Graduate Division Dean's Update: 3/22/24

Dear Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars,

Congratulations! I am told that the number of grad students who are non-compliant on required training is now down in the single digits. THANK YOU! Hopefully registration and everything else now goes smoothly. Nothing makes you appreciate a well-run bureaucracy nor lament challenging requirements quite like international travel, which is what I have been doing this week. I am happy to report that I will be back in California by the time you read this message (currently writing to you from the Atlanta airport, which is just about as good people watching as you could hope to have). 

This is also a friendly reminder to watch your UC Irvine women’s basketball game tomorrow night against Gonzaga! We have multiple grad students on the team, and they are playing well, so let’s hope for an upset.

We DID have one snafu this week, sorry! Office hours got mixed up (pretty sure time zones are to blame). I have triple checked these, though, and I feel good about your chances, so if you missed me before try again:

Office Hours
12PM on Tuesday, March 26
12:30PM on Wednesday, March 27
12PM on Tuesday April 2
10AM on Thursday April 4
4PM on Thursday April 4

Reminder: they are always first come first serve and are 30 minutes each time and at https://uci.zoom.us/j/7277477057 

Grad Slam Congratulations
UC Irvine hosted its 10th Anniversary Grad Slam Celebration at the Newkirk Alumni Center on March 14. Onwodi Ifejeokwu out of UCI’s School of Medicine took home the win and a $6,000 check from first place sponsor RTX. Nnaoma Agwu, out of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering earned second place and collected $3,000, sponsored by Cie. Third place went to May Hui, also out of UCI’s School of Medicine and she received $2,000, courtesy of Leonid Capital Partners. Congratulations to ALL of our Grad Slam Finalists.

Take Advantage of Division of Career Pathways’ Professional Photo Booth
The Division of Career Pathways (DCP) is pleased to introduce our all-new Professional Photo Booth, a complimentary, walk-in service at the Division of Career Pathways offering FREE professional headshots for UCI students, staff, and faculty. These professional headshots are perfect for your LinkedIn/ Handshake/ Zoom profile, department website, and also works for UCI Digital ID photo requirements. 

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES 

The fellowships below share the same deadline of March 1, 2024 and may be applied to directly by students (no school nomination required).

Graduate Division Completion Fellowship
The past few years have had a significant impact on everyone’s lives. Many of you have faced extreme health and research-related challenges that have considerably affected your academic progress. If these issues have delayed your progress, you may apply for a Completion Fellowship to receive one-quarter of funding. This quarter must be in the 2024-2025 academic year (excluding the summer), and cannot be combined with other UCI stipends or appointments. The fellowship aims to provide a final quarter of funding to help you finish your dissertation. Priority will be given to those who are receiving an additional quarter of support from their school – if more than one quarter is needed. Additionally, students can plan to combine the fellowship quarter with an additional quarter, during which they can go on filing-fee status, for up to three-quarters of work leading to the completion of their degree. If you need an additional quarter of NRST funding, it will be included with the Completion Fellowship.

NHMA & HHS Fellowship Opportunity

The Hispanic Leadership Development Fellowship Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health. The fellowship is offering current graduate students and recent graduates a paid 9-month leadership opportunity to prepare for career opportunities within public health agencies and increase awareness and competency in health equity knowledge and practice.

Application Deadline is April 1, 2024

Call for Applications: Teaching Fellowships
Sciences Po welcomes applications from post-doctoral and doctoral students who are in the final phases of their PhD for one-year teaching positions on one of three English-speaking undergraduate campuses in France: Le Havre, Menton or Reims. Each campus provides the core undergraduate curriculum of Science Po in addition to a geographic specialization in international relations study, culminating in a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences and Humanities. Coursework in Economics, History, Law, Political Science, Political Theory, Sociology and Quantitative Methods applied to Social Sciences is taught in English. The area of expertise of successful applicants will be relevant to the disciplines taught at Sciences Po and to the regional focus of each campus. Given the international nature of the Teaching Fellowship, applications from Sciences Po university partners are strongly encouraged.

More information is located on the Current Fellowships page and 2023-24 Funding Timeline.  Additionally, please reach out to Turner Dahl (tdahl@uci.edu) with any questions you may have.

Dreams for Schools Hiring Part Time Instructors 
Dreams for Schools has  hired over 500 college students with STEAM backgrounds over the past 6 years, and over 90% have said that this opportunity contributed to their overall professional development and growth. There are many soft skills (leadership, communication, project management, etc.) that this position offers and can translate well to any technical role. We provide all curriculum and training for our classes which can range from Coding with Scratch, building engineering projects, Arduinos, mobile app development, and more. 

  • Application Link: https://www.dreamsforschools.org/workwithus
  • More information on the position (dates/locations/classes to teach): Here
  • Pay: Starting at $19/hr
  • Deadline: March 13, 2024 (applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, applicants are encouraged to apply earlier)

Graduate Student Therapy Group

  • Every Tuesday | 9:30 AM – 11 AM PT
    A process-oriented therapy group for graduate students who would like to receive/provide support, learn about self and others, share their experiences, and discuss possible ways to cope with struggles. 
  • The focus of the group will be determined by the members; possible topics may include academic distress, personal growth, relationships, and work-life balance.
  • Pre-group screening required. Contact the Counseling Center at 949.824.6457 to schedule.

In Closing:
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

I always get a bit sentimental when I travel. I worry about the carbon emissions of flying, of course, but there is just nothing like visiting places and talking to people and seeing the world that is different from the one we see every day. I spent this week (when I wasn’t on Zoom meetings doing UC Irvine business) talking with both researchers and NGOs/practitioners about the future of learning, in both the global north and south. I got a chance to spend the day at a university in Barranquilla that is as committed to access to people from all backgrounds as we are here at UCI ( https://www.uninorte.edu.co/). I got to see some beautiful cultural and natural icons. I ate amazing food. I practiced my toddler-level Spanish. In short, I got to see the world with new eyes. Not to throw it back to world shutdowns, but so many of us missed so much during those years. Today, I am grateful to have some of it back. I wish for all of you the chance to visit amazing places, talk to brilliant people, and open your eyes to all the world has to offer.

On behalf of the Graduate Division,

Gillian Hayes
Kleist Professor of Informatics
Vice Provost for Graduate Education
Dean of the Graduate Division