Support for Academic Success in Graduate School

Brooklyn College provides numerous resources that support graduate students’ academic success and help them navigate the procedures and processes of the college more easily Many are described in this Bulletin; below are highlights of resources that graduate students should be familiar with.

Websites

The college has two major Web resources. The main college site is designed primarily for external audiences, including prospective students.

For accepted and enrolled students, another resource, the BC WebCentral portal, contains customized information about college life and access to many online services. The portal has many resources. It is a significant gateway to students’ academic needs and provides personalized access to numerous Brooklyn College Web applications and services in one place. Once students create a WebCentral ID, they will be able to access the portal from any Internet-enabled computer both on and off campus. Students without Internet access at home may access the portal from one of the many computer facilities on campus (see “Information Technology Services” in the chapter “Additional Campus Services and Facilities”).

E-mail is the principal way the college communicates with students about on-campus events. When students register for the portal, they are asked to supply a preferred e-mail address. To make sure information reaches them, students are strongly advised that the e-mail address in the college’s records be current, checked regularly and updated if changed.

Students should review their contact information in CUNYfirst at least once a semester (during the registration period is a good time) and modify all contact information if they move or change names, e-mail address or other contact information.

Enrollment Services Center, West Quad Center, (lobby) 718.758.8150

Designed to provide students with a “one-stop” location for student services, the Enrollment Services Center (ESC), located in the lobby of the, West Quad Center, enables students to accomplish routine tasks quickly and efficiently. The ESC is the home of the registrar’s information counter, tuition and fees payment processing, photo ID services, check distribution functions, general financial aid information and recreational passes functions. For hours of operation or other information, visit our website, call, or e-mail the center

Important Resources

The Course Schedules and Bulletins webpage contains important academic information, including the Schedule of Classes, which is posted for the fall and spring semesters, the two summer sessions, and the winter intersession in January, which includes some graduate classes that lend themselves to a short, intensive presentation. The Schedule of Classes lists the courses that are being offered, their times and locations, number of credits and, when possible, instructor. The Course Schedules and Bulletins page also includes the college calendar and general information, which lists critical dates for academic deadlines, such as the last day to add and drop courses, register for comprehensive exams, and file for graduation; and important information about tuition payment deadlines. All master’s students are responsible for knowing these dates and adapting their academic schedule to them. Exceptions to these dates are made only under extenuating circumstances.

The Graduate Bulletin contains comprehensive information about the rules and procedures of the City University of New York and Brooklyn College, in addition to descriptive material about academic and co-curricular aspects of college life.

Until 2010, the Graduate Bulletin was a print publication, but starting with the 2011–12 edition it now exists only as an online resource that is revised annually. Students should familiarize themselves with the Graduate Bulletin when they first arrive at Brooklyn College and refer to it throughout their academic career here. It is important for students to monitor the other information sources for changes in tuition and fees, program requirements, academic policies, and location and contact information. The college curriculum is dynamic: New courses and programs are added every year; existing programs are modified or withdrawn.

For general information on how changes made officially for academic programs and other requirements affect already enrolled students, see “Applicable Bulletin” in the chapter “Academic Regulations and Procedures.”

Graduate Deputies and Program Heads

Each graduate program has a faculty member responsible for advising graduate students and handling academic transactions for the program. These individuals are designated as graduate deputies. The graduate deputies provide personalized academic advising, course permissions and approvals required at the departmental level. Regular consultation with them is a key factor in graduate career success at Brooklyn College. Contact information for graduate deputies and program heads for each semester or academic year is available online on the Graduate Programs and Advisers webpage.

Office of Graduate Studies 3208 Boylan Hall, 718.951.5771

The Office of Graduate Studies provides general academic advisement and assistance in support of such academic issues as waivers and exemptions, comprehensive exams and theses. The Office of Academic Standing assists students who are on academic probation in becoming academically more successful, leading to attainment of a master’s degree. It handles student petitions to the faculty committee that monitors compliance with the college’s academic regulations. The staff members in both of these offices work directly with graduate deputies, program heads and deans to assist students in all the college’s master’s programs and advanced certificates.

City University Ph.D. programs

Most graduate study at Brooklyn College leads to master’s degrees and advanced certificates. The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, however, offers and administers more than 30 doctoral programs. Depending on the field, doctoral courses are given at either the Graduate Center or the senior colleges of CUNY.

A student may apply to a CUNY doctoral program upon completion of a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. A maximum of 30 acceptable graduate credits taken prior to admission to the doctoral program at the City University may be applied toward the degree, provided the courses were completed with a grade of B or higher within an appropriate period preceding the time of application. Should applicants wish to apply credits they earned at an institution other than CUNY, the courses they took must be equivalent to comparable courses at the City University.

Information about CUNY’s doctoral programs and the many areas of specialization within each discipline may be found on the Graduate Center website. The Bulletin of the Graduate Center is available on the center’s website. Applications may be obtained from the Graduate Center Office of Admissions or downloaded from the Graduate Center website.