Welcome to Graduate Studies at McGill August 2009

Graduate Education  1990 Special and important time in your life You have an important role at McGill – an essential element of a research intensive university McGill and Montreal offer you a variety of fantastic opportunities for education and personal development - Take advantage of them!

Total graduate students Fall 2008: 7,635 (including graduate degree, certificate & diploma students) Quebec: 4,686 Other Canada: 1,449 International: 1,500 Master’s: 3,473 Doctoral: 2,827 Graduate Certificate & Diploma: 1,335 Total graduate students this September: 7,600 (approx.) Some numbers:

Administration of Graduate Studies at McGill Your Graduate Program Office: your first stop The daily administration of graduate studies and advice Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) Assists your Graduate Program and you with administrative aspects of your studies Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies - Dean’s Office Dean (Associate Provost Graduate Education) and Associate Deans Academic and administrative responsibility for graduate (and Postdoc) programs Assist graduate programs and students in academic matters Assist students

Where is the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies? Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is located on the 3 rd (Dean’s office) and 4 th (administrative office) floors of the James Administration Building.

Hierarchy of Help Supervisor (Advisory Committee) Graduate Program Director (Graduate Program Coordinator) Department Chair Associate Deans, GPS Dean GPS Other services Ombudsperson for Students Services for Students Dean of Students Stay informed and deal with problems early... Don’t let them fester!

Responsibilities McGill Provide the framework for you to get through your program in a timely fashion Provide mechanisms to support you Provide you with opportunities to develop your professional skills (SKILLSETS) Yours Your own academic integrity Be informed Use your McGill Talk to your supervisor about expectations and parameters of: Your work environment Meeting frequency Intellectual property Travelling to conferences Authorship

What is Academic Integrity? Integrity website?  Test your knowledge at Fair Play? Library resources? Faculty or department guidelines?

Program Milestones and Progress Tracking The key to timely and successful completion [program insert milestones for your programs e.g…..] – Courses – Thesis proposal – Advisory/Committee meetings (progress tracking reports) – Comprehensives – Thesis submission

Improving the Graduate Experience at McGill Pan-university emphasis on graduate student recruitment and retention communications funding supervision program development and interdisciplinarity professional skills overall graduate student experience

Tried and True Advice: Avoid Isolation Become involved Seek help Widen your horizons Explore the city Meet people

How to Get Information TO GET STARTED: your USB Key For policies and procedures For contact information For all graduate services at McGill Life in Montreal TO STAY INFORMED – learn to navigate: GPS website: GPS Policies: McGill Policies-Secretariat: Your graduate program, departmental and faculty web sites

Take advantage of McGill Branch out from the Lab and the Library Interdisciplinary Opportunities Events Conferences/Conventions Special Talks Gairdner lectures Beatty lectures Tomlinson talks Departmental seminars Concerts

Orientation Activities Web site of activities and information ( Graduate Orientation Open House & Welcome for New Graduate Students Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. Thomson House, 3650 McTavish Street

Welcome messages: Key information Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies' Orientation PresentationDean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies' Orientation Presentation [.wmv] Dean of Students' Graduate Orientation PresentationDean of Students' Graduate Orientation Presentation [.wmv] Executive Director of Student Services Graduate Orientation PresentationExecutive Director of Student Services Graduate Orientation Presentation [.wmv] Welcome Message from the President of PGSSWelcome Message from the President of PGSS [.wmv]