Completing A Successful Masters Degree Journey

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Completing A Successful Masters Degree Journey
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Office of Graduate Studies Research

• Promotes graduate education at CSUSM
• Works with graduate program coordinators to
  develop graduate studies guidelines, policies,
  and procedures
• Administers university graduate student policies
  and procedures
• Provides partial travel support for graduate
  students to present their research
• Oversees student research

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CSUSM Graduate Programs

• 10 Masters programs
• Biology
• Computer Science
• Education
• History
• Literature Writing
• Math
• MBA
• Psychology
• Sociological Practice
• Spanish

• 1 Doctoral program
• Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

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Quick Stats about CSUSM Graduate Students

• Fall 2006
• 640 Graduate Students
• 7.3 of all CSUSM Students
• 71 Female
• 25 Ethnic Minority
• Mean age 33 years
• 73 Part-time
• 61 in Education M.A.
• 13 in MBA

Since 2001 the number of CSUSM graduate students
has increased 58
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Navigating your Journey

• We want to help you become knowledgeable about
  the tasks, timelines and policies you will
  encounter along your MA journey.
• We hope this will help you jump through the
  hoops with confidence.

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Important Steps in Your Journey

• Know your Faculty Advisor
• Outline a Program of Study
• Maintain a 3.0 GPA
• Maintain Continuous Enrollment
• Achieve Advancement to Candidacy
• Complete a Culminating Experience
• Complete your MA within 5 years

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One Step At At Time

• Stay on top of the task and time lines.
• Both the University and the COBA, COE and COAS
  Colleges have task and time lines.
• Visit your College webpage for specifics.

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Significant Signposts Along the Way

• Submit Advancement to Candidacy Form
• Submit Thesis/Project Committee Form
• Request Graduation Check
• Apply for Graduation
• In consultation with your chair and committee
  member(s), set writing deadlines in alignment
  with you college, library and University
  deadlines.

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Two Tools to Help You Read the Signposts

• The CSUSM Graduate Program Website and your
  College Website will serve you well on your
  journey. Consult them for pertinent information.
• http//www.csusm.edu/graduate_studies

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People to Help You Along Your Journey

• Each program has a variety of people available to
  assist you
• Your program adviser
• Your thesis/project chair
• The Graduate Coordinator for your program
• Other department faculty and staff
• Find out who in your program are the key people
  to stay in contact with

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Building a Professional Relationship With your
Chair

• Be respectful of the role of your chair. He or
  she is responsible for the academic integrity of
  your MA culminating experience. Your chair will
  be coaching you to your best performance. This
  will mean you have to have a tolerance for
  revising your work.

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Care and Feeding of Your Committee Member(s)

• Everything that has been said about building a
  professional relationship with your chair, goes
  for your committee member(s).
• Consult with your chair about when the committee
  members(s) should receive versions of your
  writing.
• Your committee members(s) should be involved in
  the process all along the way.

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Hit Your Time Targets

• Once the deadlines are set for different portions
  of your writing to be submitted to your chair for
  review, meet the deadlines.
• Missed deadlines will delay your completion and
  cause frustration.

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Academic Honesty Policy

• The University and the College
• are committed to assuring that
• academic work reflects the original
• thinking of students and the
• appropriate citation of the work of
• others. Refer to the University
• Academic Policy for guidance, as well
• as complete the plagiarism tutorial
• located on the Library webpage .
• http//library.csusm.edu/plagiarism/

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Continuous Enrollment and Time to Degree

• MA students must be continuously enrolled in
  courses until graduation.
• MA course work is to be completed within five
  years of beginning the course work.
• A student may request a leave of absence but must
  still complete the M.A. degree within five years.

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Journey or Destination?

• As you navigate the journey (your course work and
  culminating experience) and reach the destination
  (your degree), the CSUSM Faculty are committed to
  your successful completion of your Masters
  Degree.

Have a fantastic journey!