Grad Guide Fall 2012

GradguideSPECIAL SECTION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012

Start your career in HoustonTop-rated companies are just down the street

THE DAILY COUGAR2 • Friday, December 14, 2012

Your hard work has fi nally paid off. Congratulations seniors — you made it. This Grad Guide is de-signed to assist you with future endeavors. You’ve

made it through the dreaded core classes and tough major courses and now you’re ready to embark on a new adventure. Or are you? For those who may need clarifi cation there are plenty of articles that offer insight on questions you may have. Don’t worry about landing a new job; fi nd out that Houston has some of

the top companies to work for on page six. Are you con-sidering going out-of-state for work? Check out page nine for some advice from UH faculty who lived in other states but decided to take their current jobs in Houston. And if you’re not heading into the work force immediately, don’t forget that UH has some of the top ranking graduate pro-grams on page four. I’m proud of you Class of 2012 and from one Cougar to another, I hope these articles will assist in your transition.

Editor’s Note

ChannlerHill

Your tutors at Learning Support Services, Challenger Program and your friends at Learning & Assessment Services

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Grad GuideAdvertising supplement to The Daily

Cougar

SECTION EDITOR Channler Hill

COPY EDITORS Aryan Baktash,

Amanda Hilow, Elizbeth Jiminez and

Joshua Mann

CONTRIBUTORS Zachary Burton,

Chrystal Grant, Julie Heffl er, Amanda

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GradguideSPECIAL SECTION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012

Start your career in HoustonTop-rated companies are just down the street

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Advertising Supplement Friday, December 14, 2012 • 3

Follow President Khator on Twitter @UHPres www.uh.edu/president

Renu Khator President, University of Houston

Congratulations on your graduation from Tier One University of Houston. You have passed a milestone on

your journey and you have been well prepared for future

achievements by a nationally recognized university dedicated

to student success.

This year, for the first time, UH is included as one of the

377 Best Colleges in the nation, according to U.S. News & World

Report. That accolade is the latest on our own journey to

excellence, as we continue to strengthen the legacy we share

with you. We hope you will stay involved with your university.

Your accomplishments today and in the future inspire us to reach

higher year after year.

Thank you for being a Cougar! We wish you continued success.

Reaching Even Higher

Chrystal Grant GRAD GUIDE

Even with a competitive job market and economy, UH graduates have a reason to be optimistic. “If I were a college gradu-ate looking for a job in Houston — depending on my degree, experience and career goals — I would look at healthcare, software development, sales, fi nancial planning and manufac-turing career fi elds,” said execu-tive director of the University Career Services David Small. Small said the population is aging and people are more health conscious. There are many career opportunities for cutting edge research and start-up companies in the health fi elds of bio-engineering and genetics, as well as the more traditional fi elds. “I enjoyed my time as an undergraduate at the Univer-sity of Houston,” said health administration senior Samuel Fanta. “My plans are to take an internship in the health fi eld

while continuing to earn my Master’s degree. I think in this time, graduate degrees are becoming more important in the job market.” According to the Houston Chronicle, Mattress Firm was ranked one of the top mid-size companies to work for in Hous-ton. The company promotes from within and the employees start their career in retail sales for the company’s bedding prod-ucts. “The sales market is always receptive to people who can increase the bottom line, and that means sales,” Small said. “The degree is impor-tant, but not as much as the interpersonal/communication skills of the job candidate. The job leaves a lot of opportunity for growth within the company.” The oil and gas industry is another demanding fi eld, with Noah Consulting being ranked in the top 20 of 100 places to work, according to the Houston Business Journal. The company is seeking can-didates with data management

background and industry experi-ence in oil and gas or energy. There will also be a tremen-dous transfer of wealth from one generation to another within the next 25 years for fi nancial planners, Small said. Baby boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 people per day and there are 74 million of them. Job candidates must be skilled at estate planning, wills, annuities and investments in general, Small said. “Earning a degree in fi nance has helped me to understand the operation of a business, in general,” said business and fi nance senior Treshaun Mer-edith. “Although I plan to attend law school in the next year, I will continue to educate myself in the fi nance fi eld. I might have my own fi rm someday and being educated in fi nance will be a plus.” According to Small, more than 50 percent of new college

Houston provides launch pad for careers close to home

David Delgado/Grad GuideCOMPANIES continues on page 10


Julie Heffl er GRAD GUIDE Education does not end for all college students on graduation day. Some to pursue graduate school before entering the job market. UH has highly ranked gradu-ate programs, with social work, pharmacy, math and law all in the top 60 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 rankings. According to UH’s website, the Graduate Program in Creative Writing was ranked one of the top three in the nation in 2008. Kevin Prufer, professor of English and director of Graduate Studies, confi rms that the general creative writing program is one of the prestigious of its kind in the U.S., citing its focus on academ-ics and not just workshops. “I think we’re highly ranked because of the academic require-ments. It’s very important for us that the students that come through this program are not just

taking a lot of poetry and fi ction workshops, but also gaining a strong sense of the historical context of their writing and a good sense of the writers who have come before them,” Prufer said. “It has a reputation of being an academically strong program as well as a program that has exten-sive contact with creative writers.” The diversity of UH is well-known as it had a rank within the top 10 schools in that category by U.S. News in 2009. Prufer said di-versity plays a large role in keepi ng his program so highly ranked. “I think a lot of that has to do with having a large and diverse faculty,” Prufer said. “It’s one of the best programs in the U.S. I would certainly encourage (UH) students to try and stay.” While admission to this pro-gram may be diffi cult — accept-ing fi ve or six applicants — the quality of education and the kind of environment make schools like the Graduate Program in Creative Writing so desirable, Prufer said. “I would say creative writing

programs come in personalities and I’d say the one here is very, very nice,” he said. “It’s a program where all 11 faculty members get along and work enthusiastically with the graduate students.” The C.T. Bauer School of Busi-

ness is also highly ranked with its part-time Master’s of Business Administration reaching the top 30, according to the U.S. News in 2012. This success is, in part, because of UH’s location and its ability to attract both academic

professors and industry experts to teach at Bauer, said Daniel Currie, assistant dean for the graduate and professional pro-grams and director of the Global Executive MBA program.

Graduate programs offer reasons to stay in school

In Fall 2012 the UH Law Center accepted students with a minimum of 140 on their LSAT. | Esteban Portillo/Grad Guide

PROGRAMS continues on page 8


COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES CONGRATULATES OUR Fall 2012 Graduates!

Good Luck & Best Wishes for the future! From the Dean, Faculty & Staff

MAJORS MINORS

www.uh.edu/CLASS

ART*Art

COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION SCIENCES & DISOR-DERS*

COMPARATIVE CULTURAL STUDIES

ECONOMICS

ENGLISH*

HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE

HISPANIC STUDIES

HISTORY*

MODERN & CLASSICAL LANGUAGES

MUSIC*

APPLIED MUSICBrass

PHILOSOPHY

POLITICAL SCIENCE

PSYCHOLOGY

SOCIOLOGY

THEATRE & DANCE

Theatre

AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

AIR FORCE LEADERSHIP

ART*

COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISOR-DERS

COMPARATIVE CULTURAL STUDIES

ECONOMICS

ENGLISH*

HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE

HISPANIC STUDIES

HISTORY*

HONORS COLLEGE

INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS

MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

MILITARY SCIENCE (ARMY ROTC)

MODERN & CLASSICAL LANGUAGESArab Studies

MUSIC*

NAVAL SCIENCE (NAVY ROTC)

PHILOSOPHY

POLITICAL SCIENCE

PSYCHOLOGY

SOCIOLOGY

THEATRE & DANCE

WOMEN’S, GENDER & SEXUALITY STUDIES PROGRAM

*Teacher Certification Available. Please consult the Department Advisor for more information


Demetrious Mahone GRAD GUIDE

Recent UH grads are in a good position to start carving out their place in the work force. According to a report is-sued by the U.S. Department of Labor, the economy added 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent. Graduating English senior Zeinab Kachmar is excited to get started in career post gradu-ation. “I am looking forward to the fact that I hopefully won’t have to take my work home with me,” Kachmar said. The promise of a good career lures most students to college. A college graduate will make nearly $1 million more than a person who only graduated high school in their lifetime, accord-ing to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau. On average, a college gradu-

ate will make $45,000 a year, while a person with only a high school diploma can expect around $21,000, according to

the report. Emily Holley, a journalism major graduating in December, isn’t sold on statistics for her

career. “Realistically, I know to expect something from $26,000 to $30,000 when I graduate, but that will go up with time and experience,” Holley said. The U.S. Census Bureau statistics vary by degree. A student with a degree in engineering can expect to make $80,000, while a student with a degree in English can expect $30,000. “I feel like although some majors claim that they will be able to offer fi nancial stability, there is nothing guaranteed in life, which is why you should learn about something that interests you rather than some-thing that will make you money,” Kachmar said. “Although I worry about what exactly I can do with my English degree, I would rather be work-ing very hard and content than rich and miserable.” Most graduating UH seniors are refl ecting on their past while looking forward to the future.

“I went to college for myself, and no one can take that away from me,” said psychology se-nior Jacee Labuff. “A degree gives your poten-tial for growth. I can make good money in the future instead of bartending like I was before.” Being a college graduate does not only mean you will make more than a person who doesn’t have a degree, but according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the jobs will be more white collar and less manual labor intensive. There are many other advan-tages of obtaining a degree that cannot be quantifi ed. Media production senior Sean Ploch points out a few of those advantages. “Regardless of my salary af-ter I graduate, this has all been worth it,” Ploch said. “It has been benefi cial to learn how to interact with people.” “It has all been a series of baby steps closer to being in the real world.”

Trading diplomas for dollars

Kathleen Kennedy/Grad Guide


Instructional Assistant:Katie Keene,

MA. Sport & Fitness Administration

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2012!

Ana AlvarezDominique EstevezChukwunonso Ofili

Jay Sutaria

Joshua HegueroParis Long

Saraubh GuptaVan Pham

The Department of Campus Recreation would like to recognize our graduates. We wish you much success in your future endeavors.

YOU ARE THE PRIDE!

THE DAILY COUGAR

Call 713-743-5356 to get [email protected]

Sell your stuff.

Joshua Mann GRAD GUIDE

College graduates need to learn to manage their fi nances in the real world. Many will have to deal with things like rent, taxes, and in six months, student loan payments. “It’s an important topic. It’s a transition, and it is coming,” said John C. Lopez, a clinical assistant professor who teaches personal fi nance planning in the Bauer College of Business. “When you step into the real world, you’ve got some commitments coming up, like expectations from employers. Your time is no longer your own.” On the fi nancial side, students

are thrust into a world in which they are responsible for taking care of themselves, Lopez said. “Up to this point, someone typically is providing your transpor-tation, your housing, your support — your parents, or some kind of scholarship or grant. But now the responsibility falls to the graduate.” Students can prepare for this transition by keeping themselves out of unnecessary debts, Lopez said. “You have a lot of control over where your money goes if you stay out of debt. When the money comes in, if you are in debt, it be-longs to somebody else. It belongs to the lenders,” Lopez said. Staying out of debt lets gradu-

ates spend their money on what Lopez called required expendi-tures. “Things like rent, things like insurance, utilities, food, trans-portation, those kind of things are required,” he said. But graduates have a lot more fl exibility in things like entertain-ment and travel, Lopez said. In order to keep these kinds of expenses from getting out of hand — and getting graduates in debt — he said it’s important to have a spending plan. “I’m trying to get away from the word ‘budget’ — that has the same connotation as ‘I’m on a diet.’ Nobody likes to be on a budget or on a diet, so I call it a

spending plan,” Lopez said. “You are telling your money where you want it to go: this much for rent, this much for utilities, this much for entertainment, this much for eating out.” Another responsibility gradu-ates face is fi ling their taxes. “For students, taxation is not very complicated. They’re just coming out of school, they typically don’t have mortgages,” Lopez said. “They don’t have any high-level investments or things that could complicate tax situations. So it sounds intimidating, but it’s really not once you understand what’s going on.” Lopez said he recommends that graduates use a tax software,

like Turbotax or Quicken, which will walk them through the process of fi ling their taxes. “Because students get intimi-dated, they just don’t do it,” Lopez said. “That’s the worst thing you could possibly do. Ignoring a prob-lem doesn’t make it go away, it just makes it worse.” Lopez also said it’s important to maintain an emergency savings. “Once you have an emergency fund, emergencies quit happen-ing. The car breaks down, ‘O.K., $750? I can cover that, that’s not an emergency any longer.’ As op-posed to not having that fund, the car breaks down, ‘$750. Oh my God, what do I do now? Put it on my credit card.’”

How to manage your fi nancial expenditures

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• Paralegal Graduate Certificate ProgramInformation Session: December 5 and January 9

• Certified Management AccountantVirtual Information Session: December 11 and January 17

• Career Development Courses

• Communication Skills Courses

Spring 2013 classes start soon. Register today.

Jump AheadWe have a variety of professional development

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“Being in a large city like this, we have a lot of resources at our disposal to compliment what I would call our typical academic faculty. In other words, our faculty is a blend of people that went to a high-quality university, got a Ph.D. in a discipline and then maybe do

research — the main part of their job is research and teaching; re-search in peer-reviewed journals,” Currie said. “Beside them we have a lot of people who have worked 25 to 30 years in industry. Many of them still have Ph.D.s, but they have a lot of industry experience. We have a lot of those in the college, too, so you get a nice blend of people with deep expertise in

their subject areas through study and research, and people with deep expertise in their subject ar-eas through doing it. That results in a really powerful product.” Students should not limit them-selves professionally or aca-demically, Currie said. Potential corporate employers will not care if an applicant has degrees from the same school. He said they care more about work experi-ence, which the part-time MBA allows. “I really don’t think that, in the business world, having two degrees from one institution is a negative. What’s important is that they have a good undergrad degree to build on, that they have some good work experience if they can get it, even internships, because an MBA is a generalist degree,” Currie said. “We have an evening program if they have their fi rst job or a full-time job. We have a full-time program for those that can be full-time.” The sentiment that two de-grees from one school is not a negative is carried in UH’s Law Center, said Craig Joyce, senior co-director in the Institute for

Intellectual Property and Infor-mation Law at UHLC, which is ranked fourth nationally. “Continuing from UH to the Law Center, students get oppor-tunities no one else in the country has to gain jobs at the nation’s fourth largest city’s law fi rms and major corporations. Intel-lectual property or information law, health law, energy, there’s no better place,” Joyce said in an email.

Part of the program’s success is its practical approach to education. “We’re indisputably the best IP and info law program between the coasts. We’re part of a law school that’s in the top quartile of all such U.S. institutions,” Joyce said in an email. “If a student is planning to practice law in Houston or Texas, in the areas where Houston is preeminent, all other law schools in Texas take a back seat.”

FRUSTRATEDWITH YOUR JOB?

READ THE CLASSIFIEDS AND SEARCH FOR A NEW JOB.

2013 US NEWS & WORLD REPORTUH’S TOP GRADUATE PROGRAMS

You don’t have to end your days as a Cougar just yet. UH also has eight other nationally ranked graduate programs that will prepare you for a career in your chosen field. For more information please visit, www.uh.edu/academics/graduate-programs/.

UH Graduate Programs Rank

Pharmacy 48

Law 57

Math 68

Clinical Psychology 70

Economics 72

Political Science 72

Engineering 77

UHU GGraduduata e Proogrg ama ss Rank

Pharmacy 48

Social Work Graduate Program 37th

*Ranks among graduate programs according to U.S. News and World Report

PROGRAMScontinued from page 4


C. T. Bauer College of Business is an AACSB accredited business school. The University of Houston is an EEO/AA institution.

POWERFUL energy to change your future.POWERFUL ideas driving real-world strategies.

POWERFUL connection to global business leaders.POWERFUL degree of excellence.

Full-time day MBA Part-time evening MBALeadership Executive MBA Global Energy Executive MBA

Offered on the Northwest Campus: Part-time evening energy MBA

www.mba.uh.edu

POWERFUL CHOICE.Houston’s MBA.

Zachary Burton GRAD GUIDE

With the end of the semes-ter, a new wave of students will graduate and set out to become part of a bustling work force. With this milestone many questions are presented, includ-ing whether to take an out-of-state job offer. “Only consider places you are willing to live,” said Julia Bab-

cock, co-director of the Center for Couples Therapy. “I applied for 18 jobs, got two interviews and one job offer right out of grad school.” Students looking to move for work have to look at many of the externalities that come with a change in location. Babcock re-ceived her Ph.D. at the University of Washington and addressed necessary questions before the move herself. “Is it a place you are willing to live? Do you have family nearby? Do you care if you have family nearby? If you are not willing to move, don’t apply out-of-state,”

Babcock said. The loss of a familiar surround-ing can have adverse affects on some students and potential employees, but to some the ideal job is enough to pack and move. ”UH was an ideal job; ideal on a lot of different fronts — not every front, but it was a really good job offer. It became impos-sible to say no,” said Director of Developmental Psychology and the Laboratory for Neural Bases of Bilingualism Arturo Hernandez. “There are a lot of things about Houston and (the University) that helped.” Hernandez urges those

interested in other states to pay attention to the benefi ts and risks, but also to consider taking the gut approach. “The most important thing is for it to feel right. If it feels right, you need to take the offer,” Hernandez said. “You just have a feeling that is the right place. I think that really is the best met-ric.” In some cases students fi nd themselves drawn from Houston for reasons beyond their work and family. ”I would move,” said pharmacy freshman Karina Tverbakk. “I’ve lived here my whole life. It isn’t

exciting at all. I just don’t feel as though I belong in Texas.”

Besides gut feelings and sur-roundings, graduates have to be sure to fi nd a place that permits their work. “I looked for a place that would allow me to do my work well; that had all the things that I needed,” Hernandez said. The opportunity to live in what may be a drastically different location in the U.S. or out of the country gives one a taste of a new culture, which is something people should experience, Her-nandez said.

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A new career may bring out-of-state moveStudents should weigh options with job offers


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Congratulations Fall 2012 Graduates!

graduates are unemployed or underemployed. More than 80 percent move back in with their parents upon graduation.

“The average amount of debt for a new grad now exceeds $25,000. Not a pretty picture,” Small said. “However, much of the problem can be attributed to structural unemployment, that is, there are employers begging for job canidates but there are

not enough candidates with the necessary skills.” The top three career goals for UH graduates should be se-curity and stability, work and life balance and an employer with a social conscience, Small said. The Houston area has per-formed better than various job

markets during the recession and the population continues to grow. “I defi nitely plan to fi nish my graduate education in Houston,” Meredith said. “The job market in Houston is phenomenal and allows me to sustain stability.” We misspell on

purpose.Just to keep

you alert.

Your welcome.

Let us know when we mess up.e-mail [email protected]

COMPANIEScontinued from page 3


Chloe Morris GRAD GUIDE

Jaleesa Denise Wade started her freshman year at UH in Fall 2008 with plans of getting the prerequisites out of the way for nursing school — she never came with the intent on getting her degree. Now, she’s the fi rst in her family to graduate from col-lege. Wade studied human develop-ment and family studies with a minor in health and graduated with a 3.3 GPA. Wade now has her sights on nursing school in Fall 2013. She said she hopes to attend UT Health Science Center in the Texas Medical Center. Wade says the highlights of her years at UH were meeting lifelong friends and having the opportunity to discover her inner self. She still has fond memories of September 2011, when UH played Texas Tech in football. “UH had won by one point and I remember everyone rushed the

fi eld, including me,” Wade said. Compared to being a fresh-man, she says she can feel a difference in the toll that the semester takes on her now. She remembers how young and wide-eyed it was to be new on campus. “You don’t really care about your grades.You aren’t used to classes and you don’t think about paying for consequences later. You don’t take it serious,” Wade said. Although beginning with a tough start, Wade isn’t a stranger to hard work. She took 12 hours a semester and completed 300 hours of an internship with Health Bridge Children’s Hospital. She also maintained two jobs — on campus at the UH Chil-dren’s Learning Center and at Textbook Solutions. With all the stress and worry, there are still things she will miss about UH. “The beautiful campus, Cougar Red Fridays, Student

Programming Board events, living on campus, meeting new people, the parties and UH traditions, such as Finals Mania, are the things I’m going to miss most,” Wade said.

With no plans to return home to El Paso in the immediate future, she hopes to fi nd a job in her fi eld and further her educa-tion with a master’s degree. “I’m excited; I can’t believe it’s

almost over,” Wade said. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel real and I think I have to sign up for classes, but when the day fi nally gets here, I think it will be real to me.”

First-generation graduate seeks bright future

Wade makes her family proud by never giving up on her chance for success. | Courtesy of Jaleesa Denise Wade

Grad Guide Fall 2012

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