Student Newsletter - November 2020
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
November 2020
The CCAS Office of Graduate Studies staff will be working remotely until further notice. While we won't physically be on campus, we are here for you and can be reached during normal business hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm. We will be responding to emails and voicemails. Additionally, during this time, please submit all materials electronically to [email protected]. This may mean you have to communicate with your advisors in advance to get signatures or approvals.
Despite the distance and all the challenges you are facing, know that the Student Services team is here to support you and will continue to be dedicated to providing you guidance and serve as a resource that helps you navigate university policies and procedures. Stay strong, stay connected and please take good care of yourselves, your families and each other.
For our November newsletter we have the following topics:
- Wellness Corner
- Meet the CCAS Dean
- Spring Registration
- Everyday English
- Bouchet Honor Society
- Three Minute Thesis (3MT®)
- Important Dates
- Fall Deadlines
- Funding Opportunities
wellness corner
GW Campus Recreation Virtual Group Fitness Classes
With a wide variety of classes to choose from, GW Group Fitness will help you stay motivated, increase energy levels, and have more fun with your workouts.
Mental Health Discussion Series
The Mental Health Discussion Series (MHDS) is a weekly, hour-long discussion, designed for students to collectively meet with a counselor and discuss various topics. Whether you struggle with your own well-being or are a concerned GW community member you are welcome to drop into this free group discussion—no registration required! Attend one, some, or all of the sessions. You can join these meetings via Webex.
November 11 Healthy Relationships and Communication
November 18 Creating Balance
November 25 Self Care and Stress Management
Meet the CCAS Dean
Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Chad Heap invites you to share the successes and challenges you've experienced this semester by joining one of the following small group discussions:
Thursday, November 12th at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
Students from all CCAS graduate programs are encouraged to participate. Attendance will be limited to ten students per session. (Additional discussions may be added if needed.)
To participate in one of these small group discussions with Associate Dean Heap, please register below. We look forward to hearing from you!
Spring class registration begins on Thursday, November 12th. Review the Schedule of Classes! 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 15th deadline and the new consortium registration procedures.
If you wish to take a leave of absence, please submit the leave of absence form.
Please make sure you clear any holds on your account that may prevent you from registering.
To view your holds, log in to the GWeb Information System:
Click on the “Student Record and Registration” folder
Next, click on “Student Records Information Menu”
Finally, click on “View Administrative Holds”
everyday english is online noW!
Everyday English is back, and it’s Online! We’ve made some small changes to the Everyday English program; however, we are still offering the same opportunity to have weekly conversation sessions where international students can interact with native English speaking GWU students and staff! We are offering 20-30 minute virtual small group sessions on Zoom or WebEx. The small-group sessions are either one or two students with an EE coach. Plus, we will also facilitate Big Group sessions and these will be held twice a month. The sessions will last for 90 minutes. The first big group session will be on the topic of Food and Culture! The EE staff will present a PowerPoint on the theme of food and culture and will share their own recipes and pictures. We will also ask if any students or staff would like to volunteer to talk about their own food and culture. For example, what their favorite traditional dish to cook is or even just pictures of their favorite food. If you would like to volunteer or have any questions, you can email us at [email protected]
The first big group session topic will be "Japanese food, culture and art." Just a 20 minute PP, and then we can chat! And later, sessions on American food, Mediterranean food and Indian food will be coming, presented by our staff. If you have time, please be a presenter!
EDWARD ALEXANDER BOUCHET GRADUATE HONOR SOCIETY
The announcement for Bouchet 2021 nominations will be shared soon.
Bouchet Society members form a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster a supportive environment and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.
ccas virtual three-minute thesis dissertation competition
Save the Date! The Office of Graduate Studies is excited to announce we will be hosting the 3rd Annual Columbian College of Arts & Sciences (CCAS) Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) in a virtual format in Spring 2021! The deadline for registration is December 18, 2020. Participants will be required to submit a pre-recorded presentation for consideration by the judges. Winners will be announced via live stream on Thursday, February 25th, 2021
The Office of Graduate Studies will be developing a number of new online forums for master's and doctoral students this fall. Please note the following September events. To view future events, please visit the Current Student Events Website.
| Master's ETD Workshop | November 11 |
| Graduate Student Coffee Hour | November 17 |
| Diversity, Inclusion, and Academic Careers | November 17 |
| Study Break Virtual Game Night | November 19 |
fall graduate application deadline
The application should be submitted through GWeb. Step-by-step instructions on completing the application can be found on the Registrar's website. The online application will close after November 15, so any student wishing to apply for Fall graduation after this date will need to submit a paper application to the CCAS Office of Graduate Studies at [email protected]. If you applied for Summer graduation but did not complete your requirements, you must re-apply for Fall graduation. Your Summer application will not automatically transfer over to the Fall.
Fall ETD Deadlines
December 1 - Dissertation defense deadline
December 4 - ETD form due and submitted final, approved, post-defense, electronic dissertation to the ProQuest site
December 11 - Final, approved dissertation containing all post-defense revisions and required formatting is approved by University ETD administrator
Master's Students:
December 4 - Thesis approved by department, submission of ETD form and upload the thesis to Proquest to allow enough time for ETD revisions requested
December 11 - Final approved thesis and required formatting is approved by University ETD administrator
Funding/Employment Opportunities
National Fellowship Opportunities
The Office of Graduate Studies have created a National Fellowship Opportunity website located under the Funding Opportunities page on the current student website. It lists a large number of national fellowships for Ph.D. students and there are some specific dissertation fellowships.
Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships (OGSAF) Awards
Any questions on the awards below please reach out to OGSAF directly at [email protected].
Critical Language Scholarship
Deadline: 17 November 2020
The CLS is a fully-funded overseas language and cultural immersion summer program (eight to ten weeks) for American undergraduate and graduate students. The program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply. You must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for this opportunity.
Languages:
No Prior Study Required: Azerbaijani; Bangla; Hindi; Indonesian; Persian; Punjabi; Swahili; Turkish; Urdu
One Year of Study Required: Arabic; Korean; Portuguese; Russian
Two Years of Study Required: Chinese; Japanese
Please email Eileen Lavelle (Critical Language Scholarship Advisor for GW Graduate Students) if you have questions about this opportunity.
Boren Fellowships
Deadline: 27 January 2021
Boren Awards are available to graduate students of all proficiency levels who are committed to enhancing their skills as related to critical languages. Recipients of the award can propose up to 52 weeks of language study abroad. Domestic language study is also available but must be paired with an overseas language learning component. You must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for this opportunity.
Join the upcoming Boren Fellowship Information Session Webinar on Friday, October 30th at 12:00pm.
If you are unable to attend the session and would like to set up a one-on-one meeting, please email Eileen Lavelle
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Academic Year and Summer Fellowships
Deadline: 3 February 2021
The U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship Program provides academic year fellowships to institutions of higher education. The grant to GWU, written by the Institute for Middle East Studies and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, assists graduate (Ph.D. and Master's candidates) and professional students (JD, MPH, DrPH, MBA, and MD) at George Washington University to further language study and area/international studies.
Languages:
Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Turkish
Updated November 5, 2020