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New System Helps Make Student Funding Manageable

September 18, 2019 by White, Brian

A new system called eGPS promises to help Graduate Program Directors navigate student funding, providing an automated way to view student funding levels, track funding actions and nominate students for awards.

“Through eGPS, GPDs for the first time are able to view all funding information for a student, or look across their program at the funding levels of all students,” said Julie Goodliffe, Director of Funding and Fellowships. “Improving the management of the funding process is an important step in addressing the challenges that were identified by the Graduate Student Funding Task Force.”

The online resource was developed beginning in 2018 to allow GPDs to make funding offers to applicants and monitor offers and acceptance in real time. The new funding system is expected to improve timeliness of funding offers and make the process more transparent.

The eGPS dashboard highlights information GPDs need at their fingertips like the proportion of students with funding and status of student funding applications. Searches can be conducted by program or by student showing the level of funding students are receiving by source, including financial aid.

The system also shows financial certification form status for international students and identifies funding for which students are eligible. To nominate, the GPD simply clicks on an icon.

Access to eGPS is provided following completion of in-person training or an online training course. For access, contact Julie Goodliffe, jmgoodli@uncc.edu. In-person training sessions begin September 23. Sign up for the next online dates Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.

Application Statement of Purpose can be Customized

September 17, 2019 by White, Brian

Did you know you can customize the statement of purpose instructions for applicants?

Below is the default text. If you want to provide customized instructions, email your text and program name to Kathy Giddings at kathygiddings@uncc.edu.

Please write and upload a statement outlining your goals for pursuing graduate education. Specifically, describe your reasons for applying to the proposed program of study, your preparation for this field of study as well as any research experience in the discipline, future career plans, and any other aspects of your background or interests which may aid the Graduate Program Director and Admissions Committee in evaluating your motivation for graduate study. You may also discuss how the program at UNC Charlotte in which you want to enroll can help you achieve these goals.

Good Read on International Recruitment

September 17, 2019 by White, Brian

Education USA produces an annual Global Guide detailing successful recruitment trends, country highlights, government scholarships, virtual and social media usage, and more.

Visit Education USA for more information.

Support Graduate Education via #NinerNationGives

September 16, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

UNC Charlotte’s annual 49 hours of fundraising #NinerNationGives begins Wednesday, September 18th. This is your opportunity to directly support graduate students through the Graduate School’s two funds:

These two programs benefit our graduate students by providing them funding, professional development, career training, cross-disciplinary community development and more. The first 49 donors to a Graduate School fund, will be entered into a drawing to win a hand-made Niner quilt. The portal is open so give today at #NinerNationGives

Nominations Sought for Outstanding Master's Thesis

September 13, 2019 by White, Brian

Faculty may nominate students for the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award through Oct. 18, 2019.

The Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award is a part of the Graduate School’s focus on enhancing research skills. For more information, please visit the Center for Graduate Life’s Research Skills website.

Nomination information, fields of competition and more is available from the Graduate School.

If you have questions, please contact Julie Green, jhgreen@uncc.edu, Master’s Thesis Student Services and Fellowship Specialist.

Florence Martin Takes GPD Leadership Award

September 12, 2019 by White, Brian

Dr. Florence Martin, Education Leadership, is the recipient of the inaugural Thomas L. Reynolds Leadership Award for excellence in graduate program administration. She is a professor in Learning, Design and Technology, Graduate Program Director (GPD) of the Post-Master’s Certificate of University and College Teaching and Program Coordinator of the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Learning, Design and Technology.

For more information on Dr. Martin and the Graduate Program Leadership Award, please view Recent News on the Graduate School website.

Seeking Nominations for First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal

September 11, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

The Graduate School currently seeks nominations for the 2020 First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal. Recognizing outstanding scholarship, creativity and/or research among senior full-time faculty members, nominations may come from any UNC Charlotte faculty member. The First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal has been awarded since 1988 with last year’s honoree being Dr. Steven Rogelberg, UNC Charlotte Chancellor’s Professor, Psychological Science and Management, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

The award, consisting of a cash prize, framed citation, and a medal, will be presented in the spring semester at a ceremony and reception presided over by the Chancellor, officials of First Citizens Bank, the Dean of the Graduate School and University officers.

Information on this year’s competition can be found in the Graduate School. The deadline for nominations is 5:00 pm November 8th, 2019.

Single Summer Term Coming in 2020

September 05, 2019 by White, Brian

The University will consolidate the two separate summer terms used today into a single term beginning in Summer 2020.

The term codes xxxx50 (Summer I and Extended Summer) and xxxx70 (Summer II) will be replaced with 202060 for future summer terms. Separate sessions will be added the single summer term to represent the formerly identified summer sessions. The change will permit an expansion into other shorter or longer sessions during the summer.

For more information, please visit the Office of the Registrar.

Preferred First Name Now an Option for Campus Systems

September 05, 2019 by White, Brian

Students, faculty and staff now may add a preferred first name (PFN) in University information systems.

For more information, please visit the Auxiliary Services website.

National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week Events Include Career Consultant Presentation

September 04, 2019 by White, Brian

Dr. Karen Kelsky, Ph.D., will address Hacking the Academic Job Market in a Sept. 19 webinar as part UNC Charlotte’s celebration of National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Appreciation Week.

Kelsky is a former tenured faculty member and department head who now delivers career advice through her business, The Professor Is In. She has a reputation for telling the truth about grad school, the job market, and tenure. She and her team have a particular commitment to supporting black women in the academy, as well as other scholars of color.

This hour-long career webinar and Q&A, funded through the Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund, will examine all aspects of the job search, including:

The real conditions of the job market
What search committees look for
How to build a competitive record
How to articulate that record in job documents and interviews
The post ac job market

The webinar is available to all postdocs and graduate students.

September 16-20 marks the 10^th annual NPA Appreciation Week. This year, the Graduate School and the Center for Graduate Life (CGL) plan several events to recognize the contributions of postdocs.

Other NPA Appreciation Week events include:

Writing Competitive Grant Proposals with Dr. Michael Dulin, Director of the Academy for Population Health Innovation in the College of Health and Human Services at UNC Charlotte
Making the Most of Google Slides with Season Jamison, Instructional Designer & Training Coordinator for IT Services
Communicating Your Research to a Non-expert Audience with Dr. Elise Demeter, Senior Assessment Research Analyst, Office of Assessment and Accreditation

For more information on any of these events, visit the CGL Event Calendar.

Claudia M. Reynolds Graduate Fellowship Announced

September 04, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

The Graduate School is pleased to announce a new donor funded fellowship, the Claudia M. Reynolds Graduate Fellowship. It was established through a generous gift to support and encourage high quality graduate students at UNC Charlotte to continue their higher education and become leaders in their professional career.

A native of northern California, Claudia Reynolds moved to Charlotte with her husband, Graduate School Dean Tom Reynolds, in 1982 and has been a dedicated and loyal supporter of UNC Charlotte ever since. Over the years, she has generously volunteered countless hours of her time and energy to the University. An internationally recognized quilter, she has donated her quilts to local hospitals, women shelters, the USO and to UNC Charlotte. An educator in her own right, Claudia has mentored students in fabric arts and taught quilting at Central Piedmont Community College for more than 25 years.

The Claudia M. Reynolds Graduate Fellowship will be a part of this year’s NinerNationGives campaign, allowing faculty, staff, students and all donors the opportunity to contribute to this exceptional fund. The first 49 donors to the Graduate School will be entered into a drawing to win one of Mrs. Reynolds quilts. NinerNationGives begins September 18 and runs for 49 hours. Visit #NinerNationGives to help support this Fellowship.

Venturprise Launch

September 03, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

Have an idea or research finding that the National Science Foundation may be interested in Funding? Want to receive up to $5000 for your research or business idea?

Apply to participate in the fall 2019 Ventureprise Launch National Science Foundation I-Corps cohort. The program provides UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and students with commercialization training and up to an initial $5000 in NSF funding. The goal of the program is to identify potential commercial uses and prepare for more substantial commercialization funding opportunities. The next stage is a 6 month $50,000 NSF I-Corps Teams grant.

The cohort will begin October 11th. A complete schedule and application form can be found on the entrepreneurship website. To learn more please contact Principle Investigator Devin Collins at devin.collins@uncc.edu or 704-687-8058.

Graduate Admissions Now Accepts Electronic IELTS Scores

September 03, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

Starting Sepember 2019, applicants can now save valuable time and have their IELTS scores, an English language proficiency test, electronically sent to UNC Charlotte Graduate Admissions. Learn more about English language proficiency on the Graduate Admissions website.

Post-Bac Application Fee Reduced

August 18, 2019 by White, Brian

The fee to apply for a post-baccalaureate or non-degree graduate course at UNC Charlotte will be reduced from $75 to $25 effective spring 2020. Admission is limited to one term.

The change makes it easier for prospective students to try out one of UNC Charlotte’s many graduate program options without having to take an admissions test, complete prerequisites, or commit to a specific program.

The regular graduate application fee for domestic students is $75 and the fee for international students is $85.

For more information, visit Graduate Admissions.

2019 Graduate Education Summit Announced

August 14, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

Hosted by the Graduate School
Friday, September 13, 2019 – 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Halton Reading Room, Atkins Library

Join senior leadership of the Graduate School for discussion topics including:

GPD Recognition Award
The Graduate School’s role, new staff, structure
Resources to manage programs and promote student success
New policies and procedures
Funding Task Force Report and Funding Committee.

Please RSVP to attend. Download the Agenda. Light refreshments will be served. Please contact Christi Skerlak, Executive Assistant to the Dean at cskerlak@uncc.edu if you have any questions.

Graduate School Continues Summer Support of Exceptional Docs

August 08, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

In its second summer, the Graduate School Summer Fellowship (GSSF) supported over 50 students with a three-month stipend of $6,000 allowing select doctoral students to dedicate significant effort toward their research project. The GSSF is designed to replace a teaching assistantship or other summer job, which may take a UNC Charlotte doctoral student away from their research.

Students have thanked the Graduate School on numerous occasions for giving them this opportunity. One such student, Michael Desjardins from the Department of Geography, CLAS, used his funding to travel to Cali, Colombia performing field research at health clinics, hospitals and neighborhoods, ultimately using his survey and collected statistical data in his dissertation research “Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika in Cali and Medellín, Colombia”

“The GSSF funding provided by the Graduate School also allowed me to focus on the second chapter of my dissertation,” says Desjardins. “Without the support of the GSSF, I would have made far less progress over the summer because I would have had to work to support myself. Being able to work full-time on my dissertation research brings me closer to my planned defense date in the spring of 2020.”

Dr. Julie Goodliffe, Director of Funding for the Graduate School explains, “Giving these students the opportunity to continue their research in the summer months through financial support, allows them to make progress toward a timely degree.”

Funding for the GSSF program was provided for summer 2019 from one-time money; therefore, there is no commitment or expectation that additional funding will be available in subsequent years. Contact Dr. Julie Goodliffe if you have questions regarding the Fellowship or a candidate for future years.

TA Training Now Available

August 06, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

The Graduate School’s Canvas TA Training course for the Fall semester is now available to all new TA’s. If any of your TA’s have not received an invitation to the course, if they’ve missed the course in the past, or if their assistantship contracts were processed later than August 5, please contact Dr. Aura Young so that they can be added to this required course. Questions regarding the training should also be directed to Dr. Young.

Orientation Set Aug. 17 for Graduate Students

August 01, 2019 by White, Brian

Graduate student orientation is planned for Aug. 17, with separate sessions planned for doctoral and master’s/certs/postbac students.

Orientation for doctoral students will be 11-3 p.m. in the Lucas Room and master’s, certificate, and post-baccalaureate students will run from 1-3 p.m. in McKnight Auditorium. The sessions were separated to better meet each group’s unique needs.

Both groups will travel to Uptown Charlotte at 3 p.m. via light rail for a reception at UNC Charlotte Center City.

For more information on graduate student orientation, please visit the Center for Graduate Life.

Center for Graduate Life Hosts Writing Retreat

August 01, 2019 by Stanchina, Karla

Graduate students and community members gathered recently for the 2019 Summer Graduate Writing Retreat sponsored by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL) at the UNC Center City campus in Charlotte.

Facilitated by Dr. Jill Huerta, CGL Director, and Dr. Aura Young, Doctoral Services Specialist & Postdoctoral Support, the group worked on writing projects throughout the July 26-28 weekend.

“I got an incredible amount of work done, more than I had expected,” said Pam Turner, Senior Library Assistant, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Pam focused the weekend’s work on sorting and editing a collection of poems into a manuscript.

Rosalba Scott, Ph.D., Educational Leadership, said her goal was to make progress on her dissertation. “I reviewed and improved the entire draft,” she said. “My expectations for what I could accomplish were met.”

The Graduate Writing Retreat provides a multi-day opportunity for graduate students, faculty, staff, and members of the community who want to make progress on a large writing project. The writing retreat offers a quiet space to work, structured writing time, and writing-related resources and support because all participants are actively engaged in their writing.

Continuing writing support is available through the CGL’s Write Time & Place series. Learn more by visiting the CGL’s Communications Skills website.

Graduate Academic Policies Updated

July 23, 2019 by White, Brian

Several graduate academic polices were recently updated. A downloadable summary of changes is available. Changes to policy text are noted in red.

To view a complete list of policies, please visit the 2019-20 Graduate Catalog.