Mav Grad Blog

Office of Graduate Studies, Student Services

The Ph.D. Makes a Grand Comeback

Jun 5

Posted by Ashley Horn in Career Services, Resources | No Comments

Reputation.Com, headed by CEO Michael Fertik, examined common doctoral degrees and found that persons who hold them have seen their careers accelerate by more than 10% on average in terms of compensation (sadly, with the exception of the humanities and education). This research is discussed in a recent Linked In article by Fertik himself.

According to Fertik, the hard sciences, such as chemistry and physics, along with doctoral degrees in fields such as marketing and economics, all make the cut.  These degrees typically lead to higher wages and a greater increase in wages over time.

Granted – nothing is life is for certain, but as of now, the Ph.D. seems like it has made a comeback.

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Cover Letters

Jun 4

Posted by Ashley Horn in Career Services, Resources | No Comments

Take it from someone (Karen Kelsky, aka, The Professor) who has read approx 2200 cover letters: YOUR COVER LETTER PROBABLY STINKS!  Below, I have highlighted some some errors many students make straight from her amazing and seriously helpful site – The Professor Is In.

-Too long
-Not on letter head
-Doesn’t follow business letter etiquette
-Contains way to much info on your dissertation
-You label yourself as a student (rather than colleague)

Relate to some of these common mistakes? For more reasons your cover letter   probably stinks – and HOW to make it BETTER, check out the Professor’s blog article.

Check out the CV Writing workshop coming up at UT Arlington!

June 12 @ 12:30 p.m.

Room 303, Chemistry and Physics Building

Register on the EDGE site. FREE LUNCH!

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Summer Workshop Calendar

May 24

Posted by Ashley Horn in Resources | No Comments

Classes are out for the summer.  Use this time to address social and professional issues that have been set on the back burner.  Gear up for your BIG PAPER (dissertation/thesis) and learn how to format in Microsoft Word like a pro BEFORE you start writing – this prevents delays in mechanical checks and LOTS of frustration.

June 6th 2013:
Managing the Time Trap – Organizational Skills Online Workshop

Wednesday, June 12th 2013:
Composition and Expected Content of a Curriculum Vitae

Tuesday, June 18th 2013:
Word for Dissertations & Theses

Wednesday, June 26th 2013:
Curriculum Vitae & Resume Critiques

Register online through EDGE.

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SUMMER SOFTBALL…

May 20

Posted by Ashley Horn in Uncategorized | No Comments

Its summertime!! Ditch the books and hit the field!!  (I hope I’m allowed to endorse this kind of behavior…)  Come and cheer on your fellow GRADUATE STUDENTS or maybe RSVP to PLAY on the team. The warm-up and softball game is June 19th 2013, from 7 to 9 p.m. Five men and five women are needed to make a team so sign up ASAP.

“Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.”

Ted Williams

A Letter from the GSS President

May 10

Posted by Ashley Horn in Uncategorized | No Comments

My fellow graduate students,

As many of you already know, a member of our UTA family has suffered a great loss this week during a time that was meant to be the ultimate celebration. Rebekah’s mother and three youngest siblings were involved in a car accident this past Saturday. Her two youngest sisters, AnnaLeah and Mary, died and her mother is still hospitalized. Rebekah and John have decided to go ahead with their wedding plans this coming Saturday as a tribute to her sisters’ love of life and excitement over the wedding.

Many of you have asked what you can do for Rebekah and Susanna during this unfortunate time. An account in Rebekah’s name has been set up with Wells Fargo to make contributions for the Karth Family. The Leadership Center is also taking donations and gift cards and will make a mass deposit on behalf of the UTA community. The Leadership Center is in the University Center Lower Level room B160 if you wish to contribute to the Family Fund.

In addition to the support for the family during this time, GSS would also like to honor the spirit of the Karth sisters and celebrate the new shared life of Rebekah and John. The majority of the wedding and reception arrangements have already been taken care of. As such, we felt it appropriate to get them a gift to help start their new life in Indiana. We will be collecting contributions in the GSS office tomorrow and Friday if you would like to participate. There will also be cards in the office if you would like to drop by and sign them.

Rebekah has been a role model to us all, excelling as an academician and truly participating in her community through countless acts of service. She has gone above and beyond her duty to represent the graduate student body. This is one way which we can say thank you and support a member of our family during her time of need.

Best regards,
Marianna Vallejo
President, GSS

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DS-PRO Open for New Goals

May 9

Posted by Ashley Horn in Resources, Technology | No Comments

Doctoral Student Progress Report Online (DS-PRO) is unrolling Mark II, a BRAND NEW version of the on-line tool that allows doctoral students and professors at UT Arlington to collaboratively set, monitor, and report on their progress toward goals.  Some functions will be slightly different.  The system prompts you with instructions each time you log in – no training necessary!!

This system is important for students and advisors alike!  DS-PRO lets you improve accountability on all fronts and track your progress so there is a record of your performance.  This is VERY VALUABLE for things like: applying for fellowships and GTA/GRA positions, getting extra time for papers,and getting approval on petitions.  Log in to DS-Pro and set new goals!  Read an overview of the new DS-PRO Mark II for more information!

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RCR Workshop – Last One of the Academic Year!

May 8

Posted by Ashley Horn in Resources, Uncategorized | No Comments

Monday, May 13th 2013: RCR Workshop – Moral Dilemmas in Research
12:00 pm–1:30 pm
Room 303 Chem & Physics Bldg.

Find out more about the conceptual frameworks used to examine moral dilemmas in the design and completion of research projects. Hear Dr. Maria Martinez-Cosio, Dr. Alexa Smith-Osborne, Dr. Ken Williford, and Dr. Tim Henry speak about their experiences with morality in past research. Then, join in on the discussion, share your opinion, and learn where your peers stand on issues regarding responsible research.

Find out more about UTA’s Responsible Conduct of Research Certification.

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MOOC! Wait – Huh?

May 1

Posted by Ashley Horn in Resources | No Comments

Massive Open Online Courses - most of which are free – are taking the internet by storm.  (sounds like MMOG, no?)

According to The Chronicle – April, 2013, right now the main issues are -

  1. The course crashing
  2. Stigma against online content
  3. Affected quality by increasing educations quantity

Why take em’?

  1. Cheap- sometimes free
  2. Available anytime from your home computer
  3. Easily accessible for non-traditional students

Major players include National Science Foundation (no-brainer), Mozilla (nice!), Harvard, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Cal Tech, UT Austin (Go UT System!), Google, and the loved (but also hated by test-takers alike) Pearson.

The aggregator of my choice is edX – free classes from leading universities are all packaged nicely via subject, so I can avoid anything computer programming related and skip straight to artificial intelligence and quantitative methods in public health sections.  All of the classes aren’t currently running, but many are open for self-paced study.

The top ten sites for MOOCs according to BDPA include UC Berkeley Free Courses and Standford Free Courses.

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Negotiating a Postdoc Position

Apr 29

Posted by Ashley Horn in Career Services, External Grants, Financial Assistance | No Comments

Tuesday, April 30th 2013 – 6 p.m central! ONLINE!

Join a webinar hosted by the Institute for Broadening Participation on Tuesday, April 30th at 6 p/m/ CENTRAL (7 p.m. Eastern time). An experienced panel (both current postdocs and faculty members) will share their perspectives on this topic, followed by a Question & Answer period. Preregistration is requested! Simply sign up for the event below, through EDGE and we’ll send you the information you need.

You can submit questions before the webinar, online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VG86QR7

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Announcing the 2013-2014 GSS Executive Board

Apr 25

Posted by Ashley Horn in Uncategorized | No Comments

Thank you to all who voted!  Below is the new line-up of GSS All-stars!

Be sure to meet and greet em’ at the Spring Social!  Its at a brand new on-campus establishment:

JOIN GSS & Connect!