Filed Under: President's Post

Graduate Studies

MTSU has aggressively transitioned from a primarily undergraduate institution to a doctoral research university with significant research activity. Increasing graduate student enrollment helps strengthen MTSU’s position as a publicly funded research university; enhances MTSU’s reputation as a research institution from both faculty and students’ points of view; meets market need for a more educated workforce in Tennessee, within the region, and across the nation; and increases revenue from both tuition and fees and the state funding formula.

The College of Graduate Studies achieved several significant successes in the past year.

• MTSU now has an Ed.S. in Professional Counseling.
• The College of Graduate Studies is launching its Online Faculty Fellows program in Spring 2020 to explore and implement cutting-edge online teaching and programs at the graduate level.
• In collaboration with MTSU’s Information Technology Division, Graduate Studies launched an online self-service portal for students applying to graduate school at MTSU. Additionally, there is a faculty online portal to review graduate application packets expeditiously. This will lead to faster processing time, more efficiencies, and an expected increase in enrollment.
• The college also is working on increasing our efficiency and customer service and will be focusing on retention and recruiting efforts for the fall.

Research

MTSU is continuing to ramp up research efforts at a rapid pace. Creating a culture of research and inquiry is at the heart of the University’s mission among faculty and students and in vital industry partnerships. This work often involves undergraduate

research opportunities that are unique for non-master’s and non-doctoral students at MTSU.

Here are some recent research-related highlights:

• Since last July, 39 MTSU principal investigators (PIs) have received 46 new awards with a total value of $7,039,000. Another 21 MTSU personnel are involved as co-PIs. The new awards involve 25 academic departments or research centers across seven colleges and three administrative units.
• Thus far in the fiscal year, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) has managed a portfolio of 168 active awards with a lifetime award value of $37,513,000.
• During the same time, 65 PIs for 35 departments or centers in seven colleges have submitted 79 proposals, requesting a total of $17,242,000.
• The Faculty Research and Creative Activity Committee (FRCAC) awarded $69,017 to eight faculty applicants in the Fall 2019 competition. Twenty faculty requested a total of $175,380. Those applicants not selected for funding in the fall cycle are eligible to revise and resubmit to the Spring 2020 deadline.
• The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URECA) Committee awarded $27,276 to 25 of the 51 applicants to its Fall 2019 competition.
• ORSP’s ongoing efforts to build on MTSU’s exceptional legacy of mentored undergraduate research and creative activity—a high-impact practice for student success and complement to the faculty research enterprise—include commissioning a series of video vignettes to highlight our faculty-and-student scholar teams.
• ORSP Program Manager Jamie Burriss now serves as an advisor to the new Student Organization for the Advancement of Research (SOAR). The student-centered organization will provide members with opportunities to improve their own research skills through conferences, workshops, and peer-to-peer activities.