Time to Degree

Time to degree is an increasingly discussed topic in academic circles. According to the Council of Graduate Schools Research Report, it varies from 6.7 years for a doctoral degree in Physical Sciences to 12.7 years for a degree in Education. Helping students understand what contributes to this problem may help them complete their degree work in a timely manner, increasing the quality and performance of graduate problems at NC State. As part of our Graduate Leadership Development Series (GLDS) Project we have identified issues that may contribute to long time to degree rates for NC State students. We have also listed campus resources to assist students in coping with the identified issues. We believe improving time to degree improves both graduate student experience and graduate programs overall.

Survey Results
In order to get graduate student input about this issue we conducted an online survey to determine the possible issues that affect Time to Degree, student expectation about desired timeline for graduation and awareness to campus resources to help deal with the identified issues. According to the survey results, higher percentage if the participants were PhD students. For masters degree, most students in non-thesis program expected to graduate in less than two years while those in a thesis program expected to graduate in 2 years. For PhD programs, students with a prior MS degree wanted to complete their dissertation inside 4 years while those in an integrated program (MS+PhD) or a direct PhD program expected to graduate in 5 years. Also the results indicated that most common issues associated with longer Time to Degree were related to Market Pressures, Academics and Handling stress. In terms of Awareness about resources available on campus to help deal with these issues majority of the survey candidates indicated that they were unaware about the campus resources. So based on our survey results we have elaborated on the following issues and provided campus resources that will aid graduate students coping with them.

Market Pressures
This topic includes issues relevant to,

· Career Development

· Professional Development

· Job Hunting

· Career Counselling

Resources:

· Career Development Center (CDC) is located on the main campus and helps students with cover letters, CV & Resume writing, Interview Skills and Job search. Links to CDC website and other career related resources are given below.

CDC Website: http://careers.ncsu.edu/

Career Development: http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/postdoctoral-affairs/career-resources.html

Career Services: http://www.ncsu.edu/current-students/career-services/

· Professional Development Seminars (PDS): These seminars are available in person and online which offer training in key competency areas of Leadership, Communication, Career Development, Self Awareness and Professional Adaptability.

PDS Website: http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/preparing-future-leaders/career-skills/seminars.html

Preparing Future Leaders: http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/preparing-future-leaders/index.php

Stress

Stress affects both the mind and the body. Stress may affect you positively or negatively depending upon your perception of a situation. You can avoid some stressors but not others. Avoid the stressors you can, and learn to cope with the others. In order to cope, learn and practice stress management skills and establish stress management habits. Effective stress management will balance your daily life.

Common effects of stress:
- On your body
- Headache
- Muscle tension or pain

- Chest pain

- Fatigue

- Sleep problems

- On your mood

- Anxiety

- Restlessness

- Lack of motivation or focus
- Irritability or anger
- Sadness or depression

- On your behavior

- Over or under eating

- Angry outbursts

- Reliance on Drugs, Tobacco or Alcohol
- Social withdrawal