The School of Languages on Thursday 30^th of August 2018 organized an orientation for the newly admitted students for graduate studies. The program was held to officially welcome the graduate students into the school and to educate them on how to excel in their graduate studies. There were three main speakers at the orientation and they include Dr. Clement Appah, Dr. Joana Boampong and Prof. K.K Saah. The Head of the Linguistics Department, Dr. Grace Diabah, gracefully chaired the program.

Prof. Nana Aba A. Amfo giving the opening remarks at the orientation

 The Dean of the School of Languages Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo gave the opening remarks by speaking about the establishment of the school and the various departments under the school of languages .She touched on the activities in the school and admonished the Graduate students to participate fully in these activities.

The first speaker, Dr. Clement Appah spoke on the topic: Making Graduate Studies less Burdensome. The Attitudes, Habit and the Tools. He admitted to the fact that Graduate Studies can really be stressful and in order to excel, one must develop the right attitudes, habits and be equipped with the right tools. Speaking on attitude, he encouraged the students to make friends, eat and sleep well and behave appropriately. On habits, he advised the students to read extensively and that is one of the major ways to survive in graduate school. On tools, he encouraged the students to do what is expected of them and make enquiries from friends, faculty members and supervisors. He ended by encouraging the students to pursue excellence by being diligent in all their businesses.

Dr. Clement Appah addressing the students

The second speaker, Dr.Joana Boampong spoke on the topic: ‘Prospects and Challenges of Graduate School. She categorized the challenges under personal, academic and institutional as well as how to overcome these challenges. Some of the personal challenges are time management, lack of financial support and procrastination. Academic challenges may include the stressful nature of getting a supervisor, going around collecting data, and not knowing how to organize your work. Institutional challenges may include getting accommodation on campus. She also spoke about the positive impacts graduate school has on the students, these include ability to work independently and also with your colleagues, learn problem solving skills and ability to adapt in any kind of situation, improving one’s communications skills and also ability to deal with criticisms. She added that all these abilities equip you to excel in the job market.

Dr. Joana Boampong addressing the students

Last but definitely not the least, Prof. K.K Saah spoke on the topic: ‘Expectations of Graduate School. He started by saying that the Graduate School is a joint venture among the students, the graduate school, the departments and all members of faculty. He spoke extensively about the expectations from faculty members and the expectations from graduate students. For students to excel in graduate school they need to work with all these various sections of the school. He also spoke about some of the compulsory courses to be taken in the school and encouraged all the students to get the Graduate School’s publications and read them as they contain all the necessary information about the Graduate School.

Prof. K.K Saah speaking on the expectations of the Graduate School.

He added that research rules in the Graduate School that is your ability to contribute to knowledge and emphasized that your theses determine your fate. If you fail in your thesis, you do not get the degree you are looking for. He ended by saying even after you have been awarded the degree it can be cancelled if later on you were found to have engaged in examination malpractice, plagiarism and impersonation.

Some graduate students present at the orientation.