Effective Fall Semester 2003, the department adopted the use of milestones for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees to assist both the student and the advisor in assuring that goals are met in a timely manner. The milestones will appear on a checklist at the bottom of the progress report/request for support that each student is required to submit to the Department Head on an annual basis. If there is a compelling reason for not meeting a milestone deadline, the student can write a letter, signed by his/her advisor, to the Department Head with a copy to the Graduate Program Council justifying the need for an extension. It will be up to the Department Head, in consultation with the Graduate Program Council, to grant or deny the extension. (M.S. checklist; Ph.D. checklist)

THESIS/DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

One of the new milestones (see previous paragraph) is a requirement that students prepare a detailed thesis/dissertation proposal. Masters students will be expected to complete their proposal by the end of the second semester and Ph.D. students by the end of the fourth or fifth semester (although candidates should be encouraged to work on this from the beginning of their studies).

For a Masters student, the proposal should be an 8-10 page single spaced document. For a Ph.D. student, the proposal should be a 10-15 page single spaced document (like an NSF grant Project description).

The proposal should consist of the following:

• Preface: summarizing progress with respect to course requirements and 'milestones' (1/2 - 1 page).
• Introduction: description of the research area including a review of relevant literature, leading to a bulleted list of specific objectives (1-2 pages).
• Objectives: Each objective, which will typically become proposed chapters in thesis/dissertation, should consist of
  • Detailed description of what is the motivation for the objective
  • Hypothesis to be tested (where applicable)
  • Detailed description of data to be collected, methods to be used for collection, including equipment/facilities required and anticipated level of undergraduate involvement (where applicable) and anticipated statistical methods (where applicable)
  • Description of any preliminary data available
• Proposed timeline (1 page)
• Budget (1 page)
• Cited literature (not included in the page limit).

ADMINISTRATION OF THE GRADUATE PROGRAMS

The Department Head serves as Program Chair for the entomology graduate degree program. Among other functions the Head approves masters committees, recommends doctoral committees to the Graduate School, requests scheduling of candidacy, comprehensive, and final oral examinations, certifies that entomology program degree requirements have been met, and makes the final decisions on assistantship assignments.

A Graduate Program Coordinator serves as temporary advisor for incoming students, assists in the orientation of new students, and serves as a resource and mentor to all departmental graduate students.

The Graduate Program Council (GPC) assists the Department Head. The GPC screens applications for admission and assistantships and makes recommendations to the Department Head. The GPC also advises the Department Head on the makeup of committees for the students, and participates in the doctoral candidacy evaluations when retakes are required.