WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE MASTER OF ARTS (MA) IN HEALTH & EXERCISE SCIENCE (HES)? The purpose of the HES grad program is to get you A) a graduate degree, but much more importantly, B) a planetarily plump CV (i.e., resume), chunkily thickened by an extensive publishing record. Publishing isn't as difficult or daunting as you think it is... provided the resources are avilable. And our HES grad program has those resources. Not everyone takes advangate, staking claim to piles of those resources (and that leaves larger helpings to those who do), but if you are among the claiming class, you'll find yourelf amassing a lot of publications as you approach graduation. Here's a list of our recently-published student-led research projects: Pacific Paper Mill, Past Publications. Also, if you're familiar with ACSM, we are one of the most represented institutions in America each year at the annual national conference. And students are the first author on every project.

WHERE CAN I FIND THE OFFICIAL PACIFIC INFO FOR THE PROGRAM? Here is the official Pacific.edu webpage for the program: University of the Pacific, HES Graduate Webpage The program is located in Main Gym on Stagg Way in Stockton, CA. Here is a picture of the academic building, and here is a map of campus. Director of the HES Graduate Program: Courtney Jensen, PhD Email: cjensen1@pacific.edu Phone: (209) 946-3133 Office location: upstairs in Main Gym. Administrative Assistant for HES Graduate Program: Miguel Medrano. Email: mmedrano@pacific.edu Phone: (209) 946-2209 Fax: (209) 946-3225 Office location: upstairs in Main Gym. The "Graduate School" is the administrative office for all graduate programs at University of the Pacific. Its physical location (not the HES program, which is in Main Gym, but the "Grad School") is in Knoles Hall 2nd Floor, Room 211. Website for the graduate school: pacific.edu/grad Email for the graduate school: gradschool@pacific.edu Email for graduate admissions: gradadmission@pacific.edu Phone for the graduate school: (209) 932-3297 Phone for graduate admissions: (209) 946-3929

HOW DO I GET INTO THE PROGRAM? Being a "rolling admission" program, you can join the roll whenever you're ready. There's no real deadline to apply. When you decide you're ready, here's the website where you can begin the application process: grad.pacific.edu/admission/graduate. And a brief-but-comprehensive flyer that characterizes the program is the One Sheet; it's worth browsing. There's a minimum GPA of 2.65 (higher to be considered for Graduate Assistantships, which are explained later) and the GRE is nice to see, but not necessary. Other stuff you need: a bachelor's degree (obviously), a resume/CV, a personal statement, and three letters of recommendation (have at least two of them come from professors; if more than one comes from a coach or boss or childhood mentor or whatever, it gives an impression of "professors don't write letters for the likes of me"). Also, if you're an international student, you'll need either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS). And it'd be wise to keep tabs on visa formalities; that way you don't get all the scholastic stuff in order and then, you know, have a squabble with border patrol. "How will I know when I am admitted?" First, feel free to contact the HES Program Director with questions (contact info's above). Second, make sure you apply using GradCAS (the link's above). Third, make sure your application is complete. In GradCAS, which is, again, the system we use to accept students, there are three possible statuses: in progress, received, and complete. When it's in the "received" status (meaning it's nearly complete), it notifies us that the applicant "Needs additional materials to complete application." That's what most applications say most of the time. As soon as you, the applying student, get those additional materials submitted (it could be a transcript or a letter of recommendation, perhaps some test score or something), your status will be changed to "Complete, Awaiting Program Review." And that is when the HES program folks review the application. At this point, there are three possible options: 1) Full Admit, 2) Provisional Admit, and 3) Deny. It's obvious what Full Admit and Deny mean. Provisional implies there's something -- some qualifiation or provision -- that isn't met (for example, you don't have an undergraduate degree at the moment, but you're anticipating the completion of one by the time the grad program starts). If we trust you, we can do a provisional admit. The sentence starts with a concern, but ends with a "we'll let you in anyway."

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GET MY MASTER'S DEGREE? It's $1,605 per unit, eight units per semester, four semesters, so... just over $50k for the two years (if you want to do some summer classes, the tuition tends to be cheaper). Technically, it's possible to cram the whole program into three semesters, but there usually isn't much of a point. It's an uncomfortable hassle for everyone and, when it's over, nobody (least of all, the student) knows what the urgency was all about. "Accelerated programs" tend to cheat only the student. Acceleration is a form of cramming, cramming is an ineffective learning strategy, and learning is critical to career success. So we advise students to complete the program over the normal, uncrammed, two years. But some people do it faster. "Will I have enough free time to keep my job?" Yup. If that's what you want to do. You'll have lots of opportunity for extracurricular pursuits. In your busiest semesters, you'll only have eight in-class hours per week. You can also take up to three Independent Study courses (HESP 291, HESP 297, HESP 299), during which you don't have to be on campus at all. Work from bed if you want. So yes, plenty of time to indulge other commitments. If an important commitment to you is work (or if you hate work but hate the idea of loans much more), then rest assured that you can get or keep your job.

HOW BIG IS THE GRADUATE PROGRAM? The average class size is 10-15 students, sometimes a little bigger, but only a little. Undergraduate education is for bulldozing silent students with windbaggy lectures. Graduate education is for graduate-level discussion. And if the room has much more than 15 students, it starts to lose the clubhouse feeling.

WHO ARE THE PROFESSORS IN THE DEPARTMENT? Ciccolella, Jensen, Rhea, Van Ness, Wang, and West. Click anywhere on that roster for more information about the faculty. But before you do that clicking, here's a perk of that roster's composition: it contains remarkably diverse academic disciplines. A lawyer-physiologist, a public health specialist who works with professional bull riding, the founder of Pacific's athletic training program, a muscle physiologist, and a cardiovascular physiologist. Take the last two. What a muscle physiologist says is bad ("AMPK is terrible! Ahhh!"), a cardiovascular physiologist says is good ("AMPK is wonderful!"). They're both telling the truth... as it applies to their specific field. And that's the beauty of learning opposing systems at the same time. Also, regarding research, we have qualitative scientists (health law) and quantitative (emergency medicine, athletic enhancement, and metabolic dysfunction). Among the quantitative folks, we do both randomized, controlled trials and retrospective epidemiological investigations.

WHAT DO I DO ONCE I'M ENROLLED AS A STUDENT? Classes aren't everything. Like all pursuits worth pursuing, there's a little bit of paperwork involved. Some formalities. These: Billing. If you log into your InsidePacific account, and go to the "Manage Your Account" link, you can review and manage all of this stuff. It takes a little clicking, but it's not that complicated. Just make sure financial aid and payments are met by the posted deadlines. Financial Aid. If you are receiving financial aid, you'll have to complete your Entrance Counseling. Health Insurance. You'll automatically be enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). You can learn more at Pacific's health insurance page. If you already have your own health insurance, and prefer it to SHIP, that's totally fine. Just submit a Health Insurance Waiver. Instructions are on the health insurance page. And there are deadlines, so punctuality is encouraged here. The main contact person for insurance questions is Charity Torres (ctorres@pacific.edu). Immunization Requirement. You need to do a little biological shielding. Good for life. And its preservation. Review the guidelines here. ID Card. You'll get an email from PacificCard@pacific.edu, and it will have all of the instructions on submitting a photo for your ID card. And it'll tell you where to pick it up. Keep that ID card with you all the time. For always and always. Once all of that stuff is done, keep tabs on the Graduate School Calendar. Beginnings, endings, and important dates between are helpful to keep in mind. And if you go to the New Graduate Student Resources webpage, you'll see plenty of information to orient yourself. Including the Graduate Online Orientation and New Student Guide.

WHAT COURSES WILL I TAKE AS A STUDENT? Unless you're hurrying in some weird way, you'll take two classes every semester, for a total of eight classes over four semesters. Of those eight, HESP 279 (Research Methods) is the only required class. You take it your first semester, assuming you start in the fall when pretty much everyone else does. If you start in the spring for some reason, you'll take it during your second semester (your first fall) as a grad student. It's taught every single fall semester and it's the only non-negotiably required line on your transcript. Everything else is optional. Those other classes comprise the ingredient list to cook up your custom degree. You can see the complete list of HES graduate classes (with course descriptions) here: pacific.edu/academics/blahblahblah. Not all of those courses are available at the moment; it's sort of a historical list. For convenience's sake, here is the full list of available ingredients in your course cabinet: HESP 200: Advanced Health & Exercise Science Law (4 units, Ciccolella) HESP 233: Advanced Kinesiology (4 units, Ciccolella) HESP 235: Graduate Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (4 units, Van Ness) HESP 237: Advanced Sport Psychology (4 units, Wang) HESP 239: Advanced Applied Sport Psychology (4 units, Wang) HESP 247: Advanced Exercise Physiology (4 units, Van Ness) HESP 248: Applied & Clinical Physiology (4 units, Jensen) HESP 254: Stress Physiology (4 units, Jensen) HESP 257: Advanced Clinician in Sports Medicine (4 units, Ciccolella) HESP 279: Research Methods (4 units, Jensen) HESP 287: Advanced Internship in Sports Medicine (4 units, independent) HESP 291: Independent Study (2-4 units, independent) HESP 293: Special Topics (3-4 units, various faculty, various topics) HESP 297: Independent Research (1-4 units, independent) HESP 299: Thesis (4 units, independent) You can also take up to three undergraduate courses. Up to three, meaning you can take zero if you want. But if there are some enticing undergraduate courses, and they're upper level (nothing below 100, so CHEM 099 doesn't count, but 101 does), you can count them as graduate courses. Maximum of three. And there may be some paperwork involved. For coursework substitutions (or the very rare and unnlikely case of transferring graduate coursework), you'll need to fill out a Degree Adjustment Form. They need a couple of signatures (student included), and then we send them to Dr. Carolynn Kohn (ckohn@pacific.edu). If your Advisor approves, administration will approve as well, but it does require a little bit of bureaucracy. Also, life happens sometimes. So if you wind up needing to drop a course, there's a form for that, too: the Add/Drop Form. And, lastly-ish, during the first semester of your second year, you'll want to complete the Application to Graduate Form. The rest of the forms for the rest of your formalities can be found here: official pacific.edu forms page. It's possible some you-specific questions and hassles will arise along the way. You'll work these out with the Office of the Registrar. If you want to visit in person, they're in Knoles Hall on the first floor. Enter the building and it's impossible to miss them. By phone, (209) 946-2135. By email, registrar@pacific.edu.

WHAT NON-GRAD CLASSES ARE RECOMMENDED? First, there are some HESP undergrad classes that are reasonable to count toward your graduate degree... provided you weren't an undergrad at Pacific (if you've already taken these courses, you can't take them a second time for a second round of credit, obviously). These: HESP 110: Law in Health and Exercise Science HESP 135: Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (prerequisite: HESP 129; BIOL 011 or BIOL 061) HESP 137: Psychosocial Aspects of Healthcare HESP 143: Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries HESP 145: Therapeutic Modalities HESP 146: Health, Disease, and Pharmacology HESP 147: Muscle Physiology (prerequisite: HESP 129) HESP 149: Clinical Evaluation and Diagnosis (prerequisite: HESP 133 or BIOL 170) HESP 150: Clinical Evaluation and Diagnosis II (prerequisite: HESP 149) HESP 163: Therapeutic Exercise HESP 173: Health Care Management and Professional Development HESP 177: Cardiovascular Physiology (prerequisite: HESP 129) HESP 182: Exercise Testing and Prescription (prerequisite: HESP 147) HESP 193: Best Practices in Exercise Science And then there are some out-of-the-major courses worth considering: BENG 104: Biomedical Imaging (prerequisite: MATH 055, PHYS 055; COMP 051 or ENGR 019) BENG 124: Biomechanics (prerequisite: MATH 53) BIOL 101: Genetics (prerequisite: CHEM 27) BIOL 122: Principles of Immunology (prerequisite: BIOL 101, CHEM 121) BIOL 124: Cancer Biology (prerequisite: BIOL 101) BIOL 126: Neurobiology (prerequisite: BIOL 051, BIOL 061) BIOL 128: Histology (prerequisite: BIOL 051, BIOL 061) BIOL 145: Microbiology (prerequisite: BIOL 180) BIOL 153: Cell Biology (prerequisite: BIOL 051, BIOL 061, BIOL 101, CHEM 025, CHEM 027) BIOL 157: Topics in Biomedical Research (prerequisite: BIOL 051, BIOL 061, BIOL 101, CHEM 121) BIOL 179: Evolution (prerequisite: BIOL 051, BIOL 061) BIOL 182: Medical Endocrinology (prerequisite: BIOL 051, BIOL 061, BIOL 101, CHEM 025, CHEM 027) BIOL 186: Hormones and Behavior (prerequisite: BIOL 051, BIOL 061, BIOL 101) CHEM 121: Organic Chemistry (prerequisite: CHEM 27) CHEM 123: Organic Chemistry (prerequisite: CHEM 121) CHEM 151: Biochemistry (prerequisites: CHEM 121, CHEM 123; CHEM 159 or CHEM 161) CHEM 153: Biochemistry II (prerequisite: CHEM 151) ECON 161: Empirical Methods (prerequisite: ECON 053 and ECON 055, but that could be waived) ECON 183: Health Economics (prerequisite: ECON 051 or ECON 053) HIST 167: Gender in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology INTL 101: Social Science Research PSYC 109: Biological Psychology (prerequisite: PSYC 105) PSYC 111: Abnormal Psychology PSYC 156: Behavioral Medicine/Health Psychology (prerequisite: PSYC 053) RELI 145: Biomedical Ethics SOCI 125: Sociology of Health and Illness

WHAT GPA DO I HAVE TO MAINTAIN TO GRADUATE? 3.0. If a graduate student falls below a 3.0 GPA at any time, they go on academic probation for one semester, and can't graduate until it's 3.0 or higher. In addition, anything below a solid C counts as failing. The only grades that will count toward course completion are C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, and A (there is no A+.). The official policies are stated in the Academic Regulations webpage.

SHOULD I DO A THESIS OR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS? You have to do something at the end of your degree. And there are two options: comprehensive exams (i.e., comps) or thesis. In a PhD (what follows a master's if you keep at it), you'll have to do both. Comps and thesis (a much longer thesis, i.e., dissertation). In a PhD, you do comps at the end of your course work, so after a few years. After that, you do your dissertation for the next couple of years. In Pacific's MA in HES, you pick one or the other: comps or thesis. Comps. If you choose this option, you don't have to worry about it until your two years are basically over. Comps happen at the very, very, veryest end of the program. When every class is done and all other criteria are met for your graduation, that's when you take an enormous, terrifying test. It's divided into eight-ish sections: one section for each class you took ("ish" because you don't get tested on undergraduate courses for which you received grad credit, or Clinician or Internship). The examination period lasts a few weeks, and over the course of that period, you get three hours per class to write (nay, compose) a compelling essay, which answers a specific course-content-related question. It's proctored. And you don't get any sources. Some people prefer this option. Others prefer to do a thesis instead. Thesis. If you choose this option, you'll do it throughout your program. Unless you put it off until your last semester. Then you'll find yourself delaying graduation a year. It happens. But it never happens to those who begin work on their thesis during their second semester (which is usually their first spring). During your first semester, while you're taking HESP 279 (Research Methods), you'll work through possible ideas for theses. And if you decide to pursue one of those ideas, you'll pick a research mentor. Usually, this is either Dr. Jensen (cjensen1@pacific.edu) or Dr. Van Ness (mvanness@pacific.edu). These are the most active researchers in the department. Despite being each other's most common collaborator, each professor (Jensen and Van Ness included) has his or her own, unique focus. And as you get to know those focuses, you'll have a clearer idea of whom you want chairing your thesis. Chair = the person you work with most closely. Then you'll have a couple of additional committee members. If Van Ness is your chair, Jensen will probably be a committee member and vice versa. The last committee member will be an "outside" one. From a different department or a different institution or whatever. The faculty can get this set up for you. You should start your background reading during your first semester and continue it during your second. Also during your second semester, you can take Independent Study (HESP 291) and use those credit hours to work on your thesis. The following semester, Independent Research (HESP 297) to make even more time for even more thesis work. Last semester, Thesis (HESP 299). It's just another version of independent course credits. At the completion of your degree, you should have several abstracts and at least one manuscript.

WHAT IF THE QUALITY OF MY WRITING ISN'T READY FOR PROFESSIONAL DEBUT? It never is (and those who think they're the most equipped and talented are typically the least; there's an inverse relationship between assumed mastery and actual skill). That's why you're pursuing the degree. If you were already a pro, the degree would be of no help. It's our job to get you to pro status. But we have help from staff who are available for that specific thing: Molly Rentscher is the Graduate Writing Support Coordinator. She can meet in person in Sacramento or from anywhere through email, video, or phone. Very helpful. Email: mrentscher@pacific.edu. Melanie Hash manages the writing center in Stockton. Also very helpful, and can be reached at mhash@pacific.edu or (209) 932-2969. The latest information for the Writing Center is here (pdf of all info, updated as of fall 2022). And the official Pacific website for the writing center is here (official website for academic support services). As a general rule, no matta wat institution you attend, or wat major you be pursuin' in that stution, you should neva, eva let ya'll profs be seein' rough-ass drafts. Let me rephrase: never submit less-than-perfect drafts of anything to your professors... because yikes, it really gets painful to read slop in bulk. And every graduate student begins with slop. So does every professor. It takes real discipline in the revision process to convert it into enjoyable and effective prose. And that's what Molly and Melanie, and eventually your professors, will teach you. Then, at graduation, you'll be well published and ready for a much mightier career.

I'VE DECIDED TO DO COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS. HOW DO THEY WORK? During the final month of your final semester, there is a three-week period in which every student doing comps must take them. There are no resources available (no notes, no books or journals, no internet, no anything else other than your brain). You can do one or two questions per day. Each question lasts three hours. You will answer one question for every graduate course you took during the prorgam (with exception of Clinician and Internship). Undergraduate courses (you can take up to three) do not have comprehensive exam questions. You will know the questions at least one month in advance. You will only have to answer one question per class, but two questions will be given to you ahead of time. You will not know which of the two questions you will receive until the day of the test. The expectation of quality is high. So make sure you're keeping all of your class materials at the end of each semester. That way you can prepare for comps when the time is coming. People who don't prepare are unlikely to pass. That said, if you fail the first round, you do get one retake without penalty.

I'VE DECIDED TO DO THE THESIS ROUTE. HOW DO I BEGIN? Before you write your thesis, you have to assemble your committee. That's the first thing. This is the form we submit: Thesis Committee Appointment Form. Then, once you have your committee, you'll do your Thesis Proposal. This is public. Your committee will be there. And maybe some other graduate students. You won't have done a thesis yet. You just present a PowerPoint presentation that proposes your project. Plan on this taking an hour, but you only need to speak for 20-30 minutes (about the state of evidence and how you plan to expand on it). The rest of the hour is discussion and planning.

HOW DO I WRITE MY THESIS? Before you defend your thesis, you have to actually write it. It'll be five chapters. 1) Introduction, 2) Manuscript 1, 3) Manuscript 2, 4) Manuscript 3, and 5) Conclusion. While you're a student, you'll write three manuscripts. Those are your three middle chapters. When you're all done, write an intro (Chapter 1) and conclusion (Chapter 5). You should be able to do the opening and closing chapters in one day. They're just bread. Cheap and unexciting. The meat chapters (middle three) are harder. And way more important. But you'll write them as you go. Each of your first three semesters, you should write one. If you enter your third semester with 0 manuscripts, don't stick with thesis. Just switch to Comps. Once you have your five chapters done, it's time to format. This part is annoying. You'll have to adhere to Thesis Format Guide. That's the 2022 edition; it gets updated every 4-5 years, but each iteration says basically the exact same thing.

HOW DO I DEFEND MY THESIS? Your thesis doesn't have to be fully complete when you defend. But all of your results should be done and written. The only thing that should change between your defense and graduation is phrasing, formatting, general structure, those sorts of revisions. So plan on having a draft of your thesis fully written (but not fully edited) by the time you defend. Then you'll defend. This is public. Your committee will be there, along with any students or other faculty members who feel like coming. Plan on doing your defense before March ends if you want a May (i.e., spring semester) graduation. To set up the defense, just work with your faculty advisor.

WHAT DO I DO ONCE I FINISH MY COMPS OR THESIS? You'll have to fill out a Graduate Program Defense and Completion Form with your advisor. Then your advisor submits it to Michele Gibney (Head of Publishing and Scholarship Support) at etd@pacific.edu (ETD: Electronic Theses and Dissertations). If you did comps, that's it. You're done. If you did thesis, there are a few more steps: 1. You'll have to pay the thesis formatting and processing fee ($100) through Pacific's CashNet system here: https://commerce.cashnet.com/01ETD. 2. Log into ProQuest, the online platform to upload your thesis. Here: http://www.etdadmin.com/pacific. 3. Your thesis will be assigned to an ETD administrator from the Writing Center to be reviewed. The first round of edits should be completed within 5 business days. They don't read for content. That's what your thesis committee reads for. The ETD folks read for formatting. 4. You don't need to print any physical copies of your thesis, but it does need to be uploaded correctly to ProQuest. Your thesis requirement is not met until your manuscript is "delivered to ProQuest"; this might take some time. Depends on how good your formatting is. If your formatting is terrible, and you're worrying about how long it's taking, see the next section.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T FINISH MY THESIS ON TIME? Let's say you were aiming for a spring (end of the second year) submission. And you just missed it. The thesis wasn't ready in time. The question most students have at this point is whether they need to register for units to remain active as a student. And the answer is no. Unless you're actually missing units (i.e., if you haven't completed all 32), then you don't need to register. If you were registered in the spring, then you will remain "active" all summer long (although there are some library services you might not have access to; that's of little consequence). For official Pacific information, go to the Academic Regulations page: Pacific's official continuous registration policy (it's the Academic Regulations page, but it's scrolled down to the right spot). In short, if you anticipate a summer graduation date, you'll remain an active student throughout the summer without you having to do anything. If you're not going to wrap things up over the summer, and your graduation is delayed until fall semester, then you do have to register. But not for a real class. Rather, you'll register for GRAD 200. And you'll need this form to register. It's cheap (usually $50). You can also register for GRAD 200 during the summer if want access to all of the library services. Lastly, it's the student's responsibility to work with the Registrar (registrar@pacific.edu) to update their graduation date. Depending on when the student completes the thesis, the degree award date would be at the end of Summer I, II, or III.

CAN I STILL WALK AT GRADUATION IF I DON'T FINISH ON TIME? Yes. If you've finished all 32 units, but you haven't completed Comprehensive Exams or Thesis yet, you can walk at grduation. You'll just need to complete the Petition to Participate in Commencement form.

I'M AN OUT-OF-THE-BOX-MINDED STUDENT; WILL I BE ABLE TO ENTERTAIN THOSE BROADER CURIOSITIES IN THIS PROGRAM? Sure, yeah. I mean, if your goal is to research the effect of an anti-aging supplement on moon-goers, then I don't know where you'll get your sample or the funding to conduct the experiment. It has to be realistic. But, with the realism box checked, you're welcome to chase any curisity, and hopefully even catch it. Of course, along the way, we'll provide guidance where possible. And, of course, along the way, if we think your project might be better suited in a different department, we can look into that. "What other graduate programs exist at Pacific?" A bunch. And in most, interdisciplinary collaboration is feasible; in a few, it's probable. The same can be said about collaborations with undergrad-only programs, but Pacific has graduate degrees in: Accounting (MAcc), Athletic Training (MS), Audiology (AuD), Biological Sciences (MS), Clinical Nutrition (MS), Communication (MA), Data Science (MS), Education (EdD), Education (MAEd), Education (MAEd - Distance Education), Educational Specialist (EdS), Engineering Science (MSES), Law (JSD, LLM, or MSL), Music Education (MM), Music Therapy (MA), Nursing, post-licensure (MSN), Occupational Therapy (OTD), Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS), Pharmaceutical & Chemical Sciences (PhD), Pharmaceutical & Chemical Sciences (MS), Physical Therapy (DPT), Psychology (MA), Public Administration (MPA), Public Policy (MPP), Social Work (MSW), and Speech-Language Pathology (MS). Our program has collaborated with about a third of those in some capacity or another, and all of them have opportunities for collaboration. One last bit of advice before we move on to the next question. This: if you want to squeeze the most benefit out of the program that you can, it helps if you pursue a topic in which your professor is prolific and proficient. You'll find yourself dipping into already-existing databases and your name might occasionally appear on the author list of an already-underway manuscript. The research interests of the HES professors can be seen in the professor page.

ARE GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS (GAs) AVAILABLE? Yup. Assistantships aren't the only funding opportunities (click that to see some others). But the GA is a good gig if you can get it. The number can vary from year to year, but we currently have eight. During the first year, students are eligible for half-time assistantships, involving ten hours of weekly work. These are very competitive. Typically, these students have a GPA over 3.5. During the second year, students are eligible for full-time assistantships. This doesn't mean half-time GAs are automatically promoted to full status during their second year, but some are. And good performance during the first year really increases one's chances. "What is the compensation for GAs?" For a half-time GA, the cost of tuition is reduced by half (one class free each semester) and they get a meager stipend on top of that (approximately $500/month). Tuition aside (which is the better perk), the pay is something like $18/hour. The tuition remission is on top of that. You can do the math yourself if you want, but if you have a half assistantship for the first year and a full assistantship for the second, you pretty much break even for the degree. With the full assistantship, you receive twice as much money and tuition is free for two classes. "What are the responsibilities for GAs?" Good question. Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Research Assistants (RAs) both fall under the GA title at Pacific, because job responsibilities typically include both. There are six courses with external lab sections, and another six courses with internal labs or other needs for GA support. The GAs assigned to those courses are to take full responsibility for laboratories and whatever other GA-specific responsibilities those courses have. In the presence of non-emergency conflicts (e.g., illness or traveling), it is the GA's responsibility to provide coverage. Something close to the full set of GA duties looks like this: set up and clean up the laboratory equipment and lab space, maintain the supply of expendable equipment, assign and grade lab quizzes and reports, teach lab activities (and grade the students on their participation in those activities), monitor the lab during open lab times, oversee research data collection by a group of undergrads assigned to you, be a tutor for the undergrads taking the class you're GAing, help with undergraduate program oversight (e.g., internships, independent studies, etc.), maintain the master schedule for curricular and extra-curricular engagements (e.g., lab schedule, data collection, SmartMoves, WE-Fit). Lots of stuff. Ten weekly hours for the part-timers, twice that for the full-timers. There are also funding opportunities for graduate research here.

I'M OFFICIALLY A GA! NOW WHAT? WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? Lots of things. First, read this: PDF describing all of the necessary steps for Graduate Assistants. There are a lot of eligibility documents that need to be submitted. And it takes time to process them, so... be punctual. Here's a list of what needs to be done. When the semesters is underway, you'll need to fill out a timesheet. To access it, log into InsidePacific > Administrative tab > Time Sheets. if you have payroll questions, your Human Resources contact person is Nia Presa (npresa@pacific.edu).

IN CLOSING... FINAL THOUGHTS? We prepare you for doctoral programs. That's what we do best. We don't teach the doctoral programs ourselves, but we can equip you for them as well as any master's program in the US... provided you take advantage of our resources.

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