Psychology Department (NC State University)
Lynne Baker-Ward, Ph.D.Director of Graduate Programs
This page was last updated 11-21-2010 ------- Suggestions for Additions
Frequently asked questions (and answers) are available on this page.
The most-general question of all.What does a DGP do?Questions asked by prospective new students who are in the process of applying to our programs.
Go to Applicants' FAQQuestions from current graduate students who are concerned about rules and procedures.
Go to Graduate Students' FAQInformation for Teaching Assistants (TAs) in the Department of Psychology.
Go to FAQ for TAs
Applicants' FAQ
1. What do I need (and where do I send it), if I want to apply?
2. Why won't the department send me an application form?
3. What factors count, besides grades and the GRE?
4. What are your "cutting scores" for the GRE and for GPA?
5. Whom should I select to provide my reference letters?
6. Is there anything special to do, if I want to apply to the program in I/O Psychology?
7. When will I hear something about my application?
8. Does NC State offer a program in forensic psychology?
9. Can I take a course as a PBS student while waiting to apply next year? If so, what can I take?
10. Can I apply to more than one program ("concentration") for the same Fall?
11. I have a masters degree in psychology, can you indicate the credit/transfer arrangements at State?
12. I have a non-psychology background, can I still apply for the graduate program in psychology?
13. I did not complete a thesis in my masters program; how will this affect me?
14. I am already a graduate student in another department at NC State; how do I switch to Psychology?
1. HOW TO APPLY.
Several items are required for an application to the graduate programs in Psychology to be complete. Following is a simple list, along with some notes and with information about where/how to submit the various materials.
Other supplementary materials may be submitted to the department, but such materials should be kept to a minimum. Submission of resumes (or CVs), term papers, projects and/or publications are explicitly discouraged, unless specifically requested by one of our faculty or staff. In such cases, please send the requested materials directly "in care of" that individual, not to the department itself.
WHEN -- Please do not submit your application until after the middle of October. Earlier submission confers no advantage, but may increase the possibility that materials will be mis-placed while waiting for action.
MAIN APPLICATION to the University --ALL applications are now processed on-line. NC State no longer distributes nor accepts hard-copy applications. On-Line Applications can be accessed by going to: http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/applygrad.htm The Application Fee may also be paid on-line, by use of credit/debit card. If you cannot access the on-line system, you should contact: The Graduate School, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7102, Room 240, Research Building III, 1005 Capability Drive, 7102, Raleigh, NC 27695-7102 or telephone that office at 919-515-2872.
PERSONAL STATEMENT for a Specific Program (aka "Concentration") within Psychology -- these can be accessed yourself through our web page at http://www4.ncsu.edu/~mershon/FDF/Applying. If you are completing the university application form, you will be reminded to go to the same web page, when you complete the section of the application which identifies you as an applicant to Psychology. Our departmental statements fulfill all requirements of a "statement" on the main application. You do NOT need to submit a separate statement in THAT portion of the main application, although there ARE other specific questions that you should answer.
Download the Personal Statement appropriate for the program of interest. Complete it at your leisure. Convert the form to /pdf format, if possible. When done, you should submit the entire form by cutting-and-pasting it into the university application, at the appropriate place. This is the strongly preferred method for submission.
If you have already submitted the university application, or have difficulty in pasting your Statement, you may email the finished form as a .pdf attachment (please avoid both .doc and .docx) to the following address: psych_studentservices@ncsu.edu Do not mail a hard-copy. You will be notified when the attachment has been received and checked for access.
To ensure that an emailed statement is properly filed, please use the following as the name of your Attachment AND as the Subject Line for your email: "Statement CurriculumCode LastName FirstName." Do not insert any other characters or punctuation. For example, Pat Smith might use the following identifiers to submit a statement for the Lifespan Developmental Psychology program: Statement PSD Smith Pat. Program codes are found on each Personal Statement form and are generally self-explanatory: PSD, PSG, PSI, PSP and PSS. (Note that these formal codes different from the informal codes used in previous years.)
GRADUATE RECORD EXAM Scores -- Everyone is required to submit scores for the General Test. The GRE Advanced Subject Test in Psychology is not required, but is strongly encouraged for non-psychology majors, as a demonstration of their basic understanding of the field. All GRE scores are provided to the university and department automatically, if you simply indicate to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) that you wish NC State to have access to them. The code for NCSU is: 5496.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION -- Three letters are customary and expected. In completing your on-line application, you will be asked for the names of three references. For each reference, you will be asked to indicate an email address. The Apply Yourself system will then generate messages to each reference, directing that person to a web site where he/she can complete a recommendation form and input a letter on your behalf. The message will include a sign-in code unique to your application. This method is highly prefered for submitting your recommendations.
If anyone absolutely requires a hard-copy form, these may be retrieved from the university's web page at: http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/grad/admissn/app/ref.pdf Referees should send hard-copy forms (and any attached letters) directly to Graduate Programs Assistant, Dept. of Psychology, Box 7650, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7650. Letters should not be forwarded to us through the applicant. Please note that hard-copy letters may or may not ever be acknowledged on the status page of ApplyYourself. Unlike letters submitted on-line, a hard-copy letter requires several manual steps before it can show up as having been "received;" such steps are low priority, compared to processing, distributing and acting upon applications materials.
TRANSCRIPTS of ALL previous undergraduate and/or graduate academic work. The NCSU Graduate School now allows applicants to submit initial unofficial scanned copies of their transcripts. (If an applicant is successful in gaining admission, then official copies of all transcripts will be requested, in order to verify the informal, scanned information.) Because this process will greatly enhance processing efficiency, it may also mean that you will see an on-line acknowledgement more quickly. (Eventually, if you are admitted, and if you accept that admission, then you will also need to send a "final" official transcript showing receipt of your previous degree; this submission is usually completed during the summer before you matriculate.)
If/when you are asked for an official transcript, please do not send photocopies or copies issued to yourself. Sealed copies provided to you by your institution, and sent unopened to NCSU, however, are considered official. Official transcripts also come with a seal or verification from your Registrar.
NOTE: The process for scanning unofficial transcripts is available ONLY while you are still working on your application in ApplyYourself. Once you have paid your fee and have submitted the application itself, you lose the option of sending us a scanned transcript. If you need to submit a transcript after this point, you must send an OFFICIAL, hard-copy transcript to: The Graduate School, NC State University, Campus Box 7102, Room 240, Research Building III, 1005 Capability Drive, 7102, Raleigh, NC 27695-7102.
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) -- most international students will also have to provide evidence of proficiency in the use of the English language. Information on the use of the TOEFL is available at: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/admission_grad/REG02.15.2.php Applications from international students will be flagged and not considered complete until a score on the TOEFL (or an approved alternative test, such as the IELTS) is submitted or one of the alternative requirements has been met. Even if the Department wishes to recommend an acceptance, the lack of a suitable indication of English proficiency will prevent us from doing so.
See also the Graduate School's FAQ page for further information: http://ncstategraduateschool.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/ncstategraduateschool.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php but please note that there are several matters for which departmental rules control a situation (e.g., the departmental December and January deadlines for applications superceed the much-later university deadlines for applying for a given Fall semester.
2. The primary application is handled directly through the Graduate School. The Department of Psychology doesn't even see an application until the application fee has been paid and the form has been processed by the ApplyYourself System. Also, the NCSU Graduate School now requires that applications be done on-line. Go to: http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/grad/eapp.htm. in order to initiate the process.
3. Many factors are considered in the admissions decision. These may be weighted differently by different programs ("concentrations"). One's grades (both undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate grades) and one's scores on the Graduate Record Exams (GRE) are both important. Several other factors, however, are also important, including letters of recommendation, quality and extent of research experience, the match between an applicant's interests and the characteristics of the programs we offer. And, with respect to the statement of personal goals, it doesn't hurt to point out that although neatness and grammar do count, thoughtful content -- expressed well -- counts even more.
4. Our published expectations are for scores that are at or above the 50th percentile on each section of the GRE (including the Writing Sample and, when provided, the Advanced Subject Test in Psychology). The university expects a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0. Of course, the averages for admitted students are typically higher than these values, especially in our most strongly competitive programs. On the other hand, there are certainly occasional exceptions, if a low score on one item is "balanced" by a higher score on some other item.
That said, departmental averages (of successful applicants) for the GRE-V, GRE-Q and GRE-PSY tests run approximately 550, 650 and 650, respectively. The majority of successful applicants have Writing Scores of 5.0 or above. The average undergraduate GPA is 3.5 or above.
A score on the MAT may certainly be submitted, if you wish, but it does not substitute for the GRE.
5. The best references are from individuals who know your academic work and your abilities well. Our preference is for letters to come from academic sources, although it is permissible to include one non-academic source (e.g., the supervisor for an employment situation). It is important to try to select people who can speak to some of your strong qualities, going beyond the fact that you received a good grade in one particular course. If you've done some independent research, your project supervisor could be an especially good reference.
6. No. The I-O program no longer requires that all applicants submit both the general GRE tests AND the Advanced Subject Test in Psychology. For consistency with the rest of the department, applicants WITH an academic background in psychology need NOT submit the Subject Test. Those who wish to enter from other fields, or who need to demonstrate that they have a suitable background for graduate study in psychology, should consider the Subject Test. This is particularly true for the I/O program. Please note that the Subject Test is given only a few times each academic year -- usually in October, November and April. Preregistration is required. You must take the test during one of the dates prior to the January in which you apply, because the other test date (during the following April) is too late to have a score in your file by the application deadline.
7. Remember that there may be a fairly lengthy wait between the application deadline and any official response. Although our deadline for the Fall semester is in early-January (mid-December for School Psychology), we usually don't get out our first decision letters for 4-6 weeks. It takes that long to file all the materials, to follow-up with requests for missing data, for faculty to review applicants' folders and make decisions, and for subsequent processing to generate the letters. Even then, one might not get an initial letter, but could receive a later offer, after someone else has declined. Such late offers might not be sent until the end of March or early April. Thus, just hang in there. It's not a wonderful time for most applicants, but handling the waiting period is a shared experience for most.
For applicants to the program in School Psychology, there will be an intervening event called Interview Day. This usually occurs around the end of February. (Having sufficient time to plan for Interview Day is one of the reasons that the initial due date for applications to this program is set in mid-December.) Those who have been succesful in the first screening of applicants are invited to visit campus and meet with current students and faculty. Such an invitation does not guarantee that an acceptance will be forth-coming, but does provide some intermediate, positive feedback.
For the past few admissions seasons, our other graduate programs have hosted their own Visiting Days. Most invitees for these events will be students who are already accepted. These Visiting Days are intended to give both students and faculty an early chance to determine whether there is a good match in goals, interests and expectations, prior to student decisions about accepting departmental offers of a space in the entering class.
8. NCSU does not offer any program which would be called "Forensic Psychology." There are aspects of a couple of different programs which concern forensic issues, although not in the sense of TV programs, such as the old series "Profiler." At least two faculty members in the ergonomics (human factors) program, for example, provide expert testimony on the probable underlying causes of accidents -- aircraft, automobile, trips & falls, etc. Another faculty member in Lifespan Developmental Psychology is concerned with children's memory and how children recall events such as suspected child abuse. You are certainly welcome to apply, if these kinds of topics fit your interests.
9. Yes. Students who have previously completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university can become PBS students. Apply through the university's Continuing Education Office. Enrolling for a graduate course can be a good way to explore a new field, to see if your interests really fit a particular program. It can also be a way to connect with at least one instructor, who might later become the source for a letter of recommendation. (It is critical to note, however, that even excellent performance in a graduate-level course is no guarantee that a student will be admitted to a degree program; multiple factors beyond individual grades go into admissions decisions.)
As a general rule, most graduate-level (and most undergraduate-level) courses are available for PBS students. Even if a course description says "graduate standing," PBS is also usually OK. If it says "Instructor Approval," you need to talk first with the instructor. (This would be a good idea anyway, since you should touch base with the instructor to find out what is required in the course.)
The primary courses that are closed for non-degree students are those such as thesis or dissertation research (695 and 895) and those that involve independent work --- unless you have already connected with a specific faculty member --- such as "directed study" or "directed research" or "supervised teaching," etc.
Also closed are a few courses in the School Psychology curriculum which provide detailed training in various testing techniques or therapy, such as: the "Individual Intelligence Measurement" course, PSY 722; the "Personality Measurement" course, PSY 723; and the various practica and internship experiences (PSY 641, PSY 841 and PSY 851).
At the undergraduate level, some courses are closed, because the heavy demand from majors prevents us from offering seats to non-degree students.
10. It is permissable (although sometimes "awkward") to apply to more than one psychology curriculum for the same Fall. If you wish to be considered by more than one of our concentrations, you should complete only ONE university application. Pay your application fee only once. The critical step -- to announce your intent-- involves filling out the required departmental Personal Statement form -- for EACH curriculum ("concentration") in which you have an interest. (Each of our concentrations has some specific questions/concerns.)
Note that if you wish to apply for two or more separate "programs," typically housed in different departments (e.g., a Psychology program and a Sociology program), THEN you will need to fill-out multiple university applications and pay separate fees. The procedure for such a situation is described on a page at the Graduate School. If you are interested in two or more concentrations -- all within Psychology -- continue to read what follows.
Suppose you are interested in three different Psychology concentrations....... You would go to: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~mershon/FDF/Applying for the three forms corresponding to the programs of interest. Submission of these THREE forms is the information that tells us you wish to be reviewed by multiple programs. Because only one Personal Statement should be pasted into the university application, you will need to submit the other two forms via Method 2 (i.e., as email attachments). Be sure to include a message in each email to describe your wishes and what you are doing.
It is worthwhile to note that completing multiple Personal Statements can be awkward, because one is asked about such issues as research interests and both short- and long-term goals. Being consistent across certain different specialties can be difficult and may cause one to appear indecisive or unsure. In some cases, it can be done fairly smoothly, especially if one's research interests lie at the border of two programs (e.g., ergonomics for older adults; research on children and family interactions; interventions by community organizations that may counteract substance abuse in school-age children). Other combinations are potentially problematic -- one statement that emphasizes a career in research, while another talks about your life-long ambition to practice as a school psychologist in your home town.
11. With respect to CREDIT for previous masters work........there are actually two separate issues involved.
First, let us assume that you have been accepted for a specific program concentration. The faculty of your program will then decide whether your previous masters is "relevant" to your proposed PhD concentration (highly likely). If so, then our Graduate School will allow you to deduct 18 hours from the usual minimum number of graduate hours required for the PhD. Thus, instead of 72 hours minimum, you would need to complete 54 hours minimum. No specific courses are "transferred" and no evaluation of individual courses is necessary. This is an "off-the-top" kind of credit, because you have the MA or MS. Note that this sort of credit is not always allowed for professional degrees, such as an MBA.
Don't get too excited, however. The effective benefit may depend upon your program of interest. For example, most PhD students in School Psychjology end up taking well over the minimum anyway, simply because of the variety of requirements necessary in such a specialty -- issues of licensing, credentials for practice, etc.
The second issue does involve exactly what course-work you've already taken. This process is very much a course-by-course comparison. You would not receive any additional credit hours, but you might very well be allowed to skip specific courses, if you had already had similar content, and take more advanced classes instead. This process is fairly detailed and would, therefore, take place after you had been accepted. The results would go into your file, as confirmation that your remaining course-work would be adequate to satisfy all program or departmental requirements.
12. Not having any background in psychology will usually have a negative impact on one's chances for admission, as well as one's success (if admitted). The application and decision process is competitive, with the overall departmental average running about 8-10 applications for each student who enters the following Fall. Clearly, it would be unusual for the faculty to want to take a chance on whether a non-psychology student is prepared for graduate work (or even understands the type of specialty into which he/she is entering).
The above statement not withstanding, we do admit some students from a variety of non-psychology backgrounds. The probability of this option depends in part on the specifics. For example, a computer-science or engineering student, well-read in psychology (despite few formal courses) might be an attractive candidate for Human Factors & Ergonomics. A Business major with a minor in psychology and an interest in organizational behavior might be interesting to I-O Psychology. Such "connections" can be hard to predict. This is one reason that those who wish to apply with minimal formal course-work in psychology are advised to submit a GRE score for the Advanced Subject Test in Psychology. This can substantiate that you are prepared for advanced study.
13. The Department of Psychology at NC State believes very strongly that graduate education requires as much experience as possible in conducting research. As a consequence, we are concerned about any student who wishes to enter directly into the PhD portion of the program, with a previous non-thesis masters degree. Nevertheless, when such a student appears otherwise bright and capable, the lack of a data-based thesis will not prevent his/her acceptance into our program.
As one of the first expectations for such a student, however, we require that she/he undertake a major project referred to as her/his "Thesis Equivalent Research." This project is supervised by an Advisory Committee of faculty and is comparable to the completion of the MS degree at State -- goals, hypotheses and methods must be conceptualized and defended, equipment or survey tools must be designed and "built," data must be collected (or accessed from a pre-existing database), analyses and interpretations must be written. The entire project is described in a document that for all intents and purposes looks just like the MS thesis for a student who started graduate work from the BA/BS. The main differences are that the completed document is not submitted to the university, nor is another masters degree awarded. The student simply moves on to the Preliminary Exams and the Dissertation. (Students take course-work continually throughout the process of satisfying their Thesis Equivalency, so they are often ready for their Prelims shortly after completing the Thesis Equivalent project.)
14. To initiate what is called an "Internal Transfer" from one graduate program to another, the student must submit a request to the Dean of the Graduate School. The Dean will then contact the DGP of the current program and the DGP of Psychology. The student's file will be made available to the Department of Psychology. The student will be asked to provide selected other supporting items (such as the standard Personal Statement form for the concentration the student wishes to enter). If the faculty and DGP in Psychology agree to accept the student, then the necessary forms will be signed and returned to the Graduate School to effect the transfer. However, some specific policies apply to this process:
It is the policy of the Department of Psychology that the faculty will generally consider requests for "internal" transfers of graduate students from other departments only at the time they review new applications. This procedure is intended to help ensure that both internal transfers and new applicants are evaluated consistently and treated equally in the allocation of available space.
If a transfer is approved, the student will make the transfer into the requested Psychology program (i.e., into a specific "concentration") as of the next Fall semester.
Exceptions to the preceding policy/schedule require clear and compelling reasons for granting the exception; such exceptions must be approved by the Director of Graduate Programs, who will make the decision after consulting with the Department Head and with the Coordinator of the involved concentration.
Graduate Students' FAQ
1. To what details should I pay attention when preparing a PLAN OF WORK or completing a Checklist?
2. Who can take PSY 699 or PSY 899?
3. What are the differences among PSY 893, 895 and 899?
4. Where do I get current forms for various administrative purposes?
5. Who should contact the Graduate School with Questions?
7. Why/When do I need to take the ETD Workshop? -- coming soon
1. Several factors are important in making sure that one's proposed Plan of Work is accepted smoothly, minimizing the need for revisions. These include:
A. Be sure that you are entering your data into the SIS form for the appropriate degree -- MS vs PhD. (If you try to enter a 36-hour plan for the MS, in a doctoral form, the systrem will automatically reject it as including too few classes.) If you need a form for the MS and it doesn't show, contact the Graduate Programs Assistant, to arrange for the necessary form to be added to your records.
B. Your "School" or "College" is not NC State. If asked for your college, you should put "College of Humanities and Social Sciences" or just "CHASS.."
C. If asked for your Major, enter the correct Curriculum Code for your concentration:
D. Unless you have been instructed otherwise, you may leave Minor and for Language Requirement selections blank.
E. IMPORTANT: Please use the extra blank column on the SIS form to enter a brief title for each course. Although the course prefix/number (e.g., "PSY 500") is shown when your Plan is reviewed, there is no title given. Not everyone knows all the courses by heart. In the case of Special Topics courses, you can use "SP TOP:" and then the specific content.
F. Do not combine research credits across semesters. That is, list each "course" independently, rather than lumping enrollments together (i.e., listing "PSY 895 - 6 hrs," when you actually plan to take three hours each in Fall 2011 and Spring 2012). The Graduate School checks whether you've satisfied your Plan by matching the items on your Plan with the items on your transcript, semester/course by semester/course (e.g., "6" hours is not the same as "3" and "3").
G. Use the CURRENT departmental Checklist for your degree (available at http://www4.ncsu.edu/~mershon/FDF/Forms/#Plan%20Forms ).
H. Make sure all members of your Advisory Committee realize that you are submitting your Plan, so that they will be looking for it in their "Work-List." The Plan does not move forward to the DGP until all faculty have approved both the Plan and their participation on your Advisory Committee. Make sure that both you and your Chair (or a Co-Chair) have completed, and then signed, the Checklist, to verify that you have explicitly gone over the Plan to make sure it meets all basic university and departmental requirements. (Program requirements are the responsibility of the Advisory Committee and Chair; the DGP will assume that any Plan submitted by the student and approved by the proposed Advisory Committee fully satisfies all program requirements.)
I. Submit the Checklist to the Graduate Programs Assistant in Poe 640-B. She will use that document in reviewing your on-line Plan. Once this review is completed, the DGP will examine and, if appropriate, approve your Plan and your Advsiory Committee. Approval by the DGP will forward the Plan and Committee to the Graduate School for their approval. (Problems or errors at any step will result in the Plan being returned to the student for corrective attention and resubmission. See "Comments" section for reasons; add your own comments, if useful in explaning actions you've taken.
2. PSY 699 and PSY 899 are very special "courses" and enrollment should usually be taken for exactly three hours. They are essentially a way to be enrolled full-time, while taking fewer than the usual 9 hours of graduate work. (Enrollment for just 1 hour of 699 or 899 is possible, if one wishes to be considered as part-time.) These courses may ONLY be taken after ALL of the coursework AND research hours on one's Plan of Work have been completed. Everything! In addition, doctoral students must have already passed their Preliminary Exams.
Then, and only then, is a student eligible to sign-up for 699/899.
Note that no other course enrollments are permitted, if a student is enrolled for 699/899. Such "courses" are to be taken completely by themselves. If you need research hours and want to take a seminar or an extra class, then sign up for PSY 693/893 or for additional thesis/dissertation hours (PSY 695/895). PLEASE do not combine anything with enrollment in PSY 699 or PSY 899. (Note: We have had at least one exception approved by the Graduate School, for a student who wished to take PSY 899 and simultaneously AUDIT another class. That may be satisfactory, because audits carry zero credits.)
Note that, although a Psychology student completing the MS could probably use PSY 699, there have been some questions about the suitability of that course, given that most Psychology students are considered as Doctoral students, even when working on their initial masters. It might therefore be safest to avoid PSY 699 altogether. If you have a situation for which PSY 699 seems to be the most-appropriate choice, please check with the DGP, to be sure that it will "work" as you expect. Using PSY 899 at the end of one's PhD program does not involve any similar problem.
3. According to Graduate School rules, PSY 899 can ONLY be taken if: (1) Everything listed on the PhD Plan of Work, including ALL hours of PSY 895, have been completed; (2) You have successfully completed your Written and Oral Prelim Exams and have advanced to candidacy; and (3) You want to enroll ONLY in that "course," since nothing else can be taken simultaneously with PSY 899. It is supposed to be a "place-holder" for one's final couple of semesters. For example, one might enroll in PSY 899 while completing the writing/defense of a dissertation.
None of these requirements applies to PSY 893 or to PSY 895. That does not mean, however, there is no difference between these two "courses." To be completely correct, PSY 895 should be used only when one has passed one's Preliminary Qualifying Exams and the research is specifically to be part of one's dissertation. PSY 893 (or, alternatively, PSY 880 Directed Study, the variable-credit section) should be used otherwise. Although some students do get a start on their dissertations before completing the Prelims, one should generally not officially be doing "dissertation" research without having been admitted to candidacy, because admission to candidacy is the process by which the faculty indicate a student is ready for the independence involved in a dissertation. That being said, enrolling in PSY 895 prior to advancement to candidacy is not in fact strictly prohibited.
4. When you need a departmental form, please access the DGP's web page and download a current version. Such forms may be updated in an effort to make them easier to use or bring some aspect into line with a rule change. In the case of "seasonal" forms (e.g., applications for the Cook Fellowship or the Annual Report of Student Progress), the current form will be available at the time when the related activity has been announced. For the latest forms, as well as some associated information on their use, go to: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~mershon/FDF/ and then select "Forms."
5. Please do not call the Graduate School directly with questions. If other sources are not adequate to answer a question, then by all means ask the DGP or the Graduate Programs Assistant. But, the Director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate Programs Assistant are the only two people who should be in regular contact with the Graduate School. The few exceptions include appealing a decision on residency-for-tuition-purposes, making appointments with the Thesis/Dissertation Editor (Erica Cutchins), and if one must formally pursue a grievance matter.
By request of the Graduate School, this restriction applies to both graduate students and faculty; it would become very difficult for them to do their work, if they tried to field questions from the entire graduate student body and from the full graduate faculty.
6. There is no standard contract for any of the various independent-study courses at either graduate or undergraduate level. Generally, enough needs to be written down, so that there is a basis for administrative decisions, if any major concerns get raised "down the line" about performance vs expectations. One approach is to indicate the sorts of tasks which are to be accomplished (e.g., prepare and submit an IRB form, collect data from approximately 100 participants, complete construction of apparatus X, etc.), the approximate number of hours per week which should be required for those tasks (combined, not parsed out) and the basis on which the grade will be determined.
Just because the grading may be S-U doesn't mean that quality of performance should be omitted from a contract. Especially at the graduate level, simply doing certain tasks shouldn't yield an "S," unless the tasks have been carried out with reasonable care and a clear effort to do the best job possible. But, some idea that such factors will go into an evaluation should usually be included in the description. In most cases, everything that needs to be included can be described on one side of one page, although some people tend to be more "legalistic" than others, leading to more lengthy agreements.
The resulting document does not require review at the department level, although the DGP is happy to look at agreements involving graduate students, if the faculty member (and/or the student) desire some input. It is probably a good idea if both the instructor and the student each sign two copies and then each takes one for his/her file. And don't forget to indicate the semester(s) to which the contract applies.
At the end of the semester, there really shouldn't be any dispute about the evaluation. If expectations have been up-front and if there has been some formative feedback during the semester, there should be few surprises. This is not to say that evaluations must be slavishly tied to a formal check-list. Only that evaluations ought to be tied to expected performance in some rationale way.
1.
What does a DGP do?
In the Department of Psychology at NC State University, the Director of Graduate Programs (DGP) is also the Associate Department Head. Among the various tasks and responsibilities of these two positions are the following:Overall, the Associate Department Head assists with general departmental administration and may represent the department to outside units or organizations. Activities may include:
In the Department Head's absence, attend meetings of the CHASS Administrative Board, providing departmental input to the Board, as well as a summary of the discussion to the Department Head.Handle a variety of daily operational tasks when the Department Head is unavailable.
Assist with discussions and planning for the future physical environment of the department.
Supervise changes in the current physical plant and serve as liaison with contractors, both within and external to the university.
Serve as a "sounding board" for the Department Head when the Head needs a second opinion concerning departmental issues that can not yet be raised for general discussion.
Overall, the Director of Graduate Programs bears responsibility for the general well-being and smooth operation of departmental graduate programs. Activities may include:
Coordinate the annual evaluations of graduate students.Supervise the entire graduate admissions process, including the award of TAs for incoming students.
Supervise all official departmental communications with prospective TAs, such as the letters which outline their conditions of appointment (stipends, work commitments, tuition and insurance benefits, etc.).
Must be aware of legal requirements involved in hiring of TAs, including any special provisions in hiring international students.
Make TA assignments for both regular academic semesters and for two summer sessions; ensure that all departmental needs for course assistance and/or for primary instructors are met.
Communicate with TAs about matters such as university policies, textbook-request deadlines, submitting appropriate observation and evaluation forms, soliciting their requests for future assignments, etc.
Examine the course evaluations for all graduate TAs; keep an updated record of past performance; discuss poorer-than-average performance with TAs who have had trouble; supervise the UGSA process for recognizing TAs as Outstanding Teaching Assistants (and prepare the required documentation for submitting our candidates).
Organize/present the initial orientation meeting for incoming Teaching Assistants.
Update (annually) the Graduate Handbook distributed to all incoming graduate students.
Organize and coordinate presentations for either PSY 800 Intro to Grad Study in Psychology or the one-day orientation program after classes begin in August.
If PSY 800, prepare syllabus, introduce speakers, make 1-2 specific personal presentation on important rules/regulations, as well as advice on how to successfully get through graduate school. If a separate orientation program, organize the schedule and serve as moderator.Supervise (annually, if possible) the revision of program brochures.
Keep the overall departmental Information Sheet current by revising as necessary (often 2-3 times a year).
Check and approve every Plan of Work submitted by graduate students, after determining what changes and/or waivers might be required and after communicating with the student and/or faculty chair, as necessary.
Check every proposed Graduate Advisory Committee, to be sure that faculty are eligible to serve as indicated and whether an outside "Graduate School Representative" will be needed (as when all committee members have their affiliation with Psychology).
Serve as one of the initial points of contact for most students inquiring about our programs (task shared with Graduate Programs Assistant).
Give presentations to prospective minority students (during "Visit NC State Day"), to visiting School Psychology candidates (during "Interview Day").and to accepted students visiting in March, as part of their process for deciding whether to attend NC State.
Meet with prospective graduate students at irregular times throughout the year.
Respond to an average of 15-20 emails per week, many requiring personal answers not fully handled by our boiler-plate responses. This activity alone can take as much as 3-5 hours/week during the busiest periods of the year.
Prepare a variety of reports on our programs/students for both university offices and outside agencies.
Provide informal direction (but not formal "supervision") for the department's Graduate Programs Assistant (aka Graduate Secretary), Cristina Carrillo.
Prepare updates for outside publications such as Graduate Study in Psychology (APA).
Serve as a departmental resource on departmental/university rules, regulations and procedures, for both students and faculty.
Serve as liaison to both CHASS and Graduate School administrations.
Serve on the CHASS Graduate Studies Committee.
Serve as ombudsman for graduate students having trouble involving other university offices (e.g., benefits snafu's, errors in the cashier's office, deadline extensions from the Graduate School).
Serve as mediator for a number of faculty-student disagreements concerning graduate-student performance and/or faculty responsiveness.
Attend Oral Preliminary Exams and thesis/dissertation Defenses, whenever possible, across a representative sample of the department's programs and students.
Prepare and distribute appropriate forms to facilitate program operations.
Maintain a set of web pages, providing access to current forms and other resources for graduate students and faculty.
Report to the faculty on the state of graduate programs; bring occasional program-policy issues to the attention of faculty for discussion and decision.
Interview candidates for all open faculty positions.
Organize and write (with help from various other faculty members) the main draft of the Review of Departmental Graduate Programs, as specified by the Graduate School. This was last done in Spring 2006; it is normally required every 8 years (or so).
Collect appropriate data and write brief Biennial Reports on one or more aspects of the department's efforts to assess performance on selected outcome measures.
Email the Director of Graduate Programs at: psych@ncsu.edu