The Graduate School at Montana State University

The Graduate School at Montana State University
Montana Hall
Established	1948 (1948)
Type	Public Graduate School
Academic affiliation	Montana State University
Location	Bozeman, Montana, United States
Dean	Dr. Karlene Hoo (since 2014)
Alumni	3,000+
Website	www.montana.edu/gradschool

The Graduate School provides leadership in graduate education at Montana State University (MSU), a public land-grant university located in Bozeman, Montana.

About

The mission of the Montana State University Graduate School is to enrich the graduate student experience by providing excellent service, timely oversight, and relentless advocacy for student success. The Graduate School strives to foster an environment that produces outstanding graduate scholars who contribute new ideas and knowledge using creative and innovative approaches to solve challenges in an evolving world.

The Graduate School is staffed by dean and ten professional staff. The University Graduate Council, a key component to The Graduate School, serves to advise the Dean on matters of policy. Its key activities are to make recommendations to the Dean about graduate programs and curricula and to promote all aspects of graduate education and the success of graduate students.^[1]

The Graduate School at Montana State University is a member of the Western Association of Graduate Schools.^[2]

History

MSU awarded its first master’s degree in 1902 (botany) and its first doctoral degrees (chemical engineering and chemistry) in 1956.^[3] Montana State University created the Graduate Division in 1948, which later became the College of Graduate Studies. In 2005, the name changed again to the Division of Graduate Education. The most recent name change occurred in 2010. Name changes were implemented to be more consistent with the nomenclature used for academic units throughout the university.^[4]

Notable growth in Montana State University graduate programs began during 1950s and continued into the 1960s.^[5] During the 1960s, MSU awarded two-and-a-half times the number of doctoral degrees than it did during the previous 67 years the university awarded advanced degrees.^[6]

Another period of significant growth in graduate programs began in the mid-1990s and continues today. Since the mid-1990s, MSU graduate offers grew from 38 master's degree programs and 12 doctoral programs to the current tally of 54 master’s degree options, 37 doctoral degree options (including one specialist program), and 14 certificate options.^[7][8]

Dean of the Graduate School

Dr. Karlene A. Hoo, Dean of The Graduate School at Montana State University

Dr. Karlene Hoo is the current Dean of The Graduate School at Montana State University. She began this position on 1 January 2014.^[9]

In addition to serving as Dean, Dr. Hoo is also a tenured full professor of chemical and biological engineering. Her research interests include modeling of complex dynamical systems, control system synthesis, multivariate statistics, and optimization with applications in chemical, petrochemical, and biological processes. Dr. Hoo earned her master of science and doctoral degrees from University of Notre Dame. She also holds a bachelor of science degree from University of Pennsylvania. Each of her degrees is in the field of chemical engineering.

In 1994, Hoo began teaching in the department of chemical engineering at University of South Carolina. Five years later (1999), she joined the faculty at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. At Texas Tech, Dr. Hoo served as associate dean of research for the College of Engineering before her appointment as the university's associate vice president for research in 2006 and then acting vice president for research from 2008 to 2009. Additionally, from 2011-2013, Dr. Hoo was Program Director at the National Science Foundation in the Engineering Directorate.^[9][10] Prior to her academic career, Dr. Hoo worked at both Exxon and DuPont. From 2011-2013, Dr. Hoo was Program Director at the National Science Foundation in the Industrial Innovations and Partnerships in the Engineering Directorate.^[10]

Dr. Hoo has won numerous awards for excellence in teaching and research. Hoo's recognitions include Mortar Board award for teaching excellence, Texas Tech Halliburton award for teaching excellence, and Dow Outstanding New Faculty award for research excellence. She has received several research awards from the National Science Foundation, including the prestigious CAREER award. Additionally, Dr. Hoo has a history of successful research funding from the American Chemical Society, NASA, as well as various industry partners.^[9]

Notalable previous deans of The Graduate School at Montana State University include Leon H. Johnson (1955-1964)^[11] and Michael P. Malone (1979-1988)^[12] both of whom later served as president of the university.

Areas of Study

Montana State University offers 54 master’s degree options, 37 doctoral degree options (including one specialist program), and 14 certificate options.^[8] Graduate degree and certificate programs are offered in eight MSU colleges – College of Agriculture, College of Arts and Architecture, Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, College of Education, College of Health and Human Development, College of Engineering, College of Letters and Science, and College of Nursing. In addition to coursework, most graduate programs require students to produce original research culminating in a master’s thesis, professional paper, or a doctoral dissertation.^[13] There are several professionally oriented master’s degrees that are coursework only.

Research

During the 2014-2015 fiscal year, Montana State University had $106.9 million in research expenditures. Of that, $87.8 million came from competitive federal funds, $1.5 million came from private gifts, $14.5 million came from state funding, and $3 million came from federal funding for agricultural research through the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.^[14] A significant portion of research at Montana State University is conducted by Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs). Under the leadership of a faculty member, GRAs conduct research in an area relevant to their course of study.^[13][15]

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education has rated Montana State University as one of 107 institutions in the R2: Doctoral Universities – Higher research activity category.^[16] To be classified as a doctoral university, an institution must award at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates during the update year. The Carnegie Classification assigns doctoral universities to one of three categories based on a measure of research activity: R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest research activity; R2: Doctoral Universities – Higher research activity; R3: Doctoral Universities – Moderate research activity.^[17][18]

Thesis and Dissertation Archive

All Montana State University graduate students completing a thesis or dissertation are required to submit an electronic version of the work. The Graduate School works in conjunction with Montana State University Library to archive these documents. Each electronic version is entered into ScholarWorks, an open access repository of intellectual work at Montana State University. In 2015, MSU Library digitized over 5,000 theses and dissertations making the research of virtually every Montana State University graduate student since 1902 available online to the public. The collection now includes over 7,500 items.^[19]

Distinguished Faculty

The Graduate School at Montana State University does not have any independent faculty. However, the following notable individuals teach and advise graduate students at Montana State University.

• Loren Acton – Research Professor, Department of Physics; Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51-F mission astronaut^[20][21][22]
• John "Jack" Horner – Regents Professor of Paleontology; Curator of Paleontology, Museum of the Rockies; scientific advisor for Jurassic Park franchise^[23][24]
• John Priscu – Regents Professor of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences; renowned polar scientist^{[25][26][27][28]}
• Gary Strobel – Professor, Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology^[29][30]
• Franke Wilmer – Professor, Department of Political Science; Representative, Montana State Legislature House of Representatives (2007-2013)^[31][32]

Notable Alumni

Also see Montana State University List of Alumni

• Brian Schweitzer – master of science in soil science (1980); former Governor of Montana (2005-2013)^[33]
• Mary Higby Schweitzer – Ph.D in biology (1995); paleontologist^[34][35]

Notes