Graduate School
Graduate Office
Guggenheim Hall, Room 125
303-273-3247
contact us
The Office of Graduate Studies is open for walk-in consultations during the following hours;
- During the first week of classes
- Monday through Friday: 8 am to 5 pm
- All other times
- Monday: 9 am to 5 pm
- Tuesday: 8 am to 5 pm
- Wednesday: 10 am to 4 pm
- Thursday: 8 am to 5 pm
- Friday: 9 am to 5 pm
Letter from the Dean
Dear Students,
We in the Office of Graduate Studies hope that you are having a great summer and that you will find the upcoming school year rewarding and productive. Whether you will be returning to campus in the Fall, or have been working on campus during the Summer, let us know if you have questions about the upcoming year.
Over the course of the past year a number of policies and procedures have changed. Below is a brief summary of items of interest of which you should be aware. If you have questions, please do not hesitate contacting the Graduate Office for clarification.
Minimum Stipend Requirements on RA and TA contracts - Starting Fall, 2012 the institutionally required minimum stipend required of all Research and Teaching contracts has risen from $625 (0.5 FTE) per pay period (every two weeks) to $660 per pay period. You may review graduate assistantship policies at,
http://gradschool.mines.edu/GS-Assistantship-Policies
New Degree Programs - New degree programs have been approved in the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences. The titles of these new programs are:
- Applied Mathematics and Statistics (with specialities in Applied Mathematics, and Statistics)
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Computer Sciences
- Electrical Engineering
- Engineering Systems
- Environmental Engineering and Science
- Mechanical Engineering
and these are intended to replace the existing degree programs in
- Mathematical and Computer Sciences
- Engineering (with specialities in Systems, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical)
- Environmental Science and Engineering
Both continuing and newly admitted students who are currently in the older degree programs are encouraged to change programs to the newly approved programs. Attached to this communication is a degree program change form that continuing students may submit to the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences to change their degree programs. Deadline for making this change is September 28, 2012. After this deadline, continuing students will need to formally apply into the newer degree programs - if you want to change, we strongly encourage you to do so before the end of September.
Students newly admitted for the Fall semester will have the opportunity to change degree programs at a separate orientation session being organized by the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences.
New College - A second college consisting of the departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chemistry, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, and Physics was formed as of August 1. Unlike the formation of the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences, the formation of this second college has not produced any new degree programs nor created new departments. It is our expectation that this new college, with its strong materials, energy and bio focus will promote excellence in research and degree programs, will produce strong collaborations across departmental lines, increase administrative effectiveness and promote departments within the college. Professor Tony Dean has assumed the role of Dean of the new college. Dr. Dean has been the W. K. Coors Distinguished Chair of Chemical Engineering since 2000.
Research Credit Hours - Thesis-based students, both MS and PhD, are required to sign up for, and complete research credit hours. In the past, these credit hours were divided between MS-level research (XXXX705) and PhD-level research (XXXX706). In practice, the institution makes no distinction between the levels of research - and in fact, the various levels create administrative difficulties for the Office of Graduate Studies and the Registrar's Office as students often mis-register, or want to change registration after-the-fact as they change degree levels. As such, starting in Fall, 2012 we will be using a single course designation for both MS- and PhD-level research credit hours. The new course is XXXX707. The Registrar has altered the registration for students who pre-registered in either XXXX705 or XXXX706 in the Fall semester to XXXX707.
Electronic Theses/Dissertations - As we have previously announced, starting in Fall, 2012 graduate students will submit their theses and dissertations to the institution for format review and archiving electronically. Students will not longer need to produce any hard copies of their theses or dissertations. This change will go into effect starting September 6, 2012. At that time the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) will rollout revised submission materials and a revised Thesis Writer's Guide. Both of these will be available electronically from the OGS website - which has been significantly updated to accommodate these changes. Selected testing of the new system has begun. We will provide further details, on September 6 when we roll out the new system. Please put on your schedule, however, a workshop for submitting electronic theses/dissertations that will occur on September 20, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, in Ballroom D of the Student Center.
As a final note, students checking out of their degree programs prior to September 6, i.e., those not requiring registration in the Fall semester, will still be submitting their materials through the currently used, paper-based, process.
Graduation Fees - Again, as previously announced, effective September 6, 2012 students will no longer pay graduation fees upon completing degree requirements. For graduates this represents a savings of between $400 and $700. For the upcoming year, the institution will continue to provide students - upon graduation - sterling silver diplomas. Beginning in Fall, 2013, however, we plan on defaulting to silver-plate diplomas for all graduate students. Students who desire a sterling diploma will be given the option of purchasing one. The Office of Graduate Studies is working with Student Life to develop the process by which this would be done. Details will be provided once the process has been defined. As a data point so that you may plan accordingly, currently, the cost of a sterling silver diploma is $300. While this price will likely change in 2013, the current price gives you a sense of the cost of acquiring a sterling silver diploma.
Research Ethics Requirement - All students who started their degree programs after the Spring, 2010 semester and who are supported at any time in their graduate career through the National Science Foundation (NSF), as research assistants, hourly employees or fellowship awardees, must complete training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). This requirement is in addition to all other institutional and program requirements. To satisfy the RCR requirement students must complete the one credit hour course; SYGN502, or an equivalent. Equivalents have been approved for students whose home department is Chemistry, and on a temporary basis (through Fall, 2012) students whose home department is Physics. Students and advisors are required to certify successful completion of the NSF-RCR requirement as part of the Admission to Candidacy process.
Sexual Harassment Prevention Training - All students on RA/TA contracts must complete Sexual Harassment Prevention Training. If you have not done this in the past at Mines, Human Resources will be offering two training sessions: Monday, August 20 at 8:30 am in Bunker Auditorium and Thursday, August 23 at 2:00 pm in Petroleum Hall. Both rooms are in the Green Center. Please register for the training on the Human Sources Web site (http://www.is.mines.edu/training/Categories.asp). If you have difficulty registering, please contact Nancy Cummings (ncummings@mines.edu).
Faculty Oath Requirement - Colorado Revised Statute 22-61-104 requires all US residents and US naturalized citizens employed by the School who have teaching responsibilities to sign, and have notarized a Faculty Oath. This requirement extends to all US resident and US naturalized graduate students who are employed by the School as Research and Teaching assistants. A copy of the required Oath may be found at
http://www.is.mines.edu/hr/Forms/FacultyOath.pdf PDF version Text only version
This requirement, and the exact wording of the Oath are part of Colorado State law - Mines has no flexibility over the enforcement of this requirement or the wording of the Oath.
All students on RA/TA contracts must sign the Oath before starting their contracts. At the end of the student orientation session on August 22, you will have the opportunity to sign a copy of the Oath and have it notarized by Mines staff.
Graduate Student Association - Lastly, I want to encourage all of you to become involved in the Graduate Student Association (GSA). Founded in 1991, the GSA exists to serve the interests of Mines graduate students. The GSA addresses issues of concern to graduate students at Mines, and organizes various social and academic functions. All registered graduate students are automatically members of the GSA and are welcome to attend all events and meetings. The Association meets every other Monday afternoon in the Coolbaugh House. The current president of the GSA is,
Cici Martinez (cemartin@mines.edu)
The Graduate Student Association administers a variety of grant programs for graduate students. Please refer to the GSA website (http://gradschool.mines.edu/GSA-Grants) for details of each program.
Good luck…
Tom