IN THIS BULLETIN:
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. Graduate Program Director Meeting
2. Jigsaw Connect: Research Data Management and Resources
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
1. Dean’s Diversity Assistantship
2. McNair Graduate Assistantship
3. Powell Fellowship
4. COVES Fellowship Application
5. Graduate student course add/drop to remain open after April 22nd.
Policy Updates
1. CGS Resolution
Administrative Announcements
1. Graduate School Funded Fellowships
2. Invitation to Contribute: Beyond the Legacy and Research Questions for the Future
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. Graduate Program Director Meeting
Wednesday, March 23 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Directors and Coordinators, please join Dean Surprenant either in person or by zoom for our next GPD meeting. A separate email to all Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators will contain the meeting information.
2. Jigsaw Connect: Research Data Management and Resources
March 21st at 3pm
Join us for our next session in our series focused on Recruitment and Retention Support for Graduate Programs. It is entitled “Research Data Management and Resources” with Jonathan Petters Ph.D. Assistant Director, Data Management & Curation Services, Data Services at University Libraries. Register at https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tcumqqz0pGNas8MemFtgTRnO9kC2lFdtq. If you have any questions, email ordi@vt.edu.
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
1. Dean’s Diversity Assistantship
The application deadline is March 4, 2022
Applications are currently being accepted for the Dean’s Diversity Assistantship program. For eligibility and nomination information please visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/types-of-funding/funding-sponsored-by-the-graduate-school/dean-s-diversity-assistantships0.html
Deadline March 4, 2022 at 11:59PM. Please contact Shernita Lee at shernita@vt.edu if you have any questions.
2. McNair Graduate Assistantship
The application deadline is March 18, 2022
Applications are currently being accepted for the Ronald E. McNair Graduate Assistantship program. For eligibility and nomination information please visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/types-of-funding/funding-sponsored-by-the-graduate-school/mcnair-assistantship.html. Deadline March 18, 2022 at 11:59PM Please contact Shernita Lee at shernita@vt.edu if you have any questions.
3. Powell Fellowship
The application deadline is March 25, 2022
Applications are currently being accepted for the Powell Fellowship. For eligibility and nomination information please visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/types-of-funding/funding-sponsored-by-the-graduate-school/powell-fellowship.html Deadline is March 25th at 11:59PM . Please contact Shernita Lee at shernita@vt.edu if you have any questions.
4. COVES Fellowship Application
The application deadline is March 1, 2022
Interested graduate students may apply for the Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) summer fellowship until March 1. The COVES Fellowship is a 12-week full-time summer fellowship program (May 17-August 6) operated by the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (the Academy) and open to STEM graduate students. According to the Academy, the aim of the program is to strengthen ties between the scientific community and Virginia’s state government, and to encourage and train more scientists and engineers to be effective advisors for public policy and programs in the Commonwealth. During the program, fellows will receive training in science policy and science communication, spend time in legislative offices, executive agencies companies or nonprofits in the state, and will be paired with an Academy mentor and involved in briefings, meetings and the Academy’s annual summit in August. The program begins with a week-long boot camp on science policy, governance and policy making in Virginia. Thereafter, fellows spend their time with the entity with which they are matched, and also are paired with a mentor. The program includes a stipend. The Graduate School will submit five finalists for the fellowship program to the Academy, which will then choose one to represent the university in the program. To learn more about the program and to access the application materials, visit the COVES Fellowship webpage on the Graduate School website.
5. Graduate student course add/drop to remain open after April 22nd.
Upon the request of the Graduate School, the Registrar’s Office has identified a solution to remove web drop/add enrollment period restrictions for all new and continuing graduate students. The web drop/add for graduate students (in HokieSPA) will begin when web drop/add opens for the term and will remain open until the last day to add classes for the term. For fall 2022 enrollment, this change will allow graduate students to utilize web drop/add from April 22nd to August 26th rather than April 22nd to May 27th and August 1 to August 26th.
Policy Updates
1. CGS Resolution
VT participates in the Council of Graduate Schools’ (CGS) “Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees and Assistantships” also known as the “April 15 Resolution” (https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution). Participation in the resolution obligates us to allow admitted graduate students to consider all offers of financial support through April 15. In turn, the resolution binds students to their decisions made or held in place after April 15. Over 325 U.S. institutions offering graduate degrees have agreed to abide by this resolution. Our participation ensures that both student and program conduct their admissions in an ethical manner, and that they receive equal treatment and consideration in the financial support decision-making process.
Here are some important aspects of the Resolution:
- The April 15, 2022, deadline applies only to acceptance of an offer of financial support such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship.
- It applies only to offers of financial support for the following academic year.
- Although you can send out your offers well before the deadline, prospective graduate students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial aid prior to April 15.
- Acceptance of an offer of financial support made after April 15, 2022, is conditional upon presentation by the student of written release from any previously accepted offer.
- All offers of financial support should include a copy of or link to the “April 15 Resolution”: http://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution (https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution).
In addition to direct information on the resolution, some explanatory language should be included in all financial support letters. Below is an example of wording that you are free to use in your letter: “Please inform us in writing of your decision no later than April 15, 2022. In accordance with the Council of Graduate Schools’ (CGS) resolution, you may consider other offers of financial support until the April 15 deadline, but any decision after April 15 is an obligation that you are expected to honor. Likewise, we will honor this offer until the April 15 deadline, after which point it will be rescinded unless you are informed in writing that the deadline for a decision has been extended. Although you are under no obligation to accept this offer prior to April 15, please let us know as soon as you have made a decision so that we may extend offers to other prospective students if possible.
Administrative Announcements
1. Graduate School Funded Fellowships
Nominations for Graduate School Fellowships are currently being accepted for 2022-23. For eligibility, nomination information, and deadlines, please visit each opportunity listed on the Funding Sponsored by the Graduate School page.
2. Invitation to Contribute: Beyond the Legacy and Research Questions for the Future
In celebration of both Virginia Tech’s Sesquicentennial and Graduate Education Week, the Graduate School is composing a list of significant research questions that have been answered by our graduate students and graduate alumni over the past decades. We would also like to collect the questions that YOU (current faculty and graduate students) would like to see answered through your research in the next 50 years. Our compilation will be posted online and may be included in the university’s Sesquicentennial time capsule. Add your contributions via our google form here, and please feel free to share: https://forms.gle/nGoUVn95agW4fWCx5