The graduate studies office has awarded $7,550 in recruitment assistance grants to 15 departments to promote master’s and doctoral programs and increase graduate enrollment.
Many of these departments, including history, veterinary medicine and industrial engineering, have had little or no budgets for recruitment in the past.
“Last year we couldn’t recruit,” said Pete Messer, an assistant professor in the history department. “We didn’t have the money to go out looking for the students the way this grant is allowing us to.”
The history department relied on individual faculty contacts and their alumni network to recruit students.
With the grant $400 grant, the department plans to develop literature to send to other colleges and universities, Messer said.
“We can advertise ourselves a little more aggressively,” Messer said. “We’re going to redesign our recruiting material which is right now a poster that will be sent to other colleges in the Southeast.”
Grants range from $400-$650 and many departments now may entice applicants that were out of their reach.
“We’re trying to attract the very best students that we can for graduate studies and MSU. Graduate students help with the teaching, research and service at the university,” said William Person, interim director of graduate studies.
Graduate students often teach lower-level courses and labs and conduct research.
“I think it would be very difficult for the university to serve the 15,000 students if we didn’t have graduate students assisting with that process.” Person said. “It’s important for MSU to be involved in that process because we are a research university.”
The Office of Graduate Studies has awarded over $100,000 in grants since its creation in 1991.
Funding for the program comes from graduate application fees from out-of-state and international applications.
Departments apply in the fall semester by submitting a plan detailing how they would use the money.
Person and the chair of the graduate council decide the recipients based on their proposals.
Six out of eight colleges received grant money in different departments this year.
Some recipients said they plan to create posters, pay for travel funds for recruiters, develop media products such as CDs or DVDs or publish advertisements in academic journals.
The industrial engineering department received $500 in grants and plans to use the money for advertisements.
“This money will be used to help pay for advertising in Industrial Engineer, a publication of the Institute of Industrial Engineers,” said Stan Bullington, professor in the industrial engineering department.
“Advertising in the professional journal of the premier industrial engineering organization will greatly enhance the visibility of these programs, and help us reach our goals.”
The goals vary in different departments, but most say they expect the grants to increase their enrollment by a few students a semester.