Faculty nominations of student candidates for the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award will be accepted through Oct. 19.
The Master’s Thesis Award is presented annually to a student whose thesis makes an “unusually significant contribution” to their discipline. The award focuses on students who completed their master’s degree requirements and thesis between Fall 2016 and Summer 2018.
More information is on the Center for Graduate Life’s Graduate Student Competitions site.
Dr. Katherine Hall-Hertel ran across this informative article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. How to Create a Syllabus. From the Chronicle of Higher Education, this recent advice guide helps faculty create a syllabus worth reading.
Nominations for the prestigious First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal and Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor faculty awards are being accepted until November.
Nominations for the de Silva award come from departmental chairs; nominations for the First Citizens Bank award may come from any UNC Charlotte faculty member.
Details on these faculty awards are located on the Graduate School’s Faculty Awards page.
Doctoral students can get $500 for applying for qualified fellowships this year.
The payment is part of the Graduate School’s Fellowship Application Incentive Program (FAIP) to encourage more students to apply for fellowships in the 2018-19 academic year. Through FAIP, an incentive program launched last year, doctoral students can get $500 each for applying for up to two qualified fellowships. An additional $1,500 incentive payment is available for the first successful fellowship application.
To apply, doctoral students complete the FAIP application prior to applying for fellowships. Application deadline is Feb. 1. An application form and more details are located on the Graduate School’s Funding webpage.
Workshops are available to help locate fellowship opportunities. The Graduate School’s Center for Graduate Life will host the workshop, “Money for your Graduate Education: How to Find Fellowships” on Sept. 17 and again on Sept. 28. Visit the Center for Graduate Life’s event calendar for more details.
Download a printable version of the FAIP guidelines.
Ventureprise is seeking particpants for its fall 2018 Ventureprise Launch National Science Foundation I-Corps cohort. The six-week program provides UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and students with commercialization training and an initial $3,000 in NSF funding.
The goal of the program is to identify potential commercial uses and prepare for more substantial commercialization funding opportunities, including a six-month $50,000 NSF I-Corps Teams grant.
Applications are due September 14 and the cohort begins September 21.
For a complete schedule and application, please visit the Ventureprise Launch site. For more information, contact PI Devin Collins at devin.collins@uncc.edu or 704-687-8058.
Distance Education, Co-op, Student Interns, and Student Teaching students are eligible to enroll in Student Blue health insurance
Distance Education, Co-op, Student Interns & Student Teaching students can now enroll in Student Blue. Special Instructions on how to enroll for this group of student, are on the Student Health Center’s insurance website under the link Distant Education & Co-op Students. The deadline to enroll in Student Blue is September 10, 2018 for the fall semester and January 31, 2019 for the spring semester. If you have students who fall into these categories, please let them know of this opportunity.
Last Saturday, the Graduate School and the Center for Graduate Life at UNC Charlotte welcomed over 700 incoming graduate students at Graduate Student Orientation. Associate Dean Katherine Hall-Hertel launched this year’s Orientation by providing impactful advice for thriving in, rather than merely surviving graduate school. Incoming students also learned about opportunities in the Center for Graduate Life where they can build vital skills in professional development, leadership, communication, and collaboration. Panels composed of UNC Charlotte faculty, students and Graduate School staff followed with discussions and insightful information critical to academic success.
Following the Orientation, the incoming class experienced first-hand, the ease of transportation to UNC Charlotte’s Center City campus and the uptown Charlotte area, via the new light rail service where they attended a welcome reception. Students had the opportunity to meet Provost Joan Lorden, and a host of campus offices and staff were on hand to provide information about their services and support. These included the University Career Center, the Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement, Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Jamil Niner Student Pantry. Student enjoyed good music, food, games and the opportunity to connect with each other. Afterwards, many went to a handful of designated restaurants, parks, and coffee shops to explore uptown Charlotte, meet with current graduate students, and begin their graduate journeys.
Student outreach, engagement and development offered through the Graduate School’s Center for Graduate Life, provides the support and sense of community students need to meet the challenges they will face throughout their graduate experience. Through the Center for Graduate Life, well-educated students become well-rounded graduates with the leadership, cultural and communication skills to enable them to quickly assume productive roles on the job, whether their career sights are set on business or academia.
As we begin a new semester, it’s a good time to review the information on your Program Dashboard. Many of you experienced a website migration over the summer, which caused your program’s web link to change. You can also update contact information or your program description. Here are some helpful instructions. Note: Because it can be confusing to the reader, it’s best not to use your Graduate Catalog page feed for this particular purpose, but instead direct students to a page within your program/department/college website. From those pages you can link to the Catalog.
Remember, the information found on your Program Dashboard, is pushed to the Graduate Admissions website for prospective student use. Should you have any questions, please use the Comment box below, or contact us in Graduate School Communications.
Earlier this year, important cancer research findings were retracted and the lead researcher was forced out of his job at Ohio State University after an investigation discovered evidence of falsified data in eight papers spanning as many years.*
At UNC Charlotte we have solid policies governing the conduct of researchers and an educational program to ensure research teams understand those policies. We also have instituted a Research Integrity Office to coordinate investigations into cases of possible research misconduct.
Headed by Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Tom Reynolds, the Office is responsible for investigating allegations of plagiarism, falsification, and fabrication of research materials.
“Fortunately, we see few cases of suspected misconduct,” Reynolds said. “And the ones we investigate we often can resolve without damaging the reputation of our researchers or hampering progress of the research. Still, we must be vigilant to avoid even the appearance of misconduct.”
Information on how to safely and confidentially raise questions or report possible research misconduct is located on the Graduate School’s website.
* https://news.osu.edu/news/2018/03/30/misconduct-investigation/
The Office of International Programs recently sent a reminder to international teaching assistants calling attention to the requirement to attend an English language assessment and to complete an I-9 form that is available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
This reminder went out to those whose assistantships are already listed in Banner. Please share this information with any newly hired ITAs in your department whose names are not yet in Banner in order for them to set up their assessment. OIP will also continue to send out notices directly to ITAs as their names appear in Banner.
Your past help with ITA compliance has been extremely valuable, and OIP thanks you in advance for your help with Fall’s efforts. Please contact ITASupport@uncc.edu for a list of available dates and times.
Katherine Hall-Hertel, Associate Dean, Graduate Academic and Student Affairs, today announced staff changes and realigned duties in the Graduate Academic and Student Affairs work groups.
Sandy Krause joins the Graduate Academic Affairs group as Assistant Dean, Academic Services. She will oversee the graduation process and will manage policy exceptions, including those submitted through petitions. Sandy joins the Graduate School from the College of Computing and Informatics where she was Program Coordinator.
Janet Morse, formerly Project Manager-DegreeWorks, has an expanded role that includes day-to-day responsibility for graduation clearance in addition to her existing role supporting DegreeWorks. Janet assumes the position of Associate Director previously held by James Birkett, who now is pursuing his Ph.D. at N.C. State University.
Portions of Birkett’s former role will be distributed among other staff members:
On the Student Affairs side of the house, Dr. Jill Huerta became director for the Center for Graduate Life (CGL) early in July. Jill is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day management of the CGL. Coren O’Hara continues as Associate Director and Dan Jones recently joined the team as Events and External Relations Associate, managing both areas for the Graduate School.
For more information, contact the Graduate School at 704-687-5503.
The Graduate Admissions team is holding seats at two popular recruiting events, but they will go fast.
Tables are reserved for the already sold out Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Indianapolis Nov. 14-17 and for the annual conference of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) set for Oct. 11-13 in San Antonio.
Events such as these provide an excellent opportunity for program directors to recruit bright, motivated, and academically excellent students to graduate programs at UNC Charlotte. Participants are typically from underrepresented minorities with strong academic potential. The SACNAS conference typically draws over 4,000 participants pursuing careers in STEM fields. ABRCMS is one of the largest communities of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
More details on these recruitment events and other local and out-of-state opportunities are included in the Fall 2018 Recruitment Events list, which is updated regularly. Graduate Admissions sends a representative to a select number of recruitment events, and will provide recruitment materials to faculty, staff and students to support recruiting efforts at the program level.
To reserve your spot for ABRCMS or SACNAS, or to request materials to support your recruitment, contact Maryanne Maree-Sams, MaryanneMaree-Sams@uncc.edu or 704-687-7243. The Graduate School provides
Dr. Eleonora Dávalos, Public Policy, and Dr. Britney Phippen, Biological Sciences, are recipients of the 2018 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award.
This award is presented each year by the Graduate School to recognize outstanding research and scholarship by a doctoral student at UNC Charlotte.
For details, check out the Recent News on the Graduate School home page.
Graduate Admissions can provide access to the McNair Scholars program, an excellent source of exemplary students for graduate recruitment.
The Ronald E McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program helps prepare eligible participants for doctoral studies through involvement in research and scholarly projects. Participants are typically from a disadvantaged background, generally from underrepresented segments of society, and have strong academic potential.
Graduate Admissions actively recruits at the McNair regional conference each summer, and routinely waives application fees. If you are interested in recruiting McNair participants for your program, contact Maryanne Maree-Sams, MaryanneMaree-Sams@uncc.edu or 704-687-7243. Maryanne maintains access to a database of McNair Scholars.
Please note: The fee waiver must be requested by the applicant prior to submitting the application for admission. To request a waiver, applicants should contact Maryanne directly, and forward their letter of participation in the McNair Scholars program.
For more information on McNair Scholars and other recruiting tips, visit GPD News & Info and select the Recruitment link on the left panel.
Graduate Student Orientation will be held in Cone University Center 1-3 p.m. Aug. 18, followed by a reception 4-6 p.m. at UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E 9th St.The travel ban to the U.S. placed on seven countries is responsible for a steep decline in the number of international students and visiting scholars at U.S. universities, according to an article in Inside Higher Ed.
The article says a high level of opposition to the ban exists among academic institutions that consider the move discriminatory and detrimental to higher education.
Justice Sotomayor, in her published dissenting view, “cited difficulties in recruiting and retaining students and faculty members as being one among a number of irreparable harms caused by the travel restrictions.” the publication said.
Share your thoughts on the issue in the space below. To view the original article in its entirety, please visit Inside Higher Ed.
The Graduate School makes available an attractive, professionally produced brochure that delivers key information on the University and the city. Use it as an introduction through recruitment fairs, information sessions, open houses and conferences.
You can also get quantities to share with your colleagues at feeder schools. Send your request to Maryanne Maree-Sams in Graduate Admissions.
For more great ideas to boost graduate recruitment, visit GPDNet’s Recruitment section located behind the GPD News & Info tab.
Beginning Monday, July 2, 2018, residency determinations for graduate students at UNC Charlotte will be centralized at the statewide North Carolina Residency Determination Service (RDS) rather than determined locally on campus. New applicants claiming NC Residency as well as currently enrolled students who wish to apply for in-state residency for tuition purposes will be required to do so through the RDS. The change took place for undergraduate students early last year.
Residency determination affects in-state tuition benefits and state-funded financial aid. The change is part of a statewide effort to centralize and simplify the residency determination process. Under the RDS, students no longer need to apply for residency determination multiple times if they apply to more than one public educational institution.
All inquiries about initial residency determination, reconsideration or appeal should now be directed to the RDS, the sole authority for residency determination. The RDS website also has FAQs that answer many of the questions students may have about the process to apply for NC Residency, as well as details about State residency laws and policies, residency guidelines, and tuition benefits. Contact the RDS at (844) 319-3640 or by email: rdsinfo@ncresidency.org.
Mark your calendar for the GPD Graduate Education Summit, Sept. 14, 9-12 in the Lucas room, Cone University Center.This year’s summit will focus on plans to improve graduate education in the coming year and provide an opportunity to raise questions and issues for discussion.
The Center for Graduate Life has announced the Graduate Life Fellows for the 2018-19 academic year.
For more details, visit the Center for Graduate Life.
