GradPathways Calendar of Events

Make Your Presentation a GradSlam Dunk: Crafting a Memorable and Effective GradSlam Submission

January 18, 2024 | 1pm-2pm | Walker Hall, Gibeling Room

Come to this 1 hour workshop to learn how to pack your research into a 3 minute presentation. Learn about story development, balancing breadth vs. depth of content, designing concise, effective visual aids, and more. Appropriate for graduate students from any discipline at any stage of their graduate career. 

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Writing a Diversity Statement for the Academic Job Market

January 29, 2024 | 12:10-1:00pm | Zoom

Diversity statements have become prerequisites for many positions on the academic job market. These statements demonstrate an individual’s commitment to supporting and prioritizing diversity through their teaching and scholarship. In this hands-on workshop, participants will review the conventions and criteria by which diversity statements are assessed. They will also have the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for their own statements and engage in peer review. Participants are highly encouraged to bring a draft of their own diversity statement to the workshop to review and revise.

 

PFTF Information Session

January 30, 2024 | 12:00pm - 1pm | Walker Hall Room 1220 Gibeling Room

The Professors for the Future (PFTF) program is a competitive, year-long fellowship program designed to recognize and develop the leadership and academic skills of outstanding PhD candidates and postdoctoral scholars who have demonstrated their commitment to professionalism, integrity, and academic service.  The program consists of professional development training through participation in monthly meetings, a seminar in college teaching, and creation of a project to benefit other graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

All Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars are cordially invited to join PFTF co-directors Ellen Hartigan-O’Connor, Associate Dean, and Millie Copara, Director of GradPathways Institute, and current PFTF fellows for this informational meeting about the PFTF program.

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Visit http://pftf.ucdavis.edu  for more information and application forms.

Applications are due Friday, March 1st, 2024.

 

Road to Grad Slam: Info Sessions

February 1, 2024 | 1pm-2pm | Walker Hall, Gibeling Room

Grad Slam is an annual contest in which master’s and Ph.D. students across UC campuses – in all disciplines ranging from natural sciences to the arts and humanities – compete to introduce their research to a general audience. Participants are judged on how well they engage the audience, how clearly they communicate key concepts and how effectively they focus and present their ideas—all in three minutes or less.

At the Road to Grad Slam: Info Session, we will cover all of the training opportunities that lead up to the Winter competition, including how to access training and support, the structure of the competition, and how to prepare for the recorded and live components. 

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Transparent Assessment of Student Learning

February 5, 2024 | 12:10-1:00pm | Zoom

Have you ever wondered if your students were really “getting it” or been shocked with low exam grades when you thought all was well? This interactive workshop offers practical strategies to transparently assess your students’ learning.

 

Mentoring Up!

February 8, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm | Zoom

This workshop will provide an overview of mentoring up principles (based on managing up approaches) for how mentees can contribute toa successful mentoring relationship. Participants will map out their goals and will discuss ways to articulate their needs to their mentors.

 

Classroom Strategies to Support Transfer Student Success

February 12, 2024 | 12:10-1:00pm | Zoom

In this workshop participants will understand who transfer students are, their strengths, and the challenges they might face. Participants will explore teaching strategies to help integrate transfer students into the classroom and support them in navigating the university experience. This workshop is part of a series of events celebrating UC Davis Principles of Community.

 

Providing Effective Feedback on Student Writing

February 14, 2024 | 4:10pm -5:30pm, 1220 Walker Hall (Gibeling Room)

Written feedback on writing assignments can be an invaluable part of the learning process for students, but it can also be extremely labor intensive for instructors. Those grading papers are often left wondering what they should be leaving comments on and how much feedback is enough or too much. To answer these questions, this workshop will discuss theories and strategies to provide effective feedback and the benefits of using assignment-specific rubrics(including rubrics on Canvas). Attendees will learn about common strategies to provide effective written feedback and prioritize important features of writing necessary for their particular classes, including for multilingual students. 

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Building a Mentorship Network

February 22, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm | Zoom

No one mentor can provide all the mentorship you need. This workshop will cover why we need multiple mentors, how to find them, and an action plan for building a supportive mentorship network.

 

Writing Accountability Workshop

February 22, 2024 | 4:00pm -5:00pm, 1220 Walker Hall (Gibeling Room)

Could You Use Some Extra Support with Your Dissertation or Thesis Writing Process?

Are you struggling in completing your dissertation or thesis writing? This workshop will focus on developing critical skills for dissertation/thesis writing-- goal setting, time management, motivation enhancement, and stress management.

Presenter: Dr. Bai-Yin Chen, Licensed Psychologist, Counseling Services.  Bai-Yin Chen is a psychologist specializing in graduate student mental health. 

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Info Session - Food & Health Innovator Fellowship (up to $50k)

February 26, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm | Zoom

The Innovator Fellowship provides an opportunity for PhDs or Postdocs to work with IIFH's venture capital partners in an immersive, hands-on food and health investment environment. Fellows will gain real-world business and entrepreneurial skills while evaluating food and health startups. The six-month program provides Fellows up to $50K in funding for salary, tuition, travel, accommodation and professional development expenses. Deadline March 10; learn more here.

Register here!!

 

Navigating Charged Conversations and Disruptive Behaviors in the College Classroom

February 26, 2024 | 12:10-1:00pm | Zoom

How can you ensure a charged discussion in your classroom does not get out of hand? How can you organize group work and individual activities to keep students engaged in class? In this workshop, we will learn strategies to minimize disruptive behavior, maximize engagement, and create an inclusive learning environment. We’ll also discuss how to navigate difficult conversations with your students.

 

Mastering the Dissertation Prospectus

February 26, 2024 | 1:00pm-3:00pm | Walker Hall, East Conference Room

We love it, hate it, or love to hate it — this is the time to make your research shine! This retreat will be dedicated to writing the dissertation prospectus. Whatever stage you’re at, whether it’s thinking, drafting, or revising, come on through for a short (20-min) presentation by Graduate Writing Fellow Kay Garlick-Ott followed by dedicated work time (2-hours) where we will put pen to paper and apply what we’ve learned. We’ll address goal-setting, structure, and writing rhetorical moves, focusing primarily on STEM fields, but folks from other disciplines are welcome to join and share their expertise!

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Writing Fellowship and Grant Applications (with Pizza!)

February 28, 2024 | 11:30pm-1:00pm | Walker Hall, Gibeling Room

This workshop will provide strategies for writing persuasive fellowship and grant applications, as well as finding the right funding source and managing the writing process. Pizza will be provided for registered participants, so please be sure to register.

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Creating an Industry-Friendly Resume

February 28, 2024 | 5:00pm-6:30pm | Walker Hall, Gibeling Room

Join Dr. Barbara Preston, founder and head recruiter of Pharmascouts, about what it takes to make the move from research in academia to industry. Targeted toward students and postdocs in biological and technical sciences, but anyone is welcome. RSVPs Requested (but not required). Hosted by the Innovation Institute for Food and Health.

 

Getting Your Foot In The Door of Industry

February 29, 2024 | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Walker Hall, Gibeling Room

Join Dr. Barbara Preston, founder and head recruiter of Pharmascouts, about what it takes to make the move from research in academia to industry. Targeted toward students and postdocs in biological and technical sciences, but anyone is welcome. RSVPs Requested (but not required). Hosted by the Innovation Institute for Food and Health

 

Writing Retreat: Mentor Texts: What They Are and How to Use Them

March 5, 2024 | 10:00am -12:00pm, 1220 Walker Hall (Gibeling Room)

Description: In graduate school, we are often writing new genres for the first time - our first journal article, our first thesis/dissertation, our first grant proposal. Each genre has its own conventions, whether spoken or unspoken, and it can be hard to know where to begin. Sound familiar? Join our writing retreat focused on mentor texts (successful examples from a given genre) and how they can guide and inform our writing. Open to Graduate Students at any stage of the writing process, this retreat will cover strategies for finding and utilizing mentor texts. A 30-minute presentation by Graduate Writing Fellow Mattea Berglund will be followed by open working and writing time, during which Mattea will be available for individual questions. There is no requirement to attend the retreat for the entire time. Attendees are encouraged to sign up for one-on-one appointments with a Graduate Writing Fellow for more extensive personalized assistance using this link.

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Mastering Self-Editing: Become Your Own Best Critic!

March 6, 2024 | 2:00pm-3:30pm | Walker Hall, East Conference Room

Are you struggling to achieve clarity and conciseness in your writing? Join us to learn about the secrets of self-editing. Guided by Graduate Writing Fellow Bradley Christin, you will learn how to refine sentence structure, streamline your thoughts, and make your writing flow - in just 30 minutes! Following this, you’ll have the opportunity to receive personalized feedback tailored to your particular writing needs. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your articulation and create compelling masterpieces ready to be shared with the world! 

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Demystifying Graduate School and Undergraduate Research

March 8, 2024 | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Walker Hall, Gibeling Room

Did you know you can get paid to go to graduate school? Come join to learn more about graduate school and research, talk with some current grad students and postdoctoral scholars, and eat some food. If you have never considered research or graduate school or know very little about it, this event is for you!

Please RSVP Here. Help us pick the food for the event by RSVPing!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions? Please contact PFTF Fellows Arabo (aaavanes@ucdavis.edu), Andrew (acurtright@ucdavis.edu), and Alyson (alykim@ucdavis.edu)

 

Overcoming Writers' Block or Managing Large Writing Projects

March 8, 2024 | 1:00pm-2:30pm | Walker Hall, West Conference Room

Tackling a large writing project can seem overwhelming, even daunting, when we first get started. After all, what does the next week or month or year have in store for us? How can we set attainable and purposeful tasks that keep us on track? This workshop will discuss tips and strategies for getting organized and staying motivated when working on a large writing project. Attendees will learn about organization and effective time management skills for projects that range from term papers to dissertations to journal articles.

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Developing Confidence and Independence 

March 12, 2024 | 11:30am-1:00pm | Zoom

This workshop will share strategies for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to develop confidence, as well as ways to receive and ask for different kinds of feedback. We will then discuss what independence looks like for your role and research, as well as in your mentoring relationships.

 

Understanding and Starting a Literature Review

March 22, 2024 | 12:00pm -1:30pm, 1220 Walker Hall (Gibeling Room)

Please join us for this interactive workshop where we’ll discuss best practices for understanding and starting a literature review. We’ll start with discussing the purpose for writing a literature review and how writing one can help you in your graduate studies. Then we’ll move into discussing strategies for developing a research question and using a matrix to manage the literature as you begin reading and exploring your sources. The workshop will include time for some hands-on practice synthesizing the literature and best practices for doing so. We will have plenty of time to discuss drafting the literature review and to think through any difficulties you may be encountering in the process.

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Becoming a Mentor 

March 21, 2024 | 11:30am-1:00pm | Zoom

This workshop is for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in developing their skills as mentors. Participants will learn the latest research and practices in mentoring, as well as tools and approaches to strengthen mentoring relationships. This interactive session will include group work and activities to discuss common mentoring scenarios. 

 

Contact Us

  • Office Phone: 530-754-1457
  • Email: gpi@ucdavis.edu