The Office of Graduate Admissions and Academic Services will be going back to an 8:30am-4:30pm business day starting the week of April 29, 2013.   Late hours that have take place on Monday-Wednesday from the past months will be re-started at the end of summer.

-Marshall

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen!  This year we’re trying something new in regards to our fall registration and here’s the Reader’s Digest version:  Today marks the first day that matriculated students can register for graduate courses.  In the past, non-matriculated students could register the same day but this year we’re pushing off the dates that non-matriculated students can register until July 15 so it gives our matriculated student precedent on the seats available in a given class. 

What’s the difference?

Matriculated students are admitted and enrolled in a graduate student.

Non-matriculated students are either attempting to complete coursework before being admitted to a program or they are only interested in completing coursework versus being in a graduate program.

Once a student is eligible to register, they should follow the instructions on www.usj.edu/gradregistrationinfo to complete their initial registration.

Short List of Fall Registration Dates:

April 8 – Matriculated students can register

May 1 – Employees can register

July 15 – Non-matriculated students can register

August 19 – Students interested in auditing can register

-Marshall

The birds are chirping, there’s almost no snow in sight, and it’s bearable to go outside with a light jacket on!  Soon enough … we’ll be wishing for snow because we’ll be in the middle of a hot and humid New England summer.  While you’re sitting at home in your air conditioning or hanging out by the pool, here’s a short article for you to read about preparing for your graduate program.  The article titled “How New Graduate Students Should Spend Their Summers” by Julie Miller Vick and Jennifer Furlong appeared on the Chronicle for Higher Education’s website in the career section. 

“One of the perks that still exist, at least in some parts of academe, is a slower pace of work during summer. For graduate students, it’s often a chance to carve out large blocks of time for substantial research projects. Yet August often arrives too quickly, and many students find they haven’t accomplished what they set out to do.”  (Continue reading here…)

-Marshall

“As you prepare for graduate school, one of the major questions you will encounter is how you will finance your education.”  (Continue Reading here…)

As for the University of Saint Joseph, we are interested in helping students finance their degree through financial aid or our Graduate Assistantship Program.  Financial aid is available to all graduate students matriculated into a Master degree program and taking a minimum of six credits in the semesters they would like to receive aid; however, financial aid at the graduate level is all federal loans (no scholarships.)  The Graduate Assistantship Program will soon be taking applications for the 2013-2014 academic year and helps matriculated on-campus and online graduate students pay for their degree in exchange for working in a specific department on campus.  All Graduate Assistantship information is available to current students on the Graduate tab of MyUSJ and any questions can directed to me (860.231.5879 or graduate@usj.edu.)

-Marshall

Anyways, (sorry for rambling…) but this made me think about one of the articles I recently read that was discussing why now is the time that more middle-aged adults should return to school and I thought I’d share it with you.  The article was written by Margaret  Loftus and appears in the Grad Schools section of US News.  Here’s a snapshot…

“As the owner of an independent bookstore, Patrick McDermott made a living by sharing his love of fiction with others. Until the Internet sounded the death knell for his store, that is.

“Meeting the mortgage and raising a daughter—by 2008, I knew I had to make a leap,” he says. So at age 53, he went back to school, seeking a master’s in education at the University of Puget Sound.”  (Continue reading here…)

Hope you enjoy the read!

-Marshall

“The decision to go to graduate school can be scary. After all, millions of Americans face stagnating wages, impending layoffs, and seemingly chronic unemployment. Is now a good time to think about going to grad school? Absolutely.”  (Continue Reading here…)

I can speak candidly about each one of these myths because we see it everyday working in an admissions office!  The myth that hit home the most for me was about affording college.  I’ve completed a graduate program myself and I have a ton of friends and siblings currently going to various institutions across New England for both undergraduate and graduate work.  Some of them might be getting assisted by an upscale economic background or a parent but not all of them are fortunate when it comes to have stability to pay for school.  Many have worked for their institution as a student worker or graduate assistant to help assist with the cost of their tuition and from my point of view, it’s the smartest thing you could possibly do!  Even if you have some money put away to come back to school or you’re okay with getting loans to take courses, a Graduate Assistantship Program doesn’t just push your cost  back into your later years … it eliminates cost!  Our Graduate Assistantship Program will waive either 6 or 12 credits per academic year for someone who is hired to be a graduate assistant and all that’s asked in return is 112 hours of support for each three credits waived so not only are you getting financial assistance but you’re getting workplace experience!  Our application period is coming up in April for the next academic year and I strongly urge all of you to consider it.  We put information about the program on the Graduate tab of MyUSJ and/or you can email mbradway@usj.edu if you’d like to be notified when the application is available.

-Marshall

Welcome back guys!  We apologize for not getting a lot of information out to you recently but we had some technical work done that limited our access to the blog this past week.  Today we wanted to inform all of our students about some of the important dates coming up for those people that want to register for summer courses.  This year, registration for summer courses will begin a little earlier than in the past few years as students will be able to register for their summer courses next Monday (March 4) and registration will continue through May 9 for online courses and May 25 for on-campus courses.  Courses are now available to be viewed in the Course Search menu.

New students are only eligible to register for coursework if they’ve completed an application, paid their $50 application fee, and submitted a transcript that shows degree conferral from a regionally-accredited institution that also meets the program’s prerequisites of the program where they would like to take coursework.  Once you’ve submitted all of these documents, you can follow the instructions on our Course Registration webpage to complete your registration!  Returning students can sign up for coursework on MyUSJ.

If you have any questions, please send us an email at graduate@usj.edu. 

Note: The summer semester is split into two modules but registration for either module must be completed by the deadline above. Fall registration is scheduled to begin sometime in early April.

-Marshall

To up the sakes a little bit … the first person to succesfully complete the puzzle and submit the answers to graduate@usj.edu will have their $50 application fee waived!   We will accept a scanned copy of the puzzle filled out in pen or just an email with the list of the answers based on their location on the puzzle. 

Across

1. Type of letter required to be admitted

3. President of the University of Saint Joseph (Last name)

6. Number of credits a non-matriculated student can take before they must be admitted to a graduate program

8. Building where Graduate Admissions office is located

Down

2. Document filled out by student showing interest in our graduate program(s)

4. Street name where the institution is located

5. Name of our largest online graduate program

7. Our first graduate program

Have fun and remember to turn in your answers to graduate@usj.edu!

-Marshall

Found this article written on the Huffington Post blog with good perspective on the value of an online education.  Enjoy!

“I strongly believe that the future of higher education lies with online learning. Increasingly, colleges and university students now find themselves with other obligations beyond that of getting a degree. Jobs and family commitments make equal demands on their time. Having the option of taking online classes and studying on their own time is critically important. At the same time, many state institutions are unable to accommodate all those who want to take classes on campus, escalating the demand for online learning.”  (Continue Reading here…)

Keep in mind the University of Saint Joseph has:

3 online Master degee programs (Biology, Biochemistry, and Nutrition) with a fourth on the way (Chemistry)

2 online Graduate Certificate programs (Emerging Diseases and Gerontology)

1 online Doctorate program (Doctorate of Nursing Practice)

More information about these programs is available here! 

-Marshall

-Marshall