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Guidelines for CE Graduate Students

Bruce Thomson Josie Gibson

Graduate Advisor Coord. Of Advising

277-4729 277-6633

bthomson@unm.edu jgibson@unm.edu

Fall 2004

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Outline of Presentation

• Administrative aspects of CE graduate programs

• Academic requirements for M.S. & Ph.D. degrees

• Guidance

• Selecting an advisor

• Selecting a research topic

• Completing project/thesis/dissertation

• http://www.unm.edu/~civil/

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Top 10 Lives from Grad Students - 10

10.It doesn’t bother me that my old room mate is making $80K/yr working for an engineering design firm.

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Admission to CE Graduate Program

• Requirements:

• B.S. degree in engineering or science

• GRE (quantitative & verbal)

• Letters of recommendation

• Admission is by CE Graduate Advisor with consent of CE Graduate Committee

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Degrees

• WERC Certificate

• M.S. Degree in Civil Engineering

• Construction Hydraulics

• Environmental Geotechnical

• Structural/Mechs. Transportation

• Water Resources

• M. of Engr. In Hazardous Waste Engineering

• Master of Construction Management in progress

• Ph.D. in Engineering

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 9

9. I’d be delighted to proofread your book/chapter/article

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M.S. Degree Requirements - 1

• UNM 2001-2003 Catalog pg. 55, 375, 391

• Plan I - Thesis Option

• 30 credits + 2 credits seminar (CE 691)

• 24 credits classes

• 6 credits thesis (CE 599)

• M.S. Thesis - Public defense

• Thesis expected of students supported as TA or RA

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M.S. Degree Requirements - 2

• Plan II - M.S. Project

• 33 credits + 2 credits seminar (CE 691)

• 30 credits classes

• 3 credits M.S. Project (CE 588)

• Public defense of project

• Plan II - Course work only M.S.

• 33 credits classes + 2 credits seminar (CE 691)

• M.S. Comprehensive Examination

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 8

8. My work has a lot of practical importance

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Ph.D. Requirements

• Course work

• 24 credits beyond M.S. degree (pg. 376)

• 48 credits beyond B.S. degree

• 4 credits seminar (CE 691)

• Qualifying Examination

• Comprehensive Examination - Admission to Candidacy

• Allows enrollment for dissertation credits

• Ph.D. Dissertation - Public Defense

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Miscellaneous Points

• Core curriculum - Each area has 3 - 5 core classes, see CE Graduate Handbook

• Non-degree/transfer credits - A maximum of 12 credit hours of non-degree classes towards degree

• Time to complete degree:

• M.S. - 7 years start to finish (no exceptions)

• Ph.D. - 5 years after admission to candidacy

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Administrative Considerations

• Really Important forms (http://www.unm.edu/~grad/)

• M.S. - “Program of Studies”

• Submit at least 1 semester before graduation

• Recommend submitting after 18-21 credits

• Ph.D. - “Application for Candidacy” - After passing Comprehensive Exam

• Project/Thesis/Dissertation Defense, & M.S. Comp. Exams

• Notify OGS > 2 weeks before date of defense/exam

• “Intent to Graduate” form at start of last semester

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Program of Studies Form (http://unm.edu/~grad/eforms/pdf_forms/AC_masters.pdf)

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“Gotcha” Requirements

• “I” grades become “F” grades after 1 semester (2 years if not enrolled at UNM.

• Students can’t defend their Project, Thesis, or Dissertation if their GPA < 3.0

• Once enrolled in CE 599 (Thesis) or CE 699 (Dissertation), students must continue to enroll in these classes until graduation

• Students must be enrolled at UNM during the semester they intend to graduate

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 7

7. I would never date an undergraduate

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Project/Thesis/Dissertation

• Committees must have 2 CE faculty

• Ph.D. Committee must have 1 outside member

• Work with major professor to select Committee

• Committee Members outside of UNM must be approved by OGS - takes ~1 month.

• Difference between M.S. Project & M.S. Thesis:

• Gray area

• Thesis must satisfy OGS requirements & appears in UNM library

• Students supported by UNM expected to do thesis

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Selecting a Topic

• Selecting a good project/thesis/dissertation topic is often the single most difficult task in a student’s career

• Generally topic selection requires iterative process

• Work with major professor

• Topic can be related to employment, however, there must be component of project done explicitly to satisfy UNM degree requirements.

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Top 10 Lies from Graduate Students - 6

6. Your latest article was so inspiring

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Criteria for a Good Project/Thesis

• Clear statement of research hypothesis or question

• Title

• Statement of objectives

• Some info. on topic is available to student

• Expertise is available on-campus or within professional community for assistance

• Resources (money, equipment, time) are available for project

• Project has well defined end point.

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A REALLY Bad Project/Thesis/Dissertation Proposal

• “I want to look at the following topic.”

• Contains no research hypothesis or question

• There is no definition of the project

• Contains no end point - how do you know when you’re done?

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2 Strategies for Selecting Topic

• Traditional strategy

• Pose research hypothesis or question

• Generate information to test hypothesis

• Analyze information to reach conclusion

• Inverse strategy - Used by part time students

• Identify source of information

• Examine data to determine if hypothesis can be tested

• Analyze information to reach conclusion

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 5

5. I turned down a lot of great job offers to come here

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Recommended Process for Research Project/Thesis/Dissertation - 1

• Submit detailed outline/proposal to major professor

• Clear title

• Statement of objectives

• Literature search with > 10 key references

• Proposed research method

• Expected results & how analyzed

• Begin work with major prof.’s consent

• Give committee members copy of outline/proposal

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Recommended Process for Research Project/Thesis/Dissertation - 2

• 30% completion meeting with Committee. Objectives:

• Obtain “buy-in” on project

• Solicit advice & guidance

• 70% completion meeting with Committee. Objectives:

• Identify potential “fatal flaws”

• Assistance in reaching conclusions

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Recommended Process for Research Project/Thesis/Dissertation - 3

• Notify CE Coord. of Advising 2 weeks prior to defense

• My students must post notice of defense

• Defense:

• Formal oral presentation

• 20-30 min. for MS

• 40-50 min. for Ph.D.

• Turn in final copies

• Thesis & dissertations to OGS by ~11/15 & 4/15

• M.S. projects due by end of semester

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 4

4. I just have one more book/paper to read and then I’ll start writing

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Comment on Project/Thesis/Dissertation

• The Project/Thesis/Dissertation should be:

• Demonstration to UNM and the engineering profession of the student’s competence & professionalism

• Reflect the best work that the student can do given the resources (time, $$, equipment, etc.) available

• The student should be proud of his work and should enjoy the opportunity to present to his professors, peers, friends & family.

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 3

3. The department is giving me so much support

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Publication Issues

• Producing a publishable work should be the goal of every graduate student

• Authorship

• Negotiation between student & advisor as to who’s first author

• Projects resulting in a work product (i.e. SAND reports) should include advisor as co-author

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 2

2. My job prospects look really good

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Expectations of Research Assistants

• RA’s are expected to work > 20 hours per week during school year and > 40 hours per week during summers unless informed differently by professor. Many students work much more than this.

• RA’s generally are allowed 2 weeks vacation per year

• Inform professor when you will not be on campus.

• Message: You’re here to get an education. Simply considering grad school as a job significantly devalues a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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Top 10 Lies from Grad. Students - 1

1. No really, I’ll be out of here in only 2 more years

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Most Hated Question of Graduate School

“How’s your thesis coming?”

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Best Quote After M.S. Defense

“That was kind of fun.”

-G. Hall,

M.S. 1999