Locating a Graduate Program on the Internet

Parks & Recreation, Nov, 1998 by William L. Obenour, Susan Mary Wilson

This month we explore the use of the Internet as a tool in locating a graduate program. Even before a potential student sets foot on campus, he or she can "visit" a program. The use of the Internet can reduce a list of potential graduate schools and save one a great deal of time and money. The focus of this article is to provide future graduate students with a list of helpful sites and give universities our view of successful and informative features that enhance students' impressions of a graduate program.

Almost every university program has its own home page. This article will focus on graduate degree programs. Not all universities are represented, but there are samples from all over the country. A checklist was developed by current graduate students to help prospective students choose the graduate program that is right for them. Included on this checklist are faculty biographies and academic interests; professors' contact numbers and business offices; program requirements including admissions standards, emphasis areas, required courses, and degree options; current or past research done by graduate students; common affiliations with departments on campus; facilities available to graduate students; and links to area attractions. These aspects were analyzed as well as the logistics of navigating the Web site. In our appraisal of recreation department Web sites, we have selected pages that were informative to prospective graduate students. An informative site will help prospective graduate students identify the graduate programs that match their interests, lead the applicants through the graduate college's admission process, notify the prospective applicants about assistantships, and list the requirements for the completion of a graduate degree. For the department, a site's accessible and pertinent information will reduce the time commitments for the graduate coordinator, increase the likelihood of recruiting compatible students to the graduate program, and assist in the retention of graduate students by facilitating the transition of the applicant to the graduate-school environment.

The following Web sites have been divided into western and eastern regions of the United States. It was impossible to include every site in the limited space provided; therefore, this is a small representation of what is available.

Best of the East

The prospective applicant will search for a graduate program compatible with his or her interests. Understanding the research interests and expertise of the faculty will go a long way in finding a compatible match for a graduate student. In addition, faculty members can make or break a graduate student's academic career. A faculty member will serve as advisor of courses; chair or committee member for theses, projects, and dissertations; supervisor of the student's assistantship; and dispenser of research funds through grants. In the East, most recreation departments' sites summarized the description of faculty members' academic interests in two or three sentences. A few recreation departments were inconsistent in listing the vitae of only one or two faculty members, with the remaining professors displaying only their contact numbers. The University of Connecticut provided information from all its faculty members. For a graduate student who is searching for compatible research interests, a detailed vita for each faculty member is beneficial. Displaying this information may assist faculty members in recruiting graduate students with the appropriate skills and educational background for their research projects.

The minimum listing of the faculty members' contact numbers (e-mail, phone, and address) was achieved by most of the sites, but the best in this region contained vitae of all or most of the faculty members. Michigan State University complemented faculty biographies with a summary of research projects within the department. The site offers an understanding of the direction of research within the department. Indiana University offers links to faculty home pages. Some of these pages include graduate-course syllabi. For a personal touch, photographs of faculty members (UConn and MSU) were a nice addition, allowing prospective graduate students to identify faculty members at conferences.

The following admission requirements were reviewed next: GRE scores, undergraduate grade-point averages, application deadlines, and program options (e.g., thesis or comprehensive exams). All of the schools reviewed listed the basic requirements for admission. As far as obtaining and submitting graduate applications, most prospective students were referred to a phone number or mailing address from which they could acquire and then return these forms. Certain sites enabled applicants to download an application form (Murray State and Boston University) that could then be submitted by mail. Still others (University of Florida) provided online applications. Southern Illinois University's application checklist allowed prospective students to make sure that they had submitted all of their materials by the deadline. The checklist was a good method with which to inspire the procrastinating scholar through the application process.