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Getting Started in the AEE
Grad Program
There are hundreds of agriculture teachers,
extension agents and other agricultural professionals who plan on
starting a graduate program “some day,” but haven’t. Those who
procrastinate may be missing out on pay raises, promotions, and gaining
new knowledge that can help on the job. Tuition rates keep climbing, so
it would be smart to go ahead and get that graduate degree now.
With the array of courses
offered by NC State there is really no excuse for not getting started.
You can take courses on the job no matter where you are physically
located. The cost is very reasonable. NC State has the 2nd lowest
tuition rate in the nation among land-grant colleges.
There are two ways to get started in a graduate program.The first way
is to take a few courses as a continuing education student to make sure
this is what you want to do. The second approach is to go ahead and
apply to the graduate program. The advantages and disadvantages of each
approach are discussed in the paragraphs below along with information
on how to apply to both.
The Continuing Education
Approach -
Students may take up to 12 hours as a Non-Degree Studies (NDS) student
in the NCSU Non-Degree program and have those courses
count toward a Master's degree.
There are several advantages to enrolling as a NDS student:
- You can take the program
for a "test drive" to make sure it is for you.
- There is no application
fee.
- It only takes 24-48
hours to get enrolled.
- There are no application
deadlines.
- If your undergraduate
GPA is low, you can take courses to show that you are capable of doing
graduate work. This will improve your chance of getting accepted into
the graduate program. (Note: Please look at the Enrolling Directly in
the Graduate Program below to see the GPA requirements for admission)
There are also some disadvantages to enrolling as a NDS student.
- In order to count the
course in the Master's program the student must make a B or higher (if
you were enrolled in the graduate program a B- or even a lower grade in
a course could be counted).
- All the courses taken
must be letter graded. One cannot count a course that is graded S or U.
This means continuing education students cannot take a 600 or 800 level
course since these are graded S or U.
- The courses must be at
the 500 level or above (students accepted into the graduate school can
take some 400 level courses in technical agricultural areas, continuing
education students cannot).
- Students are not
assigned an academic adviser until they officially enroll as a graduate
student.
- The AEE faculty do not
have access to continuing education student records. Therefore the AEE
faculty can't look up student records and the student must contact the
Distance Education office every semester to register for courses.
- Some students "forget"
to apply to the graduate school and end up with more continuing
education courses than can be counted when they do apply.
- A person has six year
time to complete the Master's degree. The six year clock starts with
the first course the student wants to count. Some continuing education
students don't realize this and take an occasional course now and then.
When the individual does apply for graduate school, this fact has
a major impact on the length of time to complete the program.
In
order to enroll in a course as a continuing education student, all one has to do is
to go tohttp://distance.ncsu.edu/registration/index.html and follow the directions.
Enrolling Directly in the Graduate Program - One can also apply
directly to the graduate program. This is the recommended approach.
Students who enroll directly into the graduate program have fewer
potential problems with their graduate program because they have an AEE
faculty adviser from the beginning and having greater flexibility in
their course choices.
The application process is all online. North Carolina State
University no longer uses a paper application form except in unusual
cases. The application form can be found athttp://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/grad/applygrad.htm.
The
directions
are straight forward. It will take about an hour
to complete the application. As part of the application process, you
are asked to provide the name and e-mail addresses of three references.
NC State will contact these individuals electronically and ask them to
complete an online reference form. There is an application fee that can
be paid using a credit card.
As part of the application process you have to arrange to have
transcripts of all previous collegiate work sent to the Graduate
School. This is the step that normally takes the longest. It takes a
while for some universities to send transcripts. However, if you have
an electromic copy of your transcript (or a hard copy and scan it) it
can be uploaded. We can make an admission decision based upon the
electronic copy but will need at official copy at some point in time.
If you have transcripts mailed, they should be sent to:
The Graduate School
North Carolina State University
Room 240, Research Building III
1005 Capability Drive
Campus Box 7102
Raleigh, NC 27695
A
commonly asked question is whether or not the GRE is required for
admission. The answer is YES!
Four
major factors are considering in determining who is admitted to the
Master's program. The first factor is the undergraduate GPA. The
Graduate School is looking for an undergraduate GPA of 3.0. If one does
not have an overall 3.0 GPA, we then look at the last two years of the
undergraduate program to see if that is a 3.0. If this is not a 3.0, we
then look at the courses in your major. Hopefully, this will be a 3.0.
If none of these are at the 3.0 level, then it is recommended that you
take some graduate courses as a continuing education student. If your
GPA is below a 3.0, but close, it may be possible to admit you on a
provisional basis. This means that you must make B or higher in your
first three graduate courses. For doctoral
students, we expect the applicant to have 3.5 GPA in the Master's
program.
GRE scores are also considered in the application process. The higher
the GRE score, the more likely one will be admitted to the program.
The other two factors
that are also considered in the application process are the letters of
recommendation and the personal statement. Strong letters of
recommendation are expected. As part of the application process you are
requested to prepare a personal statement of 300 words. This helps us
determine if our graduate program fits in with your personal goals and
future plans.
The deadlines for applying to the graduate program are:
Fall Semester - June
25 for US Students, March 1 for International Students
Spring
Semester
-
November 25 for US Students, July 15 for International
Students
Summer
Semester
I
- March 25 for US Students, December 15 for
International Students
Summer
Semester
II
- May 10 for US Students, December 15 for
International Students
If you have
additional questions about getting started in a graduate program,
please contact Gary Moore at gary_moore@ncsu.edu. |
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