Graduate Division Dean's Update: 3/17/23

Dear Graduate Students and Postdocs,

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all those who celebrate, and to those who don’t, at least we don’t dye a river green? https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/st-patricks-day-time-lapse-chicago-river-dyed-green/3097617/

 

It is nice to see the sun back out today. Hopefully you will get to enjoy some of it this weekend. It has also been a joy to see so many visiting prospective students out and about. If you see someone lost, say hello, they may be your new colleague. AND they may just get to enjoy all of the news we have to offer, such as the winner of this year’s UCI Grad Slam Twaha Ibrahim. If you missed the live competition, make sure to click here to rewatch the entire event: https://vimeo.com/event/2866620 

 

As a reminder, feel free to pop by and see me at office hours:

Monday March 20 at 10:30 AM – with Dean Hayes

Wednesday, March 22 at 12:30 PM – with Associate Dean Smith

Wednesday, March 29 at 12:30 PM – with Associate Dean Smith

Thursday, March 30 at 2:00 PM – with Dean Hayes

 

They are always first come first serve and at https://uci.zoom.us/j/7277477057

 

Apply for the California College Internship Program 

  • Have you ever considered a faculty career at a California Community College? The California Community College Internship Program (CCCIP) is an opportunity to gain community college experience inside and outside the classroom.
  • Click here to learn more and apply: https://tinyurl.com/357dk4fa 

 

Apply to be a California State Summer Schools for Mathematics and Science  RA

  • Program dates are July 7 – August 4, 2023
  • Payment is $16 per hour
  • Application Deadline is March 17th 
  • Click here for more information and to apply: https://tinyurl.com/5n8j9ts6 

 

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.

 

APPLY NOW: California Council on Science & Technology Policy Fellowship 

  • The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is recruiting and accepting applications for the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship.
  • As CCST S&T Policy Fellows, scientists and engineers spend one year in Sacramento serving in the California State Legislature or within a California Executive Branch office. Working as staff in the State Assembly, State Senate, a State Agency, or Offices of the Governor, they get a front-row seat learning about the craft and process of policymaking in the State of California—a dynamic arena that often sets policy trends for the United States and the world
  • Completed applications are due by 11:59 pm PST on March 31st, 2023. Fellows training begins Nov. 1, 2023 in person in Sacramento.

 

CCST will be in attendance at AAAS Annual Meeting in March. Find us to chat about the Fellowship!

 

2023 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program

The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program provides grants to universities to fund individual doctoral students who conduct research in other countries in modern foreign languages and area studies.

 

Deadline: Complete applications, including all recommendations, must be submitted through the U.S. Department of Education G5 system by the internal deadline of 12 noon, Tuesday March 21, 2023.

 

Duration: The institutional project period is 18 months, beginning October 1, 2023.  Applicants may propose research for a period of no less than six months and no more than 12 months.

 

Eligibility: Graduate students in doctoral programs in the fields of modern foreign languages and area studies must apply through the institutions in which they are enrolled.  Students are eligible to apply if they:

  •       Are citizens or permanent residents of the United States;
  •       Are graduate students in good academic standing at an institution of higher education in the U.S. who, when the fellowship begins, are admitted to candidacy in a doctoral program in modern foreign languages and area studies at that institution;
  •       Are planning a teaching career in the U.S. upon graduation;
  •       Possess adequate skills in the language(s) necessary to carry out the dissertation project. 

 

Interested applicants should thoroughly review the Federal Register Notice for eligible geographic regions, languages and other information, as well as read the definitive, official application instructions in the G5 system.  Students who plan to apply should also contact Sonia Lepe for information about required supplemental documents that are submitted separately.  Please contact Sonia  with any additional questions about the program.

 

Complete applications, including all recommendations, must be submitted through the U.S. Department of Education G5 system by the internal deadline of 12 noon, Tuesday March 21, 2023. 

 

Internal Fellowships

 

Graduate Innovation Fellowships 

Apply Now: https://uci.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86RQadY4ponrBQO 

Deadline: July 2023 (Rolling Deadline)

Questions?: Jaymi Smith – jaymis@uci.edu 

 

Graduate Dean’s Recent Alumni Fellows  

Apply Now: https://cglink.me/2eo/s81832 

Deadline: This fellowship has a rolling deadline at the end of each quarter.

Questions?: Jaymi Smith – jaymis@uci.edu

 

This fellowship aims at easing the transition from graduate school into full-time careers either in academia or other industries. While the fellowship is unpaid, a recipient of this fellowship will receive access to resources that will pay immense dividends going forward and was developed in consultation with young professionals and alumni to provide resources they wished they had access to while in graduate school. 

 

  • Maintain affiliation with the university, including UCI Net IDs, that will provide access to email, journals, online library materials, and other UCI resources.
  • Gain access to special workshops and training geared towards research and publishing
  • Be included in career services and professional development workshops through The Graduate Division Graduate and Postdoctoral Scholar Resource Center and the Division of Career Pathways including but not limited to:
    • Materials workshops (CV, resume, etc.)
    • Career exploration workshops 
    • Certificate programs (Mentoring Excellence Program, Preparing for a Faculty Career, Management Beyond the Classroom)
    • Alumni “Lessons Learned” series
    • Research funding resources and consultations 
    • Communications coaching in coordination with Activate to Captivate including Improv for Teaching & Excellence in Engineering certificate programs
    • Peer writing consultations and writing groups 
    • Access to Beyond the Professoriate, Imagine PhD, MyIDP, and other valuable websites.
  • Receive a limited number of discounted classes from the Division of Continuing Education, which provides a large variety of topics and training.
  • Be invited to participate in mentoring, networking, and micro-mentoring activities within both industry and academia through Graduate Division and academic programs.
  • Be eligible to apply for travel and professional development funding through the Graduate Division.
  • Benefit from a number of programs through UCI’s Beall Applied Innovation including, but not limited to:
  • Interaction with the Wayfinder Incubator and the Innovation Advisors to help you grow your startup company upon qualifying for incubator admission 
  • Assistance with commercialization funding opportunities and sources including the Small Business Development Center and the SBIR/STTR Grants Consultant
  • Learn about Investor relations, pitch decks, and opportunities to observe and/or present to investor screenings 
  • Opportunities for internships or jobs with one of our many startup companies. 
  • Desk spaces available at Beall Applied Innovation’s facility, The Cove, located in the UCI Research Park 
  • Access to select innovation & entrepreneurship related events at Beall Applied Innovation 

Departments are strongly encouraged to include these fellows in announcements about job opportunities, networking events, and research projects and symposia.

 

To qualify, you must be matriculating between March of 2023 and September of 2024, have limited or no immediate job prospects, and indicate the need for a UCI affiliation. The benefits listed above are being provided through special arrangement with various departments and agencies throughout the campus. You must immediately notify our office of the acceptance of any full-time position elsewhere to ensure compliance with our existing contracts to provide these services. 

 

This program is offered by a strong partnership among the Graduate Division, Office of Information Technology, Beall Applied Innovation, Division of Continuing Education, Division of Career Pathways, UCI Libraries, the Provost’s Office, and numerous supportive individuals all over campus.

 

Graduate Division Completion Fellowships

Apply Now: https://cglink.me/2eo/s81914

Deadline: July 1st, 2023

Questions?  Contact: Jaymi Smith @ jaymis@uci.edu
The events of the last few years have impacted everyone in some way; however, extreme health and research circumstances have substantially affected many of you. If these issues have considerably delayed your academic progress, you may apply for one-quarter of funding from a Completion Fellowship. The quarter must be in the academic year 2023-24 (not in the summer) and cannot be combined with other UCI stipends or appointments. The goal is to give you a final quarter of funding to finish your dissertation. We will prioritize those with a matching quarter of additional support from their school — if more than one quarter is needed. Students can also 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 the degree.

 

If an additional quarter of NRST funding is needed, it will be included with the Completion Fellowship.

 

  • If you are out of funding that would cover the cost of a quarter, you may apply for one quarter from the Graduate Division.
  • Applicants must specify how their research or other academic work was delayed. Applicants may also provide information about how events affected them, although details are not required.
  • A letter of support and any matching funds available from their associate dean, chair, or adviser.
  • Applicants must submit a timeline for completion of the degree.
  • Completion fellowship recipients must file their dissertation during the 2023-2024 academic year and file their degree no later than summer of 2024. Departments/Schools/Colleges will be required to re-pay the awarded funds to the Graduate Division if the filing requirement is unmet.  
  • Completion Fellowship recipients cannot hold any university employment, including but not limited to TA/Associate/Reader/Tutor or GSR/GSAR/ positions during the fellowship quarter.

 

There will only be one call for submissions for the next school year. No applications will be accepted after July 1st, 2023.

 

NSF-AGEP Funded Postdoc Portal 

  • Advanced graduate students and postdocs begin by creating a postdoc profile. Faculty members and research scientists interested in talking to potential postdocs or advertise an open position create a research group profile from which they can post postdoc job openings. Automated matches are made based on shared areas of interest between postdoc profiles and available positions and research group profile.
  • Click here for more information

 

Benaroya Research Institute – Postdoctoral Career Opportunities 

  • Benaroya Research Institute is hiring qualified graduate students for numerous postdoctoral scholar opportunities. These opportunities will be of primary interest to those in the fields of immunology, translational, molecular or cell biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics. Click here for more information: https://careers-benaroyaresearch.icims.com/jobs/search


STEM Scholarships Available at PathwaysToScience.org

 

Wilson Sonsini – Patent Agent Career Opportunities

  • Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is hiring across multiple offices in the U.S. for our patent agent roles. They are looking for talented life sciences focused PhD students and postdoc researchers interested in entry level roles in patent law. A list of the current job openings can be found here. 

 

In collaboration with UCI Graduate Division, UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s (BAI) Graduate Innovation Fellowship aims to create a culture which encourages, cultivates, supports, and rewards the creativity, innovation, translation, and commercialization of research at UCI for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. The program offers co-curricular entrepreneurship training and hands-on experiences to help graduate students transform research ideas into successful business ventures.

 

Program benefits include:

  • $5,000 stipend
  • 12-months non-renewable Graduate Innovation Fellow title
  • Exclusive entrepreneurship events and networking opportunities
  • Tailored, impactful co-curricular experiences related to innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Expedited pathway to commercialization for UCI research (Participation in the Fellowship does not provide you with a commercial license to the Intellectual Property or guarantee commercial access in the future)
  • One-on-One mentorship with Innovation Advisors
  • Academia and Industry collaboration and networking opportunities
  • Certificate of Completion in the Graduate Innovation Fellowship Program

 

Program Goals & Objectives:

  • Learn the Business Model Canvas and related customer-discovery tools
  • Learn to communicate market opportunities for your research idea
  • Refine value proposition and customer segment
  • Apply lean startup methodology to research ideas
  • Learn fundamental skills needed to launch successful startups
  • Prepare to be a strong candidate for funding opportunities (such as Startup Launch grant, SBIR/STTR grants, and other government/investor funding opportunities)
  • Prepare to be a strong candidate for BAI Wayfinder Incubator program

 

Program Requirements:

  • We welcome candidates with a research/business idea they can validate through the program. 
  • Once admitted, Fellows are encouraged to fully commit to developing the idea and meet recommended milestones established by the Fellow. Time commitment suggested as 10 hrs. per month over the course of the first 6-month July-December programming. Fellows will have the opportunity to refine and further develop their ideas in the second half of the Fellowship through self-study.

 

Fellowship will run from July 2023 to June 2024.



In closing:

This week I was able to do my annual meetings with Engineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences, attend an event for the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, and meet with people from ICS, Social Ecology, and Education. That topped off Grad Slam last week and the UC-HBCU luncheon last weekend, each of which were filled with students from Bio Sci, Social Sciences, and more. In short, the last two weeks have given me an opportunity to really recognize the breadth and depth of diversity we have on this campus, the way in which so many different disciplines come together in one place, and the excitement we can all feel when we come together as a community. 

 

As Robert Shiller once said “In the longer run and for wide-reaching issues, more creative solutions tend to come from imaginative interdisciplinary collaboration.” I hope that all of you are reminded of the wide range of people and projects we have going on this campus. Enjoy them all. That person in line in front of you at the cafe may just be your next collaborator, business partner, or friend.

 

On behalf of the Graduate Division, have a wonderful weekend and go soak up the sun.

 

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