Changes

While every effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information, the University reserves the right to change, without notice, statements in the Bowling Green State University Graduate Catalog concerning rules, policies, fees, curricula, courses, or other matters. Courses may be closed because of limited resources or facilities, or cancelled because of unavailability of faculty or insufficient enrollment.

Students are responsible for knowing all requirements and policies in this catalog, particularly the academic regulations contained in this catalog. Students are also responsible for knowing all requirements and policies in their departmental/degree program publications. The University reserves the right to change its course offerings, academic policies and requirements for the master’s and doctoral degrees. To protect students from unnecessary penalty where changes in degree requirements occur, the following policies in regard to the Graduate Catalog are in effect:

• Regardless of their term of matriculation, students are typically governed by the policies in the most current annual catalog. Students are governed by the degree requirements in the annual catalog of their matriculation.
• Students may elect to complete a degree program under the most recent annual catalog. If this choice is made, the student must inform their graduate coordinator and the Graduate College, and complete all degree requirements specified in the selected annual catalog.

Graduate Education

The goal of graduate education is to develop the resourcefulness and responsibility of post-baccalaureate individuals by furthering in them the ability to effectively handle the materials of their field and related human interactions, and to critically use the reports of others, judging both their value and their limitations.

Graduate study involves mastering levels of complexity and generalization that reflect and extend the knowledge and intellectual maturity of accomplished baccalaureate degree holders. Moreover, graduate study must occur in the company of students interested and capable enough to analyze, explore, question, reconsider, and synthesize old and new knowledge and skills.

Graduate work is, therefore, much more than the passing of a particular number of courses and the fulfillment of certain minimum requirements. One of the important goals of the Graduate College is to help students make the best use of the University’s resources in their pursuit of a mature and thorough understanding of significant problems. Students should consider themselves co-workers with other students, scholars, and teachers in cooperative intellectual endeavors on a high level.

Graduate College Leadership

The Dean of the Graduate College reports directly to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. As stated in the Academic Charter, the duties of this position include responsibility for:

• “providing academic leadership to ensure that the highest possible quality is achieved and maintained in teaching, research, and degree-granting functions of the Graduate College;” and
• “coordinating the operations of the Graduate College with those of other units of the University and of agencies outside of the University.”

Under the leadership of the Graduate Dean, the Graduate College carries out University and faculty policies regarding graduate education and research. It has oversight responsibilities for graduate program quality and the recruitment and admission of high caliber graduate students. The Graduate College also appoints the graduate faculty and allocates graduate student assistantship funds to Colleges and Departments.

Graduate Faculty

The Graduate Faculty is composed of those members of the University faculty who are actively engaged in creative activity/research and teaching at the graduate level. Membership constitutes recognition of scholarly excellence and professional creativity.

As appropriate to their level, members of the Graduate Faculty may teach graduate courses, serve as members of master’s and doctoral committees, direct master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, vote in Graduate College elections, and serve on the Graduate Council. Duties and privileges of Graduate Faculty are described in Article VIII of the Academic Charter. In order to maintain the Graduate Faculty as a viable body, the qualifications of the members are reviewed periodically.  For more information, see Graduate Faculty Status Policy. 

Graduate Coordinator

The Graduate Coordinator serves as the liaison between the Graduate College and the program on all matters relating to graduate study and graduate students in the program.

Graduate Council

The Graduate Council considers proposals for the establishment, modification, or discontinuance of graduate programs; ensures that reviews and evaluations of all graduate degree programs are conducted periodically; establishes standards for graduate faculty status and approves credentials; and reports regularly to the Faculty Senate through the Committee on Academic Affairs on select actions taken by the Graduate Council.