This morning, we opened the Fall 2014 “Dissertation House for Employees and Non-Traditional Students.” This event is set aside to specifically serve career professionals, and non-traditional students who came back to school to work on their PhDs. Some have children in college, and some are leaders (e.g., VPs, Directors) in their respective professions. For various reasons, the PhD has been elusive … they haven’t had time to finish the dissertation. In the room today, we have a person from the Office of the Provost at a USM school, and attorney who is in the Public Policy program, an Assist. VP,  a clinical professional at a national lab, and some full-time IT professionals. This event is for them, and we invite you to join in. Join us online: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2014-challenge/

Tips from Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale, the Dissertation Coach and owner of http://www.phdcompletion.com/: 

• *When it was time to go to graduate school, you did whatever you needed to do to get in. You wrote the statement, took the exams, asked for the letters … now I need you to to do whatever you need to do to get out. Be that committed.
• “Stop looking for big blocks of time, carve out 15 minutes each day.”
• “Feedback gets you closer to a PhD, perfection won’t.”

———————————————————————————

Tips from Dr. Alexis Williams, Human Development, University of Maryland College Park, Dissertation House Alum:

• Label what is easy, medium, and hard
• Create a system for accountability (I still have an accountability partner!)
• Be systematic and committed
• Set your countdown to defense and place it where you’ll see it every day.
• Build the habit of getting up and showing up for the dissertation. It’s hard but it feels so much better emotionally to do even a little every day.

———————————————————————————

Tips from Dr. Nanda Cortes, Biological Sciences, UMBC, Dissertation House Alum:

• Break it into chunks
• Work for a few minutes, finish a graph, do something even if it’s something that doesn’t require a lot of thinking.
• Exercise or have a hobby. It helps clear the mind and makes it easier to work.
• Find a good support group

As one of the co-founders of The Dissertation House, I urged our participants to take this time for themselves. Our career professionals in the room are always doing things for others, and in their dedication to their responsibilities, they haven’t always taken time for themselves. This is that time. We urge you to do the same … move your dissertation forward, today.

–Dr. Renetta G. Tull, Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Student Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, UMBC

Each year, PROMISE and the Graduate School at UMBC host a dinner seminar that allows graduate students to ask questions of faculty. This year, the  “When Faculty Say ‘X’ … ” seminar will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 in BIO 120.

This is your chance to ask the faculty any questions about expectations, understanding requirements, how they say “no”, how they show their approval, etc.

We will also reflect upon and review past advice from faculty representing many departments in all colleges throughout UMBC.

Your feedback makes this annual session special. Do you have a question that you want a faculty member to answer? Post it in the comment section of this post at the bottom of this page. You may post anonymously.

The following UMBC faculty members will serve as discussants and will answer questions that are posted anonymously, or asked in-person:

• Dr. Susan McDonough – Department of History
• Dr. Kimberly R. Moffitt – Department of American Studies
• Dr. Claudia Galindo – LLC
• Dr. Marie-Christine Daniel-Onuta, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Brian Cullum, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Tim Oates, Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

UMBC’s graduate students should RSVP here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/26555.

Each year, PROMISE and the Graduate School at UMBC host a dinner seminar that allows graduate students to ask questions of faculty. This year, the  “When Faculty Say ‘X’ … ” seminar will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 in BIO 120.

This is your chance to ask the faculty any questions about expectations, understanding requirements, how they say “no”, how they show their approval, etc.

We will also reflect upon and review past advice from faculty representing many departments in all colleges throughout UMBC.

Your feedback makes this annual session special. Do you have a question that you want a faculty member to answer? Post it in the comment section of this post at the bottom of this page. You may post anonymously.

The following UMBC faculty members will serve as discussants and will answer questions that are posted anonymously, or asked in-person:

• Dr. Susan McDonough – Department of History
• Dr. Kimberly R. Moffitt – Department of American Studies
• Dr. Claudia Galindo – LLC
• Dr. Marie-Christine Daniel-Onuta, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Brian Cullum, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Tim Oates, Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

UMBC’s graduate students should RSVP here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/26555.

If you are an employee of UMBC (50% time or more) or a “Non-Traditional” student, and if you are working on your graduate school courses, proposal, or dissertation, then this event is for you! We’ve worked with our UMBC employees who are also graduate students at UMBC, College Park, Northeastern, and other institutions.  This year, we are extending this opportunity to non-traditional students who are coming back to school or working full-time. This time is for you! This session will have support, coaching, and food will be provided for you on both days.

You work hard every day to serve others on our campus! You may be supporting your family members, or you have decided to take some time for yourself to reach your goals.  Now, let us work with you to finish your graduate degree. This version of the “Dissertation House” was created just for you!

Dissertation House for UMBC Employees and Non-Traditional Students
Friday, 10/10/14,   9:00 – 5:00 PM (Part I), COMM 331
Saturday, 10/11/14, 10:00 – 3:00 PM(Part II), COMM 331

Application: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/

Graduate students who are at other schools within the University System of Maryland (http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/) may apply, and will be considered if there is space available.

If you are an employee of UMBC (50% time or more) or a “Non-Traditional” student, and if you are working on your graduate school courses, proposal, or dissertation, then this event is for you! We’ve worked with our UMBC employees who are also graduate students at UMBC, College Park, Northeastern, and other institutions.  This year, we are extending this opportunity to non-traditional students who are coming back to school or working full-time. This time is for you! This session will have support, coaching, and food will be provided for you on both days.

You work hard every day to serve others on our campus! You may be supporting your family members, or you have decided to take some time for yourself to reach your goals.  Now, let us work with you to finish your graduate degree. This version of the “Dissertation House” was created just for you!

Dissertation House for UMBC Employees and Non-Traditional Students
Friday, 10/10/14,   9:00 – 5:00 PM (Part I), COMM 331
Saturday, 10/11/14, 10:00 – 3:00 PM(Part II), COMM 331

Application: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/

Graduate students who are at other schools within the University System of Maryland (http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/) may apply, and will be considered if there is space available.

PROMISE@UMB presents a workshop on coping with stress on Wednesday, October 1, 2014, at 10 AM.

Location: SMC Campus Center, Room 311: http://www.umaryland.edu/smccampuscenter/, Directions: http://www.umaryland.edu/smccampuscenter/building/index.html

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coping-with-stress-at-the-graduate-level-tickets-13285644721

PROMISE@UMB presents a workshop on coping with stress on Wednesday, October 1, 2014, at 10 AM.

Location: SMC Campus Center, Room 311: http://www.umaryland.edu/smccampuscenter/, Directions: http://www.umaryland.edu/smccampuscenter/building/index.html

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coping-with-stress-at-the-graduate-level-tickets-13285644721

2014-2015 Career-Life-Balance Graduate Assistantship

Graduate Student Development Unit, The Graduate School at UMBC

Project: UMBC seeks to “celebrate” career-life integration through awareness raising education and training.

Awareness Campaign: UMBC will launch a campaign that will bring into focus the CLB policies on campus.

Seminars and Workshops: We will implement a series of campus–wide educational awareness programs that will focus on CLB policies.

Evaluation & Assessment: We will evaluate and assess the activities for the project.

Requirements include experience with: Logistics/coordination, marketing, basic website maintenance, evaluation and assessment, quantitative and qualitative methods. Knowledge of career-life-balance literature and research is a plus. We are particularly interested in qualitative coding, familiarity with narratives, and other evaluation and assessment methodologies. 

The candidate can be either a full-time master's or doctoral student. This is a 20-hour assistantship. The assistantship includes a stipend, tuition, and health insurance. Students who are interested in part-time, 10 hour positions will be considered. This position does not have any restrictions with regard to citizenship. Students from all academic disciplines are welcome to apply.

For immediate consideration, send a CV, a writing sample, and example of work that showcases skills with evaluation and assessment methods to promisestaff@gmail.com, with the subject: CLB GA Position. 

Calling all STEM undergraduates in the region!

Are you a STEM undergraduate student who is thinking about graduate school?

This FREE conference is for you!

Do you know someone who should be thinking about making plans for graduate study? If so, we have a conference that is designed just for them! If not, surely you can find people within your academic or personal circles who can begin to think about graduate study … even as a freshman or sophomore!

The A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland College Park is hosting a

GEM GRAD Lab on Saturday, September 20, 2014.

Facilitators: The National GEM Consortium. The GEM Mission: The mission of The National GEM Consortium is to enhance the value of the nation’s human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups (African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans) at the master’s and doctoral levels in engineering and science.

Hosts: A. James Clark School of Engineering, the University of Maryland College Park’s Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering: Established in 1981 as a unit within the School of Engineering, the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering provides academic support services and outreach programs designed to recruit, retain, and graduate African American, Hispanic American, and Native American engineering students.

Co-sponsors: The National Science Foundation’s PROMISE: Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate: PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP is a university system-wide effort for the state of Maryland to facilitate underrepresented STEM graduate student and postdoctoral professional development and pathways to careers. UMBC leads the alliance that consists of all 14 colleges, universities, and regional education centers in the University System of Maryland, four community colleges, and a former NSF Model Institution of Excellence Hispanic Serving Institution in Puerto Rico. PROMISE has been a critical catalyst for increasing enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of underrepresented minorities.

Co-hosts: Howard University, Penn State, Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) via PROMISE.

Download a high resolution of the flyer here: https://promiseagep.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/sept_20_2014gem_gradlabflyer.pdf

REGISTER: https://egem.gemfellowship.org/entrypoint/EntryPoint.aspx?eventID=10118

Registration includes print materials, breakfast refreshments, lunch, access to the resource fair, information from speakers, and opportunities to network with representatives from graduate programs. Registration is free

AGENDA: https://www.gemfellowship.org/events/grad-lab/41-events/grad-lab/419-gl-maryland-agenda-2014

PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP is one of the co-hosts, along with Howard University, the University of  Virginia, Penn State, and Virginia Tech.  As part of PROMISE, undergraduate students from all schools within the University System of Maryland are invited to attend.

TRANSPORTATION

We will sponsor a bus from UMBC to go to College Park on Saturday, September 20. The bus is available to students from any school within the USM who is interested in attending. Undergraduate students, graduate student mentors, postdoctoral mentors, staff and faculty mentors are all welcome to ride the bus.  Details for the bus will be posted in the comments section below after all details are finalized.

Please check this page regularly for updates, and register today!

REGISTRATION: https://egem.gemfellowship.org/entrypoint/EntryPoint.aspx?eventID=10118

THIS EVENT IS FREE!