Visit to MSU

The visit on Friday to MSU went very well. I met with the interim director of the ACS program, David Stowe. He's a very nice person and patiently answered all of my questions about the program.

One of the best things about the program is how wide-open it is. There's only one required course in the entire track, ACS 881, and everything else is decided between you and your advisor.

In a nutshell, I have to start out at the Master's level, where I'll get an MA in ACS. From there, I'll go on the the Ph.D. The ACS Master is two tracks: 24 credit hours plus thesis or 30 credits without. I'll be opting for the 30 credit track, if only because I don't want to get bogged down with a thesis that ends up taking much longer to write than a semester. And the way I procrastinate, that would be the case. Also, the 30 credits route requires that some of the credits be in vocational designs involving management skills. Historic preservation is specifically mentioned. Even if they don't accept the credits I took (nearly 10 years ago now) at Eastern I can still do HP. How cool is that? From there, on to the Ph.D. program which is an additional 18 credits (I think...) plus dissertation. About six years, once I start the ball rolling.

He was also happy to hear I've had experience teaching (Earth science, astronomy, physics) at the college level. He said they haven't had a problem placing students in grad assistantships up to this point and if funding stays constant, I should be able to get one. Rock.

I was walking on clouds the rest of the day. It was also a really pretty day and the sun was out. Sandy had to keep hold of my shoelaces to keep me from floating off.