Students get grad degrees ahead of nat'l average
Graduate students at Hopkins take less time than the national average to complete their degrees, according to officials.
The average graduate student takes almost 8.2 years to receive a Ph.D, but Hopkins grads complete their doctorates two to three years sooner, according to Dr. Eaton Lattman, the Graduate Dean of Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, who stated that Hopkins students are doing much better than the national average.
Even in the engineering department, they are doing much better than the norm.
The national average for the time it takes an engineering student to graduate is seven years, but at Hopkins the average is about five and a half years, according to Ed Scheinerman, dean of the engineering graduate program.
Hopkins imposes limits and provides services to help grad students. Grad students are only allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours a week so it will not conflict with their graduate work.
They must also meet with their advisors and professor on a weekly or monthly basis, largely determined on an individual basis.
Some departments assist with students' financial burden.
"Most students in our school are in some type of fellowship," Schienerman said of the Whiting School. "There are unsupported students, but they are in the minority."
He explained that the engineering school typically forgives 80 percent of the tuition bill for students in fellowships.
Lattman feels it is important for Hopkins not to take a long time to graduate their students.
"Many of the departments have a good idea on what time it takes and get worried when students are slower," he said.
"It's not competitive. If a student hears that it takes much longer to graduate at Hopkins than at another institution, they would not want to come here."
One major problem of the elongation of time graduate students spend at school is not being able to support themselves during their extensive schooling.
The average graduate student takes almost 8.2 years to receive a Ph.D, but Hopkins grads complete their doctorates two to three years sooner, according to Dr. Eaton Lattman, the Graduate Dean of Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, who stated that Hopkins students are doing much better than the national average.
Even in the engineering department, they are doing much better than the norm.
The national average for the time it takes an engineering student to graduate is seven years, but at Hopkins the average is about five and a half years, according to Ed Scheinerman, dean of the engineering graduate program.
Hopkins imposes limits and provides services to help grad students. Grad students are only allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours a week so it will not conflict with their graduate work.
They must also meet with their advisors and professor on a weekly or monthly basis, largely determined on an individual basis.
Some departments assist with students' financial burden.
"Most students in our school are in some type of fellowship," Schienerman said of the Whiting School. "There are unsupported students, but they are in the minority."
He explained that the engineering school typically forgives 80 percent of the tuition bill for students in fellowships.
Lattman feels it is important for Hopkins not to take a long time to graduate their students.
"Many of the departments have a good idea on what time it takes and get worried when students are slower," he said.
"It's not competitive. If a student hears that it takes much longer to graduate at Hopkins than at another institution, they would not want to come here."
One major problem of the elongation of time graduate students spend at school is not being able to support themselves during their extensive schooling.
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