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UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

The Schools of Nursing and Pharmacy operate on both the Oxford and Jackson campuses. The Schools of Dentistry, Health Related Professionals and Medicine, and the Health Sciences Graduate School, are based in Jackson only. (Additional healthcare programs are available through the School of Applied Sciences on the Oxford campus.) Other than these exceptions, the schools above are on the Oxford campus.

GRADUATE SCHOOL

Leadership

Contact

100 Graduate House
University, MS 38677

http://gradschool.olemiss.edu

Overview

The University of Mississippi offers a variety of master’s, specialist, and doctoral degree programs. The Office of the Graduate School provides leadership, coordination, and administrative structure to support all graduate programs at the University. The Graduate School, which administers all graduate study at the university, holds membership in the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States. Its faculty consists of about 400 members, who are qualified to offer graduate work.

Graduate School Office

The Graduate School Office, located in the Graduate House, receives applications, coordinates their review, communicates with prospective students regarding their admission status, maintains academic records, monitors students' progress, process assistantship appointments, advises students, and interprets academic policies established by the Graduate Council.

Graduate Council

The Graduate Council has broad responsibility for advising on all graduate academic policies and activities of the University on its Oxford campus and satellite campus locations (excluding the Medical Center). This includes the consideration of new degree programs, formulation and refinement of graduate regulations, consideration of all graduate and Law courses for approval and decisions on petitions from students who are requesting waivers of campus-wide (as opposed to departmental or school) graduate degree requirements. The faculty representatives on this committee are tenured professorial faculty.

Graduate Faculty

The Graduate Faculty are those faculty members who are approved to teach graduate level courses and direct or co-direct master’s and doctoral students. The Graduate School Office maintains a list of members.

Graduate Student Council

The Graduate Student Council at The University of Mississippi addresses the needs and concerns of all graduate students on the Oxford campus. The council officers and senate work with the faculty, administration, and other student organizations to promote higher academic achievement and standards, to facilitate interdepartmental communication among graduate students, and to provide graduate students with more opportunities for social interaction. By collectively addressing common concerns of its membership, the Graduate Student Council strives to eliminate much of the unnecessary stress often associated with graduate student life. Some of the Graduate Student Council’s goals are to offer financial assistance for paper presentations at academic conferences, to compile and disseminate information concerning graduate grants and scholarships outside the university, and to work with the university’s placement office to establish a clearinghouse of information regarding career opportunities in academia and other professions.

History

The University of Mississippi from 1848, the date of its formal opening, until 1870 conferred the honorary degree of Master of Arts upon certain of its graduates who had attained intellectual distinction. Courses at the graduate level were offered first in 1870. A comprehensive examination as a requirement for the master’s degree also was established that year. A definite program of graduate study with a minimum residence requirement of one academic year was inaugurated in 1890. During the last nine decades, graduate work at The University of Mississippi has been continually developed and expanded. The Graduate School was formally organized in 1927 to coordinate and administer graduate study and research at the university.

Aims and Ends of Graduate Education

The purpose of graduate education at the University was first articulated by the Aims and Ends statement associated with the organization of the Graduate School in 1927. The statement is as follows:

The student who undertakes graduate study should understand at the outset that work of this character implies more than the acquisition of knowledge under competent instruction. He or she should aspire to a degree of knowledge of a given subject in order to make a contribution that is of original and independent value. This does not imply that much of the student’s energies are not still to be applied in the acquisition of facts universally accepted, a process that should continue through life, but in graduate study these facts are to be weighed, coordinated, and supplemented by the students own contributions.

Graduate Education Learning Outcomes

The Graduate School of the University of Mississippi has master’s, specialist, and doctoral degree programs. The general learning outcomes of these degrees are summarized as follows. A student who completes a master’s degree should - demonstrate a mastery of a body of knowledge in the discipline; the level of the material and/or the extent of mastery must be above that for the baccalaureate degree; - successfully use the basic methodologies of the discipline; - retrieve, evaluate, and utilize information relevant to the discipline; - communicate, both orally and in writing, in a manner and level of proficiency that is standard for the discipline; - (for thesis master’s) conduct research or produce creative work; - (for non-thesis master’s) function as a professional in the discipline. A student who completes a specialist degree should be able to demonstrate the above competencies and should - master a body of knowledge beyond that for a master’s degree; - function as a professional in the discipline. A student who completes a doctoral degree should - demonstrate broad and advanced knowledge within the discipline; - successfully use a range of methodologies of the discipline; - independently perform original research; - communicate effectively; - function as a professional in the discipline.

Operational Procedures

The policies and regulations of a given Fall version of the Graduate School Catalog take effect with the registration procedures for that fall session. Graduate students whose notices of admission have been issued prior to a given fall session registration, but who deferred their initial registration, must conform to any changes in regulations made between the date of the admission and the initial registration. A graduate student making application for degree must meet the requirements of the catalog under which he or she was admitted or re-admitted. When a graduate student completes a degree program and seeks another degree, the student must satisfy the requirements stated in the catalog in effect during the enrollment period for the new degree. In the event that any regulation of the Graduate School conflicts with the regulation of a department or school, the Graduate School regulation must be met; the preceding statement, however, does not preclude the right of a department or school to impose additional requirements that exceed those of the Graduate School. Graduate students are expected to familiarize themselves with the academic requirements and regulations stated in this catalog. Ignorance of these requirements and regulations, incorrect statements or advice from faculty or students, or misunderstandings of these procedures will not be accepted as cause for waiving any requirement or regulation in this catalog. Graduate students who, because of exceptional or extraordinary circumstances, wish to be granted exceptions from the regulations of this catalog may petition in writing to the dean of the Graduate School. Such petitions must bear the recommendation of the department chair or dean concerned. The dean of the Graduate School may act upon the petition, or he or she may refer it for the recommendation of the Graduate Council. The recommendation of the Graduate Council will be considered final when approved by the dean of the Graduate School and the chancellor of the university.

The policies and regulations contained in this online University of Mississippi Catalog are in effect for the current or selected semester. The catalog is not a contract, but rather a guide for the convenience of students. The University of Mississippi reserves the right to 1) change or withdraw courses; 2) change the fees, rules, and schedules for admission, registration, instruction, and graduation; and 3) change other regulations affecting the student body at any time. Implicit in each student’s enrollment with the university is an agreement to comply with university rules and regulations, which the university may modify to exercise properly its educational responsibility.