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Description
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In the fall of 1999, the
College of William and Mary began operation of a new
Graduate Center. The goals of the Graduate Center are to (1)
broaden the perspective of Ph.D. students during their
formative educational years, (2) support and promote a
culture of interdisciplinary advanced study, (3) offer
graduate students a variety of opportunities and skills that
will empower them to take charge of their own careers, and
(4) encourage them to develop a lifelong interest in
community service. Open to all graduate students on a
voluntary basis, the Graduate Center supplements the
offerings of individual graduate programs and serves as a
focal point for contact between the College and the
surrounding community. It is also hoped that it will promote
better public understanding of the role of graduate
education in the life of both the College and the
community.
The Graduate Center sponsors
a variety of College courses designed to develop skills
(e.g. writing and teaching) that our students need, offers
an internship program, and sponsors a series of Friday noon
interdisciplinary lectures and discussions. No single
graduate program at William and Mary has sufficient
resources or student population to offer such a broad
program on a regular basis. The Friday noon activities
currently include interdisciplinary discussions for graduate
students on the nature and unity of knowledge, and lectures
and discussions on career planning.
The internship programs are
designed to give graduate students direct experience
applying their knowledge toward the solution of community
problems. The first internship pilot program is in
partnership with the Williamsburg/James City County school
system. W&M science students (interns) work in teams
with WJCC science and mathematics teachers, graduate student
teachers (from the School of Education), and W&M
faculty, who serve as project consultants. The teams are
studying the new Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) and
looking for ways to use the standards to improve the science
and mathematics education of students in grades 3 through
5.
http://www.wm.edu/graduate/center/
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