October Newsletter

Greetings! As we anticipate the approach of cooler fall weather, we would like to give you a warm welcome from the Indiana University Bloomington Graduate School.

Our October newsletter focuses on career and professional development services provided by the Graduate School. Along with academic excellence and diversity, equity & inclusion, this is one of the three pillars of our mission and building capacity for student development and is a key objective of the IUB 2030 Strategic Plan. We are committed to providing you preparation for and access to the resources that you need to meet your career aspirations.

This past month we welcomed Trevor Verrot to the Graduate School as our next Assistant Dean for Student Development. Trevor comes to us as a past collaborator in his previous role as graduate career coach with the Walter Center for Career Achievement and with a great passion for helping students develop their professional skills and find their career paths. As Assistant Dean, he is responsible for graduate student and postdoc career and professional development programming, such as our second annual Graduate Career Diversity Symposium (which will be held November 8, 9 am – 3 pm in the Indiana Memorial Union), the Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship Program, our participation in the national Center for the Integration of Research Teaching and Learning network, and our annual Three Minute Thesis Competition. In addition, he also directs the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and works closely with the Postdoc Association at IUB (PAIUB).

This year’s Graduate Career Diversity Symposium will focus on opportunities in government and non-profit organizations. The symposium will include a keynote speaker and panelists with expertise in government labs and research institutions, local and national non-profit organizations, grant writing, and internship programs in mission-driven fields. The symposium will be an opportunity to explore career pathways no matter your degree plan. Please save the date on your calendar for this event (November 8th, 9am-3pm).

We are also strengthening our ongoing collaboration with the Walter Career Center. We recently created a second graduate career coach position based in the Graduate School to address the demand for one-on-one coaching services. We are very fortunate to have hired Brandi Smith to fill this position. Brandi has a wealth of experience as a career coach, having created a system-wide career coaching program for Ivy Tech and worked previously with the IUB Career Development Center. In new role, she will work closely with the Walter Center to provide personal coaching services as well as developing a campus-wide strategic plan for serving the career coaching needs of graduate students on our campus.

We look forward to the new and expanded resources that Trevor and Brandi will develop and encourage you to follow announcements in our future newsletters.

Best,


David Daleke
Dean, IUB Graduate School

The campus and university strategic plans have now moved into the implementation phase. Building on the goals established last academic year in the three foundational pillars of the plan (Student Success and Opportunity, Transformative Research and Creativity, Service to our State and Beyond), efforts to implement the objectives that were identified by the plan have begun. Follow progress on the plan.

New for 2024 – Apply directly to the program.

The Gilliam program no longer requires an institutional nomination, therefore, all interested student/advisor pairs are free to apply directly.

The Gilliam Fellows Program invests in graduate trainees who are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in science and empowers them as future science leaders. The Fellowship also provides support for the student's thesis adviser to enhance their mentorship skills and act as change-makers to develop more inclusive and healthy scientiPc training environments.

Each adviser-student pair receives an annual award of $53,000 for up to three years. Fellows join a vibrant community and are offered leadership training, professional development, and opportunities to engage with and learn from peers, program alumni, and HHMI scientists.

Biomedical or life sciences studies-focused students in their second or third year of study are eligible to apply.

The application period opens October 19, 2023, and the deadline is December 7, 2023. Please visit the HHMI Gilliam Fellows website for further details.

September 5 - October 13

GradGrants Center’s National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Boot Camp

Join the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) boot camp, offered by the GradGrants Center (GGC). The NSF GRFP funds graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The six-week NSF GRFP boot camp is a free, self-paced, online, Canvas-based course that will include weekly readings and assignments to guide applicants through the proposal development process. Interested students may contact gradgrnt@indiana.edu for questions related to this course. For more details on the NSF GRFP, visit their website here.

September 5 - October 6

GradGrants Center’s Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Boot Camp

The GradGrants Center (GGC) is offering a Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship (DIF) boot camp. The Mellon/ACLS DIF supports early-stage Ph.D. students in the humanities and social sciences as they pursue innovative research projects. This five-week boot camp is a free, self-paced, online, Canvas-based course that will include weekly readings and assignments to guide applicants through the proposal development process. Interested students may contact gradgrnt@indiana.edu for questions related to this course. For more details on the Mellon/ACLS DIF, visit their website here and attend the GGC’s Brown Bag on “Changes in the Funding Landscape.”

September 1 - October 27

IU Ventures Fellowship

We are very proud to again be partnering with IU Ventures to offer two “reserved” seats for respective graduate students interested in (1) building their knowledge in venture capital, (2) growing their Venture Capital network, and (3) gain experience working on Venture Capital deals. Students from any discipline are encouraged to apply. The IUVF recruitment window is September 1 to October 27.

Deadline: September 29

2024 Distinguished Master's Thesis Award

Nominations are being accepted for the 2024 IU Bloomington Distinguished Master's Thesis Award. Similar to the PhD dissertation award, this competition will recognize two theses, one in the field of Biological/Life Sciences and one in the Humanities and Arts. Next year’s competition will be in the Social Sciences and in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering.

Each award includes a $1,500 stipend, recognition at the annual Graduate School Awards event in April and the thesis will become the IUB nomination for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools/ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. For further information about submitting a thesis for this competition, contact Jen Barron at ugsward@indiana.edu.

Fall application Deadline: October 9

Fall 2024 Grant-in-Aid of Doctoral Research or Fine Arts Projects

Grant-in-Aid (GIA) awards provide Bloomington M.F.A and doctoral students funding for unusual expenses incurred in connection with M.F.A projects or doctoral dissertation research. The maximum award is $1,000. Visit the Indiana University Graduate School Bloomington Fellowships and Awards page for more information on eligibility, award amount, and the application process.

Deadline: October 16

Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship (FFTF)

FFTF provides advanced PhD and MFA students opportunities to observe and experience faculty responsibilities and faculty life at a variety of academic institutions, mostly throughout Indiana.

Deadline: November 6

Wells Graduate Fellowship

The Wells fellowship will be awarded each year to students who demonstrate the qualities for which Chancellor Wells was renowned: leadership abilities, academic excellence, character, social consciousness, and generosity of spirit. One fellowship will be awarded each year, although more than one award may be possible during a given year.

And if you have not heard, Indiana University is now providing free virtual health and well-being care services, including mental health support, through TimelyCare to all students on all campuses.