Graduate School

Graduate School Bulletin

September 06, 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 – NEW!

Faculty and Staff

Admissions

Recruitment

Graduate Student Success

Opportunities for Graduate Students

Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

 

Articles of interest – NEW!

In this new section of the bulletin, we will feature articles addressing topics in graduate education: national and global trends in higher education, information and strategies related to recruitment, best practices for supporting graduate student success, and more.

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As you think about your messaging to prospective students about the value of graduate education, check out this article from Inside Higher Ed on benefits of an advanced degree, such as positive impacts on health and increased likelihood of having dinner with your family.

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Contribute to the Bulletin!

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!

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Faculty and Staff

The Graduate School invites you to join us on September 20th for our Know-How session on Recruitment and Retention. In this session we will cover the initiatives launched in the past two years, the outcomes of these initiatives and engage in a conversation about the impact that graduate constituents have seen with faculty and students.

This Know How will be held from 11:30am – 1:00pm in Eisenhower 121 and via Zoom.
RSVP your attendance by September 18th.

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

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We are moving right along for the Slate implementation for the Graduate School. The implementation team is working hard and hitting our deadlines. Here are some highlights of what we have accomplished so far.

    • Uploaded and created the fields and prompts
    • Test score types were uploaded to be built out
    • This site will be used for the CRM branding
    • Finalized the criteria for the new all-campus Request for Information form
    • Uploaded RFI communications to be sent after submission
    • The DKIM configuration was confirmed by the CRM team and IT
    • Selected the default email as K-State Graduate Admissions- gradapply@ksu.edu
    • Set up individual campus meetings to ensure timely progress for each campus individually and as a whole

The current timeline is as follows:

    • Phase 1- Complete by November 6th
    • Phase 2- Complete by January 22nd
    • Phase 3- Complete by April 15th
    • Final Implementation Call- April 29th
    • Historical Data Migration- May 31st

If you have any questions concerning the Slate implementation, please reach out to Micaela Lenhart at mlenhart@ksu.edu.

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The Graduate School has been working with the K-State Foundation to scale up our fundraising efforts to support graduate student needs and to fund fellowships and awards that recognize graduate student accomplishments and help launch their post-graduate career. We are communicating with our alumni and donor base 3-4 times each year to keep them informed of our initiatives to support graduate students and to encourage them to contribute to our mission. A solicitation to our alumni and donor base is being sent on Sept. 9 to encourage giving to Graduate School funds.

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All Graduate colleagues and partners (graduate faculty, staff, grad program coordinators, department heads and leaders) are invited to a strategic planning brainstorming session on October 18, 11-2pm, Cottonwood room, Student Union. Food will be served. Please RSVP by October 1st.

More information about the structure of the brainstorming session will be provided one week prior to the event.

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Last week, the Graduate School welcomed a new communication specialist to our team, Michael Sellman. Mike received a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from K-State in 2012. Though he has a background in news reporting, he comes to us from the Dorothy Bramlage Library in Junction City. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Mike lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children. He’s excited to be working in the Graduate School.

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  • Electronic student forms reminders and training

    • Reminder Messages to approve forms: Faculty who are included on an electronic student form (e.g., program of study, approval to schedule final exam) will receive a reminder to approve the form seven days after receiving the initial prompt to approve the form. The faculty member will continue to receive a reminder message every four days until the form has been approved.
    • Training: A training video on the Etrieve forms system is available in Grad Resources in Teams.

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September 18 New Graduate Faculty Orientation
September 20 Know How Session: Recruitment & Retention
September 28 New Graduate Faculty Orientation
October 4 Department Head Meeting
October 18 Graduate School Strategic Plan Brainstorm Session
November 15 Know How Session: Avoid Headaches, Grievances, & Issues
December 5 End of Semester Celebration

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Admissions

The standard Graduate School deadline for Spring international applications was August 1. Please submit program recommendations as soon as possible so we can process and issue documents for travel.

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Recruitment

Graduate School Recruiter Sarah Torella’s last day will be Friday, September 8th. We would like to thank Sarah for her time and commitment to the Graduate School. We wish her well as she is taking another step towards building her career. Please send any questions you may have to gradapply@ksu.edu

The Graduate School is in the process of launching a search for a new Graduate Recruiter. The Graduate Recruiter will:

    • Support the enrollment efforts of the graduate school and its partnership with the academic programs by providing admissions information to prospective students.
    • Serve as a representative and resource at various recruiting locations.
    • Assist in the creation and execution of in-person and virtual recruitment events.

For more details on this position, please visit the posting on the K-State Careers website.

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Graduate Student Success

Students who need to drop a course must do so by designated deadlines in order to receive a refund, per the university academic calendar.

      • Sept 11 is the last day to drop a course for a 100% refund.
      • Students who miss this deadline but drop a course by Sept 18 will receive a 50% refund.
      • After Sept 18, there will be no refund for dropped courses dropped by Sept 25.
      • After Sept 25, students may only withdraw from courses (no refund, and the course appears on the student’s transcript with a “W”).
      • Oct 27 is the last day to withdraw from courses.

These deadlines apply only for standard 16-week courses. Non-standard courses may have earlier deadlines. Students should refer to KSIS for the exact deadlines for each of their courses.

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Graduate students are invited to the first “Grad Coffee Chat with the Dean” of the fall semester on Sept 12 from noon-1:00pm in 121 Eisenhower Hall. Each of the coffee chats this semester will have a focused topic. Information will be presented by Dean Petrescu, Graduate School staff, or other guests, and there will be time for students to ask questions and engage in discussion. The first coffee chat will provide guidance on developing a program of study and supervisory committee and will address how both drive student success. Students who plan to attend should register in advance.

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Masters and doctoral students who plan to graduate in the fall 2023 semester must complete all requirement by November 10. Graduate faculty are encouraged to work with their students in using the graduation and commencement checklists to develop a plan for completing all requirements by the posted deadlines to graduate this semester.

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Opportunities for Graduate Students

Graduate students who are applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship this year are encouraged to attend sessions to receive guidance on preparing their application materials to enhance their competitiveness for the fellowship. Beth Powers, director of K-State's Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships, will host the following sessions:

    • Putting Together a Competitive NSF GRFP Application
    • NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Writing Workshop
      • Sept 15, 12:30-2pm, Zoom and 247 Leadership Studies, registration
      • Participants are expected to submit a draft of their personal statement by Sept 12 and will engage in a peer review exercise to help strengthen their own and their peers’ personal statements.

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Graduate students from all disciplines are invited to present a poster of their research at the Graduate Student Council’s annual Research and the State poster session on Oct. 24 in the K-State Student Union. Presenters will discuss why their research is important to the state of Kansas. Judges will select 10 graduate students to receive awards and to represent K-State at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit at the State Capitol Building in Spring 2024. The Research and the State registration deadline is Sept. 25. Learn more and access registration.

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Offered by the K-State Office for the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering (KAWSE), STEM-ina is designed to help graduate students connect with peers and facilitate goal setting. STEM-ina support sessions are offered once a month. The first 30 minutes will be dedicated to networking and goal setting; the remaining time will be reserved for attendees to make progress on those goals. RSVPing for STEM-ina grants students access to the group's shared Google Doc and GroupMe but does not commit. The first support group is Sept 7, 4-6pm, K-State Student Union room 202. Register to attend.

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Hosted by K-State Libraries, The Library and Your Research is a free workshop series that helps graduate students enhance and professionalize their scholarly pursuits. The sessions take place from 1:30-2:30pm each Monday via Zoom. The series begins on Sept. 11 with "Starting Your Literature Review in Social Sciences and Education." Students who plan to attend should register for each session by using the sign-up form.

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As part of the Kansas Science Communication Initiative (KSCI) webinar series, Dr. Nellie Hill, an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Communications and Journalism at Kansas State University, will discuss effective data visualization for science communication and existing resources available to you. The webinar will be held Sept 11 at 1:00pm. Register in advance for Zoom meeting information.

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Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students

Applications for the Parent Student Success Scholarship (formerly the Graduate Student Childcare scholarship) will be accepted from Sept. 15 to Oct. 1. Five scholarships up to $1,000 each will be awarded for the Fall semester. The scholarship aims to financially assist graduate students raising families who are burdened with childcare expenses and aid their degree progress. Parents pursuing a graduate degree, which demands a lot of time and attention, are often faced with heavy child-raising expenses.

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The application period for the Presidential Management Fellowship Program (PMF) is scheduled for Sept. 12 through noon on Sept. 25. The PMF, which is the Federal Government’s flagship leadership development program, is for advanced degree holders across all academic disciplines. These dates along with any further updates, can be found on the “2024 Application” webpage.

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An information session webinar for STEM Graduate and Postdoctoral Research Fellows will be held on Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. STEM Fellows will have an opportunity to join thousands of others who have found a best-in-class paid STEM, policy, or technical research opportunity among more than 20 federal agencies. More information on the info session can be found on the Postdoctoral website.

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An info session for the Fellowship with Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will be held on Sept. 6, 2023 from 4 -5 p.m. (EST). ARPA-E funds high-risk, high potential transformational energy technologies. Learn more on the ARPA-E newsletter.

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Upcoming Events and Deadlines

September 6

Teaching and Learning Center Need to Know, noon, Zoom

September 7

STEM-ina Peer Support Group for Graduate Students, 4pm, 202 K-State Student Union

September 8

Putting Together a Competitive NSF GRFP Application, noon, 247 Leadership Studies

September 11

Sci Comm webinar: Data Visualization in Science Communication, 1pm, Zoom

September 11

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

September 11

Deadline for students to drop standard courses for 100% refund

September 12

Coffee with the Dean: Tips and tricks for your program of study and supervisory committee, noon, 121 Eisenhower Hall

September 13

HHS Career Development Speaker Series: Utilizing Handshake to find Jobs/Internships, 3:30-4:40pm, 329 Justin Hall and Zoom

September 15

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Writing Workshop, 12:30-2:00pm, 247 Leadership Studies and Zoom

September 18

Deadline for students to drop standard courses for 50% refund

September 19-21

All-University Career Fair

September 20

HHS Career Development Speaker Series: Business Professional vs. Business Casual Attire, 3:30-4:40pm, 329 Justin Hall and Zoom

September 21

Identifying Graduate Research Fellowship Opportunities, 3:30pm, Zoom

September 25

Registration deadline for Research and the State

September 25

Deadline for students to drop standard courses, no refund and no “W” on transcript

September 29

Deadline for departments to nominate grad students for GSC Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence

October 1

Priority application deadline for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Small grants

October 1

GSC travel award application deadline for events that begin in December

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