Graduate School Newsblog

Tag: Graduate School

Summer Graduates – August 31st deadline

Published
By

To graduate in the summer session 2009, graduate students must have all final paperwork submitted and approved no later than August 31st 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.

Continue Reading →

Facilitators sought for Graduate School Orientation

Published
By

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.

Continue Reading →

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

Published
By

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.

Continue Reading →

Graduate School Orientation – August 26th

Published
By

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.

Continue Reading →

Michigan Tech Tops in the Nation for Women Earning Engineering PhDs

Published
By

From Tech Today

by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director

Michigan Tech’s College of Engineering graduates a higher percentage of women with PhDs in engineering than any other engineering school in the nation, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) reports.

Forty percent of Michigan Tech’s engineering doctoral degrees were awarded to women, according to the ASEE’s annual report, “Engineering by the Numbers.” The report is based on data from 2008. The next highest percentage of women PhD recipients in engineering was 38.7 percent, at the University of Rochester.

“What great news,” said Jacqueline Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School. “I congratulate the faculty in our College of Engineering and the Graduate School staff on recruiting and retaining these outstanding women. Michigan Tech’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) focus makes it challenging for us to maintain high levels of gender diversity on our campus because STEM programs tend to attract males. We plan to build on this success and continue to increase the diversity of our students.”

According to the report, only engineering schools that award at least 25 doctoral degrees during the year are ranked. There were 100 engineering schools nationwide that awarded 25 or more PhDs during 2008.

In undergraduate engineering degrees, Michigan Tech ranked third in the nation in numbers of bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering; 11th in numbers of civil engineering bachelor’s degrees; 16th in both computer engineering and electrical engineering; and 22nd in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded by the College of Engineering.

“At a time when the state, nation and world need more women in engineering, I am pleased that the percentage of women receiving engineering PhDs at Michigan Tech is the highest in the nation,” said Tim Schulz, dean of the College of Engineering. “As these young women rise to leadership positions in industry, government and academia, they will serve as excellent role models for future generations.”

View the full ASEE report at www.asee.org/publications/profiles/upload/2008ProfileEng.pdf .

Continue Reading →

Image Now Training Schedule for June 15th and 18th

Published
By

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.

Continue Reading →

Fall Finishing Fellowship Applications Due June 26th

Published
By

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.

Continue Reading →

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

Published
By

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.

Continue Reading →

Spring Graduates – May 11, 2009 deadline

Published
By

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.

Continue Reading →

NSF Awards $4 Million to Michigan Tech to Build Earth Science Teaching Model in Grand Rapids

Published
By

Tech Today

by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director

Some of the most pressing problems facing the world today–climate change, earthquakes and volcanoes, energy and water resources–are in a field of science most Americans haven’t studied since their middle-school earth science class. So Michigan Tech is partnering with the Grand Rapids Public Schools and other groups in Michigan, Washington, DC and Colorado to help students learn more about the earth.

The new program, called MiTEP (Michigan Teaching Excellence Program), is funded by a $4 million, five-year National Science Foundation Math Science Partnership grant. It brings university geoscience researchers and middle-school teachers together to identify ways to make earth science more exciting and meaningful to middle-school students.

In the process, the project hopes to motivate more young people to consider further education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math, fields known collectively as STEM. Educators nationwide have expressed concern about a declining interest in STEM among today’s students. STEM professionals are in high demand and are viewed as critical in our nation’s effort to maintain its leadership role in the world’s economy.

“Middle school earth science is a particularly important area because it is often the first secondary science course taken by students,” said Jacqueline Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School. The MiTEP partners believe that if students have a good experience in their middle-school course, they will be enthusiastic about taking more science in high school. Students who like science are more likely to do well in their science classes, so improving attitudes early on may have long-term benefits.

MiTEP will use an innovative approach to improving student learning by bringing together practicing scientists and Grand Rapids teachers to collaborate on improving instruction. Active partners in addition to Michigan Tech and the Grand Rapids Public Schools include the Grand Rapids Area Pre-College Engineering Program (GRAPCEP), the American Geological Institute, the National Park Service, Grand Valley State University and the Colorado School of Mines.

Sleeping Dunes National Park and Keweenaw National Historical Park will also be key players. “We recognize and want to fully utilize the power of place in teaching,” Huntoon explained.

Ann Benbow, director of education and outreach at the American Geological Institute, is excited about participating in the new program. “This new research-based program will help those in the geoscience education community to make better-informed decisions when designing earth science curricula, implementing instruction and providing professional development opportunities for teachers,” she said.

Unlike many educational fix-it projects, MiTEP researchers will work closely with the classroom teachers and school district representatives to collect information to help them identify effective ways to improve student learning and attitudes. Teachers have a real leadership role in the project. Teachers’ input is being used by the researchers to develop professional development activities that are tailored to meet the needs of the Grand Rapids schools. Curricula and teaching methods developed for the MiTEP project will be carefully evaluated to determine which are most effective in improving student learning.

“We’re talking about a fundamental and much-needed study of how to best reform science education, one that could make an enormous difference to the future of our nation,” said Huntoon.

“This project has tremendous potential because Michigan’s educational issues are typical. This project could serve as a template for improving STEM education throughout the country,” added Bill Rose, a professor of geology and lead researcher on the project.

Grand Rapids Public School science teachers are being recruited now for two weeks of intensive training in June, one week on the Michigan Tech campus and the other in Grand Rapids. The grant will cover substantial teacher stipends, travel funds, equipment and supplies and release time for professional development. Participating teachers can also earn up to 20 graduate credit hours at no cost.

“We are pleased to be part of an opportunity that allows our great teachers to strengthen their content knowledge and bolster our curriculum with real-life experiences,” said Bill Smith, science curriculum supervisor for the Grand Rapids Public Schools.

Continue Reading →