Anyone applying with a Graduate Degree?

[futurevet3]

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I had no idea that a masters program could require funding. I always thought all the money came out of the student's pocket (probably in the form of loans.)

When a student has funding, do they also pay for their schooling?

It depends. Like I said, grad programs end in novel research being published. So NSF, NIH, USDA, DOE, etc are going to want to fund that research because thet get recognition at the end (whenever I presented my research I had to mske a slide at the end that recognized NSF for funding my research, and I recognized them in my acknowledgement section in my written and oral thesis). That is just how grad programs work. You get a departmental or federal research grant or a departmental teaching assistantship.

So funding/taking out loans depends on the type of grant you get. Departmental TAs usually only get a stipend, so they have to take out loans to pay for tuition. If you get a federal grant or departmental research grant, you will get a stipend, and depending on the funding source, you are allocated a certain amount for tuition that may or may not cover all of it.

I had a federal grant with NSF LSAMP which gave me an awesome monthly stipend and paid all of my tuition, minus class-related fees (like lab fees).

If you are interested in a grad program, I encourage you to ask the grad advisor of the department you are interested in to find out what kinds of funding they offer, and look at some professors you would be interested in working with and ask if they have any grant money they could use to support you. Also do a search on federal grant programs for grad research. NSF GRFP and Ford Fellowship program are two that I had applied to.

 

[Starry-chan]

grad programs end in novel research being published.

I'm confused because I thought a masters program was to give somebody very advanced knowledge about a niche area (e.g. addiction counseling). I'm also confused how a masters program about, say, graphic design in advertising, would incorporate research.

If you are interested in a grad program, I encourage you to ask the grad advisor of the department you are interested in to find out what kinds of funding they offer, and look at some professors you would be interested in working with and ask if they have any grant money they could use to support you. Also do a search on federal grant programs for grad research. NSF GRFP and Ford Fellowship program are two that I had applied to.

Oh, I'm asking out of curiosity. 🙂 I don't currently have intention to go back to college.

 

[Jess Monster]

I had no idea that a masters program could require funding. I always thought all the money came out of the student's pocket (probably in the form of loans.)

When a student has funding, do they also pay for their schooling?

It varies greatly. My graduate program (MPH) was unfunded for everyone with very few and sporadic opportunities for funding (most of those opportunities went to PhD students). Similarly, MBA's and JD's at my university are also largely unfunded. Now, were I to have gotten an MS in Entomology or Animal Sciences, I would have been offered a teaching assistant or research assistant position that would come with 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% funding depending on how many hours you work on top of your classes and how much funding your advisor/supporting faculty member has.

 

[Starry-chan]

It varies greatly. My graduate program (MPH) was unfunded for everyone with very few and sporadic opportunities for funding (most of those opportunities went to PhD students). Similarly, MBA's and JD's at my university are also largely unfunded. Now, were I to have gotten an MS in Entomology or Animal Sciences, I would have been offered a teaching assistant or research assistant position that would come with 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% funding depending on how many hours you work on top of your classes and how much funding your advisor/supporting faculty member has.

Yeah. See, I knew somebody who paid aprox 40 grand for his masters, and this was what I used to think was the situation for everybody. Then when I found out that sometimes people get funded it was like, "Whoa. Really?" Because I had thought it only happened with PhD's!

 

[WildZoo]

Not sciencey but I know most of the good MFA programs are funded, so it really depends on the subject. In fact I was always told you shouldn't pay for an MFA ever, except in time spent teaching.

 

[LadyOtheFarm]

There are definitely still mixed practices out there. Maybe you can't do everything but you can still have a variety if you find the right place!

I worked at a pretty cool mixed practice in Idaho, but it definitely leaned SA over large and I was the first tech they had who knew anything about rabbits and lizards and birds. (Which I suppose was kinda cool because I got to play with all those cases.)

 

[Starry-chan]

I worked at a pretty cool mixed practice in Idaho, but it definitely leaned SA over large and I was the first tech they had who knew anything about rabbits and lizards and birds. (Which I suppose was kinda cool because I got to play with all those cases.)

If mixed is your true passion, maybe you could start out practicing on a limited number of species and expand into more when you get good with those ones?

 

[WildZoo]

I worked at a pretty cool mixed practice in Idaho, but it definitely leaned SA over large and I was the first tech they had who knew anything about rabbits and lizards and birds. (Which I suppose was kinda cool because I got to play with all those cases.)

Yeah I got to be the bun and bird holder during my training for my current job because none of the other techs had done much with exotics. Sadly neither of the doctors at my main hospital like to see them 🙁

 

[futurevet3]

I'm confused because I thought a masters program was to give somebody very advanced knowledge about a niche area (e.g. addiction counseling). I'm also confused how a masters program about, say, graphic design in advertising, would incorporate research.

Well, yes, but that usually involves some sort of major project. My sister is in a dual BA/MA program in history. Her MA in the name itself is not research-based, but she still has to present a major article in a certain area in history that she is interested in learning more about. At my uni there is a scientific writing master's program that requires some sort of research in mass communication. Even if it is just doing a content anslysis of all previously published articles on a certain topic.

Again, it depends on the school and program. MS and PhD degrees are thesis-based and will require research to be done. There are non-thesis MS degree programs that don't require research, but some other major project would be required at the end of a program, either a comprehensive exam of all courses taken or a written article similar to a thesis that gives the committee the opportunity to see that the student learned something specific about a topic. Now, MA degrees are not thesis-based so no lab-based research would be done. Looking up articles on googl

It really depends on what type of degree program you are in and what the school/department require of you before you can graduate.

 

[Starry-chan]

Well, yes, but that usually involves some sort of major project. My sister is in a dual BA/MA program in history. Her MA in the name itself is not research-based, but she still has to present a major article in a certain area in history that she is interested in learning more about. At my uni there is a scientific writing master's program that requires some sort of research in mass communication. Even if it is just doing a content anslysis of all previously published articles on a certain topic.

Again, it depends on the school and program. MS and PhD degrees are thesis-based and will require research to be done. There are non-thesis MS degree programs that don't require research, but some other major project would be required at the end of a program, either a comprehensive exam of all courses taken or a written article similar to a thesis that gives the committee the opportunity to see that the student learned something specific about a topic. Now, MA degrees are not thesis-based so no lab-based research would be done. Looking up articles on googl

It really depends on what type of degree program you are in and what the school/department require of you before you can graduate.

My last ex was in a masters program for some subfield of graphic design (I forget which.) He had to choose a failing company and design a brochure that put forth his plan to rebrand them. I guess his program must have been a MA?

Also, they only gave him a month to do the whole project!

 

[rodeomarie]

I had no idea that a masters program could require funding. I always thought all the money came out of the student's pocket (probably in the form of loans.)

When a student has funding, do they also pay for their schooling?

Not all programs are like this; keep that in mind. I got my Masters through Michigan State University's Veterinary Program and it was traditional funded by student loans 🙂

 

[lianali]

I have a question based on a trend that I've noticed on this forum.

I often hear people say that their masters GPA is better than their undergrad GPA. But masters classes are harder, right? Why are people getting better GPAs with their masters? Is it because they were experienced students when they started the masters program?

My life quite literally fell apart while I was in undergrad. (Technically, I was homeless for a semester, living on a friend's couch before I took a year off of undergrad to establish financial independence and get a job and take care of myself. It was definitely NOT the best mental place to be in while trying to complete a college degree. I'm not a dumb cookie, but severe stress does get to me.)

Now? I'm much more focused, and able to apply my brain to my work much more effectively. I really needed to grow up, learn about life, and get into a place where I could focus on my responsibilities.

I'm totally a fan of wait to go to college plan. It's not a small commitment to go to college and it's difficult work to connect college degrees to applicable job markets. I feel like many educational programs do a terrible job of helping students to understand how their degree makes them eligible/not eligible for jobs and career paths. There's this huge myth going around that college=job, and it's just not true. That doesn't even touch on the issue of priorities - so many things I've missed out on because I stayed home to study. How many 18 year olds are really ready for that kind of commitment fresh out of high school? How many 18 to 22 year olds understand career paths and how to plan for them?

I'll get off my soap box now.

 

[lianali]

When a student has funding, do they also pay for their schooling?

For the MPH program that I'm in, they definitely paid attention to the high-performing students, and then used those students as a resource pool to work on projects, grants, and research. Students that did well in the program got to interview for things like graduate assistantships with stipends and sometimes tuition waivers. I went into the program with the intention to qualify for a graduate assistantship and consider myself very lucky to be funded for the last 3 semesters of my degree.

Short answer - it depends on the amount of funding your department has and is willing to spend on students.

 

[LadyOtheFarm]

Well, yes, but that usually involves some sort of major project. My sister is in a dual BA/MA program in history. Her MA in the name itself is not research-based, but she still has to present a major article in a certain area in history that she is interested in learning more about. At my uni there is a scientific writing master's program that requires some sort of research in mass communication. Even if it is just doing a content anslysis of all previously published articles on a certain topic.

Again, it depends on the school and program. MS and PhD degrees are thesis-based and will require research to be done. There are non-thesis MS degree programs that don't require research, but some other major project would be required at the end of a program, either a comprehensive exam of all courses taken or a written article similar to a thesis that gives the committee the opportunity to see that the student learned something specific about a topic. Now, MA degrees are not thesis-based so no lab-based research would be done. Looking up articles on googl

It really depends on what type of degree program you are in and what the school/department require of you before you can graduate.

I was non-thesis but had to complete a 6 week internship and write a paper relating my internship to my coursework and current research. Some of my classmates traveled to famous labs and wrote papers on the history and continuing direction of research in their labs, but I thought that was a cool final requirement for a MS.