This workshop will provide valuable information regarding the various opportunities for graduate student engagement in the local community such as working for nonprofit organizations, summer internships, and potential research collaboration and networking with public and private agencies. There is ample evidence that engagement in community work is mutually beneficial for all parties involved, particularly the students. For graduate students, the real benefits of community engagement are readily evident in their personal and professional development including the acquisition of critical life skills, self-confidence, and a deeper understanding of the social and environmental ills impacting our communities. To learn more about these opportunities, join us to hear about the steps the university is taking to promote greater student engagement in the community and the benefits that accompany this work.
This track is designed to acquaint graduate students with the mechanics and strategies for publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals, and completing book reviews. Students will learn about the current trends in their field, important journals pertaining to their research and how to submit a manuscript or book review for publication.
The format and the time table of the track are as follows:
At the beginning of the semester, depending on the applications that GCOS receives, research clusters based on academic interests and similarities will be formed. These groups will meet for the first time and discuss their schedules and availability for the meetings to take place throughout the semester. After their meeting times are set, they each will have a short workshop from their department’s faculty members on publication. Next, each group in consultation with their faculty members will form a list of 5- 10 academic journals in their field that they would like to publish in. By meeting regularly throughout the semester, members of the group will present information about each journal (please check the attachment 1 for the information format). By the end of the workshop, each group should know about the conditions for publishing in the list of journals that they have selected: the main interest of those journals and what those journals have published during the last five years. They will also submit a report to GCOS about their work.
Groups have to submit regular meeting attendance sheets to GCOS program coordinator along with a briefing of each meeting.
Fall Semester:
Navigating the PhD requires critical skills in communication and engagement in order to get the best advice from advisors, faculty as well as for networking and interviewing for academic jobs. These skills might be thought of as innate qualities of all individuals however there are times when it is difficult to communicate successfully with others particularly during times of conflict such as a delay in one’s project or proposal or conflict with one’s advisor, a committee member or other faculty. It is best to learn how to handle such difficult situations. Indeed, studies have shown that a cordial and professional relationship between faculty and students is needed to reduce the stress level of graduate students and ensure the timely completion of their degrees. This workshop will offer students the strategies for effective communication, and effective problem resolution, as well the requisite skills for building and sustaining networks among faculty and peers within and outside the university.
Grant writing is an important skill to have if you plan on pursuing an academic career or working in other domains such as local or state governmental agencies, non-profit agencies, and other enterprises. Along with seeking external funds to support your projects and dissertation research, grant writing can be used to apply for fellowships, scholarships, as well as for book proposals. The proposed workshops will explore the diverse aspects of grant writing focusing specifically on how best to plan and write successful grant or fellowship proposals. Some of the topics considered in the workshop are:
This interactive session will formally launch the peer mentoring program by matching new graduate students with more advanced graduate students. Once the program is launched, the core goals of this ongoing series will be two-fold: i) to help new graduate students make a smooth transition to graduate life at Binghamton University by pairing them with advanced students who have successfully made the transition; ii) to offer academic leadership opportunities to the advanced scholars, particularly those who have not had the opportunity to teach or lead other students during their course of graduate study.
The partnerships will be based on similarities in disciplines and related interests. Prior to the session, new students and leadership volunteers will complete a personal/academic profile, and this information will be used to create the partners. New mentors will undergo training and this will followed by regular mentor- mentee meetings throughout the semester. We will have continual feedback from both mentors and mentee.
The session introduces the basic premises of writing an effective CV. It offers a step by step guide for writing the CV including specific outlines to match the diverse needs and areas of specialty among the students.
Nancy Paul, the director of Career Development Center
A sequel to the CV Writing workshop, the Cover Letter workshop describes the mechanics of writing an efficient cover letter. The best practices of cover letter writing are presented along with examples tailored to meet the needs of students in different disciplines and career paths.
Nancy Paul, the director of Career Development Center
The purpose of this workshop is to raise awareness and a better understanding of the institutional standards of research ethics and professional integrity among graduate students. Upon arrival at Binghamton, all graduate students are typically informed about the university’s academic honesty code, and the guidelines for academic integrity. However, preliminary evidence shows that most students do not fully understand these standards, including the ethical issues in academic research, matters relating to conflict of interest, ownership rights of intellectual property, nor do they understand what the full consequences are for violating these standards. This workshop will provide a forum for discussing these issues. Specific questions to be addressed are:
