M.A.I.S. from WNMU *COMPLETE*

After 1.5 years of work (I really piled up over the summer) I am happy to announce my M.A. (history/psychology/writing) is complete! We even made the trip to Silver City for the commencement ceremony last Friday. I was also unexpectedly invited to the honors breakfast and presented the honor graduate medal. I knew my GPA qualified me; I just didn't know they would give me a medal. The day was lovely and WNMU faculty were as warm and welcoming in person as they were online.

During the program I found everyone's posts about the WNMU M.A.I.S. both helpful and entertaining. So, thank you all for that!

 

Congratulations!

 

Cool!

Congratulations! Does this make you an Honorary New Mexican?

 

Cool, congratulations to you! :arms::arms:

 

From one WNMU alum to another, congrats!!!!

-Matt

 

that's wonderful!! And kudos for taking time to walk across the stage, you've earned it!

 

That's awesome! Congrats! I bet you had an awesome time at graduation. What's next for you?

 

Thanks everyone. It's been a week and it still feels fantastic. :arms:

I keep telling myself I don't need a doctoral degree, but in all fairness I didn't need the master's either. There are a few different options I've been looking at.

1. PhD from Texas Tech (online, with a 2 week a year residence in Lubbock) in Technical Communication and Rhetoric.

2. MFA (not doctoral, but a terminal degree) from Univ. of Texas El Paso (UTEP) in Creative Writing. 100% online.

3. M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M; 100% online. This one is not terminal, but I work in a position within my company that is traditionally filled by someone with at least a B.S. in either engineering or hard science (physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc.) While I revel in holding the position, and having further opportunities, with business and now "humanities/social science" degrees, I find myself questioning the benefit of getting an engineering degree from such a well respected engineering school.

There are some pros and cons with these.

Pros:

Both my B.S. and M.A. were fully funded by Uncle Sam by way of my M.G.I.Bill benefits. My G.I. Bill is now exhausted, but that is actually sort of a good thing. My wife and I relocated to Texas this past summer with a transfer and promotion for me, and I now qualify for the Texas Hazlewood Act. If you were either a Texas resident during your active duty term or entered the military in Texas (I was in the latter group) and are currently a Texas resident (I am now) you qualify for this benefit, which is 150 hours of state school tuition exemption; this includes graduate hours. This is why all of my current considerations are Texas public schools.

Cons:
GRE/GMATs. While they aren't a deal breaker, and I really think I could do fine, they are a bit of a nuisance.

I'm pretty tired after aggressively pursuing my secondary and tertiary education. In late 2008 I had no formal college degree. Today I have what's listed in my sig. It's been a tremendous ride, with countless family events and holidays missed in the name of the all mighty term paper. I would absolutely do it again; it was all worth it. But, I am worn out!

Dissertation. Don't misunderstand this one. I am not afraid of the lengthy research and writing. In fact, I have often felt a longing to do this as I feel I am intrinsically built for this sort of thing. The concern for me lies in the ever-growing responsibilities of my career. If I am going to take on a dissertation (or a publishable work in the case of the MFA) I want to give 100% effort; I'm not sure my lifestyle will allow that at this point.

So, it's all clear as mud! :nervous: I'm still giving some serious considerations to doing these, especially because of the golden opportunity the Hazlewood Act presents. I will have decided in the next 12 months or so.

I am actually a native New Mexican! When I started the M.A.I.S. we lived in New Mexico, which is how I was able to load up so many classes in the summer. I also took 3 classes in the Fall '12 and Spring '13 semesters. It was nice to not be limited by the 6-hour in-state tuition most of my classmates were.

 

Congrats to you!

 

Congrats!

I would not worry about the GRE. If there is a particular area you are worried about, such as the quantitative section, there are self-study books to help prepare. They will show you every kind of problem you need to do, give you exercises to do, and provide detailed step by step instructions on how to do the assigned problems, should you find that your responses are not correct or that you need a little help. It is a great way to refresh yourself. If you have completed your master's degree, I am sure that you can easily handle the GRE. Go pick up a few books that have the types of problems with step-by-step instructions provided alongside the solutions. Bear in mind that the GRE changed recently, two or three years ago, so the format is slightly different than in the past (no more analogies). If you study and prepare adequately, you should do fine! Don't let GRE requirements be a hindrance.

Some schools will also waive GRE requirements for applicants with a certain GPA level or who have completed advanced degrees. It might be required at more competitive schools. Don't limit yourself to just online schools either. Explore options in your home state, if there are any that are close enough to allow for an easy commute.

 

Congrats!!

 

Congratulations!

 

Thank you for this!

 

From one MAIS grad to another, congratulations my friend! You do our university proud. Now go out and continue to do good work.

 

Congrats! I may go back and finish mine after completing this MBA. I would really like to add Western New Mexico University to the resume as it is a fine old land grant school with more than 100 years of history (even if I did take the whole thing online).

Best wishes for your future endeavors, your current situation has many parallels to mine. Let us know what you decide!