/Institutions/Southern-University-and-A-M-College/json/2024-2026/Graduate-Catalog-local.json

/Institutions/Southern-University-and-A-M-College/json/2024-2026/Graduate-Catalog.json

The Graduate School

Southern University views diversity as vital to the health of any educational enterprise. To support this philosophy, the University takes affirmative steps to maintain a multicultural faculty, staff and student body. The diversity is achieved principally through assertive recruitment efforts and through multifaceted international programs.

The University seeks to recruit and maintain a faculty which, through its preparation and scholarly activities, exerts a profound effect on various institutions in the state, region, nation, and world. Beyond their traditional roles, faculty members perform distinguished services that complement and enhance both teaching and research initiatives and provide an additional mechanism for Southern University to have an impact on the community at large.

The University develops and maintains a physical environment that is safe and conducive to intellectual growth and development while operating in accordance with the highest standards of fiscal and administrative management. This environment is enhanced through the use of the most recent information technology, which offers the University community access to resources from throughout the world. 

 

Organization

The Graduate School is housed in the Office of Graduate Studies which consists of a dean, a director of admissions, admissions counselors, an executive assistant, an administrative assistant, and an administrative coordinator. The Dean of the Graduate School reports to the Executive Vice President/Executive Vice Chancellor.

The Office of Graduate Studies is responsible for enforcing minimum general standards of graduate work at Southern University-Baton Rouge and for the coordination of graduate degree programs in the various schools and colleges. General policies and standards of the Graduate School are established by the Graduate Council. The responsibility for the detailed, day- to-day operations of graduate programs lies with the individual departments, schools, and colleges.

The Office of Graduate Studies processes approximately 2,000 applications and serves about 1,000 enrolled students each year. This includes the receipt and processing of all Graduate School admission applications; registration of graduate and post-baccalaureate students; and the processing and clearing of graduation applications for all graduate students for all graduate students. 

 

 

History of the Graduate School

On April 28, 1956, the State Board of Education requested officials of Southern University to establish a graduate school, in the spring semester of 1957, Southern University admitted its first students into the Graduate School. On August 8, 1958, at the end of the summer session, Southern University conferred its first master's degrees on eight candidates.

In the relatively brief period since 1958, graduate education at Southern University has grown steadily. Master's programs in biology, chemistry, and mathematics were added in the 1960s, and in 1983 master's programs in accountancy, computer science, public administration and special education were implemented. The Master of Engineering (MEng) degree program was approval by the Louisiana Board of Regents on September 27, 2001 and was initiated in the College of Engineering in the Spring Semester of 2002. The Master of Engineering program will offer five specialty area options. The options are: Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Electronic Materials and Processing Engineering, Telecommunications and Computer Network Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, and Thermal Science and Engineering.

To meet the challenges of the next millennium, Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge is rapidly becoming a Doctoral research institution. Graduate studies have gained momentum because of new and redesigned graduate degrees, and a dedicated graduate faculty- a committed group that includes Fulbright Scholars, distinguished researchers, and mentors. Opportunities exist in a number of academic disciplines, including Ph.D. programs in public policy, science/mathematics education, nursing, environmental toxicology, and urban forestry.

The PhD degree in urban forestry was established in 2004. Urban Forestry students have a variety of job opportunities in State and Federal agencies, industries, and academia. Curriculum for the Ph.D. in Urban Forestry Degree Program at SU has the most comprehensive Urban Forestry Higher Education Program in the nation and has been recognized as a leader in graduating the diverse, talented next generation of urban forestry and natural resources professionals for the country.

Science Math Education (SMED) was established in 1998, enrolled its first students in spring of 1999. This Doctor of Philosophy program is the only Ph. D. program in science and mathematics education, with master's level proficiency in mathematics and science content in Louisiana. This interdisciplinary doctoral program is designed for students who have completed a bachelor's or master's degree in mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry or biology.

Southern University's Ph.D. Program in Environmental Toxicology train students to conduct basic and applied research on the molecular mechanisms of chemically induced toxicity, to advance Environmental Toxicology as a science, to communicate the concepts and findings of toxicological research and evaluations, and to serve as an information resource on toxicological matters to the state and the general public.

The PhD doctor of Philosophy degree in nursing is offered with a focus on scientific research related to vulnerable populations. The DNP Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree prepares nurse practitioners to lead and transform health care systems for better patient outcomes.

The Ph.D. program at Southern University Public Policy prepares students for careers in academia, industry, and government. It emphasizes a rigorous foundation m microeconomics, econometrics, and political economy, along with in-depth study of particular substantive areas associated with policy and policy-making. Today, numerous. research centers, computer and learning laboratories, facilities for distance learning and multi-media instruction, and a library with more than one million volumes are among the Wide range of resources. Graduate fellowships and assistantships are available to qualified students. 

 

Mission

The mission of the Graduate School at Southern University Baton Rouge is to serve the University, its faculty and students, the nation and the world by producing intellectually stimulated individuals who possess advanced knowledge in their fields and are prepared to excel in their future careers. To achieve its mission, the Graduate School at Southern University Baton Rouge will:

• Seek, attract and maintain Graduate faculty of the highest caliber
• Attract and retain a highly qualified and culturally diversified graduate student population
• Enhance and maintain the highest standards of excellence in all graduate programs, scholarly activities (teaching, re- search publications) and professional practice
• Develop and strengthen the use of technology in graduate education
• Stimulate faculty development and research
• Maximize resources to their fullest potential to meet current and future needs of students and graduate faculty more effectively
• Enhance sensitivity to ethical issues and promote an atmosphere of the highest ethical standards 

 

Vision

The vision of the Graduate School at Southern University Baton Rouge is to become nationally and internationally recognized for the high quality of its graduate programs, graduate faculty and scholarly achievement, while producing competitive and intellectually stimulated individuals who can provide bold leadership in new directions and excel in their respective future careers. We believe that:

Graduate education is an integral component of any research university and has an impact on education at all levels.

The Graduate School represents Southern University's best expression of its major purposes of existence-teaching, research. and public service, -and, therefore, must be a prime center of excellence.

The Graduate School should assume an effective leadership role in the University's current initiative to transform itself from a comprehensive teaching institution to a Doctoral Research University. 

 

Objectives

The objectives of the Graduate School Office are to:

• Enforce policies and standards set forth by the Graduate School
• Maintain graduate student records
• Represent the interests of graduate students and graduate faculty
• Develop, publish, and disseminate publications pertaining to graduate degree programs, and Graduate School policies and standards
• Formulate general academic policies, standards, and procedures pertaining to graduate education
• Provide appropriate support in the implementation of new graduate degree programs
• Encourage and support research activities as a component of graduate education
• Maintain standards of academic quality in all graduate programs
• Facilitate the Graduate School admission and registration process for students
• Serve graduate students, the faculty the University, and the public in a prompt efficient, and courteous manner.