Graduate School 101
ESP Seminar, September 19, 2005
Dr. N. K. Anand
Dwight Look College of Engineering
Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843
Why Graduate School?
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Why
you
Why
U.S.
How
Why
How
graduate school is important to
graduate school is important to the
to choose a graduate program
TAMU?
to apply to TAMU
Graduate School Options After
Graduation
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Obtain an engineering position in a corporation, government, or
military
Become an independent entrepreneur
Complete a social or mission service
Attend engineering graduate school
Attend other type of graduate school
Combinations of the above (not exclusive)
BUT: a) Not easy to go back to school
b) Night school not the same
c) Part-time school not the same
d) Some (fewer) companies will support you
attending school
What Should You Get From Graduate
School?
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New learning skills
New confidence in solving difficult problems
New appreciation in research
New knowledge in a specific area
New perspectives on how the world works
New and broader outlooks on many technical
and non-technical topics
Leadership skills
The Importance of Continual
Learning
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Your career could be 40-50 years long
No degree or training will be valid for this length of
time – technology is advancing at increasing rates
You will need to continue to learn or will be out-dated
quickly
Graduate school’s most important feature is that it
helps you master how to continually learn
Education is a continuing process for all of our lives
Just some of the disciplines…...
Average Starting Salaries Spring 2005
Aerospace Engr.
$65,000 Masters
Biomedical Engr.
$53,000 Masters
Chemical Engr.
$57,713 Masters
Civil Engr.
$48,240 Masters
Electrical Engr.
$51,390 Masters
$85,000 Doctorate
Industrial Engr.
$58,000 Masters
$85,000 Doctorate
Mechanical Engr.
$63,333 Masters
Ocean Engr.
Source: TAMU Career Ctr.
$45,000 Masters
Challenges
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Numbers gap
Ambition gap
Education gap
In the Age of Flatism, these gaps are
what most threaten our standard of
living.
“The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges in Recruiting
Domestic Students
COUNTRY
POPULATION
(MILLIONS)
# BACCULAURATE
ENGINEERS/YR
# BACCULAURATE
ENGINEERS/YR/MILLION
USA
293
70,949
242
CHINA
1299
660,000
508
INDIA
1065
525,000
493
FRANCE
60
25,000
417
UNITED KINGDOM
60
16,200
270
GERMANY
82
40,000
488
>6000
>1,000,000
>167
WORLDWIDE
Source: ASEE1; Weekly Magazines, and CIA Fact Book; National Academy of Engineering; National
Institute of Informatics
U.S. Leadership in Science and
Technology
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Qualified U.S. students with
baccalaureate degrees in engineering
have an obligation to consider graduate
school in engineering.
Challenges
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National Science Board
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Science and Engineering Indicators, 2004
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⇩in U.S. citizens training to become scientists
and engineers
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⇧ in jobs requiring S&E training
Threatens economic welfare and security of
U.S.
“The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges cont’d…
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National Commission on Mathematics
and Science Teaching for the Twentyfirst Century
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Chaired by former astronaut and senator
John Glenn
2/3 of the nation’s math & science teaching
force will retire by 2010
The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges cont’d…
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2.8 million BS degrees granted
worldwide, 2003
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1.2 million earned by Asian students in
Asian Universities
830,000 Europe
400,000 United States
Asian universities produce 8 times as many
engineering BS degrees as U.S.
“The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges cont’d…
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Engineering & Science BS Degrees
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60%
33%
41%
31%
China
South Korea
Taiwan
United States
Engineering BS Degrees
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46% China
25% Russia
5% United States
“The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges cont’d…
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Science & Engineering PhD’s awarded in
U.S.
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⇩ from 29,000 in 1998 to 27,000 in 1999
Engineering undergraduates in America
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⇩ about 12% between mid-1980s and 1998
“The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges cont’d…
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U.S. labor force⇧almost 5% per year
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Rest of labor force⇧at just over 1%
“The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges cont’d…
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Persons born outside U.S. accounted for 14%
all S&E occupations in 1990
1990 – 2000
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proportion of foreign-born with BS degrees in S&E
occupations ⇧ from 11% to 17%
proportion of foreign-born with MS degrees⇧
from 19% to 29%
proportion of foreign-born with Ph.D’s in S&E labor
force ⇧ from 24% to 38%
“The World is Flat”;Thomas L. Friedman; Douglas & McIntrye, Ltd., 2005
Challenges cont’d…
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New York Times
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Sam Dillon, Dec. 21, 2004
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“foreign applications to American graduate schools
declined 28 percent this year. Actual foreign graduate
student enrollments dropped 6 percent. Enrollments of
all foreign students, in undergraduate, graduate and
postdoctoral programs, fell for the first time in three
decades in an annual census released this fall.
“…Chinese applications to American graduate schools fell
45% this year, while several European countries
announced surges in Chinese enrollment.”
HOW TO CHOOSE A GRADUATE
PROGRAM
Graduate Program Quality Indicators
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Faculty
Curriculum
Quality of Incoming Graduate Students
Quality of Graduates (value added)
Resources/Infrastructure
Rankings
Research Funding - Quality
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Peer Reviewed Competitive Grants
e.g. NSF, NIH,…………..
Factors Affecting Graduate
Program Quality - Faculty
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Size
Research Funding
Scholarship
Visibility
Faculty Visibility
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Number of NAE members
Number of Endowed, Distinguished, and
Regents Professorships
Number of members in State and National
level policy making bodies
Number of Editorships of Archival Journals
Number of memberships on Editorial Boards
of Archival Journals
Number of Fellows in Professional Societies
Faculty Citations
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http://www.webofscience.com
Scholarship
Quantitative
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No. of Refereed
Journal Articles
No. of Conference
Papers
No. of Patents
No. of Textbooks
and Research
Monographs
www.webofscience.com
Qualitative
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Journal Impact
Factors
Immediacy Index
Cited Half Life
No. of Citations
Acceptance Rate per
Conference
Factors Affecting Graduate
Program Quality - Curriculum
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Number of Graduate Courses taught per year
Number of Special Topics Taught per year
Number of Graduate Courses omitted from
the catalog /year
Number of cross listed graduate courses
taught per year
Factors Affecting Graduate Program Quality of Incoming Students
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GPA
GRE Scores
Academic Preparation
Acceptance Rate
Composition of Domestic Students
Composition of underrepresented
minority students
Factors Affecting Graduate Program
Quality - Resources and Infrastructure
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Percent of students on Financial
SupportNumber of Endowed Fellowships
Number of Federal Graduate
Fellowships
Space per Graduate Student
Graduate Student Salary
RANKINGS
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U.S. News and World Report
U.S. NRC (1995, 2005,..)
London Times
Opportunities
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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Workshop
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Graduate School 101 Workshop
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Oct. 26, 2005
USRG (Undergraduate Summer Research Grant)
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Sept. 21, 2005
May 30 – August 7, 2005
http://eapo.tamu.edu/usrg
Fast Track
Graduate Invitational
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March 3-4, 2006
http://eapo.tamu.edu/gi
Best Graduate Engineering
Programs – Public Institutions
2005
2006
1
2
3
4
5
5
7
1
2
3
4
4
6
7
Berkeley
Illinois (Urbana)
Georgia Tech
Michigan
Purdue (+)
University of Texas (-)
UC San Diego
9
11
8
10
Wisconsin (+)
UCLA (+)
8
8
Texas A&M
Source: U.S. News and World Report rankings of U.S. universities
U.S. News & World Report
America’s Best Graduate Schools
Note: first number is ranking by
all institutions; number in ( )
are only public institutions
nr = not ranked in this edition
12005
Edition TAMU was ranked
In the top 50 for teacher preparedness
(no individual ranking was done in
this category).
Category
2005
Edition
2006
Edition
Engineering
14 (8)
14 (8)
Aerospace
15 (9)
9 (5)
Biomedical
28 (13)
39 (21)
Chemical
27 (17)
25 (16)
14 (8)
13 (8)
Computer
21 (11)
23 (14)
Electrical
nr
18 (11)
Industrial
9 (7)
10 (7)
20 (12)
23 (14)
Nuclear
nr
4 (2)
Petroleum
nr
4 (2)
Civil
Mechanical
1995 NRC Rankings
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Methodology: Faculty from each university granting
a doctorate in an area was asked to rate each other
‘s doctorate granting universities in that area
according to faculty quality and effectiveness of
program on a 0.0 to 5.0 scale
Texas A&M programs in the top quartile:
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Civil Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Chemistry
Statistics
TAMU COE Funding Opportunities
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Fellowships
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National Level (31 national fellowship winners)
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University Level
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NSF, U.S. Dept. of Ed., GEM, etc.
Graduate Merit (COE = 9 offers for Fall’05)
Regents
Diversity (COE = 8 offers for Fall’05, round 1)
Department Level
Assistantships
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Teaching
Research
TAMU Engineering Graduate
Disciplines
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Aerospace Engr.
Biological & Agric.
Engr.
Biomedical Engr.
Chemical Engr.
Civil Engr.
Computer Engr.
Computer Science
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Electrical Engr.
Health Physics
Industrial Engr.
Industrial Distr.
Materials Sci. & Engr.
Nuclear Engr.
Ocean Engr.
Petroleum Engr.
Aerospace Engineering
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Research Areas
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Space Technology
Aerodynamics and
Fluid Dynamics
Materials and
Structures
http://aero.tamu.edu/?view=academics/graduate/index.php
Biological and Agricultural
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Research Areas
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Air Quality Engineering
Biomaterials Engineering
Bioprocess Engineering
Environmental & Natural
Resource Engineering
Food, Feed & Fiber
Processing
Machine & Energy
Systems
Soil & Water Resources
Engineering
http://baen.tamu.edu/academics/graduates/degree_programs.asp
Biomedical Engineering
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Research Areas
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Biomechanics
Finite Element Methods
Biomedical Electronics and Instrumentation
Human Factors and System Safety
Biomedical Imaging
Nano and Micro Biosensing and Imaging
Biomedical Signal Processing
Nonlinear Optical Microscopy
Biophotonics
Orthopedic Rehabilitation Engineering
Cardiac, Vascular and Cellular Mechanics
Optical Diagnostics
Clinical Engineering
Optical Sensing
Computational Mechanics
Soft Tissue Biomechanics
Computer Simulation of Biomolecules
Telemedicine
Constitutive Modeling
Control Theory
http://biomed.tamu.edu/academics/grad.htm
Chemical Engineering
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Research Areas
 Bio-(medical, chemical,
molecular) & life
sciences
 Computational
chemistry
 Materials
 Process systems
http://cheweb.tamu.edu/education/grad.php
Civil Engineering
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Research Areas
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Structural Control and Reliability
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Deepwater Offshore Structures
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Wind and Earthquake Engineering
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Project Control and Simulation
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Risk Assessment
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Life Cycle Cost Analysis
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Coastal Processes and Tsunamis
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Scour and Foundations
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Partially Saturated Soils
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Transportation Network Optimization
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Concrete and Asphalt Mixture Design
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High Performance Materials
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Water Allocation
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Environmental Contaminant Removal
http://www.civil.tamu.edu/Academics/graduate/index.html
Electrical Engineering
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Research Areas
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Analog & Mixed Signal
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Biomedical Imaging and
Genomic Signal Processing
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Computer Engineering
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Control Systems
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Electromagnetic and
Microwaves
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Electric Power and Power
Electronics
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Solid State Electronics,
Photonics and NanoEngineering
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Telecommunications and
Signal Processing
http://www.ee.tamu.edu/htmlFrames.htm
Industrial and Systems
Engineering
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Research Areas
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Production and service systems
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Logistics and supply chain
management
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Transportation
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Quality and reliability
engineering
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Homeland security
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Decision analysis
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Optimization
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Modeling and analysis of
probabilistic systems
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Simulation modeling
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Virtual reality and 3D
visualization
http://ie.tamu.edu/academic/graduate/degrees_offered.html
Mechanical Engineering
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Research Areas
 Materials
 Mechanics
 Systems and Controls
 Thermal and Fluid Sciences
http://www.mengr.tamu.edu/Academics/GraduateProgram/graduateprogram.html
Nuclear Engineering
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Research Areas
 Reactor Analysis /
Computational Methods
 Space Nuclear Power
 Radiation Biology
 Reactor Experiments
 Dosimetry
 Nuclear Power Plant
Engineering
 Irradiation Effects on
Materials
http://nuclear.tamu.edu/home/academics/graduate/index.php
Petroleum Engineering
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Research Areas
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Tight Gas/Shale Gas
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Heavy Oil Recovery
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Coalbed-Methane Reservoirs
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Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs
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Resource Assessments
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Advanced Drilling Technology
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Well Construction
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Deep Gas Well Construction
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Advanced Production Technology
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Well Stimulation
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Acidizing and Fracture Conductivity
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Formation Evaluation
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Reservoir Simulation
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Enhanced Recovery
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Naturally Fractured Reservoirs
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Analysis of Reservoir Performance
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Energy
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Environmental and Water Issues
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Transportation Innovation
http://pumpjack.tamu.edu/homepage/Academics/Grad.shtml
How to apply
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https://www.applytexas.org/adappc/commo
napp.WBX
Engineering Graduate Programs
204 Zachry
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Dr. N. K. Anand
 Assistant Dean of Engineering for Graduate
Programs
 Phone: 862-8869
 Email: nkanand@tamu.edu
Ms. Teresa Wright
 Coordinator, Engineering Graduate Studies
 Phone: 845-6883
 Email: t-wright@tamu.edu
Any Questions?