cut from higher-education institutions based on their decline in major enrollment. Curriculum and degree majors are becoming increasingly more career-based, just to stay

afloat as an institution. And the allure of low overhead for mas-ters programs is increasing the amount of graduate degrees

offered. So where do the arts stand in this academic shuffle? From where I sit, having a master’s combined with industry

experience in the arts is an insurance policy.

After transitioning from full-time designer to con-sultant, I became the Assistant Director of Career

Services at Parsons The New School for Design. I’m the same idealist who sought a fashion de-

sign major 10 years earlier. Now I sought to counsel students and alumni from the coun-

try’s most prestigious design school on their careers. This transition was one that I

never thought of while making my exit from the tumultuous throne as head

designer at Isaac Mizrahi. Besides a noble job, the only glimmer of

Feature Article

By ERICA SEWELL-ALExANDER

Are graduate degrees in the arts a necessity or novelty?

MASTER Of ART:

23

Start grantees on the reservations of Arizona and New Mexico, to just last year, when it opened the Center for Children and Families to provide diagnostic assessment and therapy to children and families throughout metro-politan Chicago, Erikson’s presence and influence touch-es an astonishing variety of work within the field of early childhood. The Early Mathematics Education Project works with 300 Chicago Public School teachers to im-prove the quantity and quality of mathematics education at the preschool and primary school levels. The Fussy Baby Network assists new parents whose babies cannot be comforted or who experience sleep disturbance or feed-ing problems. Erikson consultants help develop success-ful children’s museums and museum education programs that serve children and families. These and other projects have provided opportunities to individual students, but all students benefit from Erikson’s grounding in practice.

Early childhood knowledge, reflective practice, and attention to relationships: it’s a powerful combination that produces gifted practitioners who make a difference in the lives of children. Erikson graduates are directing Baltimore’s City Department of Social Services, leading the National Black Child Development Institute, head-ing a child life department at a major hospital, improving early math education in the Chicago Public Schools, and much more.

Like the alumni who have gone before them, today’s Erikson students—whatever their professional aspirations or their field of interest—choose to give themselves the very best preparation for the most important work there is: helping the children of today grow up to be healthy, happy, responsible, and productive adults of tomorrow.

Visit us online at: www.gradschoolsmag.com

hope that made me stomach the meager salary was the perk of free tuition to any of the New School’s colleges.

But what does a successful fashion designer get her master’s in? When it came time to select one, I realized I wasn’t the only one with this question.

At the time, The New School consisted of eight col-leges ranging from Mannes College for Music to Mila-no School for Management and Urban Policy, and ev-erything in between. The country’s top art and design school is backed by one of its esteemed think tanks, and I couldn’t find a master’s that made sense. The MFA pro-gram in Fine Arts was only full-time, and the only other related master’s was an MA in Decorative Arts, which ex-amined Western decors at 200 pages of reading per day. I chose an MA in Liberal Studies from The New School for Social Research. Needless to say, the question, “what the hell are you studying?” came with more force than be-fore. In this program you select different courses between the Social Sciences, working up to a thesis topic of your choice. Although I feel accomplished from the scholar-ship and my thesis on fashion designer, Patrick Kelly and the marketing of identity through his work, I can’t deny that the ambiguity concerning our major was a running joke in the department. Now that I’m the Assistant Chair of the Fashion Department at The Art Institute of New York City, I don’t feel like the joke’s on me anymore.

At AINYC, our career-focused design school is transi-tioning into a new associate’s degree program, and now New York state requires that all our faculty have 5+ years of industry experience and a master’s. Nowadays every higher education position in the arts requests a master’s. The difficulty in finding credentialed faculty is our biggest challenge, as I seem to be one of the few fashion design-ers who hold a graduate degree. At Parsons, we scoffed at the creation of two new fashion master’s programs, and couldn’t figure out who the applicants would be, but now I see a trend in the necessity of these degrees. Of our 32 fashion faculty, only 10 have master’s, and almost half are in progress in an attempt to save their jobs. As a designer in any discipline, the unspoken plan is to stay in the field until the end of your career when you move on to teach-ing at university level, and enjoy the lofty perks of the sabbatical life as a professor.

Even stellar designers who lack a graduate degree will be boxed out of their plan B when transitioning into re-tirement. The competitiveness within the arts has made graduate degrees one more tool to weed out hundreds of applicants in the shrinking job market.

Erica Sewell-Alexander, Assistant Chair, Fashion Dept. at The Art Institute of New York City/Creative Consultant at Escape Artist

ERIKSON INSTITUTECONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

"At the heart of an Erikson education is an appreciation for whole child."

Graduate Schools Magazine is currently accepting article submissions from

graduates, students and administrators.

Send article submissions to: [email protected]


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24

With auction houses consistently breaking sale records and private galleries expanding into Russia, China and India, no one can deny that the art market has remained strong amidst financial turmoil. This past May, Lucien Freud’s Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sold for over $33 million dollars at Christie’s Post-War and Contempo-rary evening sale breaking a record for the highest price paid for a work by a living artist. This sale exemplified the strength of the contemporary art market. According to a report at Bloomberg, Gagosian Director, Victoria Gelfand has noticed “a revolutionary moment on the art market” and consequently, Gagosian has opened a space in Russia.

In this international arena, professionals with connois-seurship knowledge and a practical skill set are sought out to meet demands for employment in this ever- expanding market. Gallerists and auction houses alike look for applicants who understand the processes used to create sculptures, installations and paintings, which they can then apply to the logistics involved with ship-ping, caring for, preserving and evaluating artists’ works. These skills cannot be learned from books.

While there are many graduate programs that train art historians, there are not many options for those pur-suing careers that deal directly with the market. Christie’s Education offers a unique Master’s degree in Modern Art, Connoisseurship and the History of the Art Market. Its program blends traditional art history courses with practical seminars that focus on training the viewer’s eye and gaining an understanding of the art market’s inner workings. Alexa Davidson, a 2006 graduate, stated her decision to attend Christie’s Education was because she was “interested in working in the commercial art world, and the art market is one of the most important aspects of the program.” Alexa now works as the Gallery Direc-tor for Lawrence Steigrad Fine Art.

Dr. Véronique Chagnon-Burke, Director of Studies of Christie’s Education New York sums up the program goals: “As Christie’s is the only major auction house in the world that directly runs educational programs, we are extremely fortunate to benefit from the expertise of our colleagues on a regular basis. The auction saleroom and New York City are our classrooms, from sale previews, to artist’s and conservator studios, we believe that engaging with the direct handling of art works is the best way to learn. Our Master’s program is finely tuned to provide students a balance between a rigorous academic training in modern and contemporary art and the acquisition of specific skills such as writing catalogue entry, press release or condition report, while focusing also on unraveling the inner working of the global the art world.”

Details on the Master’s program at Christie’s Education can be found at www.christies.edu.

Students examine prints with Jennifer Farrell, the Florence B. Selden Cura-torial Fellow for the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Yale University Art Gallery on a field study with Christie’s Education.

connoisseurship Skills a Necessity in Today’s Art Market

While there are many graduate programs that train art historians, there are not many options for those pursuing careers that deal directly with

the market. Christie’s Education offers a unique Master’s degree in Modern Art, Connoisseurship and the History of the Art Market.

25Visit us online at: www.gradschoolsmag.comVisit us online at: www.gradschoolsmag.com

camera toward campus,” Deon recalls. “I took some long exposures as cars passed by – that set was titled ‘Street-light.’”

Top RecommendationsDeon is now entering into his second year of studies

and has encountered quite a bit over the past year.

“It’s an experience,” Deon states. “You have to be able to adapt to not having some the amenities that we take for granted in the U.S. But it’s a great life experience to live in a foreign country and the fact that I can live here while pursuing my future goals makes it even better.”

“From the SGU graduates that I’ve spoken to, SGU offers all the tools needed to become a good doctor – I can’t ask for much more than that.”

About St. George’s UniversityWith nearly 8,000 medical graduates practicing in

every specialty and sub-specialty of medicine across the globe, St. George’s University provides an unrivalled global education experience. St. George’s University is an international center of education founded in 1977 on the island of Grenada, West Indies.

For more information on St. George’s University School of Medicine, visit www.sgu.edu or view St. George’s University’s students talking about their experiences on www.youtube.com/St.GeorgesU

St. George's UniversityCONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

Deon Lau and Mindy Cheng at St. George’s White Coat Ceremony Main campus in Grenada, West Indies


Feature Article

This is déjà vu.

You’ve been down this road

before. You wrote the essay,

you passed the qualifying

tests, and you submitted the

application.

You conquered the savage

beast and got into the college

of your choice. So what’s

the big deal about applying

and getting into graduate and

professional school?

Well…this is a whole new

animal.

You might have submitted an application packet when applying for undergraduate school. However, times have changed. With the advent of technology, most graduate and professional schools only accept applications online. Make sure that you submit your application in the pre-ferred form.

All applicants must have a satisfactory academic his-tory and hold an undergraduate degree or international equivalent. Schools select students who have shown aca-demic excellence, personal motivation, and the potential for professional advancement. The recommendation of faculty members, a statement of purpose or descriptive essay outlining goals for graduate study and addressing any question on the application are considered by gradu-ate and professional school’s admission committees dur-ing their evaluations. Some programs require languages, specific undergraduate courses, or other specific condi-tions. Carefully examine the program descriptions before applying.

Your first big decision will be choosing your program of study. Deciding between a professional program (D.D.S., J.D., M.B.A., M.D., etc.), a master’s (M.A.) or a Doctoral Program (Ph.D.) is a task not to be taken light-ly. Professional programs gear all of the latest research, current techniques and theory to a specific profession. The completion time varies per discipline. Most master’s programs act as introductions to specialized disciplines and offer instant value to professionals already working in a specific fields. These programs are usually designed to be completed in two years or less with fulltime study.

PROFESSIONALGraduateandGetting Into

Abena Lewis-Mhoon, Ph.D., Coppin STate University

SCHOOL


Doctoral programs are for those interested in becoming scholars, completing research and teaching in higher ed-ucation. The Ph.D. provides the essential credential for scholars to flourish in a specific field. This program re-

quires significant independent research published in the form of a dissertation. The degree takes anywhere from four to seven years with fulltime study.

Graduate and professional schools require entrance exams. Check the program requirements and guidelines for reporting scores:

Dental Admission Test (DAT)

The DAT tests for an understanding of the natural sciences, perceptual ability, reading, compre-hension, and quantitative reasoning. Scores from the DAT are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Visit www.ada.org for more information.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

The GRE (general) is usually required of applicants to most graduate schools. This exam tests an-alytical writing, verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning in three sections. In addition, certain departments and programs may require scores from a GRE Subject Test in one of eight areas (Bio-chemistry/ Cell& Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology). Scores from the GRE are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. The Education Testing Service administers the GRE, visit their site for more information www.ets.org or write to GRE, Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000.

General Management Admission Test (GMAT)

The GMAT is the assessment tool used by business and management schools and tests analytical writing, quantitative reasoning, and verbal reasoning. Scores from the GMAT are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Visit www.gmac.com for more informa-tion.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

Scores from the IELTS are often an accepted alternative, in addition, or in lieu of the TOEFL test scores. Scores from this exam are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Please visit their website for more information www.ielts.org .

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

All American Bar Association approved law schools require applicants to take the LSAT as part of the admission requirements. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical and logical reasoning, and other skills considered essential for success in law school. Scores from the LSAT are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Visit www.lsat.org for more information.

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

The MCAT is designed to asses problem solving, critical thinking, writing skills, and knowledge of science concepts mandatory for the study of medicine. Scores from the MCAT are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Visit www.aamc.org or www.testpreppre view.com for more information.


Optometry Admission Test (OAT)

The OAT is necessary for applicants of Optom-etry School. This exam measures general academic ability and comprehension of scientific information in the natural sciences. Scores from the OAT are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Visit www.opted.org for more information.

Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT)

The PCAT measures general academic ability and scientific knowledge to predict success in the science-based curriculum and provides Scores from this examination are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Please visit www.aacp.org or www.pcatprepinfo.com for additional information.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

The TOEFL is usually required of applicants whose native language is not English. Often this requirement is waived for applicants who have re-ceived a baccalaureate degree or its foreign equiva-lent from a college or university where English is the primary language of instruction. Scores from this examination are released directly to the schools of your choice as designated during the exam. Please visit their website for more information www.ets.org or write to GRE, Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000.

Graduate and professional school should be intellectually stimulating and challenging. As you identify programs that excite you, contact the fac-ulty directly to get a more comprehensive idea of what advanced study in that particular field requires. This is your chance to open the door to your future. So unlock your potential and enter this world of opportunity.

Good Luck!

Spring 2010

Tips on Making Graduate

School a Breeze

Also Inside:

A Working Professional’s Reflection

on Going Back to Grad School

Master of Art: Are Graduate

Degrees in the Arts

a Necessity or Novelty?

Getting Into Graduate and

Professional School

www.gradschoolsmag.com

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Call 202.422.4625 or e-mail: [email protected] to learn how you can reach nearly 1 million perspective Graduate Students.

spring 2010 issue of graduate schools magazine

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