GRADUATE SCHOOL BULLETIN
A publication of the Graduate School for Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators
Postings are distributed on the Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators listservs on the 1st and the 16th of the month and are also available in a blog for public viewing here: https://monthlymemo.graduateschool.vt.edu/
January 31st, 2025
IN THIS BULLETIN:
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
None at this time.
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
1. Graduate Student and Outstanding Mentor/Advising Awards
2. Preston Recruitment Fellowship
3. Upcoming Fellowship and Assistantship Nominations Managed by the Graduate School
Policy Updates
None at this time.
Administrative Announcements
4. Graduate Honor System Presentations Available by Request
5. 2024-25 Catalog Correction Requests
Announcements for Distribution to Students
6. Workshop: Writing Successful Student-Initiated Proposals
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
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- Graduate Student and Outstanding Mentor/Advising Awards
Faculty and/or academic departments and programs may submit nominations for outstanding theses and dissertations; excellence in teaching or service; graduate student of the year; and outstanding interdisciplinary student. This year, the Graduate School has added a new award honoring outstanding graduate advising/mentoring by a staff or A/P faculty member. These nominations are due by January 24, 2025. In addition to these nominations, each college defines its own nomination criteria and selection process for identifying one outstanding master’s and doctoral student and outstanding mentor per college — notification of these winners are due by February 14. All winners will be recognized by the Graduate School during Graduate Education Week 2025, March 24-28. Visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/about/awards.html to learn more about the process and timeline. Contact Lauren Surface at 540-231-9561 or lkeister@vt.edu with questions.
- Preston Recruitment Fellowship
Preston Recruitment Fellowships (4 @ $2,000 each): These awards are meant to provide fellowship support to help attract the best possible graduate students, regardless of their area of study at Virginia Tech. Candidates for the prestigious Preston Fellowship should be students who are being recruited by the nation’s elite educational institutions for the purpose of conducting significant research and scholarship study.
Please submit a nomination by February 24 of no more than 500 words outlining reasons why you think the candidate is an exceptional recruit for your program, such as UG institution, UG GPA, UG research experience, and potential offers from other universities (if known). We will also consult the student’s application materials as part of the decision-making process. Decisions will be made quickly so the offers can be made as early as possible. Nominations should be summited via this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8rhQL9qivK7mOjUZ2sUL-Uy8kQD024mgJl2M3-ZlQCSJqUg/viewform
- Nominations are accepted for a number of fellowships and assistantships managed by the Graduate School:
– Powell Fellowship: deadline is April 1, 2025.
– McNair Assistantship: deadline is March 1, 2025
– Dean’s Diversity Assistantship: deadline is March 1, 2025.
For eligibility and nomination information visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/funding-sponsored-by-the-graduate-school.html. Please contact Dr. Catherine Cotrupi, Assistant Dean for Student Services, Inclusion, and Strategic Partnerships, at cotrupi@vt.edu if you have any questions.
Administrative Announcements
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- Graduate Honor System Presentations Available by Request
Departments and graduate programs may request a presentation by the Graduate Honor System as part of your new student orientation, faculty meeting, class presentation or for other occasions. Presentations may range from short 15-minute introduction to the GHS to hour-long interactive discussions about academic integrity and/or GHS panelist training. If you would like to request a presentation or training session for your students or program faculty, please complete this online request form: https://gs.vt.edu/ghspresentation and a training session will be schedule at your convenience. If you have any questions, email ghs@vt.edu or call Monika Gibson at 231-9564.
- 2024-25 Catalog Correction Requests
If you find that you need to make small corrections to your program’s entry in the 2024-25 Graduate Catalog (https://catalog.vt.edu/graduate/), please submit your correction requests by completing this form: https://gs.vt.edu/catalogcorrection. The form can be completed multiple times as corrections are needed, and we manage correction requests as they come in. Corrections are usually implemented within 2-4 business days from receipt of the request. If you have any questions, please contact Monika Gibson at 231-9564.
Announcements for Distribution to Students
The notice(s) in this section have been shared with graduate students through the Graduate School’s channels, but we ask that you consider sharing it with individual students or student groups as you see fit.
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6. Workshop: Writing Successful Student-Initiated Proposals
Virginia Tech graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are invited to participate in this workshop that is designed to strengthen research proposal writing skills, and prepare you for writing student-initiated proposals. The goal is to equip all VT doctoral students with the tools to develop and submit competitive proposals that support their graduate work, enhance the agency of the student, and increasing the success rate of student-initiated research funding. On Tuesday, February 25th, this workshop will be hosted in the Graduate Life Center Multipurpose Room from 10:00am-12:30pm. Lunch will be provided. Please bring your own water bottle for filling up or bring your own beverage. Note that the workshop will include three breakout sessions, that will focus on a) NSF GRFP proposals, b) NIH student-initiated proposals, and c) humanities, social sciences, and education related proposals. You can of course choose the breakout session of your choice; please indicate that choice in the registration form so we can plan for an appropriate breakout room size. Register by February 18th here: https://forms.office.com/r/t0EJAEtE7W
We are limited by the size of the rooms, and will accept registrations on a first-come, first-served basis. We look forward to hosting you at the workshop! Please feel free to contact the Graduate School with any questions.