Everyone in the Carson College is grateful to the many years of outstanding service and leadership provided by the former PhD program director, John Cullen. I am excited to assume the PhD director role moving forward. Our doctoral students receive significant personal attention from faculty members. We have a focus on research writing so students can graduate with accepted publications. This, and our policy that each student gains teaching experience during their time at WSU, produce highly qualified graduates. One hundred percent of the respondents in a recent exit survey indicated they would recommend the program to others.
In keeping with the University’s Drive to 25 focus and the college’s strategic goal that our top doctoral students earn placements at peer institutions and go on to successful research careers, we have implemented a professional development seminar for our first-year students. We’ve strengthened the emphasis on research and journal article writing, and developed a three-credit course focused on teaching pedagogy and skill development. One of our future goals is to be able to increase graduate student salaries to help attract more of the best and brightest doctoral students. I look forward to further developing our already strong doctoral program.
Happy Holidays, and Go Cougs!
Chuck Munson, PhD Program Director