James Madison University

Message from the Dean

Welcome to the The Graduate School of James Madison University!

This looks to be a very exciting year for graduate education at JMU. The School of Music's Doctor of Musical Arts degree program was approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia this September bringing the number of doctoral programs offered by JMU to five. Additionally, several new master's degree programs are currently under development in the College of Arts and Letters as well as another doctoral program with core and specialization curricula cutting across multiple academic colleges.

For the 12th consecutive year and 16th time, James Madison University ranked as the top public, master's level university in the South in the highly regarded annual poll on academic quality conducted by U.S. News & World Report for its guidebook, 2006 America's Best Colleges. JMU ranked second nationally among master's-level institutions for the total number of students who study abroad to expand their educational experience to other cultures, as reported in an annual report published by the Institute of International Education.

The Graduate School is addressing several key defining characteristics of the university by supporting a wide variety of quality academic programs including professional programs and a number of graduate programs of distinction. JMU maintains 35 graduate programs offering master's, educational specialist and doctoral degrees. Several of our programs are nationally recognized for their quality and innovation and those programs that are governed by respective professional associations find that our programs consistently exceed accreditation standards. JMU graduate programs also feature low student-to-faculty ratios which encourage mentoring with prominent faculty and nearly 50% of our full-time graduate students receive assistantship or fellowship support.

JMU is located in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, one of the most desirable places to live in the country. There are many recreational and cultural activities available and the campus is convenient to Washington (DC), Richmond, Roanoke and the Chesapeake Bay.

Consider JMU. You can have academic rigor, real knowledge, real value, a better career, a better life and a more complete you - NOW!

Thanks for checking us out!

Reid J. Linn, Ph.D.
Dean, The Graduate School

News

CollegeNET offers a social network for college students to discuss important topics. Over $3,000 in scholarships are awarded to student users each week. Students create profiles, write about the topics of their choice, and others vote on their favorites. Each week the student with the highest score wins a scholarship. CollegeNET has awarded more than $878,000 in scholarships since 2007. http://www.collegenet.com/elect/app/app

The Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship program awards $330,000 annually to 56 Fellowship recipients (51 at $5,000 each and 5 at $15,000 each). The Fellowship program is designed to provide support to active Phi Kappa Phi members as they prepare to enter their first year of graduate study in the upcoming 2012-2013 academic year. 140 Love of Learning awards at $500 each are also funded each year to help fund post-baccalaureate students for active Phi Kappa Phi members. Applications can be obtained from: www.phikappaphi.org/Web/Awards

For additional information, students may contact Society Headquarters at 800-804-9880 ext 35 or fellows@phikappaphi.org

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AWARDS!

Dr. Anne Stewart to receive the 2012 Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia! Read more...

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Justine Schembri, a May 2011 graduate of the ISAT-Malta program is selected to receive the 2012 CSGS (Conference of Southern Graduate Schools*) Master's Thesis Award in Life Sciences.

Jason Kopp, a doctoral student in the Assessment and Measurement Ph.D. program, and graduate of the Psychological Sciences master's program, is selected to receive the 2012 CSGS Master's Thesis Award in Social Sciences, Business and Education. Read more...

Dr. Sarah Finney, with the Center for Assessment and Research Studes and the Ph.D. progra in Assessment and Measurement is selected to receive the 2012 CSGS Outstanding Mentor Award for her work with master's and doctoral students at JMU.

*The Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (of which JMU is a member) is an organization of over 200 gradaute schools in the following 15 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland. Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

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Dr. Brenda Ryals, faculty in the Communication Sciences and Disorders progam, is the recipient of the 2012 Jerger Career Award for Research in Audiology. Read more...

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JMU Graduate Student, Sarah DiDimenco, is Virginia Occupational Therapy Association (VOTA)scholarship award winner .... more.

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GRE Test Preparation through JMU:

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Visit GreGuide.com for information and free practice tests on the GRE:

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