• New Graduate Courses Approved
• Purdue Communication Program Ranks in the Top 10
• Changes to TOEFL & GRE
• New Policy on Intercampus Graduate Program Administration
• Interdisciplinary Programs Form Advisory Committee
• National Leader in Awarding PhDs to Students from Underrepresented Groups
• Chronicle of Higher Education Spotlights Graduate Student Baby-sitters
• Pilot Testing of Electronic Submission of Thesis
• Reducing The Cost Of Graduate Attrition
• PRF Summer Research Grants Moved to the Graduate School
• Do You Want To Be Recognized?
• Important Dates

New Graduate Courses Approved

At its November 18, 2004 meeting, the Graduate Council approved 12 new courses in the areas of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Life Sciences, and Management Sciences. For the full list of approved courses, please click here.

Purdue Communication Program Ranks in the Top 10

Three programs in Purdue University's Department of Communication were ranked among the top 10 in the United States by the nation's largest communication association.

The department's graduate program was ranked fourth in interpersonal communication, and seventh and eighth in organizational and health communication, respectively, by the National Communication Association.

"These national rankings reflect the quality of research in the Department of Communication, as well as how we prepare doctoral students to enter the academic arena or the professional sector," said Howard Sypher, a professor of communication who led the department since 2002. "Our alumni are leaders in the profession, helping us increase our visibility. At the same time, Purdue continues to recruit the best students and faculty."

Read the full story.

Changes to TOEFL & GRE

Last month, we mentioned that a new Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language will replace the current paper- and computer-based tests beginning in September of 2005. At the Council of Graduate Schools annual meeting, the Educational Testing Service announced that the Graduate Record Examination will be the next major test to change, beginning in October of 2006. For information on both commonly used tests, see http://www.ets.org/tests.html

New Policy on Intercampus Graduate Program Administration

The Graduate Council’s recommendation removing the steward department requirement for all ICHE-approved graduate programs in the system-wide Purdue Graduate School has been approved by Provost Sally Mason and President Martin Jischke. Graduate programs at system campuses beginning with the spring 2005 semester will report directly to the Graduate School and the Graduate Council. See http://www2.itap.purdue.edu/elist39//docs/MemoforMSPrograms2.pdf

Interdisciplinary Programs Form Advisory Committee

One of the recommendations of the Task Force on Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs was the formation of an Advisory Council to the newly formed Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs (OIGP). This Council, made up of the directors of all interdisciplinary programs on campus, met for the first time in mid-November. Their role will be to advise the OIGP, the Graduate Council, and the Graduate School in matters concerning interdisciplinary graduate programs and to help in the development of new programs.

Purdue Chemistry – National Leader in Awarding PhDs to Students from Underrepresented Groups

The National Science Foundation’s just released survey of 2002 doctoral recipients shows Purdue’s Department of Chemistry leading the nation in producing PhD students from underrepresented groups. Purdue’s 9 chemistry PhDs led the pack, followed by Berkeley (7), and Drexel University, Michigan State, the University of Georgia, North Carolina, and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, all with 6. Purdue’s position as a leader is owed to the faculty in the Department of Chemistry and to the Graduate School’s Sloan Foundation and National Institutes of Health grants administered by Dwight Lewis, director of the Office of Minority Programs.

Chronicle of Higher Education Spotlights Graduate Student Baby-sitters

In the annals of graduate student exploitation, one form of mistreatment has received little attention: the ambiguous invitation to baby-sit.
See: http://chronicle.com/jobs/2004/11/2004110801c.htm

Pilot Testing of Electronic Submission of Thesis

Electronic submissions of theses and dissertations are becoming more commonplace at Research I universities in the United States. The Graduate School has joined with the University Libraries, the College of Engineering and ProQuest (an outside vendor) to pilot test the electronic submissions of dissertations from the Schools of Civil Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering in the spring semester of 2005. Electronic dissertations provide distinct advantages over the traditional paper version with the possibility of including audio and video in the body of the text.

Reducing The Cost Of Graduate Attrition

The Purdue University Graduate School joined the University of Notre Dame Graduate School in a project funded by the Council of Graduate Schools to study the causes of Ph.D. student attrition and possible intervention techniques. The project was one of 20 funded in a competition among the Ph.D. granting universities in the United States. Preliminary activities will begin in January 2005 for study of the fall 2005 incoming cohort of Ph.D. students.

eGrad is produced by The Graduate School, delivered to graduate students and departments by e-mail, and archived on the Web (http://www.gradschool.purdue.edu/publications/newsletters/archive.cfm). Graduate students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit news and announcements to Jeff Göecker, editor, at jgoecker@purdue.edu.