MINUTES
Faculty discussion of Ph.D. program, 10.11.00
Ph.D. Team goals, 00-01
Student compensation to be a major focus. In particular, compensation as relates to workload.
Ph.D. program goals/making social science researchers/implications
Many graduates traditionally went into library administration despite a SIS desire to produce researchers. Feeling that perhaps the research orientation of the program needs to be more clearly identified. Implications of the latter for the number and nature of required student seminars (four predetermined? more than four, but with more flexibility of choice?) Issue of some students undertaking dissertation topics more clearly suited for other programs, such as education. Possibility of requiring each student to attend a seminar each semester of residence
Ph.D. Seminars-IS content or research concepts
Some feeling that the shared core curriculum is less than extensive, but that generality can be a positive in training researchers. Possibility again of enhancing aspects of backgrounds through more extensive seminar requirements. Perhaps 6-8 would offer more than a general background and would more effectively intermingle students
from first and second year classes. The foregoing would not much hamper students who tend to mold seminars to suit own interests. Greater commonality among individual programs of study a goal worth pursuing.
Ph.D. student research collaborations and DIS
Feeling that both are effective but perhaps more explanation should be offered on their differences. Concern about how some collaboration projects clearly do not fit within a semester timetable for completion and how the post-collaboration project residual can become an issue.
Ph.D. student summer activities
Some question of whether summer participation could be boosted if more Ph.D. level
coursework were offered within the department. Concern that summer SIS coursework needs to draw students from other departments to be effective (avoidance of cancellations, etc.). Funding generally is available for students who stay for summer courses. If properly synchronized with student research interests summer work can be quite rewarding.
Doctoral students teaching classes
GPC calls for graduate courses to be taught by faculty. Code violations occur when doctoral students teach masters and other doctoral students. Academic responsibility is more fully learned by doctoral students who teach. Concerns about what point teaching interferes with coursework study. All above become problematic at SIS, as insufficient numbers of faculty are in place to teach all desired courses. Occasionally students have problems when a faculty member with whom they teach also serves as a committee member. Doctoral students teaching undergraduates is a different issue than, for example, leading Ichats for graduate students.
Minutes prepared by Greg Reid, 10.13.00
Agenda Posted by Myke Gluck (mgluck@lis.fsu.edu) on 10/17/2000 at 14:38:01