Graduate School Wins NSF Prize

The National Science Foundation has announced that the University of Missouri Graduate School is the first-place winner of its Taking Action: COVID-19 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Challenge in the STEM Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Researchers category. MU was recognized May 16 for the graduate school’s proposal to expand opportunities to support underrepresented minority STEM graduate

Theresa Solis Metz

When Diversity and Inclusion intersect all aspects of life by Madalynn Owens Many in the College of Education and Human Development know Theresa Solis Metz as the Director of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion. However, her involvement with the College of Education and Human Development expands far beyond this role, into that of a student as

Maya Williams

By Madalynn Owens Maya Williams is a 3rd-year doctorate student in the Counseling Psychology program with a passion for supporting racial/ethnic minority students and their mental health. She began to pursue the field of counseling when she noticed in her own social circles that often mental health care meant relying on personal support systems. This

Bringing Science to You: Science on Wheels Goes Virtual

Bringing Science to You: Science on Wheels Goes Virtual Science on Wheels reimagines events to engage Missourians while staying safe during the ongoing pandemic. by Madalynn Owens What does a scientist look like? Many people picture a person in a white lab coat looking into a microscope or someone pouring colored liquid into a

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II Grants

Emergency financial aid grants from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II are now available to assist graduate students with exceptional need for educational costs and other emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus. As a graduate degree-seeking student you may be eligible to apply for emergency funding. The eligibility criteria are outlined on

OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests and Student Insurance Reimbursement

As of January 15, 2022, Anthem student insurance members can get reimbursed by their health plan without cost share for the costs of over-the-counter diagnostic COVID-19 tests until the end of the Coronavirus Public Health Emergency. Diagnostic tests are performed if members are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have been recently exposed. See Anthem’s website for

Electronic Signatures for Graduate School Forms

The Graduate School accepts electronic signatures on all forms. The preferred way is to sign with an e-signature that has been configured using Adobe. This Creating and Using a Digital Signature provides guidance though that process. Another option is for the individuals signing to insert their signatures as an image on the form. Lastly, the Graduate

Information for Virtual Written and Oral Defenses and Graduate Committee Meetings

• 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. If campus guidance requires face coverings in classrooms, this should be followed for committee meetings and/or written examinations that may be conducted with multiple students

Department and Program Admissions Considerations

The pandemic has slowed some students’ progress for their degrees, especially related to their research, scholarship, and other creative works. As you prepare for 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 to

Dr. Manuel Leal

Faculty Spotlight- Dr. Manuel Leal Faculty Member Building a Lab Where Everyone is Welcomed. As a kid, he would play with lizards in his backyard, so it was an easy transition to study them in graduate school. Manuel Leal, Ph.D., grew up in Puerto Rico and was always interested in understanding how the Anolis lizards

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 Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen also provides meals for individuals in need. Individuals experiencing financial difficulty, family issues, housing insecurity, etc.: Students’ situations are often very unique in terms

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

Tigers Supporting Columbia Community

Graduate Students Timely Shift to Online Tutoring Supports Columbia Community in Difficult Times By Christina Mascarenas As the world adapts to a temporary new normal with classes and meetings online so has a tutoring program. The ‘A Way With Words & Numbers’ (or AWWWN) non-profit tutoring program housed in the Career Center at the University

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

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

Zoom Defense Tips

Tips to facilitate a Zoom defense: Getting prepared: Review the Zoom tutorials. There are 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 chair should be the

Additional Mental Health Support

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 that the counseling center is available to assist. Also, help is available free of charge. The National Grad Crisis-Line

Civil and Environmental Engineering awarded NSF S-STEM

Preparing academically-talented Masters students in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure specialties among the focus of a new NSF S-STEM grant The MU Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department was awarded the prestigious NSF S-STEM grant to train 24 undergraduate and 8 Masters students for careers in CEE (see also Student Success Focus of NSF

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