June 29, 2021

This newsletter is distributed to department heads, graduate program directors, graduate program contact staff, and graduate faculty. Graduate students receive a weekly email on Mondays from the Graduate Student Council. Information about student events and opportunities are also shared here to keep graduate program administrators, faculty, and staff informed.

Graduate Student Success

Save the Date! Graduate Student Welcome and Orientation Activities

The Graduate School looks forward to welcoming graduate students for Fall 2021 with a revised orientation format! To help new students have a successful start to their graduate career, we are planning several activities in July and August.

July 20

• Orientation for new GTAs, GRAs, and GAs, 10:00-11:30am
• Orientation for all new graduate students, 1:00-2:30pm

August 4 (repeat of the sessions above)

• Orientation for all new graduate students, 10:30-noon
• Orientation for new GTAs, GRAs, and GAs, 1:00-2:30pm

August 18

• Graduate Student Experience Welcome Session, 1:00-4:30pm

Details of the sessions are being finalized and will be posted on the Graduate School’s orientation website. Registration will open by early July, and we will also send notifications directly to incoming and returning students.

NEW checklists to guide students through graduation requirements

The Graduate School has revised the graduation and commencement checklists for our students. Please work with your students to utilize these checklists well in advance to help them be successful in meeting their target graduation date.

Key updates to note include:

• Each semester listed on the website contains its own checklist and includes a printable version (PDF), but students should still refer to the web-based lists, which include linked text directing them to more information, forms, surveys, etc.
• There are separate lists for graduation requirements and commencement participation requirements.
• Important dates and information regarding diplomas and final transcripts have been incorporated into the checklists.

Graduate Program Directors

Contribute to Grad Chat Bot Knowledge Base

The Graduate School is seeking volunteers to help build the knowledge base for a new graduate chat bot by July 15. If you are interested in serving on a task force for a period of 2-3 weeks to review and develop Q&A for the chat bot, please notify Dr. Megan Miller (mmmiller@ksu.edu) of your interest. Information will be forthcoming for those interested. 

Graduate Applications Processing

The internal deadline to recommend admission for International applicants for Fall 2021 was February 1st. This includes individuals who are: Living outside of the United States, applicants who are currently enrolled at an institution in the United States who plan to graduate in spring and plan to travel outside of the United States prior to August.

Departments are encouraged to submit their program recommendations for both International and Domestic applications for admission for Fall 2021.

In case you missed it – Presentation from June 21 Brown Bag

The Graduate School’s monthly brown bag series kicked off on June 21st, in which Dean Petrescu presented on “Graduate Students’ Needs: Input from students and Grad constituents.” She shared the results of surveys conducted in the spring semester and discussed next steps in using the information. If you were unable to attend, you may access a copy of the presentation and a report from the MBA master’s student retention project in the Graduate Faculty Canvas course.

CollegeNet Update

KBOR, at its June meeting, approved KSU’s proposed fee structure. The Graduate School admissions team is working diligently on updating all program codes in CollegeNet. Each code line must be revised and this is a laborious process. We estimate that this process will take place from June 24 to July 20. After the process is completed, the Graduate School will provide you an update and might ask for your help in “testing” the system to ensure that all changes have been correctly made.

The Histochemical Society Cornerstone Grants

Application Deadline: June 30, 2021

The Histochemical Society’s Graduate Medical Trainee and Graduate Student Cornerstone Grant is encourages interest in histochemistry and histochemical-based research techniques in early-career physicians and scientists. This grant will provide funds to assist graduate medical trainees and graduate students in conducting research involving immunohistochemistry or histochemical techniques and in situ hybridization. The 2021 grant amount is $2,000. Applicants must be graduate medical trainees (residency or fellowship), graduate students (PhD or thesis-based Master’s), or combined degree program students. Click here to submit an application for a Cornerstone or Capstone Grant.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

View the Graduate School’s full calendar of events.