Graduate School

Graduate School Bulletin

January 23,2024

 

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

Recruitment

Admissions

Fundraising

Graduate Student Success

Opportunities for Graduate Students

Funding and awards for graduate students

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

 

Articles of interest

How to run a good meeting

Take a look at this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education on organizing clear and productive meetings with a few simple steps.

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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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

Navigating K-State dashboards for graduate education data

In addition to the two dashboards engineered by the Graduate School (Graduate Milestones and Graduate Admissions Funnel), there are grad-relevant data found in a variety of other K-State dashboards. As a result, it can be difficult to find the information that you’re looking for. To help with this process, the Graduate School has created a two-page summary of graduate student and program data that are found in other dashboards. This document resides in the Grad Resources folder in Microsoft Teams, but the link above provides a direct pathway.

If you have questions about the data and its use, please contact Dr. Michael Young (michaelyoung@ksu.edu). If you do not have access to a dashboard of interest, access to the Graduate School dashboards can be requested from Dr. Megan Miller (mmmiller@ksu.edu) and access to general use dashboards can be requested from Chris Urban (chrisu@ksu.edu). A demonstrated need must be present; department heads and graduate program directors are the most common users.

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Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award

The Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award is presented annually to faculty for nationally and internationally distinguished excellence in research and graduate education. Customarily, up to two faculty members are selected annually by a group of faculty peers.

Nominations should be submitted through Qualtrics by May 1, 2023.

Visit the DGF website for more information.

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Upcoming Events and Deadlines

January 24

Know-How: Graduate Application Deadlines, 11:30 a.m-1:00 p.m., 121 Eisenhower Hall, unless otherwise noted.

January 25

New Graduate Faculty Orientation Session, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m., Zoom (Meeting ID: 985 1145 0061)

February 7

Three Minute Thesis, first round of competition, 9:00am-4:30pm, 227 and Flinthills, Union

February 22

Three Minute Thesis, final round of competition, 5:30pm, Union Ballroom
All Graduate School events and deadlines

Doctoral defenses

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Recruitment

Timothy R. Donoghue Graduate Student Scholarship nomination deadline Jan. 31

The deadline is approaching for nominating incoming graduate students for the Timothy R. Donoghue Graduate Scholarship. Up to 10 master’s and 20 doctoral scholarships will be awarded to incoming graduate students who are beginning a master’s or doctoral program in Fall 2024. For more information, and to submit a nomination, please visit the Donoghue Scholarship website. The nomination deadline is January 31.

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Admissions

Slate CRM Implementation for Graduate School - Update

    • The Graduate School continues to work with Carnegie and the slate CRM implementation team. We are in Phase II, building the application.
    • We are currently brainstorming the best way to handle voucher codes with the new change in process.
    • We finalized the international application tab, conduct information, and signature page to ensure we were collecting all of the necessary information.
    • Carnegie is building out the custom materials logic, so each program shows the correct required documents.
    • We are testing the application's hard fails. These are the questions required before submission.
    • Soon we will begin testing the application to ensure everything is working correctly and we can begin the workflow process.

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

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Fundraising

Updates on Graduate School fundraising initiatives

We have been working with the K-State Foundation to develop a fundraising plan. The plan is based on the information we gathered from our graduate students regarding their needs and experiences, and information from graduate faculty about graduate students’ needs and experiences.

As you know, we launched the Childcare Scholarship fundraising initiative almost two years ago. In the Fall, we renamed the scholarship to “Student Parent Success Scholarship” to better reflect the needs of the students. The applications for these funds indicate that students need support with covering health care, food, clothing and daycare expenses for their children. A fundraising message went out to graduate alumni on Saturday to raise money for this scholarship. The message includes a video from a scholarship recipient who discusses the importance of this scholarship for her and her family.

We are also working with the Foundation to raise funds to celebrate graduate student excellence through the UDP Excellence in Doctoral Studies fund, to support graduate students’ progress towards graduation through the Accelerator fund, and to celebrate students’ contribution to advancing knowledge through the Graduate Student Enhancement fund.

Many of you contributed to these funds – Thank you!

Information about all the fundraising initiatives is found on our website. For more information about fundraising initiative, please contact Claudia Petrescu, Dean, cpetrescu@ksu.edu

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Graduate Student Success

Record-breaking 90 students registered for 3MT

We are very excited to have 90 graduate students registered for this year’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition! This is the largest number of students registered since the first 3MT was held at K-State in 2016. Participants represent almost all academic colleges and 35 graduate programs.

Kudos to the graduate students who are taking on this unique challenge and thank you to their faculty mentors for supporting student participation in the 3MT!

The competition kicks off on February 7 with presentations throughout the day in the Union (rooms 227 and Flinthills). A schedule of presentations is available on the Three Minute Thesis webpage. The final round of the competition will be held Feb. 22 at 5:30pm in the K-State Student Union Ballroom.

Preparation for presenters

      • Students registered for the 3MT are receiving success tips at least once each week to help them prepare for the competition.
      • Practice sessions are scheduled Jan. 26-Feb. 2. Presenters can sign-up for a practice session slot to receive feedback from mock judges to help them revise and enhance their presentation before the competition.

Questions about the 3MT may be directed to Dr. Megan Miller, mmmiller@ksu.edu.

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Understanding drop and withdrawal deadlines

Should graduate students need to make changes to their enrollment this semester, they must drop courses by certain dates to receive a full or partial refund. Drop and withdraw deadlines posted on the academic calendar apply only to standard 16-week courses. Students should refer to KSIS for the exact deadlines for their courses.

When making enrollment changes, students should discuss with your major professor or graduate program director, assistantship supervisor (if applicable), and ISSS (if they are an international student) to ensure they maintain enrollment requirements based on their status(es).

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Spring 2024 graduation deadlines and commencement

Master’s and doctoral students who plan to graduate in the Spring 2024 semester must complete all requirements by April 12. Graduate students are encouraged to Use graduation and commencmene checklists and work with their major professor and supervisory committee to make a plan for meeting their graduation goal.

The Graduate School Spring 2024 commencement ceremony will be Friday, May 10, at 1:00pm in Bramlage Coliseum.

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Opportunities for Graduate Students

‘Cats Connect provides community building, support for well-being

Graduate students looking for an opportunity to connect with other K-State students can sign up for the spring 2024 session of ‘Cats Connect – a peer-facilitated program that helps students build social networks and community on campus. Participants are placed in groups of 4 to 6 people from outside their social group. They’ll meet in six one-hour sessions to get to know each other and discuss interesting and thought-provoking topics. Registration for the first session is due by Jan. 30.

Visit the ‘Cats Connect website for more information, and to register. ‘Cats Connect is sponsored by the Morrison Family Center for Student Well-being and the Staley School of Leadership. For more information email Jeneen LeMay at jalemay@ksu.edu and Tamara Bauer at tamara@ksu.edu.

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RIT Future Faculty Career Exploration Program webinar registration open

The Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) Future Faculty Career Exploration Program is currently accepting applications for the Sept. 25-28, 2024 cohort. The program is an extensive four-day event designed for participants to experience a “behind the scenes” glimpse into life as a faculty member at RIT. PhD/MFA students, postdocs, and early career faculty/researchers who are interested in a career in the professoriate are encouraged to apply. The application deadline is Feb. 23.

A Zoom webinar on how to craft an application will be held on Feb. 7 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET. To register for the webinar, visit the RIT registration website. More information about the 2024 program, and to register for the Future Faculty Career Exploration Program, visit the RIT Diversity and Inclusion website.

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Funding and awards for graduate students

Applications open for spring Graduate School awards, fellowships, and scholarships

    • Applications for the Student Parent Success Scholarship will be accepted from February 1-15. This scholarship serves to relieve some of the financial burden of childcare expenses (e.g., daycare, health care, clothing, and food), facilitating degree progress of graduate students who are raising families.
    • The Alvin and RosaLee Sarachek Predoctoral Honors Fellowship awards $19,000 to a graduate student enrolled in a PhD program at K-State. The nomination deadline is March 22. For more information, and to submit an application, please visit the Sarachek Graduate Fellowship website.
    • The University Distinguished Professors (UDP) Excellence in Doctoral Studies Award recognizes a student’s exceptional achievement in doctoral studies demonstrated through excellence in publications and other accomplishments appropriate for their academic field. Application deadline is May 1, 2024. Visit the award website to submit an application.
    • The CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award is made annually to those who have completed dissertations representing original work that makes a significant contribution to their discipline. Applicant degrees must be awarded between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024. This year’s award categories are 1) Social Sciences and 2) Engineering, Math, and Physical Sciences. Each graduate program may nominate one student per category. Application deadline is May 1, 2024. The K-State Graduate School will select one nominee for each award category to advance to the CGS competition. Award recipients receive an honorarium of $2,000 and a certificate of recognition, presented at the annual meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools. More information is available on the CGS Distinguished Dissertation award website.
    • The MAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Thesis Award recognizes and rewards distinguished scholarship and research at the master’s level. Applicant degrees must be awarded between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024. This year’s award categories are 1) Social Sciences and 2) Engineering, Math, and Physical Sciences. Each graduate program may nominate one student per category. Application deadline is May 1, 2024. The K-State Graduate School will select one nominee for each award category to advance to the MAGS competition. Each recipient of a MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award will receive a $750 honorarium. Visit the MAGS Distinguished Thesis award website for more information.

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ARPE-E Energy Innovation Summit deadline Jan. 29

The application deadline (January 29) for the Student Program at the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) 2024 Energy Innovation Summit is around the corner. The Summit will be held May 22 – 24 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas, Texas. It’s open to graduate level students interested in energy and innovation. The program includes student-focused panels sessions, networking events, and the opportunity for students to have their resumes included in a digital book that will be made available to companies attending the Summit. Students who are accepted must confirm their participation by Feb. 23.

Also, students accepted into the program are invited to participate in the third annual Proposing Ideas for Technologies that Can Harness Energy Sustainably (PITCHES) session. The deadline to apply to PITCHES is March 22, 2024. Please visit the ARPA-E website for more information on the Summit as well as PITCHES.

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U.S. Department of Energy offers MEISPP 12-week paid internship

Graduate students and recent graduates are invited to participate in a 12-week paid summer internship with U.S. Department of Energy’s Minority Educational Institution Student Partnership Program (MEISPP). The program’s goal is to give talented graduate students and recent graduates internships that will introduce them to a variety of entry and mid-level research, along with technical and profession positions within the U.S. Department of Energy and its national laboratories. The application is available on the Zintellect website. The application deadline is Feb. 15. The program dates are May 20 to Aug. 9, 2024. For more information, visit the MEISPP website.

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Upcoming Events and Deadlines

January 24

TLC: Accessibility at K-State (NTK)

January 24

Boren fellowship for study of critical languages Scholarship Application Deadline

January 24

TLC: Creating an Accessible & Welcoming Learning Environment (NTK)

January 29

Graduate Workshop: Starting Your Literature Review in Social Sciences and Education

January 31

TLC: Captioning Your Videos (GPD)

January 31

K-State Graduate Research, Arts, and Discovery Forum (K-GRAD) Registration Deadline

February 5

Deadline to drop courses for 100% refund (applies only to standard, 16-week courses)

February 5

Graduate Workshop: Managing Citations and References

February 7

Three Minute Thesis, first round of competition, 9:00am-4:30pm, 227 and Flinthills, Union

February 22

Three Minute Thesis, final round of competition, 5:30pm, Union Ballroom

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