An internship is typically short-term, hands-on work experience...
An internship is typically short-term, hands-on work experience...
GradConnections Weekly

January 15, 2019

In this issue: Mellon/ACLS Public Humanities Fellows Program, new Versatile PhD content, and more.
PHD Comic

Tips for Grads: Career Development

By Matthew J. Zinsli, PhD student
An internship is typically short-term, hands-on work experience, emphasizing entry into a new field. While many people associate them with undergraduate education, internships are gaining popularity among graduate students who wish to build diverse skill sets and explore career possibilities.
An internship can help grad students to develop transferable skills to apply to multiple career sectors, including the tenure track. It is also a great opportunity to build connections to future employers or references. Beyond this, students who pursue internships often report feeling more confident about their qualifications to work in any field, get a sense of how non-academic employers view graduate student employees, and can try out different work environments without a long-term commitment.
This is not to discount that pursuing an internship while completing a graduate degree can be a challenge, given the demands on our time. It can also be difficult to justify to advisors who define student success only by tenure track placements.
How can you find an internship? On campus, career services centers like SuccessWorks have useful tools, including quizzes to discover what kind of internship might suit you, online job search services like Handshake, and even one-on-one appointments with career advisors. UW also hosts a career and internship fair and a public service fair during the academic year.
You can also create your own internship! Organizations that lack formal internship programs may still bring you on board if you can make a good case for a project or role you would like to tackle. 
DiscoverPD: Your guide to professional development
DiscoverPD is an innovative tool for UW–Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. Review the nine facets of professional development, complete a self-assessment, and get a customized report and recommendations.

Upcoming Professional Development Events

**Note: Registration for this event is full, but you can still add your name to the waiting list.**
Project management is a set of skills that can be applied in academic, non-profit, laboratory, business, and many other settings. Learn principles of project management and apply them to a project or context relevant to your substantive case in this collaborative, day-long program. You will think creatively, define a problem, establish project goals, create a plan, and prepare for implementation. Since no project runs perfectly, the program will also address how project leaders manage change and other common challenges. You will leave better prepared to lead a team and deliver results.
Students will also have the chance to hear from and network with a panel of successful project managers as well as learn from each other. Panelists include Wendy Crone (Engineering Physics), Ajay Sethi (Population Health Sciences), and Janean Dilworth-Bart (Human Development & Family Studies). Complimentary lunch will be provided.

For Future Faculty

Preparing for success on the job market and beyond.
Find a full list of events on the For Future Faculty website.
This week's Software Training for Students (STS) courses:
  • Managing Grades in Canvas
  • Canvas Office Hours
  • Canvas Course Management Tips
  • Canvas Tips and Tricks
  • Canvas Week 0: Teaching Students to Succeed
  • File Management in Canvas
For dates and times of each class, and for more software classes, visit the STS website.
This week's Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC) courses:
  • Stata for Researchers
For dates and times of each class, and for more software classes, visit the SSCC website.
UW–Madison MLK Day Celebration
Monday, Jan. 21 | 1 - 3 pm
Memorial Union
Deadlines & Announcements

Share your science with the public as a Wisconsin Idea STEM Fellow

The Wisconsin Idea STEM Fellows is a program that supports researchers in developing interactive stations as part of their broader impact activities. Becoming a STEM Fellow is a matter of having the desire to learn and work with others to develop an interactive station, participate in two 4-hour workshops, and engage with the community after the workshops. You can participate as an individual, a lab group, a department, or even as a research center. Register for the upcoming training sessions on Jan. 17 and Jan. 31 to participate.

Submit your arts business idea to the 2019 Arts Business Competition

The Division of the Arts is now accepting submissions for the 2019 Arts Business Competition. This competition awards money to students from any discipline (individual or group of up to three) to fund an entrepreneurial idea, such as an arts event, exhibition, series, commercial venture, or other artistic project. The lead team member in each group must be enrolled as a full-time student at UW–Madison. Submissions are due on Friday, March 1, 2019. Previous awarded projects are available online as examples. 

UHS announces support group schedule

University Health Services-Mental Health Services offer support groups each semester, including groups specific to graduate students. This semester’s groups include: graduate students’ group, graduate women’s support group, dissertators’ group, students of color process and support group, low income student support group, LGBTQ support and empowerment group, and transgender and gender non-conforming support and empowerment group. Dates and times are available on the full support group schedule.

Versatile PhD offers new content for PhDs looking beyond the tenure track

Doctoral students: have you checked out the Versatile PhD recently? The Versatile PhD is a confidential, online resource for those interested in careers beyond academia. UW–Madison is a subscriber, which means that current students, faculty, staff, and recent alumni get access to exclusive content. New features include: Options 4 Success, a flexible course taught by Fatimah Williams that illustrate how to transition to careers outside academia, the PhD Career Finder, discussion forums, examples of PhDs and ABDs that make the transition, and more. 

Applications open for Biopharma Innovation Cup

The Merck Innovation Cup in Darmstadt, Germany, is designed to support the professional development of graduate students interested in the pharmaceutical industry. Participants learn how R&D in the industry works through lectures from Merck managers and scientists. Students will also advance an idea to a full project plan with their teams. Postdocs and graduate students on their way towards a PhD in biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, biotechnology, bioinformatics, computer sciences, data sciences, informatics, biochemistry, pharmacy, engineering or related fields are invited to apply. In addition, advanced MBA students or recent MBA graduates with an interest in the pharmaceutical business and a background in natural sciences are also eligible. Applications are due Jan. 31.
Wellness

Mental Health Resources for Grad Students

According to the 2016 UW–Madison Healthy Minds Study, 94% of UW–Madison students do not think any less of a peer who seeks mental health care, and 90% of students who used mental health care found it helpful. As a student, there are a variety of mental health resources available to you at no cost. A few of these resources are listed here.
Group Counseling for Graduate Students: Includes groups for all graduate students; dissertators; graduate women; and graduate students of color. This supportive environment is a great way to share experiences around the challenges of grad school with other grad students. Individual counseling sessions are also available through University Health Services (UHS).
Individual Counseling. University Health Services (UHS) offers individual counseling in a confidential, caring space. Individual sessions are typically 45-50 minutes, and most students attend anywhere from one to four sessions to address their concerns. Counseling topics can be any issue that causes distress – emotional, psychological, interpersonal, or academic, for instance. UHS also has a bilingual mental health provider for students who are more comfortable speaking in Mandarin.
For more mental health resources, visit the UHS website on mental health.
The Dean of Students Office provides resources to students struggling with a variety of issues, and can be your go-to spot for assistance as a graduate student. To contact the Dean of Students Office's Graduate Student Assistance Specialist Elaine Goetz-Berman directly, email egoetz2@wisc.edu.
Funding Opportunities
Please note: Some graduate students may be ineligible to hold graduate assistantship appointments. Be sure to check with your graduate program coordinator about your eligibility before applying.

Campus Employment

Fellowships & Grants

Mellon/ACLS Public Humanities Fellows
Application due March 13
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) announces the ninth annual competition of the Mellon/ACLS Public Fellows Program. This initiative places humanities PhDs in substantive roles in diverse nonprofit and government organizations, demonstrating that the capacities developed in the course of earning a doctoral degree in the humanities have wide application beyond the academy. The two-year fellowships carry an annual stipend of $68,000, health insurance, a relocation allowance, and up to $3,000 in professional development funds for the fellow. Applicants must have a PhD in the humanities or humanistic social sciences conferred between Sept. 1, 2015, and June 21, 2019, and must have defended and deposited their dissertations no later than April 5, 2019. U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status is required.
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