Student Newsletter - October 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
October 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 October newsletter we have the following topics:
- Wellness Corner
- Meet the CCAS Dean
- GW Votes
- Everyday English
- Student Rights
- Important Dates
- Fall Expectations
- Funding Opportunities
wellness corner
Counseling and Psychological Services
The Counseling and Psychological Services office serves GW students and engage the entire GW community, working to build a culture of support and connection with student well-being. They support mental health and personal development by collaborating directly with students to overcome challenges and difficulties that may interfere with academic, emotional, and personal success.
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:
Tuesday, October 13th at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
Wednesday, October 28th at 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
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!
There are a number of programs and initiatives coming up from across the campus as we get closer to November 3. For details, registration links, and up to date programs, check out the GW Votes website.
Monday, October 5 - Friday, October 9 - National Voter Education Week
Wednesday, October 6 - Race, the Right to Vote, and Voter Suppression Virtual Panel - 4pm ET
Thursday, October 7 – Find Your Voice. Find Your Vote. Panel with When We All Vote - 7pm ET
Friday, October 9 - On the Ground 2020: Voting Rights Rundown Virtual Panel - 12pm ET
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!
student rights and responsibilities
Join the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities for their inaugural webinar series. Grab your lunch (or some other meal, depending on your time zone) and your computer/phone and learn about different policies, the student conduct processes, and much more! Each webinar will occur on Tuesdays at noon and will be recorded and published after the event.
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.
The faculty and staff of the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences are hard at work preparing for the Fall 2020 semester. Although we still have details to work out, I’m writing to provide you with a link to a new list of “Frequently Asked Questions about Fall 2020.” This FAQ summarizes the current information about our plans for the fall semester, including the different study options available to international and domestic students, as well as information about the health and safety precautions that we’re taking on campus.
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.
International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF)
Deadline: 4 November 2020
Daniella Sarnoff, Director of the International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) program, spoke to Ph.D. students over WebEx last week with tips for creating a strong IDRF fellowship proposal. If you would like access to the recording, please email [email protected].
WW Dissertation Fellowships in Women’s Studies
Deadline: 16 October 2020.
The WW Dissertation Fellowships in Women’s Studies encourage research about women and gender that crosses disciplinary, regional, or cultural boundaries. Recent Fellows have explored such topics as reproduction in the context of chronic disease, algorithmic detection of child abuse images, and changing feminist visions at the UN from 1975 to 1995. For more information please view the program flyer. Questions may be directed to [email protected].
Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships (OGSAF) Awards
Any questions on the awards below please reach out to OGSAF directly at [email protected].
Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
Deadline: 29 October 2020
The purpose of the Fellowship is to provide opportunities for continuing generations of able and accomplished New Americans to achieve leadership in their chosen fields and to partake of the American dream.
Each award is for up to $25,000 in stipend support a year, as well as 50 percent of required tuition and fees, up to $20,000 per year, for one to two years.
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 October 2, 2020