Graduate School

Graduate School Bulletin

October 31,2023

 

Table of contents

Click on a category name to view that section or click on a headline to read the full announcement.

Articles of interest

Faculty and Staff

Admissions

Recruitment

Graduate Student Success

Opportunities for Graduate Students

Funding and awards for graduate students

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

 

Articles of interest

Creating community among grad students

Incoming graduate students, eager to jump into their program, may lose a little stem if their eagerness is met with hidden challenges of graduate education. However, getting acquainted with fellow grad students, and becoming part of a community can add necessary balance to academic and social life. Check out this recent article from Inside Higher Ed which offers tips for grad students to take a leadership role in creating long-term community amidst challenging student responsibilities.

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If you come across an article that would be of interest to other graduate programs, please send it to Michael Sellman, Graduate School communication specialist, at msellman@ksu.edu, to have the article featured in a future Bulletin!

 

Faculty and Staff

Results of the Graduate Student Evaluation Survey

During the summer of 2023, the Graduate School conducted a survey of graduate program leaders to better understand current student evaluation practices. There were 38 responses with many of the responses encompassing multiple programs within a unit (most commonly, the Master’s and Doctorate). A more comprehensive summary of the results of the survey is available here. Highlights include:

    • A majority (70%) of programs have the student complete a self-evaluation.
    • Departments judged that student evaluations were useful to the student and the graduate program director, but only somewhat useful to the graduate faculty.

The Graduate School appreciates the input from academic units as they strive to provide excellent feedback to their students and their mentors to maximize graduate student success. The Graduate Council Assessment and Review Committee will examine the complete results of the survey to identify methods of improving the annual graduate student evaluation process.

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Maximizing Proposal and Catalog Success

The Graduate Council Academic Affairs Committee (GCAA) reviews all new and revised curriculum proposals. Curriculum proposals can be quite substantial, and this situation can lead to significant items being missed in a submission. An increasing number of program leaders are reaching out to the Graduate School to discuss their proposals before undergoing formal review by GCAA. This practice reduces the likelihood that a proposal will encounter major problems during the approval process. A similar approach is improving graduate catalog entries when the Graduate School or a program identifies a lack of clarity in an entry.

The Graduate School seeks to maximize program success and minimize time spent during the approval process and thus welcomes proactive behavior on the part of graduate program leaders. The Guidebook released last spring is a great place to start. If you have any questions while developing a proposal or catalog entry, please reach out to Dr. Michael Young, michaelyoung@ksu.edu. Although a preliminary review is not a substitute for the full GCAA review, it does reduce the bumps encountered along the road to approval.

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November Know How Session: Processing & Completion of Softdocs/Etrieve

The Graduate School invites you to join us on November 15th for our Know-How session on Processing & Completion of Softdocs/Etrieve. In this session we will cover how softdocs/etrieve forms are processed and completed by the Graduate School and any questions you may have about these processes. This Know How will be held from 11:30am – 1:00pm in Eisenhower 121 and via Zoom.

RSVP your attendance by November 14th.

For more information about this event, please contact Miranda Schremmer at mquint@ksu.edu.

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Build interdisciplinary connections at dissertation defenses

We have recently heard from several faculty members expressing interest in learning about the work graduate students and faculty members are doing in other departments. One way to learn about the research in other academic programs and to build interdisciplinary connections is to attend dissertation defenses. All defenses include a public presentation. Visit the Doctoral Defense calendar for upcoming defenses.

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Upcoming Events and Deadlines

November 15 Know How Session: Processing & Completion of Softdocs/Etrieve
December 5 End of Semester Celebration
All Graduate School events and deadlines
Doctoral defenses

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Admissions

International Student Estimated Costs of Attendance updates

The official estimated cost of attendance, based on minimum enrollment for a full course of study, has recently been updated. New Assistantship forms have been issued and are available on the Grad-Resources Teams site. Please be aware that international students wanting an F1 visa must show they have sufficient funds to cover the minimum estimated cost of attendance.

For students not on an assistantship, the estimated cost of attendance is available here:

https://www.k-state.edu/grad/admissions/application-process/international/estimates.html

For students on an assistantship, the recommended amounts for a student on an assistantship are shown on the assistantship form.

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Recruitment

Slate CRM Implementation for Graduate School

We continue to work with Carnegie and the Slate CRM implementation team. We are currently working on the application generation campaign, event templates, request for information form, source formats (how data is prepared to be loaded into Slate), data loads (mapping out how each piece of data is assigned in Slate), and brand design.

Our Compliance Dashboard was fully approved this week! This means we can call and text from Slate without looking like we are spam.

We are currently preparing to move into the application stage, starting in November.

The current timeline is as follows:

    • Phase 1- Complete by November 6th
      • Building Records, Forms, Events, and Communications
    • Phase 2- Complete by January 22nd
      • The Application form developed
    • Phase 3- Complete by April 15th
      • Workflows designed
    • Final Implementation goal: April 29th
    • Historical Data Migration into Slate by May 31st

If you have any questions please contact Dr. Lenhart at mlenhart@ksu.edu or Joe Horan at jphoran@ksu.edu.

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Graduate Student Success

Graduate students recognized for outstanding poster presentations

The Research and the State poster forum took place on Oct. 24 at the K-State Student Union and involved 76 participants from seven colleges and 26 academic programs presenting a wide array of topics.

Ten graduate students were chosen to represent K-State at the annual Capitol Graduate Research Summit in March 2024, and each received a $250 scholarship. Additionally, three of these students were selected for awards presented by K-State's chapter of Sigma Xi.

The winners are listed in the Research and the State press release. You can also view photos from the poster forum.

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Opportunities for Graduate Students

ORISE virtual career fair Nov. 2

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is hosting a virtual career fair Nov. 2 from 12 to 3 p.m.

The fair will highlight ORISE-administered internship and fellowship programs for students, recent graduates, and faculty at the Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Science Foundation (NSF). The fair includes a live presentation of opportunities available through ORISE. Program representatives will be available to connect with attendees through one-on-one chats throughout the fair.

To register, please visit the ORISE brazenconnect website.

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First-generation student celebration week

Graduate students who are first generation students (those whose neither parent nor guardian earned a four-year college degree), are invited to join the First-generation Student Center in celebrating the first-generation community National First-Generation Student Celebration week of events Nov. 6-10. A full list of events was shared in K-State Today.

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Grad Coffee Chat with the Dean: Managing and Planning Your Finances, Nov 7

Graduate students are invited to Join Dean Petrescu and Jodi Kaus, Director of Powercat Financial, for this month’s Grad Coffee Chat on Nov 7 at noon in 118 Eisenhower Hall. Attendees will learn how Powercat Financial can assist with creating a financial plan to manage life on limited or no income, reduce loan borrowing with a personalized education financial plan, and achieve financial goals to optimize their financial future. Learn more and register.

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The Wildcat Dialogue Committee hosting upcoming dialogue Nov. 8

Wildcat Dialogues is one of K-State’s signature intercultural learning events for all new students. During the upcoming dialogue event, which will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 8, the committee will gather with hundreds of students in the K-State Student Union ballroom to hear first from them about their identities and how those have shaped their experiences here and beyond K-State. Afterwards, attendees will break out into smaller groups of 8-10 students, and be led through a conversation by a trained facilitator to share their stories.

This event is coordinated in partnership between the Staley School of Leadership, K-State First, the K-State Student Union, and the Division of Student Belonging and Inclusion, alongside a large committee representing students, faculty and staff. This collaboration represents the commitment by our campus community to create a culture of belonging for all.

For more information, please visit the K-State blog “The Loop.”

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Third annual NPA International Equity Summit Nov. 9

The National Postdoctoral Association is hosting its third annual Equity Summit on Nov. 9 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The summit will focus on issues international researchers may often face. The event is meant to identify barriers that impact international students, and find paths forward in the greater postdoctoral community. The virtual summit is free and advanced registration is required. Those who are interested in participating can register on the NPA website.

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Tribal Relations Specialist Jennifer Ballinger “A Lived Experience” webinar Nov. 16

The U.S. Forest Service’s Tribal Relations Specialist, Jennifer Ballinger, will host “A Lived Experience: Tribal Relations and Natural Resource Stewardship” webinar on Nov. 16 at 3 p.m.

In her position, Ballinger works towards strengthening bonds between Tribes, Indigenous communities, and Forest Service researchers to enable information exchanges in culturally relevant and respectful ways.

For those who would like to participate in the webinar can register on the Zoom website.

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Funding and awards for graduate students

Graduate Student Council Travel Award deadline Nov. 1

Graduate students must submit a travel award application by Nov. 1 if they’d like to be considered for a travel award from the Graduate Student Council. The Nov. 1 deadline is set for all events starting in January. The awards will be announced no later than Nov. 16.

More information, along with future deadlines, can be found on the Travel Awards page of the K-State Graduate School website.

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Application deadline for NRES Graduate Fellowship Dec. 1

The application deadline for NRES Graduate Fellowship is Dec. 1, 2023. The Fellowship recognizes early career researchers with teaching and research potential. It’s an opportunity for students to obtain valuable experience by mentoring interdisciplinary undergraduate research.

Participants will receive a $1,500 award to support their research and are eligible to apply for an additional $500 NRES Travel Award during the academic year.

Application instructions are located on the Fellowship application website along with a downloadable NRES Cover Letter.

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Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship now accepting applications

The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship is currently accepting applications through Jan. 10.

The fellowship supports students pursuing a PhD in areas of interest to stewardship science, such as materials under extreme conditions, nuclear science, or high energy density physics. First-year and second-year doctoral students are among those who are eligible to apply.

Please visit the fellowship website for more information.

The fellowship staff will hose an informational webinar Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. Those interested in attending the Zoom session are required to register on the Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship’s Zoom website.

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Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship online application open

Applications for the Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE-CSGF) are due Jan. 17, 2024.

Doctoral students in various fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex problems in science and engineering may apply. Students awarded the fellowship have access to a $45,000 yearly stipend, payment of fill tuition and required fees, yearly program review participation, annual professional development allowance, and a 12-week DOE laboratory research practicum experience. The online application along with information about the fellowship can be found on the DOE-CSGF website.

First-year graduate students and those enrolling into the graduate school are eligible to apply. Fellowship staff will host an informal webinar Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. CT. Applicants interested in attending the Zoom session can register at the DOE CSGF Zoom website.

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Upcoming Events and Deadlines

November 1

GSC Travel award application deadline for events that begin in January

November 1

TLC Teaching Chat, noon-1pm, Zoom

November 2 STEM-ina peer support group for graduate students, 4-6pm, 202 Union

November 6-10

First-generation student celebration week

November 6

Library workshop: Copyright, your ETDR and publishing, 1:30-2:30pm, Zoom

November 6

GSC Grad Student Social, 5pm, Ekdahl Room, Regnier Hall

November 7

Grad Coffee Chat with the Dean, noon-1pm, 118 Eisenhower

November 8

TLC: TEVALS 101, noon-1pm, Zoom

November 10

Deadline to complete all requirements to be a Fall 2023 graduate

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