Graduate School Newsletter

May 2023

Message from the Dean

Huge congratulations to our graduating graduate students! This is a tremendous accomplishment where you have demonstrated your knowledge, expertise, dedication, and commitment to working on some of the most challenging problems facing our communities. I also want to thank the extended village that has supported you along the way: your graduate peers, MSU faculty (especially those on your committee), staff, and your family and friends. Together, we all celebrate your graduation.

Your Graduate Dean,
Craig

Important Announcements

3-Minute Thesis Competition Winners

We are delighted to announce the successful completion of the 3-Minute Thesis Competition that was held on May 2^nd during the Graduate School’s premier Celebrating Research event. During the competition, six students delivered compelling presentations on a wide range of topics from Big Sky to dwarf galaxies. Chidimma Ifeh won 1^st prize, Maddie Mettler came in 2^nd, and John-Michael Eberhard came in 3^rd. Please join us in congratulating our winners and all of the participants for their exceptional contributions to their fields of research. We are immensely proud of their achievements and look forward to their continued success.

Bobcat Browse Book Group

Come celebrate ten years of reading with the Bobcat Browse enrichment reading collection in the MSU Library! To mark this anniversary, the library is initiating a summer reading group open to the campus community: The Bobcat Browse Book Group. This group will meet on the third Thursday of each summer month from 12-1 p.m. in the Bobcat Browse area of the library atrium (First floor, near Brewed Awakening). We'll supply cookies and coffee; you are invited to bring your own lunch. All staff, students, and faculty of MSU are eligible to join in. This will be an in-person discussion, however, so you must be on campus to participate.

For more information about the tenth anniversary or this book group, see the MSU Library website or contact Collection Development Librarian Rachelle McLain at rachelle.mclain@montana.edu or 406-994-6549.

New Computational and Data Resources from UIT's Research Cyberinfrastructure

MSU researchers and instructors now have access to a full suite of computational and data resources, including Tempest, MSU’s next-generation high-performance computing system that recently added a free tier for all MSU researchers; Blackmore Storage, a large-scale storage system that now features an expanded free tier; and Snowcrest Research Hosting, a low-cost paid virtual hosting service that provides customizable Windows or Linux servers for specialized research needs.

More information on these computational and data resources can be found on the UIT Research Cyberinfrastructure news announcement or the Research Cyberinfrastructure webpage. For additional questions, contact RCI at rci-support@montana.edu or 406-994-1777.

Upcoming Dates & Deadlines

May 12 – Spring Commencement
May 15 – Summer classes begin
May 29 – Memorial Day holiday (no classes; offices closed)
June 2 – One-Credit Extension deadline
June 10 – Last day for graduate students to file for summer term graduation in MyInfo or via a Graduation Application (only used when a student has applied for the same degree in a prior term).

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Funding & Fellowships

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

The Office of Research Development, in partnership with the Writing Center, is pleased to support in Fall 2023 a student-focused proposal workshop series dedicated to the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The GRFP offers a $37,000 yearly stipend and a $12,000 yearly educational allowance. Students apply as a senior and may apply again as a first-year or second-year grad student. The weekly workshops follow a successful model and will work to kick-start a step-by-step application timeline.The GRFP deadline is in late October. The workshops offer peer accountability and coordinate faculty and prior awardee reviews.

See the MSU Calendar announcement for more information. To sign up, email cailincasey@montana.edu.

Identify Scholarships and Research Funding for Your Graduate Education!

The MSU Graduate School maintains a Funding & Fellowships webpage listing various ways you may find funding throughout your time at MSU.

The University of Illinois has an excellent Fellowship Finder featuring awards that are open to grad students from any university. It features several filters to aid your search.

The National Research Council postdoctoral program is used by federal agencies across the country to support postdoc searches. This is a great place to look when you are close to finishing your PhD and the salaries are quite good. Quarterly application deadlines.

For more funding opportunities, visit MSU's Research Funding Opportunities and the MSU Graduate School's Funding and Fellowships webpage.

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Workshops & Events

Undergraduate Research Mentoring for Graduate Student Mentors

Wednesday, May 17 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | REGISTER HERE

Looking for some ideas on how to best mentor undergraduate students in research? This two-hour session will go over principles for undergraduate mentoring: aligning expectations and promoting mentee self-efficacy. We will suggest some tools and practices to help you and your students navigate the mentor relationship.

Professional Development: GradCat 360

GradCat 360 is a comprehensive professional development program for graduate students at Montana State University. It is a series of programs and events designed by the Graduate School and departments across campus that center around nine focus areas. These areas are tailored to help students cultivate a unified set of skills and knowledge for educational success and professional preparation.

Check out our GradCat 360 Event Calendar, specifically curated for Graduate Students. We are constantly updating the GradCat 360 calendar with workshops and events that are uniquely useful for graduate students.

MSU Writing Center

The MSU Writing Center offers ongoing support to students working on graduate-level writing.