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FAQ鈥檚: Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Seattle Pacific University - YouTube
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[upbeat music]
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[text: "Frequently
Asked Questions"]
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(Rob McKenna) Hi,
I'm Dr. Rob McKenna
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I'm chair of the Industrial
Organizational Psychology
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Masters and PhD programs at
Seattle Pacific University
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and one common thing that many
programs like ours receive
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are Frequently Asked Questions,
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which we thought we get
asked these questions often
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and we should create
a video for you
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so that you can get
some of these answers
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and you can move on to other
questions that you have.
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So, I'm gonna roll
through some of these
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that we receive quite often.
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The first one is this:
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I'm applying to the program,
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what do you look for
in a candidate?
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And there's some
basics in terms of
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your written application
that we look for.
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Certainly your GRE scores,
the quantitative component
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of our program is
pretty rigorous,
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especially the PhD level.
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So that matters.
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The overall GRE scores
are very important.
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And we want to make sure
that you are successful,
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we set you up for success,
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and so that's why that has
been an indicator for us.
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Make sure you spend some good
time on your personal statement.
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Make it clear; tell us
something about your story,
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let us see you in your writing
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and also tell us something
about why you want to
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be studying Industrial
Organizational Psychology
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here at Seattle Pacific.
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That answer of the
question of why
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is just as important
as your resume,
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so make sure that you are
clear in stating that.
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Research experience is helpful,
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it isn't absolutely necessary,
but if you have some,
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certainly talk about that
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so that we see that
you've got some of that,
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because research is a
component of our program,
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both in the masters, and
even more, at the PhD level.
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Practical experience.
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Having, again, a long history of
work experience is not necessary
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but it can be helpful
for us to understand
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the portfolio of
experience that you bring.
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So, all those things
are important
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and then what we also look for
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is once we see your
application on paper,
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then if you are invited
to the interview day,
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we get a chance to meet
each other in person
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and to really see
what's important to you
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and for you to see
what's important to us
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as we make these selections.
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So, that's the way
the process looks.
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Do I have to be a
psychology major
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to apply or to be accepted?
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And the answer to that is no,
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you do not have to be.
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There are certain
core requirements
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that you can see in our
application process,
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but we get students
from business,
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from psychology, from
theology, from sociology,
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from a lot of different
disciplines and so
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certainly psychology
in your background
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and a little bit of business
can be very helpful
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to you in terms of your success,
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but it's not
absolutely necessary.
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What does a typical student
look like in the program?
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Are they older or younger?
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Experienced or not experienced?
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What different backgrounds-
ethnicity and so on?
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I would say this, that there
is a common characteristic
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of students in our program.
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One of them would be
that they are different
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in terms of their
perspectives and the stories
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that they bring to the program,
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which would be common
a lot of places.
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But, I think one of
the common factors,
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in terms of how they show
up is our students come
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with a sense of themselves,
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or at least a beginning
sense of themselves,
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wherever they are
developmentally,
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but also a willingness to edit,
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a willingness to
change and to adapt,
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because the program
itself requires that.
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If you're someone who already
has all the answers,
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I don't know why
you'd be looking
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at a graduate program anyway,
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but that's a really
important piece here.
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And so, that's what I would say
that our students look like.
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Also, in terms of
older or younger,
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sometimes there's
this assumption that,
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especially in our PhD program,
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it's more seasoned people with
a longer career experience,
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who happen to be a
little bit older
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who would do their PhDs, and
that's not necessarily true.
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We have students across
the age spectrum
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who are studying here.
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I mean, not high school,
of course, [laughs]
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we have students who are
post their college education
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and up into later
seasons of life
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who do very well here.
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One of the questions
that's asked is
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Will I meet spouse
in the program?
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And I'm kidding.
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That's not on my list,
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but I wanted to say it because
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I would say that one of
the common factors is
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that this program
is challenging,
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it will challenge
you intellectually,
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it will challenge you socially,
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it will challenge you
inter-personally and personally
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and so when you get challenged
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and you spend that
time with people,
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you will develop some very
close bonds with others
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and so we have had
people, actually today
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I can say that we have had
a couple people who've
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actually met their
spouse in the program.
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So, a lot of people in
other people's weddings
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and at the birth of
their children now,
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so it's- you do generate some
very close relationships.
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Are there scholarships or
graduate assistant-ships
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to assist with tuition?
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Most all of our PhD students
get some scholarship money
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offered in their offer letters.
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And it's a percentage. It's
not a huge percentage,
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but it is something to help
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those doctoral students with
their progress in the program.
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But they do need to figure out
financing for the rest of their-
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we want to make sure that
we have a realistic preview
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that we want people to
have a clear understanding
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of the costs of the program.
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So, there is some money
in those offer letters.
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Masters students can get
graduate assistant-ships,
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and you apply for
those after you
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get into the program and it's
not just for financial aid,
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it's for assistant-ships were
you'd actually be working,
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you'd have the time to work on a
faculty member's research team.
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So, if you'd be interested
in applying for that,
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you would apply after you
come into the program.
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How do I know whether
to apply for the PhD
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or the master's degree?
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Both of these
populations of students
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are in our program and
they do study together
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at certain points and
are wonderful people.
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If there were a separation,
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I would say that if you're gonna
apply to the PhD program,
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you have got to love research.
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You gotta love research,
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you gotta love deep,
analytical thinking,
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digging into questions that
are challenging to answer.
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You have love to think
about these things
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and also, if you want
to be a practitioner,
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but you're gonna have
to want to study
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with one of the
faculty members here
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because your going to work
on their research agenda
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for the next several
years of your life.
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And so make no
mistake about that.
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Get to know who we are.
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This is why it's important.
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I had a question on here
that is not a real question,
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but it is, What is Dr.
Yost really like?
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If you don't know
who Dr. Yost is,
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he's one of our faculty members
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and I'm not gonna tell you
what he's really like.
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You can find out if you
end up in the program.
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But I would say you need to
understand what we're about,
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as a PhD student, and be
driven to understand that.
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And master's students are people
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that want that same
foundation in research,
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but they really want to get
out and practice sooner.
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And they see themselves
as increasingly applied.
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And most of our
students end up working
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in organizational
settings anyway,
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not academic settings,
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but it is important to know that
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there is that difference there
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so that love of research is
certainly a really important
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piece of the program.
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Can I do the program part-time
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and can I work
during the program?
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If you're a master's
student, yes!
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The courses are in the evening,
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so as long as you can be there,
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and you gotta be present
in the program,
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then many of our
master's students
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do have full time jobs.
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They would say it's challenging,
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but it is do-able.
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With the PhD students,
the answer to that
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is mostly no. That this is your
primary vocational identity
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is as a doctoral student
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and I'm not just here
to get you a job,
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but we are here to
change your name.
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We are here to give you-
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it's a long, kinda journey
through the program,
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and so know that there are
some doctoral students
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who take on part-time roles,
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but it is a residential program,
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and so you have to
be fully present.
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This is your primary- not
only vocational identity, but
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but the place where most of
your hours will be spent.
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So, that's a conversation
that if you ever do,
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have permission
from your adviser,
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to take on a role somewhere,
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but we are here to make sure
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that you finish your PhD,
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and now some of
you are thinking,
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Of course you are,
that's what I want,
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but when those job
opportunities start to come-
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and they do- we're gonna
tell you [to] stay home.
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This is the most important
thing going on right now.
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And then the other piece is
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a question that is so
commonly asked is,
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SPU is a Christian community.
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What does that mean?
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What does that mean
to study here?
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I studied at a state university
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and I don't know what that means
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or what that looks like.
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And I would say, yes,
our faculty come
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from a Christian
faith perspective
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and we believe in the
God in the Bible who-
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the story is so engaging,
it's the story
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of a God who sacrificed Himself,
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and at the same
time, this is a God
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who has a very strong
sense of who He is
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and asks us to model
that same thing
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in our own character.
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And so for us, that
means that it's
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walking this line
between discovering
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the importance of who we are,
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that we are beloved
children of God,
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but also this willingness to
sacrifice for others around us,
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because sometimes those
sacrifices might be
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little moments in the program
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and what that means is that,
really, this is a place
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where we are attempting
to model grace.
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Both offering grace
to ourselves,
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but offering grace to others,
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even when it's very
difficult to do so.
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That's what character
development looks like
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in the program.
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Now, more practically,
what does that look like?
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It means in some cases, if
you haven't experienced
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a professor who prays
in the classroom-
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and who care deeply
about our students-
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it sometimes occurs, and
there certainly are
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places in the program
where we would
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discuss our Christian theology,
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but I would say that
we have students
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who are not of the Christian
faith perspective
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and unless you're someone
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pushing back hard against that,
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this can be a wonderful place,
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a wonderful place of grace,
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especially given it is such a
rigorous learning environment.
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But understand that
it is the perspective
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that underlies what
we work on here
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and also, there will
be courses where
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you will get into some
Christ-centered theology
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in the program as well,
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as we understand our own faith
journey and perspective.
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It is from that foundation.
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So, I hope this
video was helpful
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as you consider the program
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and we hope to see
your application!
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