National Physical Science Consortium

NPSC Graduate Fellowships in Physical Science

Michigan Tech female and minority graduate students are qualified, as Michigan Tech is a participating NPSC Member University, for the NPSC fellowship.

NPSC welcomes applications from any qualified U.S. citizen who has the ability to pursue graduate work at an NPSC member institution. NPSC attempts to recruit a broad pool of applicants with special emphasis on underrepresented minorities and women. Applicants should be in one of the following categories:

For the Traditional Program:

  • Be in your senior year with at least a 3.0/4.0 GPA
  • Be in your first year of a graduate program.
  • Be in a terminal master’s program (your university offers no Ph.D. in your discipline).
  • Be returning from the workforce with no more than a master’s degree

For the Dissertation Support Program, be near the point at which your research will begin.

Fields of Study:

Though the fields supported can vary annually depending on employer needs, in general NPSC covers the following: Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Materials Science, Mathematical Sciences, Physics, and their subdisciplines, and related engineering fields: Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Environmental, Mechanical.

For more information please visit COS.

If interested in applying, please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu)

Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Program

Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Program

The
Dissertation Fellowship Program seeks to encourage a new generation of
scholars from a wide range of disciplines and professional fields to
undertake research relevant to the improvement of education. These
$25,000 fellowships support individuals whose dissertations show
potential for bringing fresh and constructive perspectives to the
history, theory, or practice of formal or informal education anywhere
in the world. This highly competitive program aims to identify the most
talented researchers conducting dissertation research related to
education.

More information on how to apply. 

Deadline Wednesday, October 21st. 

Michigan Tech Offers S-STEM Scholarship

Michigan Tech’s S-STEM Scholarship is awarded  to qualified U.S. graduate students enrolled in:

  • PhD Program in Environmental Engineering and Civil Engineering
  • Peace Corps Master’s International MS in Environmental Engineering and Civil Engineering
  • MS Program in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Engineering Science and Civil Engineering

The scholarship is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

For more information visit: http://www.sfi.mtu.edu/s-stem/

East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students

NSF

The East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) provide U.S. graduate students in science and engineering:  1) first-hand research experiences in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore or Taiwan; 2) an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and 3) an orientation to the society, culture and language. The primary goals of EAPSI are to introduce students to East Asia and Pacific science and engineering in the context of a research setting, and to help students initiate scientific relationships that will better enable future collaboration with foreign counterparts. All institutes, except Japan, last approximately eight weeks from June to August. Japan lasts approximately ten weeks from June to August (specific dates are available and updated at www.nsf.gov/eapsi).

Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships

2010 Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships online applications are NOW LIVE and accepting registrations.

Through its program of Diversity Fellowships, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

See the Ford Fellowship web site for more information.

2009 & 2010 Environmental Research Grant Announcements

EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is offering Graduate Fellowships for master’s and doctoral level students in environmental fields of study. The deadline is October 22, 2009 at 4:00 PM for receipt of paper applications, and October 22, 2009 at 11:59:59 PM ET for submittal of electronic applications to Grants.gov. Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award approximately 120 new fellowships by June 30, 2010. Master’s level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of four years. The fellowship program provides up to $37,000 per year of support per fellowship.

For more information visit: http://www.epa.gov/ncer

Help Students Win National Scholarships

Tech Today

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development is conducting a workshop on helping students win national scholarships. The session will be from noon to 12:55 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 24.

Lunch will be provided to those who register by Monday, Sept. 21.
The location of the session will be announced as people sign up.

Faculty members are encouraged to attend because they play a critical role in encouraging students to pursue these life-changing opportunities.

Presenting the seminar will be Mary Durfee, advisor for nationally competitive scholarships, and Jodi Lehman, advisor for NSF graduate fellowships.

Faculty will gain information they need to identify and effectively support their top candidates for a major fellowship opportunity.

To register for this workshop, contact the center at 487-2046 or on the registration website: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/ctlfd/workshops .

The deadline for registering is Monday, Sept. 21.

For more information, contact Nancy Seely at 487-2046 or at nsseely@mtu.edu .

NSF Awards Tech $4 Million

Tech Today

The National Science Foundation has awarded $4.1 million for eight research projects involving departments across the University.

The research includes sustainable fuel production from lactose; rural and global watershed research and education; using metal organic frameworks for hydrogen storage; high school study of hydrogen-based energy; using electronic and plastic waste to improve the mechanical properties of asphalt materials; developing a better approach to energy control and management; integrating computational models into volcano research; investigation of aerosols in climate models; and improvement of wireless networks.

For the full story, see http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2009/september/story19079.html .

Thanks–and Recruiting Begins Anew

Published in Tech Today

The Graduate School would like to thank everyone involved in achieving the strong fall enrollment numbers. With recruitment for fall 2010 underway, the school once again asks current graduate students and faculty to help in recruiting prospective students.

To view a list of recruitment events, visit the Graduate School Recruitment Calendar.

Events where we need someone to attend:

  • September 23–University of Wisconsin-Platteville
  • October 7-8–University of Illinois–Urbana and Chicago
  • October 13-14–University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Contact Jacque Smith (jacque@mtu.edu or 487-1434) if you are willing to represent the University at any of the recruitment events. The Graduate School offers travel funding and logistical assistance.

Enrollment Up Again

Published in Tech Today

by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations

Enrollment rose again this school year, topping last year’s number by 118 students. Fall enrollment figures tallied last night totaled 7,132.

A surge in Graduate School enrollment accounted for the increase, including increasing enrollment of international graduate students. The Graduate School reported 1,189 students, the most ever and a 21-percent increase over fall 2008. The number of international graduate students is up more than 17 percent.

“This is the highest headcount since 1983,” said President Glenn Mroz. “It shows that, increasingly, students see a Michigan Tech education as a high-return investment providing them with skills in great demand in our competitive world. Our strategic plan calls for increasing our graduate offerings while maintaining the size of undergraduate enrollment in high-demand science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. That is a critical way to provide the advanced training that will support the expansion of the entrepreneurial knowledge economy in Michigan.

“But to accomplish those goals,” Mroz continued, “something must be done about the issue of state funding. We are educating 40 percent more students than we did 40 years ago with the same level of state support.”

Jacqueline Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School, said she is extremely pleased to see such a large increase in graduate enrollment this year. “This shows that everyone at Michigan Tech is committed to increasing the size and quality of our graduate programs, in accordance with the University’s strategic plan,” she said. “It is because of our outstanding faculty, staff and current students that we are able to attract so many students from around the world.”

The record graduate student numbers include approximately 100 nondegree-seeking automotive engineers enrolled in a special advanced propulsion technology course offered in Detroit by Michigan Tech and the Engineering Society of Detroit.

Among undergraduates, the average ACT score of entering first-year students rose to 26.0 this year. The ACT score is one of Tech’s key indicators in achieving its strategic goal of attracting outstanding students, faculty and staff.

“We are attracting an academically more talented freshman class,” said John Lehman, assistant vice president for enrollment. “That indicates that our scholarship and financial aid programs are doing what they are supposed to do, enabling those who have need and are strong academically to attend Michigan Tech.”

The percentage of new female students at Tech also rose, from 23 percent last year to 26 percent this year. The University also saw a 9.8-percent increase in undergraduate transfer students, reflecting Michigan Tech’s enhanced efforts to reach out to community college students.

Undergraduate enrollment fell by 90 students this fall, to 5,943, although the number of transfer students rose by almost 10 percent. “The decrease is relatively minor and mostly related to the economy,” Lehman said. “Our undergraduate enrollment still stands well above totals from 2004 to 2007.”