Graduate School Newsblog

Online MBA Makes US News Honor Roll

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The Tech MBA Online in the School of Business and Economics has been ranked among the honor roll programs in first-ever online rankings by US News and World Report.

Michigan Tech was ranked 24th in Admission Selectivity and 38th in Teaching Practices and Student Engagement among the 161 online graduate business programs honored. The Tech MBA Online was also ranked 82nd in Student Services and Technology.

“Our Tech MBA Online is focused on innovation and technology management and is perfect for emerging industries, fast-paced environments and traditional businesses facing change,” says Max Seel, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I am very proud of the faculty and staff of our School of Business and Economics that our online degree is recognized in the honor roll lists of online programs by US News and World Report.”

Darrell Radson, dean of the School of Business and Economics, adds: “This recognition confirms that our program is successfully established as a quality online education. Through the Tech MBA Online’s innovative teaching methods and residency requirements, particularly our international residency, we are producing the type of student that employers demand.”

According to the US News press release, their new rankings “were created in response to today’s high demand for education provided in a flexible manner. With many distractions to detract from one’s schooling, online education has become increasingly popular due to its flexibility.”

There were no numeric rankings for overall program quality this inaugural year, US News said. Instead, they created non-numeric honor roll lists of online programs. There is one honor roll for online bachelor’s degree programs and one for the master’s degree programs. Each list includes programs that performed well across a series of numeric indicator rankings.

Published in Tech Today.

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Students Tackle Mining Controversy

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As they study their fields, graduate science students also need to learn to be good communicators about science. So says the National Science Foundation (NSF).

So Professor Alex Mayer, who has dual appointments in the civil and environmental engineering department and the geological and mining engineering and sciences department, developed a graduate fellowship program–funded by NSF–to help PhD students learn to communicate science to school children and the general public.

This year, PhD students Brenda Bergman, in forest science, and Valoree Gagnon, in environmental and energy policy, chose to develop a news release about the controversy over mining in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and around the nation. Here is their news release:

As mining is resurging in North America, debates across the continent over mines are simplified: “Do we prioritize jobs or the environment? Companies or communities?” These are worthy debates. Yet should the issue of mining really be reduced to “pro-con” statements?

Michigan Tech experts from a wide range of disciplines say no. “The worst type of communication has to do with the simplification of the mining issues. I think the biggest problem is creation of polar opposites so that one has to choose between employment or environmental and health protection” says Carol MacLennan, an environmental anthropologist who has studied mining communities for almost a decade. “Characterizing it that way is very destructive because you’re never forced to confront the complexity of the issue.”

How are members of the general public expected to understand such a complex issue? Answers from Michigan Tech scientists focus on two solutions: education and improved communication between scientists and the public.

According to Craig Waddell, an associate professor of humanities who has studied public participation in environmental disputes, “If you want to prepare a broader range of people to participate, they need to know how to address scientific arguments, how to assess disputes within the scientific community, what counts as evidence and how we evaluate whether or not that evidence is valid.”

MacLennan believes that scientists have an obligation to communicate with the public: “Too often, scientists think about things in terms of ‘furthering knowledge,’ and that, by implication, is a public good. It’s just that it’s often not clear–how is it a public good? How is it publically useful? And you have to always be thinking about different publics–and there are different publics–how are they interested or concerned in the particular work you’re doing?”

For the full story, see Mining.

CBS Detroit and the Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report also featured the  story about Brenda Bergman and Valoree Gagnon.  See Mining Dispute to view the article.

Published in Tech Today.

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James “Rhio” O’Connor Memorial Scholarship Fund

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Undergraduate and graduate students at colleges and universities in the United States are invited to honor Rhio’s spirit of self determination and intellectual curiosity by writing an essay about cancer and our progress in preventing and treating this disease since the “War on Cancer” was announced over 41 years ago.

Are we making progress in curing cancer since 1971? If so, where? Why has the incidence rates of many cancers continued to increase? Why is cancer the leading cause of death by disease in children and of adults under the age of 85? What should be done to improve progress in curing or preventing cancer?

The cash awards are:

$5,000 First Prize
$2,000 Second Prize
$1,000 Third Prize
$500 Fourth Prize
$100 Fifth Prize
$75 Honorable Mention (there are thirty Honorable Mention awards)

For more information, please visit:  http://www.cancermonthly.com/scholarship.asp

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United Nations Internships

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The United Nations provides opportunities for students enrolled in a graduate programme to undertake an internship at its Headquarters in New
York, Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut, Santiago, Arusha, and The Hague.

Eligible candidates interested in doing an internship at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York or any of the mentioned countries can
apply.

The objective of the Internship Programme is threefold:

  1. To provide a framework by which graduate and under graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds may be assigned to United Nations Offices where their educational experience can be enhanced through practical work assignments.
  2. To expose them to the work of the United Nations.
  3. To provide UN offices with the assistance of highly qualified students specialized in various professional fields.

The United Nations Headquarters Internship Programme is offered on a
two-month basis three times a year:

  • Mid January to mid March (Spring Session): The vacancy announcement is posted mid May, the deadline for applications is end of September.
  • Early June to early August (Summer Session): The vacancy announcement is posted mid September, the deadline for applications is end of January.
  • Mid September to mid November (Fall Session): The vacancy announcement is posted end of January, the deadline for applications is mid May.

To qualify for the United Nations Headquarters Internship Programme, the
following conditions must be met:

  1. Applicants must be enrolled in a degree programme in a graduate school (second university degree or higher) at the time of application and during the internship; or
  2. Applicants pursuing their studies in countries where higher education is not divided into undergraduate and graduate stages must have completed at least four years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a degree.
  3. Development-related fields such as economics, international relations, anthropology, sociology, public or business administration, or environmental studies. Other fields of study may be considered depending on the type of assignment;

Any work produced by interns during their internship within the framework
of the duties assigned to them should be used for academic purposes
exclusively. All economic and moral rights (copyright) pertaining to such
work will remain the exclusive property of the United Nations.

Interested undergraduate or graduate students should write via EMAIL ONLY addressed to the :

Ad Hoc Internship Coordinator,
Human Resources Operations Section,
Human Resources Management Service,
United Nations Office

Applications (in English) should include the following:

  1. A covering letter stating the grounds for their application;
  2. Recent curriculum vitae (CV);
  3. Copies of their university degrees or a list of courses attended or attending;
  4. Abstracts of academic papers they have written if any.

All applicants must be currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate
programs. No phone calls, please.

After careful consideration of all documents submitted, only successful
candidates will be notified of their selection.

Kindly send the requested applications documents to the following email
address: intern@un-uncrd.org

No application will be accepted after a deadline!

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NASA Summer Internships for Graduate Students

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NASA offers paid undergraduate and graduate level internships in a variety of disciplines from business and finance to biology, chemistry, physics, earth and life sciences, and engineering.  The deadline has recently been extended to March 1, although offers may begin going out February 2nd.  Students are encouraged to apply by February 1st.

Please visit http://intern.nasa.gov to complete your application and apply for up to 15 opportunities with a single application.  There are currently over 200 opportunities available.

For tips on the internship application: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4saIcVc62-8

For tips on searching for and applying to internships and fellowships:
https://intern.nasa.gov/solar/web/public/main/index.cfm?solarAction=video

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Seminar: Submitting your Thesis or Dissertation to the Graduate School

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Students planning on finishing a thesis or dissertation spring or summer 2012 are invited a seminar designed to help students understand the submission process and answer questions about it.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.

If you are unable to join us, a taped version of this seminar is available online from our May 19th presentation.

Students who are interested in learning more about the formatting requirements and resources available to assist them should visit our formatting web page and refer to our January 27, 2011 seminar.

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Gagnon to represent Tech for MAGS Competition

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Valoree Gagnon

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that Valoree Gagnon is Michigan Tech’s nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.  Ms. Gagnon was nominated by her advisor, Dr. C. MacLennan of the Department of Social Sciences.  Her thesis, “Fish Contaminants through the Tribal Perspective: An Ethnography of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s Tribal Fish Harvest,” conducted an ethnographic inquiry on natural resource issues in indigenous communities.  Native American communities are vulnerable to    toxic substances   present in the water they fish, despite the warnings of negative impacts this could have on human health.  Her work could help policy-makers better understand the history and culture behind this dilemma, and allow them to make policies that take into account their traditions.  Her work is being discussed among professionals in the Michigan government responsible for making policies, at the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes, and is being prepared for presentation at a conference.  She is currently continuing her education as a doctoral student at Michigan Tech with Dr. MacLennan, and is currently funded by an NSF GK-12 Global Watershed Fellowship.

Matthew Van Grinsven

Matthew Van Grinsven was noted by the panel as a nominee of distinction.  He was nominated by his advisor, Dr. A.S. Mayer, who holds a joint appointment in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.  Mr. Van Grinsven’s work examined the relationship between groundwater inflows and coaster brook trout spawning sites.  This work will impact the coaster brook trout conservation efforts within the Salmon Trout River and the Lake Superior basin.  He is currently pursuing a PhD in Forest Science at Michigan Tech.

Three other graduate students were also nominated for consideration.  Lijun Chen was nominated by her advisor, Dr. B. Barkdoll of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Nayyer Islam was nominated by his advisor, Dr. W. Pennington of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.  Jillian Schubert was nominated by her advisor, Dr. A. L. Mayer, who holds joint appointments in the Department of Social Sciences and School of Forest Resources and Environmental Policy.  All of the nominations were noteworthy, and the evaluation panel had a difficult task in selecting one nominee to represent Michigan Tech.

The Dean’s Advisory Panel, representing each college or school at Michigan Tech evaluated the nominees.  The faculty on this panel represent a broad range of graduate programs:  J. Gierke (Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences), S. Martin (Social Sciences), D. Flaspohler (School of Forestry Resources & Environmental Science), X. Wang (School of Technology) and G. Campbell (School of Business and Economics).  Next year’s competition will consider applicants who have completed their degrees between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012.  An application consists of an abstract of the thesis, recommendation letter from the advisor, and an electronic copy of the thesis.  Please consider nominating your master’s students next year.

A complete list of former nominees may be found online.

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Nominations for The DeVlieg Foundation Fellowships open

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Nominations are now open for the DeVlieg Foundation Fellowships.  There are a number of changes to the competition this year, so please read the announcement carefully.

All graduate programs may nominate one eligible PhD student per program.  There will be two recipients – each will receive a stipend for summer 2012 plus support for one credit of tuition.  Eligible students will meet all of the following criteria:

  1. Must be a graduate student in one of the fields supported by the DeVlieg Foundation:
    1. Engineering or a closely related field, OR
    2. Wildlife/biology
  2. Must be a US citizen or permanent resident.
  3. Must be enrolled in a PhD program.
  4. Must be nominated by student’s graduate program.  Each PhD program may nominate one student.

Nominations are due no later than 4pm on February 16, 2012 to the Graduate School. Please address to the attention of Debra Charlesworth.

There will be no applications accepted this year for students at the MS level.

Please see our web page for details on the application procedure and materials needed.  Each program may determine its own internal selection procedure.

Please contact Debra Charlesworth with any questions.

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University Rankings in News

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Michigan Tech was highlighted by the World Ranking Guide as one of world’s leading universities and MBA programs. Some of the highlights include:

  • Being ranked 115th among the National Universities by US News (2012).
  • Being listed in the top tier of national universities in the US News 2011 “Best Colleges”.
  • Garnering “Best in the Midwest” honors as it was included among Princeton Review’s The Best 373 Colleges, 2011 Edition.
  • Being ranked 213th globally in the Webometrics ranking of world universities, July 2010.
  • Being ranked the 7th most wired campus in the nation by PC Magazine in 2007.
  • Being ranked in the top 100 MBA programs in “Beyond Grey Pinstripes”, a ranking by the Aspen Institute.
  • Being ranked 179th of 600 US colleges and universities in research and development expenditures (NSF, 2004).

For more information see Ranking.

Originally posted in Tech Today.

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Knowles Teaching Fellowship

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KSTF Science and Mathematics Teaching Fellows are chosen from among individuals who have earned or are in the process of earning a degree in science, mathematics or engineering from a recognized institution of higher education. Fellowships are offered for individuals committed to teaching high school mathematics, physical sciences or biological sciences.

For more information visit: http://www.kstf.org/programs/teaching/apply.html

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