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December 15, 2020In this issue: New safety measures for spring semester, Boren Fellowships, and more.
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Editor’s note: This is the last issue of GradConnections Weekly for the year. We’ll be back on Jan. 5. Have a safe and happy New Year!
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Tips for Grads: Travel in the Time of Covid
In this final stretch before winter break, many of us are preparing to travel for the holidays. This season will differ dramatically from our usual holiday traditions, though proper precautions will help ensure your holidays are as safe and joyous as possible. While much of this advice will likely be familiar to you, it certainly bears repeating.
- Before you travel:
- Strictly limit your activities from now until your departure to minimize your chances of exposure.
- Schedule a COVID-19 test and self-quarantine until you leave.
- Monitor your symptoms. Do not travel if you are sick, in isolation, or in quarantine.
- During travel and at your destination:
- If possible, travel in a personal vehicle with limited passengers.
- Keep it up! Continue frequent handwashing, wearing face coverings, and physical distancing.
- Strictly limit the number of people you see in person.
- Self-monitor for symptoms.
- Upon return:
- Self-quarantine and get tested 3-5 days after return and again 10-12 days after returning.
GradConnections Weekly is looking for fresh perspectives on the graduate student experience.
If you have advice, counsel, or tips for UW grad students, you’re invited to write a guest column for “Tips for Grads.”
If you’re interested, check out our infographic for details and email gspd@grad.wisc.edu to let us know.
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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.
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Upcoming Professional Development EventsAll event times and deadlines are listed in Central Standard Time (CST).
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Graduate Student Interest Groups
Take advantage of this great opportunity to meet graduate students from across campus. Topics and discussions are curated by group members, but a Graduate School staff member will facilitate the start of each session on Zoom. It will be up to the members to share strategies and seek advice from each other during each session.
This group will jump-start the Spring 2021 semester by exploring strategies for work-life integration and priority management.
Students in this group are preparing for prelims and will share preparation strategies and progress toward goals. Although exams can be very different across graduate programs, what we’ll likely have in common is a desire to be organized, reduce stress, and share accomplishments
Find community among graduate students who are in various stages of job market preparation and share tips, tricks, and the journey with one another.
Work alongside other grad students in a virtual coffee shop setting. Choose to have your camera on or off as you sip your coffee or tea and take advantage of this great opportunity to work "next to" graduate students from across campus.
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Delta Spring 2021 Courses - Now Open for Registration
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Special Events & Symposia
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These courses are for innovators, seekers of creative solutions, designers of novel approaches to social problems or makers of impactful products. Innovation to Market focuses on customer discovery for your proposed product or service, and Igniter dives into a framework to develop and validate a plan for the infrastructure, finances, and operational aspects of how you will deliver your innovation to the world.
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Self-nominate for the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society
The Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctorate education and the professoriate. PhD students who reach dissertator status by Spring 2021 and postdoctoral researchers are eligible to nominate themselves for consideration as long as they exemplify the five Bouchet qualities: scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy. Self-nominations for the Bouchet Society are open until Jan. 31.
New safety measures for spring semester announced
UW–Madison has announced additional testing protocols to enhance the safety of the campus community during the spring semester. The new measures are an expectation for all students and represent a significant change from the fall semester. Beginning Jan. 25, any time you come to campus, you will need to have tested negative within the previous 8 days (192 hours). This requirement will also apply to faculty and staff. All undergraduate students living in the greater Madison area will be required to test twice weekly, regardless of whether they are coming to campus for instruction or to use campus facilities. Campus anticipates having testing available 7 days a week, including early morning and late-night hours, at sites throughout campus.
Everyone will use a mobile app called Safer Badgers to find testing locations, schedule tests, quickly obtain test results, and access additional health resources. The app will be available by mid-January. A campus loan program will provide limited-use smartphones to those who need them. One screen of the Safer Badgers app, called the Badger Badge, will serve as a virtual access pass for entry into campus workplaces and buildings where in-person classes and other in-person activities are being held.
More information is available in a new section of the COVID-19 response website and in a Dec. 11 email to graduate students. In the weeks ahead, continue to watch your email for more details about these enhanced safety measures for the spring semester.
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Monitor for symptoms of COVID-19
All members of the campus community should monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 daily with the COVID Symptom Tracker. If you have symptoms, immediately get tested and quarantine. COVID-19 symptoms include: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea. COVID-19 Testing Information >>
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Virtual Care PackageUniversity Health Services’ Badger Virtual Care Package highlights ways to stay connected and healthy. Though it was made with people who are quarantined due to a positive COVID-19 test in mind, the resources listed here can be beneficial for anyone looking for some self-care ideas.
Mental Health Resources for Grad StudentsAccording to the 2019 Healthy Minds Survey, 93% of UW–Madison graduate students do not think any less of a peer who seeks mental health care, and 89% of UW–Madison graduate students who used mental health care found it helpful.
- SilverCloud. This online, self-guided resource provides treatment options 24 hours a day through evidence-based modules on anxiety, depression, body image, and stress. SilverCloud is designed to help students manage day-to-day stresses and improve resilience.
- NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) has published an extensive COVID-19 Resource and Information Guide.
- Crisis Text Line is helpful for panic attacks and other emotionally intense moments. Text HOME to 741741; a bot will provide you with their terms of service and put you on a waitlist to text with a real person. Wait times may be long due to current anxiety/panic about COVID-19.
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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 Graduate and Professional Student Assistance Specialist Elaine Goetz-Berman directly, email egoetz2@wisc.edu.
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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.
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Boren Fellowships provide up to $30,000 for graduate students to support or add an important international and language component (including through support of in-country research/fieldwork) to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, and increased language proficiency.
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