Student Newsletter - December 2023

Welcome to the CCAS Graduate Student Newsletter! Designed to keep you up to date with news and events, policies and processes, and all things for CCAS graduate students!

Graduate Student Newsletter Archive

December 2023

The Student Services Team is here to advise, guide, and provide you with resources to aid in your success, as well as help you navigate university policies and procedures. Our office is located in Smith 118, and we are open during normal business hours on Monday – Friday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. You can schedule a virtual, phone, or in-person appointment with your Student Services Coordinator and Career Counselor.

Please be aware that GW will be closed for the winter holiday on Monday, December 22, 2023, and will reopen on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

For our December newsletter, we have the following topics:

Spring 2024 Registration

Spring 2024 class registration began on November 9. Review the Schedule of Classes as you prepare for course registration. Important dates for Spring 20204 registration can be found on the Registrar’s website. We encourage you to follow the tips below for successful spring registration:

Work with your Director of Graduate Studies to identify potential spring courses that align with your academic plan.
If you would like to register for a course outside your department, you should seek approval from the respective department. Example: A non-Data Science student interested in completing a Data Science course must receive permission from the Data Science department.
Interested in a consortium course? Please be mindful of the January 19th registration deadline.
If you wish to take a leave of absence, please submit the leave of absence form.
Clear any holds, including transcript holds, that may prevent you from registering. To view your holds, log in to the GWeb Information System:
- Click on the link that says "View Student Profile"
- On the top right corner of the page, you will see the word "Holds."
- If you see the number 0, you have no holds on your account. If you see any other number, click on the word "Holds" to display more information.
If you will complete your degree requirements in Spring 2024, then also apply to graduate in GWeb after you register.

When I can't register online, should I use the RTF-EZ or the RTF-Classic?

Online registration through GWeb isn't permitted for some classes. When this occurs, there are two different types of Registration Transaction Forms (RTF) you can use to register for the course.

RTF-EZ

Closed courses (not to exceed classroom capacity)
Courses that require permission of instructor or department
Courses with Major/Level/Class/Degree Restrictions
Prerequisite waivers
Adding a course before the 4th week of class (2nd week in Summer)
Withdrawing from a course before the 10th week of semester (4th week in Summer)

You can submit the RTF-EZ in person at the Student Services Hub in the University Student Center or email it to [email protected].

RTF-Classic

Exemptions to academic policy
Time conflicts
Grade mode changes (credit/no-credit, audit)
Credit hour changes
Exceeding the maximum amount of credits hours permitted
Internship courses
Registration beyond the 4th week of semester (2nd week in Summer)

You must email the RTF-Classic to the Office of Graduate Studies for approval where we will forward it to the Registrar Office.

Leave of Absence (LOA)

If you wish to take a Leave of Absence (LOA) during Spring 2024, please review the LOA policy and discuss this option with your Director of Graduate Studies. If you choose to take a LOA, please complete a Leave of Absence Application Form (PDF) and submit it to [email protected].

Important Reminder about Official Transcripts

All new students who have not submitted official transcripts as required in their letter of admission should do so as soon as possible. These documents were due at the beginning of the Fall 2023 term. A hold has been placed on your record and it will prevent you from registering for Spring if all required transcripts are not received. The College’s Policy on official transcripts required as part of the admissions process is available on our Official Transcript Requirements page. We accept transcripts via mail, secure e-delivery, or in-person, provided the document(s) are still sealed in the original envelope from your institution.

Please plan ahead to deliver these documents before registration opens.

Paper Mail

If mailing your transcripts please send them to:

The George Washington University
Mail Service L101
CCAS Office of Graduate Studies
2025 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052

Digital

We also accept transcripts sent via a secure e-scrip delivery service to [email protected]. An email from a school representative is not secure, and is not acceptable as official.

Hand Delivery

If you hand deliver your transcripts in their original unopened envelope(s), please deliver them to the CCAS Graduate Student Services office in Smith Hall 118.

Incomplete Grades Deadline

If you received an incomplete grade in Spring 2023, the deadline to submit the incomplete work is December 11, 2023 semester. If you will need additional time to submit incomplete work, please work with your course instructor and Director of Graduate Studies to submit an updated Incomplete Contract to [email protected] no later than December 11. More information on Incomplete (I) Courses is also available in our Student Handbook.

ETD Deadlines

PhD Students:
December 5 - ETD form due and submitted final, approved, post-defense, electronic dissertation to the ProQuest site
December 8 - Final, approved dissertation containing all post-defense revisions and required formatting is approved by University ETD Administrator

Master’s Students:
December 8 at 5:00 pm - Submit all requested formatting revisions and receive the approval of the University ETD Administrator

Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs Three-Minute Thesis (3MT)

The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs will host the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition for Doctoral Students. The 3MT will be in person on February 22, 2024. Registration is open through December 15, 2023.

Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

The George Washington University invites nominations for 2024 induction into the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. Named for the first African American to earn a doctorate from a U.S. university (Yale, Physics, 1876), the society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate.

The Bouchet Society seeks to develop a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and demonstrate a commitment to advancing diversity, inclusion, access, and equity in the academy.

Detailed descriptions of the required application materials and submission process can be found on the CCAS Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society page. The nomination deadline is December 7, 2023 at 5:00 PM.

Career Corner

All CCAS graduate students have access to dedicated career counselors who can help with resumes, cover letters, networking, interviewing, and many other areas. (Note: The Trachtenberg School and Data Sciences program have their own dedicated career counselors.) Johnette Ruffner-Ceaser, Ed.D. is now available to meet one-on-one by scheduling a time in Handshake. More information on the services available to CCAS graduate students can be found on our Career Services website and via email at [email protected].

Career Spotlight: Career Development During the Holidays

Did you know that along with being a time to rest, recover, and see friends and family, the holidays are also a good time for career development? As you make plans for the upcoming holidays, think about including time to research connections and companies, alumni, and other professionals. Consider these other suggestions for the holidays from an article in Forbes as well:

Take time to update your professional brand and online presence with what you’ve accomplished since beginning your graduate program
Use holiday social gatherings to invest in your personal network
Make new contacts by volunteering, or give back to others by writing recommendations on LinkedIn
Take time to write out your career goals and list activities that will help you accomplish them

To support you with career development during the holidays, please register for our final 2023 Career Readiness Training session titled “Working your Network” on Friday, December 8 from 12pm-1pm. This session will prepare you for spring employment opportunities by learning how to network effectively. Register Today!

Upcoming Student Events

Finals Week Survival Goodie Bags: December 4 - December 8 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Dean’s Graduate Instructorship Info Session: December 7 from 12:00pm to 1:00 pm

Working Your Network: December 8 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships (OGSAF) Award Competitions for 2024-2025 Academic Year

The Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships (OGSAF) is excited to announce that our award competitions for the 2024-2025 academic year are now open!

*Please review each award's main page (linked) to see more specific eligibility requirements.

D.C. Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship

Deadline: February 15th
Basic Eligibility Requirements*: Current or prospective Master's students in American Studies, History or Museum Studies. US Citizens only.
Award Type: Academic year tuition awards are up to $3,500 for part-time and up to $7,000 for full-time and are stackable. Semester-only awards will also be considered.

George and May Shiers Memorial Fund Fellowship

Deadline: February 15th
Basic Eligibility Requirements*: Current GW graduate students enrolled in one of the following programs: Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (TSPPPA), the School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA), and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (History, Economics, Political Science or American Studies programs).
Award Type: Stipend awards of up to $5,000 can be utilized to support research and/or defray the cost of travel to seminars, archives and collections or events concerning any aspect of electronic media and telecommunications and associated technologies such as history, technical aspects including innovation and public policy developments.

Phi Delta Gamma Scholarship Fund

Deadline: February 15th
Basic Eligibility Requirements*: Current GW graduate students who have completed at least 9 credits in a graduate degree program based on the Foggy Bottom campus (Law, SMHS, and Milken students are not eligible).
Award Type: Tuition award up to $2,000.

Presidential Fellowship

Deadline: January 15th
Basic Eligibility Requirements*: Current GW Master's students who are interested in enrolling in a GW doctoral program beginning in Fall 2024.
Award Type: Full tuition for two years, $35,000 annual stipend for living expenses

Scottish Rite Fellowships

Deadline: February 15th
Basic Eligibility Requirements*: Current or prospective GW graduate students with familial/personal affiliation with a U.S. Scottish Rite organization. US Citizens only. Studying in the Elliott School of International Affairs, the School of Business, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Professional Studies, or the Milken Institute School of Public Health on the Foggy Bottom campus.
Award Type: Tuition award up to 12 credits (for full-time students, preferred applicants) or 6 credits (or part-time students).

Walter Green Fellowships

Deadline: February 15th
Basic Eligibility Requirements*: Current or prospective Master's students who intend a career in public service or government and work in a paid job or internship for at least 15 hours a week. Studying in CCAS, ESIA, GWSB (excluding Executive programs), CPS or GSEHD on the Foggy Bottom campus.
Award Type: Tuition award up to $6,000 for full-time study and up to $3,000 for part-time study.

Wolcott Foundation Fellowships

Deadline: January 15th
Basic Eligibility Requirements*: Prospective Master's students who intend a career in government service and will be studying in the School of Business, Elliott School of International Affairs, or Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration. U.S. Citizens only.
Award Type: Tuition award up to $30,000.

Funding and Employment Opportunities

Montgomery County Council's Summer Fellowship

This fellowship provides students a ten-week paid local government experience working directly with elected officials and senior management. Fellows will also conduct an independent research report and present it to the Council. Graduate students in the following fields are invited to apply: public policy (all applicable specializations included), public administration, planning, public health, law, or related subjects. More information can be found on the Montgomery County website. The deadline to apply is December 22, 2023.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Foundation Dissertation Completion Fellowship

The FINRA Fellowship provides an award of up to $40,000. Applicants must have completed their doctoral coursework and be in the final year of writing their dissertation focused on topics such as financial capability, investor protection, access to financial services and the capital markets, fintech services, or understanding the systemic barriers to financial inclusion. Graduate study may be in any academic discipline. The deadline to apply is January 15, 2024.

Kleiner Perkins Fellows Application Now Open for Those Interested in Working for a Growing Start-Up

Kleiner Perkins has been at the center of innovation – investing in and building companies like Google, Amazon, Square, Twitter, Uber, Genentech, and many more. An important part of building iconic companies is attracting young talent. That’s why Kleiner Perkins started the KP Fellows program which is in its 11th year and boasts 800+ alumni, which include Figma's CEO Dylan Field, and Duolingo's Chief Product Officer Jorge Mazal. Each year, the program places top technical students out of a 3,000+ strong applicant pool into 50+ companies including Figma Rippling, Plaid, Watershed, and more.

The KP Fellows Program offers:

Experience at a growing startup
Mentorship from CEOs and VC Partners
Support for entrepreneurial endeavors
Community of up and coming 800+ tech leaders

For more information, go to the KP Fellows website. Applications are open in early December until January 9th, 2024, on the Fellowship application website.

Social Science Research Council Just Tech Fellowship

The Social Science Research Council is seeking applicants for its Just Tech Fellowship. The fellowship supports and mobilizes diverse and cross-sector cohorts of researchers and practitioners to imagine and create more just, equitable, and representative technological futures. Fellows will identify and challenge injustices emerging from new technologies, and identify solutions that advance social, political, and economic rights. Fellows receive two-year awards of $100,000 per year, robust supplementary funding packages to subsidize additional expenses, and seed funding to work on collaborative projects with other Just Tech Fellows. The fellowship will provide the space and time necessary for deep reflection, as well as an engaged community and opportunities to facilitate ambitious co-creation. The application is now open and will close on January 31, 2024. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Boren Fellowship

Boren Fellowships are available to graduate students of all language proficiency levels who are committed to enhancing their skills as related to critical languages. The fellowships fund research and language study proposals by U.S. graduate students in world regions critical to U.S. interests. The deadline to apply is January 24, 2024. Contact GW’s Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships Office for more information and support throughout the application process.

Summer 2023 Internship with the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Applications for the Robert F. Smith Internship Program are now available on the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s website. This paid ($850 per week) internship for Summer 2024 provides guided learning experiences consisting of hands-on training, mentoring, attendance at educational events, and cultivation of contacts for the next generation of researchers, scholars, curators, and other museum, library, preservation, and heritage professionals – individuals who will assume the mantle of identifying, documenting, curating, and digitizing treasured artifacts that reflect African American history and culture.

Applications for 2024 internships are due by 11:59 p.m. February 15, 2024.

Register online for an informational webinar December 18, 2023, at 2 p.m. EST. The webinar will provide an overview of the internship program and step-by-step application instructions. A recording of the webinar will be posted online.

Graduate Student Fellowships from George Mason University

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has a series of 3 fellowships available for 2024-2025. The deadlines for all three programs is March 15, 2024.

Adam Smith Fellowship: A one-year fellowship program for doctoral students from any university and discipline including economics, philosophy, political science, political economy, or sociology.

Frédéric Bastiat Fellowship: A one-year fellowship program for graduate students from any university and discipline attending master’s, juris doctoral, and doctoral programs in a variety of fields including economics, law, political science, and public policy.

Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship: A one-year program for doctoral students from any university and discipline with training in quantitative methods in a variety of fields including economics, political science, or sociology.

SSRC Data Fluencies Dissertation Grants

The Data Fluencies Dissertation Grants are open to PhD students actively enrolled in doctoral programs in the United States and Canada—regardless of citizenship. Eligible PhD students may apply for awards of up to $15,000 in support of dissertation research. Applicants to the program should have completed all PhD coursework and demonstrate that they will have reached “all-but-dissertation” (ABD) status by the beginning of the grant term. Among the potential topics to be supported by the grants include projects applying humanist and humanistic social science methods to understand:

mis- and disinformation
information integrity
public-interest technology
digital culture
privacy and surveillance
AI and algorithmic management
labor in the era of data
big data governance and accountability
alternative epistemologies stemming from feminist, Indigenous, or Black theoretical perspectives.

The application deadline is January 24, 2024, and more information, including the application link, may be found here.

Updated December 4, 2023

Graduate Student Newsletter Archive