Join us for Boettcher's quarterly Catalyst Conversations series — opportunities to showcase the incredible talents of our Alums, connect from afar, and explore unique, thought-provoking content.
This quarter, we will hear from 1976 Scholar Dr. Tim Barbari who will answer the question: What exactly is graduate school? This presentation will focus on what makes graduate school distinctly different from the traditional 4-year undergraduate experience – from admissions and financial aid to academic policies and degree progression. While graduate level coursework is standard for any academic program, practica and research can be the determinant for degree completion in certain fields. For research-based degrees, the additional challenges associated with advisor selection, research funding, advancing to candidacy, and writing and then defending the thesis or dissertation will be discussed in detail.
Note: Some professional degrees fall outside the purview of graduate schools, most notably those in law and medicine, and will not be covered here.
Please RSVP by Thursday, September 3.
Session Details:
This session will be offered in a hybrid format.
In-person attendees: Join us at the Boettcher Foundation's new offices (1800 Larimer Street, Suite 1400, Denver, CO 80202). Doors will open and dinner will be served beginning at 6:00 p.m. MT, with the presentation taking place from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT.
Virtual attendees: Join us on Zoom from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants before the session.
More about Tim:
Dr. Tim Barbari, a 1976 Boettcher Scholar, has served as the chief graduate officer at three R1 research universities over his 38-year career in higher education. After progressing through the professorial ranks at Johns Hopkins (1987-1999), he became Department Chair at the University of Maryland, College Park (1999-2006), Dean of the Graduate School at Georgetown (2006-2011), Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs at Boston University (2012-2016), and Dean of Graduate Studies at Mines (2020-2024). He holds three degrees in chemical engineering (BS Colorado School of Mines, MS University of California, Berkeley, and PhD University of Texas at Austin).