Category: Announcements

Items that are time sensitive and require action

2009 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Solicitation

NSF GRFP

Eligibility and How To Apply

The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,654 graduate fellowships in this competition pending availability of funds. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are in the early stages of their graduate study. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.

Application Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):

November 02, 2009

Interdisciplinary Fields of Study

November 04, 2009

Mathematical Sciences; Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering

November 05, 2009

Social Sciences; Psychology; Geosciences

November 06, 2009

Life Sciences

November 10, 2009

Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy

November 12, 2009

Engineering

Contact Jodi Lehman in the Graduate School (jglehman@mtu.edu or 487-3513) for

Facilitators sought for Graduate School Orientation

The Graduate School needs your help in welcoming our new graduate students and helping them successfully begin their career at Michigan Tech.  Faculty, staff and student volunteers are needed to facilitate discussion during orientation.  This is your opportunity to help enhance graduate education at Michigan Tech.

The training will help graduate students and advisors set expectations for graduate education and introduce students to basic concepts in responsible conduct for research.  The program centers around an interest based approach that has been developed by Michigan State for use in their graduate programs.

Volunteers will help facilitate discussion at a table with six or seven new graduate students.  The discussion will center around two vignettes that depict typical graduate student and faculty interactions.  Volunteers will participate in one of the training sessions offered on Monday, August 24th from 1:00 – 3:00pm and Tuesday, August 25th from 10am – noon.

Orientation begins at 9am on Wednesday, August 26th.

If you would like to volunteer, please register at:

http://www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/

After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with the locations for the training and orientation, along with reminders as we get closer to the event.

Please contact Debra Charlesworth with any questions about orientation.

July 7(2pm): An Introduction to Adobe Acrobat

This seminar along with handouts is now available online.  Look in the Archives for the July 7, 2009 seminar.  It will be online for approximately one year.

Join the Graduate School to learn the basics of Adobe Acrobat.  Michigan Tech has a site license for this software, and all theses and dissertations are required to be submitted using this file format.  We’ll talk about how to generate a pdf, how to edit a pdf file, how to embed fonts, and all about hyperlinks and bookmarks.

Please register for the event at our online registration site:

http://www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.  Space is limited, so register early! The seminar will be taped and available online for those unable to join us at this time.

Graduate School Orientation – August 26th

Michigan Tech looks forward to welcoming our new graduate students from summer and fall semester. All new degree seeking students will be invited to orientation on August 26th beginning at 9am in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Registration and light snacks will be available beginning at 8:30am. Lunch is included in the program, and will be followed by a round table session designed to introduce students to the services available on campus.  Online registration is now closed.  Students may register onsite, and will be accommodated as space permits.

In addition to the orientation session sponsored by the Graduate School, students may also be required to attend sessions sponsored by:

Questions about Graduate School orientation may be directed to Debra Charlesworth or Carol Wingerson.

Image Now Training Schedule for June 15th and 18th

The Graduate School is switching to imaged documents for students’ Masters forms on July 1, 2009.  Before that date we have scheduled two training sessions conducted by Jarrod Karau.

Session 1: Monday June 15th from 10-11am in MUB Ballroom B

Session 2: Thursday June 18th from 3-4pm in MUB Ballroom A1

Graduate Assistants and any other department members are welcome to attend.

Please RSVP to Patt Ross (peross@mtu.edu) for the session you plan to attend.

Fall Finishing Fellowship Applications Due June 26th

Applications for fall Finishing Fellowships are now open.  The Graduate School anticipates funding up to 10 fellowships per semester with support ranging from $2,000 to full support (stipend plus tuition).  Applications are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm on June 26th.

Students are eligible if all of the following criteria are met:

  1. Must be a PhD student.
  2. Must expect to finish during the semester supported as a finishing fellow.
  3. Must be in Research Only Mode.
  4. No other source of support for fall semester.

Refer to our web page for full details regarding eligibility, application procedure, and evaluation criteria.  Our online presentation also provides some tips to prepare your application.

Contact Debra Charlesworth or Heather Suokas with additional questions.

An Introduction to External Funding

Update: View this seminar online – see the items listed for June 4, 2009.  It will be online for approximately one year.

Join the Graduate School and Research and Sponsored Programs for an “Introduction to External Funding” seminar June 4, 2 pm.  Learn how to:

  • access and develop strategies for prospect searches on free internet databases,
  • understand proposal jargon,
  • evaluate grant requirements with your qualifications for eligibility
  • unravel the seemingly complex processes for proposal submissions.

To illustrate some of these concepts, we will discuss the criteria and evaluation process for Finishing Fellowships and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.  Space is limited, so register early!  The seminar will be taped and available online for those unable to join us at this time.

Nominations open for the 2009 Distinguished Dissertation Award

Nominations are closed for the 2009 competition.

Nominations are now open for the 2009 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/University Microfilms International (UMI) Distinguished Dissertation Award. This year, nominations are being accepted from dissertations in the fields of:

  1. biological and life sciences (more details)
  2. humanities/fine arts (more details)

Michigan Tech may nominate one student in each field. PhD students who have completed all of their degree requirements between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2009, are eligible.   Next year, the 2010 competition will accept nominations in the fields of social sciences and mathematics/physical sciences/engineering for students who have graduated between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2010.

A nomination packet must include the following:

  1. a completed nomination form. The form is available at http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/2009UMI_NominationForm.pdf .
  2. a 10-page abstract of the dissertation, double spaced on white letter-sized paper.
  3. optional: abstract appendices containing non-textual material such as charts, tables or figures.
  4. a letter of reference from the dissertation advisor.
  5. a letter of reference from a member of the nominee’s dissertation committee.
  6. a letter of reference from a person chosen by the nominee.
  7. a pdf file of the dissertation on a CD.

The letters of reference should address the significance and quality of the dissertation work.

Nominations should be delivered to Debra Charlesworth in the Graduate School no later than 4 p.m. on June 19. Contact Charlesworth (ddc@mtu.edu) if you have any questions about the competition.  See also the Council for Graduate School’s announcement page.

Seminar May 21(2pm): Submitting your thesis or dissertation

Update: View this seminar online.  See the 2009 Archives.  It will be online for approximately one year.

Are you planning on finishing your thesis or dissertation this semester or next semester?  Do you assist students submitting theses or dissertations?  If you answered yes to either of those questions, please join the Graduate School at our next seminar designed to help students, faculty, and staff better understand current procedures and have all of their questions answered.

Join Debra Charlesworth of the Graduate School for a description of online submission of a thesis or dissertation from start to finish. This seminar will be useful to students preparing their documents as well as faculty and staff who assist students.  We will also introduce a new dynamic form, which is part of our continuing effort to reduce the number of forms students need to complete and make them easier to complete correctly.  The seminar will be May 21st at 2:00pm.

Please register for the event at our online registration site:

http://www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.  Space is limited, so register early! The seminar will be taped and available online for those unable to join us at this time.

Spring Graduates – May 11, 2009 deadline

To graduate in the spring semester 2009, graduate students must have all final paperwork submitted and approved no later than May 11th by 4pm.  All forms are online with a detailed list for each degree type.  Final items typically include:

  • A final thesis, report, or dissertation
  • Binding order form (TD-Bindery, theses and dissertations)
  • Life After Michigan Tech form
  • Report on Final Oral Examination (M6/D8)
  • Survey of Earned Doctorates (for PhD students only)

Students should contact Nancy Byers Sprague for questions related to degree auditing, and Debra Charlesworth for questions related to theses and dissertations.