Appendix A–F

Learn more information below about graduate school from the following appendixes: Appendix A: Survival Skills For Graduate Students, Appendix B: Sample Graduate Program Appeals Process, Appendix C: Professional Societies, Appendix D: Travel To Professional Meetings, Appendix E: AFS Graduate Committee Functions, and Appendix F: International Students.

Appendix A: Survival Skills for Graduate Students

As described in the introduction of this handbook, graduate school represents a new educational experience. Students are faced with a large amount of complex information and are expected to be more independent. Graduate school can be a stressful experience for students. Programs are encouraged to provide information for their students to help them not only survive but thrive in graduate school. A few examples are provided below. In addition to the resources that programs may have that are discipline specific, the Graduate College provides a list of resources that will be available on the graduate faculty Canvas website. (Graduate faculty can access this website by logging on to Canvas and changing their role from “faculty” to “student”.) Programs are encouraged to visit this website and incorporate materials into this section of their handbook.

Resources

Appendix B: Sample Graduate Program Appeals Process

Overview: The purpose of this procedure is to provide current graduate students in the Graduate Program the opportunity to resolve complaints about dismissal from the program, placement on probation, recommended denial of readmission to the program, and other administrative or academic decisions that terminate or impede a student’s progress toward their academic or professional degree goals.

Process

The student is required to provide written notification of appeal to the graduate program coordinator within 14 calendar days of the precipitating event that is the subject of the appeal. If the Graduate Program Coordinator is an involved party, the student should seek advice from the unit head or associate dean of graduate studies in their disciplinary college. Notification should include, information on the circumstances of the appeal, specific issues involved, and the remediation action sought. The document should be no more than two pages. Within 7 calendar days of receipt of the notification, any involved parties within the program (e.g., faculty or staff) will be notified and provided a copy of the appeal. The graduate program’s appeals committee will be convened to hear the appeal within a reasonable amount of time, usually 30 days (see note below). At the hearing, the student will have the opportunity to present their case and the same time would be allowed for counterarguments, if warranted. Questions may be asked of either party by members of the appeals committee. At the end of this hearing, the program’s appeals committee will deliberate, and their decision will be considered final at the program level. The student will be notified in writing of the decision and their right to appeal to unit head, followed by the Dean of the Graduate College, if they so choose.

Enrollment

Throughout the appeal process the student is allowed to maintain enrollment and continue working toward the graduate degree in the same manner as any other matriculated graduate student in the program. Continued enrollment is not required to appeal within the allowed timeframes.

Appeals Committee

The make-up of the graduate program’s appeals committee should be noted here – some programs use their established Graduate Program Committee for all student appeals. In programs that do not have a designated appeals committee, the appeals process should specify the members of the Graduate Faculty who will consider the appeal. For example, this may be an ad-hoc committee appointed by the Graduate Program Coordinator or unit head or it may include all members of the Graduate Faculty in the program.

Deadlines

Unless stated otherwise, all deadlines are by 5:00 pm central time on the day of the deadline or the next regular business day (Monday–Friday) when the deadline falls on a weekend (Saturday–Sunday) or OSU official holiday, such as Labor Day. Time frames and deadlines that extend beyond the end of the academic terms (fall and spring semesters and summer sessions) are handled at the discretion of the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Appendix C: Professional Societies

Introducing graduate students to the professional societies within their discipline is an important aspect of their training. Student membership provides a cost-effective means of beginning to reap the benefits of such organizations, including access to journals and other sources of information, the ability to develop professional networks outside of their institution, and may be important in maintaining professional credentials. Graduate students should be provided with information and links to the different professional organizations within their discipline at the local state, region and nation/international levels. When there is more than one professional organization, students should be encouraged to discuss with their advisor most the appropriate society based on their interests and goals.

Appendix D: Travel to Professional Meetings

Providing graduate students with information related to travel in the graduate handbook can be an effective and time-saving means communicating the basic information. It should be specified that all travel must be pre-approved by the research advisor or chair of the committee and is contingent on the availability of funds. Key aspects of the travel process are listed below:

Submitting an out-of-state or in-state travel request form (sample forms may be provided)
Approval process for travel and for funding
Making travel arrangements (airline, driving, parking, taxi, train or bus, turnpike tolls etc.)
Registering for the conference or meeting
Housing accommodations and meals
Required documents for reimbursement (sample form may be provided)
Travel reimbursement programs, such as GPSGA Travel Awards

Appendix E: AFS Graduate Committee Functions

The AFS Graduate Committee is composed of the following members:

Ryan Reuter - Chair, Scott Carter, Darren Hagen, David Lalman, Gretchen Mafi, Peter Muriana, Adel Pezeshki, Blake Wilson, Glenn Zhang

The Graduate Committee meets twice per year on the last Friday of dead week in fall and spring, and other meetings as needed.

Duties:

Review, discuss, and update graduate policies and this Handbook
Periodically review applicants to our graduate program in Slate
Ensure the continued quality of our graduates and graduate program

Appendix F: International Students

Application Process

As US students, you must apply to Graduate College through an application form. You will:

Create a new account
Complete the application
Submit required support documents
Pay the application fee

Deadlines

The deadline to present the paperwork as an international student will depend on the semester you are planning to start.

Admission semester	Class Start Date	Application deadline
Fall	mid-August	May 1
Spring	mid-January	Oct 1
Summer	mid-May	Feb 1

In other words, you must have the requested documents for applying to OSU Graduate College about 3 to 4 months before the start of the semester.

1.a) English proficiency for admission

If your native language is not English, you are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS or PTE test scores.

A TOEFL score of 79 (internet based test) or 550 (paper based test) is required. The TOEFL institution code for OSU is 6546. Alternatively, an official IELTS or PTE can be accepted. A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 or a PTE score of 53 will satisfy the English proficiency requirements for admission to a graduate program. Exams must have been taken within the last two years.

OSU graduate college ONLY accepts electronic submission of official test scores, meaning that before taking the test you must send the official score report to: OSU Institution Code - 6546. Usually when you are registering for whichever test chosen, you have the option to add a score recipient (see below as an example).

Be sure to visit the links provided for each test to know how adding a score recipient works and also the time it takes for your official test scores to be sent. TOEFL and IELTS usually provide the test results in 14 days or less (see links provided to verify this information).

You may provide IELTS/TOEFL self-reported scores in the meantime while doing the application process but the official scores must be sent at the time of admission otherwise the process of admission will not move on forward.

1.b) Transcripts

All applicants, including OSU students, must upload a copy of their transcript for bachelor’s degree(s) conferred or pending and for any graduate or professional coursework or degrees. Submitting your application without transcripts will delay review of your application. Please do not email or send copies of your transcripts to the Graduate College.

Once admitted, you will be requested to submit by the end of your first semester of graduate study at OSU an official degree certificate/diploma showing you have completed your current degree program. So be sure to bring the original diploma from your current University and to present it at OSU graduate college (202 Whitehurst, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078).

1.c) Test Scores

Each program determines their own admission requirements, and some include the submission of a test score such as GRE, GMAT, or MAT as part of those requirements. You must contact the department so that they waive this exam and the application process continues.

1.d) Letters of recommendation

You will need 3 letters of recommendation. Once in the application process, you will be asked to add a recommender and you will have two options: “to be submitted electronically by the recommender” or “to be mailed by the recommender”. You must add first and last name, organization, position/title, relationship, telephone and email of the recommender. It is suggested that you use your recommender’s institutional or corporate email address. Submissions from anonymous email addresses (such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, others) may be subject to additional review (more time on the process).

More information related to Application Fees, Application Fee Waivers, Application Deadlines, International Applicants and Admission Deferrals can be found on the graduate application process.

2) Accepted at OSU Graduate College

Once all the information required is sent by the applicant and the documents are revised, verified and approved by OSU graduate college, this will lead to the applicant’s admission. If the international student is expecting to be F1 or J1 visa holders him/her will receive an I-20 or DS-2019 sent by OSU. This will allow you to move forward on the application for your corresponding VISA (F-1 or J-1) at the US Embassy from your home country. Make sure to visit the homepage of the US Embassy from your country to know what documents are required for the appointment at the embassy.

3) Before and after your arrival to OSU

You can go ahead and check the International Student Registration and Orientation for graduates where there are several steps you can start completing from home! Find more information and steps for International Student Registration and Orientation.