myeducentre

Prince Anyaba 

Prince is a Ph.D. Chemical Engineering candidate at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA. He has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Lagos, Nigeria.

The US Education System

In the US, there is opportunity to pursue graduate studies in almost any field imaginable. There are also avenues to pursue interdisciplinary studies as well. The various academic departments fall under the traditional fields - arts, sciences, social science, business, law, engineering, pharmacy, medicine etc.

Most graduate studies would lead to the student having a master’s degree (M.A., M.S., or M.Eng), or doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in a chosen course of study. Master’s degree related programmes can usually be completed within 18 months. Programmes can be course work or thesis based. In course work based master’s programmes, the student is required to complete approximately 24 to 30 credit hours before graduation. At the end of the programme, students would be required to complete a project or take an oral exam. For thesis based master’s programmes, students take at least 24 credit hours of classes and then write a thesis which is presented to an academic audience before your graduation.

On the other hand, all doctorate degree programmes are thesis based. Some programmes have language requirements while others do not. Some specify minor specialisations, while others do not. The thesis/dissertation of all doctorate degree programmes are the author’s original work or contribution to that particular field of studies.

All doctorate degree programmes require their students to pass the comprehensive examination which is usually administered twice in a year for admission to residency/candidacy. At least four years is required to complete most doctorate degree programmes. In recent times, an increasing number of graduate schools now accept students with bachelor’s degree into doctorate degree programmes. This is more common in the sciences and engineering programmes. The co-coordinator of the graduate programme of interest is usually able to provide additional information where required.

Choosing Your Graduate Programme

My candid advice on the issue of choosing a graduate programme is that prospective students should stay as close as possible in their comfort zones. You do not want to make too much of a drastic change or departure from the programme in which you had your first degree. It important to note that you could change even if you have little background in the new field provided you are willing to make the necessary sacrifice. For instance, many schools in the US would accept a student with a background in Chemistry for graduate studies in Chemical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering graduates are frequently accepted into Petroleum Engineering programmes as well. Your choice should be driven by your interest as well as your capability. Do not stretch yourself beyond your capacity.

Master’s degree programmes are generally less funded compared to doctorate degree programme in most fields. I would suggest that prospective students should consider applying for a Ph.D. programme if they can before applying for a master’s degree programme. Since most doctorate degree programmes are well funded, it is better for you to apply for them. Interestingly, you can minor in another field while pursuing your major Specialisation. A student in engineering for instance may take additional courses in statistics if he or she so chooses; or may even take any course that has little bearing to his/her major as long as they do not impede him/her.
Getting a good score in your GRE or GMAT test cannot be overemphasized. Give yourself ample time to prepare for any of these exams, as they would be vital to your being granted admission or not. Apply to no fewer than three schools if you can. Some schools would waive the payment of application fees for you, if you apply directly to the departments and not to the graduate school.

University Ranking
Usnews (http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/index.html) and Princeton Review (http://www.princetonreview.com) are two popular sources of academic rankings for American universities.

The academic rankings of universities should always be used with caution and with careful consideration for your goals during and after the graduate programme.

As a guide to choosing a programme, please consider the following:

• Your needs as a student and your future goals. If you intend to base your choice on academic rankings of universities, kindly note that there may be a university and programme ranking. The university ranking is holistic and based on several criteria which may include things like diversity, faculty strength, student experience, employer perception etc. on the other hand, the programme ranking is a peer comparison of similar programmes in different universities. Hence, it is possible for a university to be highly rated overall but graduates of certain courses from the university may not be highly rated in the employment market. For instance, some universities are renowned liberal arts schools. However, if such a school offer programmes in engineering, graduates of such programmes may not be highly rated.

• How your choice of university would enhance your post-graduation goals. For instance, if you plan to work in a certain company or industry after graduation, it would be wise to research whether such companies recruit graduates of the course and school you are interested in. This information may be available on the website of your intended programme or you can request from the departmental contact the list of companies that recruit graduates of the programme.

• Your undergraduate grades and standardized test scores are crucial in getting to the school(s) of your choice. I know some of you would very much like to be in an Ivy League school and rightly so. However, intense competition from all over the world for the few available spaces may mean that only the best of the best are admitted. Fortunately, for those with less than stellar undergraduate records and/or standardized test performance, there are other great but less known schools out there that would consider your application more favourably.

• The weather in your school locations as there is strong weather variation across the US. Some parts of the US could be very cold and may affect your ability to settle down and gain an early academic foothold. Remember you are not stuck with any school when you get to the US, so you can always change your mind if need be.

• Due to the large number of higher educational institutions in the US, only a relatively small number of the institutions have national recognition. Most schools are popular within the region in which they are located. This is also tied to post-graduate recruitment by companies. Except for large companies with a national spread, most companies recruit from Universities located within their region. So, when choosing your university, consider the choice of potential employers you would like to work with and research whether they recruit graduates that programme and school.