Initial Assignment
of an Advisor
Each incoming student is assigned a temporary faculty advisor
to provide an initial point of contact. A student may change
advisors simply by informing the Department's Director of
Graduate Studies, Dr. Elaine Anderson, in writing of the change. Most students select
an advisor who shares their research interests in the family
area. Information about faculty,
their research interests, and their research
projects is available on this website.
Choosing Mentors
All doctoral students should choose mentors who can help them with dissertation, research, publications, teaching, progress to degree, and job prospects. Our guide, Mentoring: Advice for Graduate Students, is filled with tips for selecting one or more mentors and establishing successful mentor/advisee relationships.
Transfer and Application
of Credit
Credits used to satisfy the requirements for another earned
degree may NOT be applied toward the requirements for the
Master of Science degree from this department.
With the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, students
may transfer up to six credit hours of graduate work not applied
to a previous degree toward their FMSC degree. For further
information on transfer of credits, see the Graduate
Catalog on the University website.
If a student is inadequately prepared for some graduate courses,
the Department's Graduate Committee may require the student
to take additional courses. Such additional courses shall
not be considered part of the coursework required for the
degree.
Course and Degree Time
Limits
The Graduate School has specific limits on the number of
years that courses are considered valid in counting towards
one's degree, and on the number of years the student has to
complete the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Information about these
limits can be found in the Graduate
Catalog on the University website. The Graduate School
does grant extensions of time limits in certain circumstances
(usually a one-year extension for completing the degree; an
additional one-year extension is much more difficult to obtain).
PhD Handbook
The PhD Handbook is available on this website (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
