Date:

To:
From:
Subject:

October 18, 2015

Student body
Washington State University
Kyle Miyahara
Memo: Proposal for graduate program research study

Purpose
The purpose of this memo is to present my research findings for
determining which graduate program is best suited for me, in addition
to providing recommendations from past alumni and or students.
Summary
On September 28, 2015, English 402 professor Aminah Barnescannon
asked me to develop a proposal to condone research in regards to
figuring out what college graduate institution can provide me the most
satisfaction that can translate towards my undergraduate major, allow
me to enjoy where they are located, and a program that fits within my
budget constraints.
Through a number of recent research findings, I have found there to be
a strong correlation with school tuition costs and where the school is
located. Granted, every graduate program will require a good amount
of money regardless, but the prices seem to vary on the schools
prestigious rankings and whether or not they are on the east coast of
the United States, or the western side of the United States.
By choosing a school that excels in supply chain management, I will be
able to advance my previous knowledge as well as getting first hand
experience of what is required when running an efficient supply chain
company. It is imperative that this research is done within a timely
manner in order to fully understand what each school has to offer. With
the intention being enrolled for the spring of 2016, all of the necessary
information must be found way in advance.
Introduction
When currently deciding which graduate program best suits my
personal and academic interests and goals, there are major factors to

consider before choosing a list of schools to send applications to. Steps

can be followed that can help guide individuals towards their ideal
school, and with this being my last year pursuing my undergraduates
degree I have created a research plan to come up with proposals as
how this can be done.
Several influential factors come into play when figuring out solutions to
the proposed proposal such as, how many colleges can offer what I am
looking for? And will I be willing to re-locate myself into a new
environment, and how would I react to it? With the idea of going to a
college in a state other than Washington, the transition of moving to
another state is unknown. What defines a good graduate program?
Answering all of these unknowns will eventually lead me towards my
ideal school of choice, and further my education and job related
experiences.
Research Methods
When trying to extract the correct information to help research for my
proposal, I broke down the process into 5 simple steps that I have
came up with through the template Dr. Martin, and Dr. Mumby
mentioned in their own individual articles.
Based on the information that I value, I have come up with the
following plans:

Narrow down colleges that have graduate programs in

management and/or operations in business.
Create a spreadsheet that compares different factors that go
into consideration of choosing schools.
After narrowing down to a top 15-20 schools, begin finding more
details about schools by reaching out to students and/or alumni,
school admissions.
Plan a visit to the top 4-5 colleges of my choosing
Final ranking and sending applications

Results
Plan 1: Narrow down colleges that have graduate programs in
management and/or operations in business.
The first component of figuring out which institution fits me best,
management and/or operations within the business field are topics of
interest that I plan to study, through the internet I was able to find all
of the information I needed through school websites and school
databases that helped narrow down the selection of schools. After I

narrowed the selection of business management graduate programs I

then narrowed the list of possibilities and started comparing other
factors that make each school different.
Plan 2: Create a spreadsheet that compares different factors that go
into consideration of choosing schools.
After plan 1, I will was able to select a wide net of 20-30 schools that I
would consider going to. Making a spreadsheet with categories such as
program rank, tuition cost, city and state, average undergraduate GPA,
enrollment, and other facts I was able to see which schools top in the
order based on overall comparisons. The spreadsheet was a good tool
to help make the comparison process easier as it really allowed me to
compare all of the schools at once. Websites such as Gradschools.com,
usnews.com, and individual school websites were very resourceful in
order to find all of the information.
Plan 3: After narrowing down to a top 15-20 schools, begin finding
more details about schools by reaching out to students and/or alumni,
school admissions.
Using the created excel spreadsheet, the next step in this process was
narrowing down my selection to 15 to 20 schools and begin finding
more concrete information through students, alumni, or reaching out to
the school first hand through telephone or e-mail. Although I havent
been able to reach out to students or alumni yet, their opinions will
give strong sense of what their school means to them and why.
Plan 4: Plan a visit to the top 4-5 colleges of my choosing
After doing research of a list of 15-20 potential schools, I make a final
cut to 4 or 5 schools and plan for a visit and tour of the campus. This
will serve as one of the last steps in deciding which school I plan to
attend, visiting is an important task in the consideration process
because it is important that I am comfortable in the environment and
could see myself calling the location home. After taking in the campus
and the atmosphere of each school I will be able to get a clear
understanding of what school fits me the best.
With this being one of the last stepping stages in this project, I plan to
stay on each campus for 2 days to get a solid couple days of
experience of life on each campus. After spending a couple days on
each campus I can justify weather or not the school is to that of my
likings, and in some cases when expectations fail to meet reality its
better to have visited before than regretting it in the future.

Plan 5: Final ranking and sending applications

The final step will be sending in applications to my top 5 schools and
make any last adjustments to the order of the list. Then begin the
application process of each school and wait for any feedback.
After completing the first 4 phases of this project I am able to focus on
certain schools that I strongly consider attending, and after taking the
time to do research and develop pros and cons of each school through
data and spreadsheets Im able to focus specifically on which schools
rank at the top of the list and the schools I will choose to make a visit
to. After visiting and jotting down my initial impressions it will be time
to take the next step and fill out application forms to attend their
business program. This step is still in the process as I still havent
decided which campuses I plan to visit.
Conclusion
Based on the findings I was able to dig up, I have began the process of
narrowing my top 20 schools, and with that I am able to dig deeper
into school information. A useful tool when taking a look at all of the
schools was through the US News archives. Something that drew me
away from schools was price and or location, with living expenses and
tuition being out of my comfort range. Although I have decided to go
further looking at some schools in the eastern part of the United
States, a majority of them are located more towards the western part
of the United States. The next thing on the agenda is trying to get into
contact with any students or alumni of the program I am looking to
apply for, and follow up with any questions I might have in mind in
regards to how they like the campus, what the living situation is like,
how the student body is, etc. This will provide me with good evidence
as the information is coming from someone with hands on experience
attending the program.
Recommendation
The recommendations that can be made following the information
presented, using the tools presented can help focus on what values
you cherish the most. Because everyone is different, there are values
that may be different than those of mine and therefore there is no
clear cookie cutter template. Through this, I was able to determine
which colleges provided advanced degrees in supply chain
management, and at a campus that fit my financial and environmental
standings. The good thing about choosing a graduate school, is that
schools are around the entire world found throughout the United
States. It gives you endless possibilities and allows yourself to narrow
your study and expanding your experiences in that field.

References
Martin, D. (2012, April 6). 7 Critical Steps to Find the Right Grad School.
Retrieved October 4, 2015, from
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduateschools/articles/2012/04/06/7-critical-steps-to-find-the-right-gradschool
Mumby, D. (n.d.). How To Choose The Right Graduate School Program.
Retrieved October 5, 2015.
"Supply Chain/ Logistics." U.S. News. Web. 18 Oct. 2015. <http://gradschools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/topbusiness-schools/logistics-rankings?int=aa6b09&int=acf809>.