Graduate School and Beyond Earning and Using Your Advanced Degree

Acknowledgments Preface Chapter 1 Can I Really Complete a Graduate Degree? Chapter 2 Online Courses and Degrees Chapter 3 The Degree Program Chapter 4 The Graduate Committee Chapter 5 The Comprehensive Exam Chapter 6 The Proposal and the Thesis/Dissertation Chapter 7 The Defense Chapter 8 Now What? References and Suggested Readings

Biography

Mark H. Rossman Professor Emeritus,
Capella University

“Mark Rossman has been a rigorous guide and friend to generations of students. His biases come through loud and clear—the most successful students ‘own’ their education. They seek to shape their educational experiences to their own unique needs, rather than passively accept whatever is ‘thrown their way.’ This guide to graduate study is both practical and very thorough. It will take the mystery out of the process. Mark shares with his readers the importance of parsing the tasks, breaking them down into its component parts, each to be dealt with in its own time. You don’t have to read it cover to cover—just the well-labeled ideas that apply to you. My favorite: ‘Becoming a Self-Directed Learner.’”
—Dwight Allen, Eminent Scholar of Educational Reform, Emeritus, Old Dominion University and former Dean of the School of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Knowledge is power. In this book, Dr. Rossman fully discusses and explains all aspects of the graduate school process, including the program of study, finances, delivery systems (online and on campus) the committee process, comps, the proposal and how it is connected to the thesis/dissertation. With this clear and succinct information, the graduate student is in a much better position to develop an advanced degree program that will fully and adequately meet personal and professional goals and objectives."
—Craig Swenson, Chancellor, Argosy University System

“Built upon his forty-plus years of experience as faculty, administrator, and graduate student advisor, Dr. Rossman’s new book amplifies and extends his earlier work, the nationally recognized and applauded Negotiating Graduate School, and brings to graduate students a compelling and re-assuring vision of the path to their degree. As a long-time colleague at two universities and as former president of an innovative online graduate institution, I am proud to endorse Graduate School and Beyond and to recommend it to every prospective graduate student.”
—J. Bruce Francis, Distinguished Senior Faculty, Capella University

Students Say:
“I completed reading your book tonight in one setting. The book totally engrossed me, as the information was so captivating. I just could not put the book down as it has a wealth of information and answered so many questions I’ve been wondering about. I will refer to [the book] again and again during the course of my degree program; it answers many questions I’ve been wondering about and some I hadn’t thought about.”
—Lisa R. Jones

“Dr. Rossman’s guide is a succinct yet thorough tool that not only explains the hurdles of graduate school but also provides practical wisdom to finish the race. From making the decision to attend my graduate program through submitting drafts of my dissertation, this book has been a constant companion as I have negotiated each phrase of my doctorate, and I know that I will continue to reference this resource as I defend my dissertation and move forward in my professional life after graduate school.”
—Rockford Samsom