Georgia State to offer master’s and doctorate degrees in neuroscience

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has granted approval to Georgia State University to offer Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees in neuroscience.

“Through a rigorous academic curriculum and an emphasis on cutting-edge research, those graduating from Georgia State’s new Ph.D. program will add to the greater body of knowledge that will ultimately bring forth new treatments and interventions to neurological diseases and disorders that affect millions across the globe,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Risa Palm.

“Georgia State has long been a national and international center for neuroscience research,” said Dean Lauren Adamson of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The creation of a Ph.D. program in neuroscience will let us take a leading role in educating the next generation of researchers.”

The program begins during the fall semester of 2010. Applications will be accepted starting in mid-November, and the deadline for applications is Jan. 5, 2010.

“The program will help to increase Georgia State’s visibility nationally and internationally in a field that is very important to both biotechnology development in the state, as well as biomedical research,” said Walter Wilczynski, professor and director of the Neuroscience Institute.

The program will also allow Georgia State to build better neuroscience collaborations with other universities in the state, such as Emory University, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and the Medical College of Georgia, Wilczynski said.

The program will be based in Georgia State’s Neuroscience Institute, an interdisciplinary unit within the College of Arts and Sciences, which includes faculty from biology, chemistry, psychology, physics and astronomy, computer science, mathematics and statistics, and philosophy. Additional faculty and students will be drawn to the institute from other areas such as computer information systems, and educational psychology and special education.

Officials are developing a curriculum of core courses to be added alongside GSU’s existing courses in fields such as biology and psychology. Students in the Ph.D. track will earn the M.S. degree as they complete the doctoral program. About 14 students per year are expected to graduate from the program.

Neuroscience graduate students at GSU can become active members of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, headquartered at Georgia State. The CBN is a multi-disciplinary community of neuroscientists across seven metro Atlanta colleges and universities, for broader educational training. As CBN members, graduate students participate in collaborative research and groups that take multi-disciplinary approaches to complex research questions.

The CBN also affords opportunities for graduate students to participate in neuroscience education efforts that range from elementary school through the graduate level.

This past spring, Georgia State partnered with Georgia Tech to establish the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, which provides expert brain imaging facilities to support research in basic and clinical human neuroscience, including a research-dedicated functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner.

For more information about the Neuroscience Institute, visit http://neuroscience.gsu.edu.

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Training Nursing Leaders at Georgia State

The Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing at Georgia State University received more than $800,000 in a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration to establish a new master’s degree concentration in Nursing Leadership and Healthcare Innovations. The three year grant provides funding for the development of the program, as well as for faculty and a staff administrator.

The nursing school has already initiated the new concentration, which features optional courses in nursing informatics and nursing leadership, and ten students have enrolled for fall 2009. Georgia State will become the only university in Atlanta to offer the nursing informatics curriculum and the second statewide.

By offering a degree concentration in nursing leadership and informatics, Georgia State is helping to fill a gap in the health care system. As health care strives to become more efficient, particularly through the use of technology, a need has arisen for nurses who understand both patient care and how technology can be used to improve care. With this increased use of technology, including the transition to personal health cards for all citizens by 2014, nurse informaticists who can translate technology into practice are in great demand.

“The need for a master’s degree concentration in nursing leadership and healthcare innovations is enormous. Nurse leaders are needed to implement innovative strategies for enhancing patient care outcomes and maximizing the use of technology in practice,” says Cece Grindel, associate director for graduate nursing.

The School of Nursing is working with Georgia State’s Institute of Health Administration to offer some of the coursework required in the new master’s program concentration. For more information on the degree program’s curriculum, visit http://chhs.gsu.edu/nursing/docs/HealthcareInnovationsCurr.pdf.

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Emory Receives Support to Launch Degree Program in Sustainable Development

Emory University has been selected by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, globally headquartered in Chicago, as one of 10 universities worldwide to receive significant support in the amount of $900,000 to create a new master’s degree program in development practice.

The MacArthur Foundation has awarded $7.6 million to seed the creation of master’s of development practice (MDP) degree programs that will provide rigorous post-graduate training for a new generation of development experts over the next three years.

“It’s a privilege to receive this grant and to continue to expand Emory’s engagement with sustainable development around the world,” said Lisa A. Tedesco, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. “This program will build on Emory’s abiding commitment to scholarship and teaching that contributes to the public good, and to collaboration with partners outside the academic world. We are proud to help train a new generation of development professionals who will address some of the greatest problems facing the world.”

"This is a very exciting moment for Emory," said David Nugent, director of Emory's MDP program. "We are deeply honored to have been selected by the MacArthur Foundation to help train the innovative development practitioners who will define the future of sustainable development practice."

The MDP programs are designed to provide graduate students with training beyond the typical focus on classroom study of economics and management found in most development studies. The program’s core curriculum bridges the natural sciences, health sciences, social sciences and management. It combines classroom study with field experiences in a range of disciplines, including agriculture, policy, health, engineering, management, environmental science, education and nutrition.

“Through our work around the globe, we at MacArthur understand that poverty, population, health, conservation, and human rights are all interconnected, requiring sustained and comprehensive interventions,” said Foundation President Jonathan Fanton. “These new programs are a model for training the next generation of these critically needed professionals."

Through financial and other support, Emory's program will emphasize the health and governance-related aspects of sustainable development through its work with partners that include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE and The Carter Center.

Other universities that will receive funding to establish MDP programs are: Columbia University (New York, N.Y.), The Energy Resources Institute University (New Delhi, India), James Cook University (Cairns and Townsville, Australia), Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin (Dublin, Ireland), Tsinghua University (Beijing, China), University of Cheikh Anta Diop (Dakar, Senegal), University of Botswana (Gaborone, Botswana), University of Florida (Gainesville, Fla.), and the University of Ibadan (Ibadan, Nigeria).

Columbia will serve as secretariat in helping to manage the MDP network of universities, and will develop an open-source repository for the MDP curriculum and other teaching materials. Ultimately, materials will be shared with other universities as part of an open-source resource on sustainable development for students worldwide, including an online global classroom.

The universities are expected to produce 250 graduates with a master’s degree in development practice by 2012, with a total of 750 students enrolled. Universities were selected based on numerous criteria, including support from top university leadership, excellent infrastructure and academic programs, the ability to serve as a regional hub, geographic representation among students, exceptional faculty, and a timeline and business plan for financial sustainability when funding ends in three years.

There was widespread global interest in establishing the programs, and the quality and diversity of the proposals indicate strong interest in expanding inter-disciplinary development studies around the world. More than 70 universities in North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America submitted proposals.


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VSU Announces Record Increase in Online Enrollment

For Patricia Hinton, choosing the right masters program was a matter of time and distance. A hard-working professional in rural North Florida, she sought a credible program that was also convenient, allowing her to work around personal and professional obligations at a steady pace.
"I wasn't easily sold on the online concept at first," said Hinton, who successfully completed VSU's online Master of Public Administration program in August 2008, claiming a coveted Hugh Bailey Outstanding Graduate award. "Like many, I was concerned it may lack academic substance and I would miss out on personal interactions, but I was wrong."

During fall 2008, more than 350 new students chose the convenience and flexibility of online graduate programs at VSU. This provided a 50 percent increase in online graduate program enrollment, now at 875 online graduate students - the most in VSU's history. More than 200 of these students are enrolled in the new collaborative Master of Education programs and 44 are in VSU's new Doctor of Public Administration program, which launched last fall.

Hinton was so pleased with her online MPA experience and the quality she received at VSU that she joined 24 other students in the inaugural DPA cohort in fall 2007. She also began teaching American Government and Politics and film at VSU.

"The online MPA and DPA programs have had a profound impact on my life," said Hinton, who began her career in public relations and marketing. "They led me into a new career direction. I love being in the classroom; this is where I am meant to be."

Hinton teaches alongside 610 other faculty members at VSU in small classroom settings with a 19:1 student instructor ratio. Together, they will touch the lives of 11,490 total students during fall 2008, a 1.86 percent increase from 2007 and a 30.69 percent increase from 2000. Included in the official enrollment figures from the University System of Georgia are 1,782 graduate students and 9,708 undergraduates, with 2,143 joining the student body as new freshmen.

Students enrolled for fall semester 2008 represent 156 Georgia counties, 46 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington DC and 68 countries. Lowndes, Gwinnett, and Fulton (top three) counties boasted the most VSU students - 1888 students, 616 students and 484 students respectively. A strong supporter of international studies, VSU welcomed 270 international students to campus this fall.

While Hinton and many others are benefiting from an online education at the graduate level, VSU's Distance Learning addresses the needs of both traditional and untraditional undergraduates as well. This fall 1680 students are enrolled in online classes and a growing number of VSU professors are incorporating the university's online course management system, WebCT, into traditional courses.

Call the Office of Strategic Research and Analysis at (229) 245-6517 or visit www.valdosta/edu/sra/ for more information regarding enrollment and facts about VSU. Visit www.valdosta.edu/more to see why Valdosta State has more!

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Mercer to Offer Free GMAT Course For Applicants to Two of Its Programs

Mercer University’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics will offer free GMAT prep courses for up to 40 qualified applicants to two of its most popular programs - the Master of Business Administration and its new Master of Accountancy program.

The course will run from 2 to 6 p.m. for four Saturdays, Sept. 6, 13, 20, and 27, in the Business and Education Building on Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta. The course will be held for applicants in time for second session of the fall semester, as well those seeking admission to the spring semester. The apply to the programs, contact Tracey M. Wofford, associate director of admissions, at (678) 547-6422 or wofford_tm@mercer.edu. For information about the GMAT prep course, or to register once application has been made to the graduate programs, contact Kaitlin David in the School of Business at david_kr@mercer.edu or (678) 547-6161.

Prospective students can visit the School’s Web site, www.mercer.edu/business and click the prep course link for registration information and to check future prep courses and dates.

The Stetson School of Business and Economics holds the highest level of accreditation available for business schools from AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Long a leader in business education in Atlanta with its evening MBA program, the School of Business launched this fall the Master of Accountancy. Both the MBA and MAcc are evening programs targeted toward the growing group of professionals in the Atlanta area in need of career-focused programs to help them succeed.

The Master of Accountancy degree will be offered over one calendar year. The degree is a 30-semester program comprised of 10 courses. The degree is intended to provide students with the knowledge and skills consistent with a professional graduate degree. The program is designed to prepare students for careers in public or private accounting and enable them to achieve career advancement in the accounting profession. While providing an in-depth study in basic areas of accounting, through its electives, it permits specialization in one of two emphases: public accounting (including tax and financial accounting) and international accounting (relevant to public and private accounting).

The Flexible MBA is a self-paced program that provides adults with the flexibility to attain an advanced business degree without interrupting their careers. Classes are held one evening per week in eight-week sessions, allowing students to complete their degrees along a timeline they design.

The course and materials will be available free of charge to the first 40 qualified individuals who register with the Atlanta Office of Admissions. To qualify, individuals must make application to the University’s Atlanta MBA or MAcc program and provide transcripts showing that they have previously earned a four-year degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum 2.5 GPA. International applicants must also have achieved the minimum required TOEFL score for admission and provide an evaluation of any international transcripts showing equivalency to a U.S. four year degree.

For more information, visit the degree programs section of the Stetson School of Business Web page at www.mercer.edu/business. Additionally, online applications for all degree programs are available on the Web site through the “Application” link within each degree program's information page. To contact the Atlanta Office of Admissions for the School of Business, call Tracey M. Wofford, associate director of admissions, at (678) 547-6422 or e-mail wofford_tm@mercer.edu.

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