GRAD SCHOOL MADE SIMPLE
Applying to grad school at ECU doesn’t have to be intimidating
Those applying to graduate school at East Carolina University should not be intimidated by the process. Brittney Harrell should know.
Harrell applied to ECU’s Graduate School in 2018, graduated with her master’s in public health earlier this year and now works as a graduate school ambassador and staffer in the grad school admissions office.
“Going through the admissions process was not as hard as I thought,” Harrell said. “It was a lot different than applying for my undergrad because there is a lot more that goes into applying for a graduate program.”
Dean Paul Gemperline said ECU receives about 3,900 applications to its graduate school each year. About 1,700 of those enroll.
“At the graduate level, prospective students apply for a specific program of study, and sometimes even a specific concentration or pathway within a program, for a very specific term of entry,” Gemperline said. “The Graduate School establishes baseline application expectations and academic requirements, and also the latest date a program may accept an application for any given term. The programs themselves may establish higher academic standards, request additional application materials or establish an earlier application deadline if needed.”
With the various requirements, Gemperline encourages prospective students to use the Find Your Program tab on the Graduate School’s website. Students can also monitor the progress of their applications online and should expect to hear from staff at the Graduate School.
“We are reaching out to our prospective students first, and a lot of them are appreciative of that,” Harrell said. “We try to keep an open line of communication. Going to graduate school is intimidating in itself. A lot of people are a little scared to ask for help because they feel like they should know everything, but we’re here for them.”
Harrell takes pride in the communication with and the help provided to ECU Graduate School applicants.
Harrell said that personal engagement drew her to ECU when she was applying to graduate schools.
“ECU cares about its graduate students on a personal level,” she said. “Even though this may be a bigger campus for some, it still feels like a small campus. You’re not just a number.”
Gemperline said ECU’s Graduate School has one of the lower tuition rates in the UNC system, and the many online programs offer those in the workforce the opportunity to continue their employment while broadening their education.
“ECU is a large university with a small-school feel,” Gemperline said. “Our faculty are passionate about their research and teaching. Because of our large size, we offer a wide array of graduate programs, excellent facilities and access to a large network of employers in the private, public and health care sectors. We have a small-school feel because our faculty take great pride in mentoring graduate students one-on-one in research, clinical and course-based activities. Whether you choose an on-campus program or one of our many online programs, you can expect to get the attention and mentoring you need to advance your career or launch a new one.”
Gemperline points out that licensure exam pass rates in all professional practice programs exceeded national averages and typically ranged from 95% to 100%. Exit surveys of 2019-20 graduates reveal that 93% rated the quality of instruction as good or excellent and 99% increased their knowledge in their respective programs.
As a spring 2020 graduate, Harrell can attest to that. She believes her experience in ECU’s Graduate School helps her relate to applicants and allows her to offer advice that will do nothing but prove helpful.
“We want to help you as much as we can, and we’re going to do that any way we can,” Harrell said. “We want you to be a part of Pirate Nation.”