I am pleased to announce that the Graduate School with the support of the Office of Research and the Council on Research and Creativity has established the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards. Dr. Anne Marie West is the Director of this new office which is located in the Scholars Commons of Strozier Library. The purpose of the office is to provide advice and assist graduate students in obtaining external fellowships and grants to support their studies and to nominate graduate students for nationally recognized awards. Students should contact Dr. West to learn about their options for support. Please visit ogfa.fsu.edu to schedule an appointment with Dr. West.

Last week was an exciting and busy week at Florida State University. For me it started with a presentation on the morning of August 18 to new faculty about graduate education at Florida State University. The interactions that take place between faculty and graduate students are of paramount importance to the designation of the Florida State University as a research university. In fact, as is the case nationally, our graduate students indicate that the primary reason they choose to come to FSU is to work with a specific faculty member. Having quality faculty is essential for attracting quality graduate students and for engaging in quality research. A few hours later I welcomed many hundreds of new students at the Fall 2009 New Graduate Student Orientation. As I walked around the room and met the students I learned that they came from all over the world and were here to begin their studies in many of our different programs. I was struck by the great diversity embodied by these students. We are truly fortunate because this diversity strengthens the university by enriching the campus learning community with varied perspectives and experiences.

As we begin the new academic year I want to encourage graduate students to enhance their FSU experience by attending the Professional Development Workshops that the Graduate School has scheduled throughout the upcoming year. Not only do these workshops provide valuable information on a wide range of topics, but this is a great opportunity to network and meet graduate students from other disciplines. Please check the website for the dates and times of these events. In addition, I encourage students to participate in the Preparing Future Faculty program and Mentornet. Information about these programs is also provided on this website.

In late February 2009 I attended the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools meeting in Norfolk, VA. A highlight of the meeting is the awards luncheon when graduate students are recognized for their excellence with the CSGS/UMI Master’s Thesis and EDT Awards. The award is sponsored by ProQuest UMI Dissertation Publishing. This year George (Pat) Kablick, a recent FSU graduate in meteorology received the Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering Award for his thesis , “Third Intercomparison of Radiation Codes in Climate Models: Longwave Cloudy Sky Benchmarks and Comparisons with Approximate Methods”. Pat attended along with several members of his family. He is presently teaching at the College of Charleston in South Carolina and is applying to graduate school to continue his studies at the doctoral level. Pat’s advisor was Professor Robert Ellingson. Congratulations to both.

Pat Kablick (middle) with his award and two representatives from ProQuest UMI Dissertation Publishing

I am pleased to inform you that Governor Charlie Christ proclaimed (pdf 51.46 kB) the week of March 30 – April 3, 2009 as Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week in the State of Florida. As of Fall 2008 8,370 graduate and professional students were enrolled at the Florida State University. These student are central to our mission as a research university and through their varied backgrounds and interests contribute to the vitality of the institution. We will formally recognize the contributions of graduate and professional students to Florida State University on April 8, 2009 at the Celebration for Graduate Student Excellence from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in Dodd Hall and at that time we will honor a number of outstanding students for their achievements in teaching, research, and service.

Nationally, it has become increasingly evident that workforce needs of the 21st century will depend on education beyond the bachelors’ degree. As a Doctoral/Research Extensive institution, the Florida State University is well positioned to respond to these needs. In fact, FSU has undergone tremendous growth at the graduate level in the last several years. Between Fall 2003 and Fall 2007 the enrollment of master’s and doctoral students at FSU grew at an average annual rate of 5.7% and 3.0% respectively. Our total graduate enrollment increased approximately 4.6% annually. This growth far exceeded the average annual growth rate of 1% for public Doctoral/Research Extensive universities reported by the Council of Graduate Schools in the annual Graduate Enrollment and Degrees 1997-2007 report. As one might expect this increased enrollment has led to an increase in the number of students graduating with advanced degrees. In Fall 2007, FSU graduated 2,058 students with master’s degrees and 363 students with doctoral degrees. These numbers reflect an average annual growth rate in the last five years of 7% for both master’s and doctoral degrees and as observed for enrollment numbers, these values exceed the national average annual growth rates of 3% (master’s) and 5% (doctoral) for public Doctoral/Research Extensive universities. These values are evidence of Florida State University’s commitment to meeting the 21st century workforce needs of the State of Florida and the nation through the preparation of a highly skilled citizenry.

Today, master’s degrees represent 90% of the graduate degrees awarded in the United States. At FSU, master’s degrees represent 85% of the graduate degrees awarded. Although FSU is a Doctoral/Research Extensive University master’s education is an important part of our mission. We offer 141 different master’s and specialist degrees, and 70+ doctoral degrees. Master’s level training is highly sought after by employers in business, government, education and the non-profit sector. Moreover, in the last decade attention has focused on a new type of master’s degree the Professional Science Master’s (PSM). These PSM degrees provide students with discipline specific advanced training as well as highly desirable workplace management skills. At FSU we offer several professional master’s degrees including the PSM degrees in Computational Science and Financial Mathematics, the Professional Master’s in Applied American Politics and Policy, and the traditional professional master’s degrees in Business Administration, Public Administration, and Social Work.

Last evening as an honorary inductee of the Golden Key International Honour Society I had the opportunity to address the new student inductees and their guests. Many of the undergraduate student inductees indicated through a show of hands that they are planning to attend graduate school. In my brief remarks I addressed the importance of their decision to pursue a course of advanced studies. Graduate education is essential for maintaining a vibrant economy and healthy communities especially in the face of increasing global competition. The only way that we can hope to move beyond the status quo is by embracing new ideas, and engaging in research to discover new knowledge and new ways of doing things. Graduate education teaches students how to think critically thus preparing them to deal with and find solutions to problems in the future. Problems we cannot even conceive of today. We must do all we can to ensure that our graduate community continues to be vibrant and healthy so that we remain able to compete in an increasingly knowledge-based and global economy.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome all graduate and professional students to the start of a new academic year.

Dr. Marcus with Dr. Peggy Petrochenkov, Program Officer with the VEF in DC and Dr. Phuong Nguyen with the VEF in Hanoi.

I was unable to attend New Graduate Student Orientation this year because I was in Vietnam as one of 14 scientists and engineers invited by the Vietnam Education Foundation and the US National Academies of Science to interview Vietnamese students for the prestigious VEF graduate fellowships.

Hanoi, Vietnam

In addition to the interview sessions in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and meeting with scientists and representatives of the Vietnamese education system, I presented a lecture on FSU research and graduate programs at the Water Resources University in Hanoi.

Dr. Marcus with students and faculty of the Water Resources University in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The trip lasted 10 days and was a fascinating experience.

14 scientists and VEF US and Vietnamese staff participating in the 2008 review of VEF fellowship applicants.

I look forward to meeting you on campus and wish you all a productive year.

We have been receiving input on the new site and some of you have had problems locating the many forms that pertain to graduate education at FSU. We have added two links under Quicklinks that will speed you to these forms. All forms are now located on our Blackboard sites for ease of maintenance. If you have any problem accessing the forms in Blackboard please contact Monica Esquibel.

Hello and welcome to the new Office of Graduate Studies website. We have spent several months developing this new site and I hope that you will find it informative and easier to navigate. Graduate education is central to our mission as a research university. It is also essential for sustaining growth of the 21st century economy and ensuring vibrant communities and a healthy society. There are many challenges. Our goal in the Office of Graduate Studies is to ensure and advance the quality of graduate education at FSU and promote the value of graduate education to the society. Through graduate education we seek to prepare students to deal with the complex problems of the future. More and more this will require that people from multiple disciplines and cultures interact. I am intrigued by the potential use of media like Facebook, MySpace, and 2nd Life to foster interactions, networking, and promote community. I welcome suggestions for new activities and programs that we could develop to foster scholarly engagement.