Latest COVID-19 News

Authorizing Access to Research and Creative Works Spaces

Graduate students participating in research or creative activities — as paid staff or in graduate assistantships or in education roles (e.g., research hours, internships, independent studies, volunteers) — are expected to complete the Return to Work Authorization form to engage in research or creative activities on campus. If you have already completed a form, you

Written and Oral Defenses and Graduate Committee Meetings for Fall 2020

• Remote written examinations and Zoom defenses and committee meetings should be prioritized (see Zoom Defense Tips) • For some disciplines (particularly in the Arts), it is essential for the defense to be conducted in person and with an audience. In these cases, the advisor and/or DGS should notify the Dean or their designee for

Written and Oral Defenses and Graduate Committee Meetings – General Guidance

• Appropriate adjustments may be necessary for students or faculty who are at risk for developing severe illnesses (or caring for those at such risk) and those with poor internet service. • Anyone who requests participation remotely must be accommodated, with no risk of reprisal. • All students and faculty will need access to video

Department and Program Admissions Considerations for 2021-22

The pandemic has slowed some students’ progress for their degrees, especially related to their research, scholarship, and other creative works. As you prepare for 2021-22 admissions and offers of financial support, consider whether your program should admit fewer students in order to provide another year of financial support to students whose work has slowed due

Need Assistance from the Graduate School?

The Graduate School and Office of Postdoctoral Education in 205/210 Jesse Hall is open. Please note, however, some of our staff continue to work remotely. We ask that those needing assistance contact the appropriate staff member to set up a virtual meeting. Below is some additional information to help you get in touch with us.

City of Columbia Updates

If you are wondering how the City of Columbia is responding to COVID-19, click here for information.

Food and Other Support Resources

We recognize that there are members of our community who are food insecure. The following resources are available to assist. The MU Tiger Pantry is open for delivery and curbside pickup: Veterans United put together a map of free food locations in Columbia: A local restaurant, the Broadway Diner, is offering free meals to children

Aetna COVID-19 Coverage

There are benefit liberalizations for the Aetna student health plan. The include the following: Antibody testing is covered at no cost share MinuteClinic is offering E-Clinic visits and are covered under the telemedicine no cost share benefit Free home delivery of prescriptions is extended to 9/30/2020 Aetna resumes standard prior authorization protocols for inpatient admissions

Graduate Assistantships for Continuing Students (from Spring 2020)

If a continuing graduate student has been offered and accepted an assistantship for the 2020 summer session and/or next academic year (20-21), those contracts should be honored as written. For students with graduate assistantships whose stipend support is from extramural grants and sponsors, departments should work with the sponsoring agencies to confirm their ongoing support.

CARES Act Emergency Financial Assistance (from Spring/Summer 2020)

The Federal CARES Act has allocated emergency financial aid grants to students who are unable to pay for expenses they have incurred as a result of the disruption to campus operations due to the COVID-19 circumstances. Expenses that you can request assistance for from this fund include food, housing, technology, travel to/from campus to a

Recommendations for Summer 2020 For-Credit or Funded Research (from Spring 2020; Updated 4/23/20)

Graduate research is recognized for providing critical and formative experiences for most of our students. As always, and particularly during the current global health situation, each student and their Academic Unit should consider all opportunities thoroughly and weigh possible risks with the benefits of research experiences. With this context in mind, the following principles must

Final Exams (from Spring 2020)

No changes have been made to MU’s final exam policies for Spring 2020. No final exams may be held outside of the final exam week. For the Spring 2020 semester, the final exam period begins Monday, May 11th, at 7:30 a.m. and ends Friday, May 15th, at noon. You can find the SP20 final exam

Academic Probation/Good Standing (from Spring 2020)

No graduate students will be placed on academic probation (i.e., cumulative GPA below 3.0) by the Graduate School at the end of the spring semester. Students who are already on academic probation will continue on probation and have until the end of the Fall 2020 semester to raise their cumulative GPA above 3.0. However, students

Annual Reviews for Graduate Students

Programs are expected to conduct annual reviews of graduate students . Keep in mind the challenges students are confronting, including care giving responsibilities; home schooling; pivoting research projects; and moving to classes in a new format, both as student and as instructor. These circumstances should be taken into account when determining whether a student is

Preparing for International Travel in the Future

As of April 6, 2020, all travel for university-related business is on hold until further notice. However, students may be preparing for travel in the fall. The International Center has guidance to assist students in their planning process related to course registration, finances, visa. Needs, safety, health and travel insurance, and other matters. Please refer

International Student Coursework for Fall 2020

In partnership with the International Center, guidance for international students admitted for Fall 2020 is available here. This guidance includes recommendations for students who have been admitted who may be delayed in getting a visa to begin in August 2020.

Remote Coursework for International Students for Summer 2020

Because MU will offer all courses this summer online/remotely, current international students may have questions about the implications for summer course-taking as it relates to their visas. The International Center has important information for programs and students.

International Student Admissions for Summer and Fall 2020

Should testing sites be closed, the Graduate School is working with students individually to be as flexible as possible to facilitate admission processes. Please contact Graduate Admissions. We will accept Duolingo scores as a substitute for IELTS and TOEFL during this time. Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved the delivery of immigration

Graduate Assistantship and Postdoctoral Scholar Offers for New Students and Postdocs

No existing offer should be rescinded. However, in light of fiscal guidance, any new offers, including as a replacement for a student who did not accept an offer, should be reviewed at the school or college level to determine whether an offer should be made. Postdoc offers that are submitted to the Office of Postdoctoral

Transcripts for Newly Admitted Students for Fall 2020 (from Spring 2020)

Accepted applicants will have until the end of their first semester of enrollment to provide official transcripts. Please note that many U.S. institutions do provide official transcripts electronically and we encourage students who have a degree in the U.S. to check with their alma mater about electronic official transcripts.

Extensions

The Graduate School’s existing extension process should be used to request an extension for any student who needs to extend their time to degree due to disruptions in their lives and programs related to COVID-19. Extensions related to COVID-19 will be granted liberally. Extension requests to allow an additional semester of eligibility for a tuition

Graduate School Fellowships (from Spring 2020)

Fellowships require that students remain in good academic standing and maintain a minimum GPA. Students will not be at risk of losing their fellowship if they do not meet GPA requirements this semester. Students’ academic standing and GPA will be reassessed at the end of the Fall 2020 semester to determine whether they are meeting

Message for Postdocs from MUPA Chair

As your MU postdoctoral association representatives, we want to help you succeed during your tenure at the University of Missouri. However, right now your safety and the safety of our community is our utmost concern. We wanted to remind you of the University of Missouri’s policy for on-campus essential research activities. We know that not all

S/U Grading Options for Spring 2020 (from Spring 2020)

All graduate students enrolled in courses (including online and self-paced) in Spring 2020 will be able to choose the S/U grade option for all courses that have an A-F grade option. Students have the option to retain the letter grade earned or select S/U after final grades have been posted. (NOTE: Classes that ended prior

S/U (or Pass/Fail/No Pass) Grading for Admissions

Many institutions across the country instituted S/U grading policies during the Spring 2020 semester. We will not penalize students for the adoption of S/U and other grading options during this extraordinary period, whether the choices were made by institutions or by individual students. The admissions evaluation conducted by the Graduate School will focus primarily on

Master’s, Specialist, and Doctoral Defenses and Forms for Spring 2020 (from Spring 2020)

The Graduate Faculty Senate does not have a policy that requires all defenses to be in person. Individual departments may have such a policy; however, at this time, any defense can to be conducted virtually. With access to Zoom pro accounts, conducting defenses virtually is much easier to accommodate. While we still encourage students to

Zoom Defense Tips

Tips to facilitate a Zoom defense: Getting prepared: Attend a Zoom trainings or review the Zoom tutorials. The latter has a number of articles that can be useful in preparing for your exam. Make sure you have signed up for your Zoom Pro accounts. This allows all the features (screen sharing, breakout rooms, waiting rooms, etc.) The

Graduate Assistantships for Spring 2020

We are expecting students who hold graduate assistantships to continue working. Supervisors may need to be creative regarding work duties and sensitive to students who cannot perform their responsibilities due to health and safety reasons or other campus guidance about our research and teaching missions. We also ask for flexibility for student caregivers. Students should

Additional Mental Health Support

In the wake of the Coronavirus, the National Grad Crisis-Line is still available 24/7 Significant campus and academic decisions are being made in response to the Coronavirus. In response, grad students are experiencing enormous pressure from global uncertainty, isolation, semester deadlines, and family/health concerns. All graduate students should be aware: help is available free of