Graduate School Announcements

Three Minute Thesis Registration

Registration to participate in the 2019 Three Minute Thesis Competition will be accepted until December 7, 2018

The competition will be held on Thursday Feb 21 from 9 am to 4 pm in the Memorial Union. The Preliminary Rounds will take place at 10 and 11 am; the Championship Round will be held at 2:00 with a reception to follow. The finalists from the Preliminary Rounds will present the same talk again during the Championship Round. Preliminary Round winners and the Championship Round winner will receive cash prizes ($250 and $1000 respectively) and lunch is provided for all 3MT® participants. The competition winner will be advanced to the Western Association of Graduate Schools regional competition in Tucson, AZ.

The competition challenges students to communicate the significance and outcomes of their research in a short space of time, building an important skill for career success. 3MT® contestants must condense their research into a brief, engaging presentation for a non-specialist audience, using a single presentation slide. Here are talks given by the winners and finalists from the previous years.

Complete competition information, including competition rules and judging criteria are available here. You may also view the Championship Round presentations from previous years https://www.ndsu.edu/gradschool/current_students/3mt/

Eligibility
  • Current NDSU graduate student (either master’s or doctoral) enrolled for spring semester OR December 2018 graduate.
  • Participants must commit to attending the competition in person.
  • Must be attend the entire 3MT® from 9 am to 4 pm on February 21, 2019.
  • Must have your advisor’s approval to participate.
  • All presentations in the Championship Round will be recorded, and may be shared on the NDSU website and/or through other mechanisms. All contestants must sign a release to participate.

The registration portal can be accessed via this link https://ndstate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_81YwZUvHhvLicWV

An informational session for graduate students about the 3MT® will be held on Wednesday Oct 24 9:30 to 10:30 am in the Prairie Room of the Memorial Union.

Form changes coming spring semester

The Academic Support Team will be introducing changes to some of our most used forms.

  • Master's Plan of Study

    The Graduate School is working to eliminate the Plan of Study requirement for students in master’s programs that have set curriculum requirements. Check with your graduate coordinator to determine if your program has been approved for this option.

    For programs that require only an adviser, the adviser listed in the student’s admission letter will be listed in Campus Connection. Any change can be made with a Request for Change form. For programs that require a full graduate committee, there will be a new form titled “Master’s Supervisory Committee” that must be completed by the end of the student’s second semester of study.

    If your program is interested in pursuing the no Plan of Study option, contact your Academic Support Specialist.

  • Doctoral Plan of Study

    Earlier this year the Doctoral Plan of Study was revised to include a separate section under which the Graduate School Representative must sign. Beginning spring semester 2019, previous versions of this form will not be accepted by the Graduate School. The most current form is found on our website https://www.ndsu.edu/gradschool/current_students/forms.

  • Notification of Scheduled Exam

    The Notification of Scheduled Examination will be a DocuSign form beginning spring semester. The form may be initiated by the student, faculty or staff member and routed electronically for required signatures. Once the last signature is completed, the form will be routed to the Graduate School for processing. We hope this process will make it easier for traveling faculty and off-campus members to sign documents.

  • Intent to Graduate/Degree Application

    Beginning spring semester, the Intent to Graduate and Degree Application forms will become one form called “Intent to Graduate” and will be available electronically on our website. This change means

    • Students in non-thesis graduate programs will only have to complete one form.
    • All students must obtain their adviser’s signature on the form (electronically).
Graduate School Holds and Spring Registration

As spring registration approaches students may find a Graduate School hold on their course registration. Don’t panic, the hold is in regard to one of two reasons:

  1. The student was admitted “conditionally” to the Graduate School. Conditionally admitted students cannot register until the grades for the current semester have posted. Students should refer to their admission letter for more information.
  2. The student’s academic standing is “Academic Warning” or “Academic Probation”. After fall grades post, if the cumulative GPA rises above 3.0, the student may register for spring courses.

Holds will be reviewed by the Academic Support Specialists after grades post. Fall grades are scheduled to post late evening on December 18.

Dates and Deadlines:
Date Event
October 24, 2018 Three Minute Thesis Competition Information Session, 9:30 a.m. MU-Prairie Room
October 31, 2018 “Demystifying Your Dissertation: Communicating to a General Audience” Doctoral Dissertation Video Workshop
November 16, 2018

Initial Submission Deadline

Degree Applications due for non-thesis master’s students

December 7, 2018 Three-Minute Thesis registration deadline
December 14, 2018

Final Disquisition Deadline

Commencement 2 p.m.

January 4, 2019 Degrees post in Campus Connection
January 7, 2019 New Graduate Student Orientation
January 22, 2019 Meet the Graduate School, Noon in MU-Mandan
January 24, 2019 Meet the Graduate School, 7:00 p.m. MU- Mandan
February 1, 2019 Spring/Summer Degree Application Due
February 21, 2019 Three Minute Thesis Competition
April 15, 2019 Initial Submission Deadline
May 10, 2019 Final Disquisition Deadline
May 11, 2019 Commencement 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Meet the Graduate School Events

The Academic Support Team will again be hosting two “Meet the Graduate School” events in the beginning of spring semester. Each session will involve a brief presentation regarding the resources we have available for graduate students and time for questions. The evening session on January 24 will also be livestreamed so our distance students can also participate.

Please encourage your students to participate in this event.

Graduate Student Ambassadors

We are starting our Graduate Student Ambassador program again this spring. We are looking for students who are excited about NDSU and enjoy promoting what NDSU has to offer graduate students. Ambassadors expected to participate in recruitment events, attend new student orientation and plan social events for current students.

Details regarding the application process will be posted on our website mid-spring semester.

Graduate Assistantships
  • Spring 2019 Tuition Waiver

    Spring tuition waivers, for students who meet the requirements, will be applied to student accounts as early as the second week of November. An up-to-date Equal Opportunity/Title IX and Baseline Safety trainings are required in order to have a waiver applied.

    Students may receive financial aid concurrently with a tuition waiver. However, if a financial aid award is applied prior to a tuition waiver, an award will be recalculated after the waiver has been applied. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid and Scholarship office of any scholarships and/or resources not listed on the Award Notice.

    https://www.ndsu.edu/onestop/finaid/award/notes/

Training
  • Equal Opportunity/Title IX

    New students:

    • Within the first 30 days of employment, grad assistants must complete the online training entitled "Preventing Discrimination and Sexual Violence: Title IX, VAWA, and Clery Act for Faculty and Staff".

    • Within the first 6 months of employment, grad assistants must complete the face-to-face Equal Opportunity/Title IX Training. Attending the face-to-face session meets this training obligation for 3 years.

     

    Current students:

    • Current grad assistants are required to participate in face-to-face Equal Opportunity/Title IX Training. Attending the face-to-face session meets this training obligation for 3 years.

  • Baseline Safety Training

    Baseline Safety Training is available on-line at: https://community.ndus.edu/login/index.php Log on and click NDSU. Choose the NDSU Police Safety Training option, click on Baseline Safety Training.

    *Good for 1-year and must be taken on an annual basis.