How to Land an Assistantship or Fellowship

I see assistantships and fellowships as the ultimate windfall. Maybe it's because I love my own assistantship, but it's also nice to receive a tuition waiver and a stipend. It's the ideal situation. So how do you get in on the deal? I'll tell you—but first let me give you a little background.

Definition of Assistantships and Fellowships

Both assistantships and fellowships are appointments given to graduate students for the purpose of professional development and financial assistance. An appointment might consist of teaching, research, or assisting in an array of activities on campus. Students who work 10–20 hours per week (.25 and .50 full time employees, or FTE) at a qualifying assistantship or fellowship receive a tuition fee waiver, and students also receive a stipend for their work.

How to Land an Assistantship or Fellowship

Academic programs generally hand out assistantships to incoming students based on the students' qualifications and availability of positions. However, all is not lost if you're not offered a position upon entering grad school. HireMizzouGrads.com is a good place to search for available assistantships. Asking around is a good idea, too: let your career services, program office staff and faculty know you're looking for an appointment and they'll likely have you in mind if something comes up. I found my assistantship through a journalism alumni list serve (my undergraduate degree is from the J-School), so don't forget to put the word out in your professional networking groups as well.

How to Keep an Assistantship or Fellowship

Of course, it's not a matter of finding a position and cruising on through with a fee waiver until you graduate. There are requirements regarding minimum GPA, academic progress, and a maximum number of semesters you may receive a tuition waiver. Visit the Graduate School Catalog to learn about specific stipulations, as well as benefits, that apply to assistantships and fellowships.

Make Microsoft Word Less Annoying

As thesis and dissertation submission time draws near, it's time to learn how to finally wrangle Microsoft Word into a more usable beast. Take note of the fabulous tips courtesy of the geniuses over at Lifehacker.com, including this gem:

Word just loves to hyperlink e-mail addresses and URLs. Sure, this might come in handy from time to time, but mostly it's just distracting. To remove all the links from an individual document, select all the text by pressing Ctrl-A, then press Ctrl-Shift-F9.

Make Microsoft Word Less Annoying

So You Want to Work in Academia?

According to a Preparing Future Faculty Manual, approximately 50 percent of doctoral graduates pursue academic careers. However, many studies show that doctoral students could be better prepared to compete for and secure a job in academia. This is exactly why Preparing Future Faculty was created: to equip doctoral students with the tools they need to be superior faculty. PFF was established by the Council of Graduate Schools, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the Pew Charitable Trust and the National Science Foundation in 1993, and a PFF initiative began on the Mizzou campus in 2001. The program helps doctoral students explore different faculty roles, improve their teaching skills and establish a network of professional colleagues, among other things.

So if you're a doctoral or post-doctoral student who has any interest in working in academia, why not get involved with PFF here at Mizzou? Designated PFF Fellows attend monthly seminar meetings during the course of one academic year, develop a portfolio, attend two or more career seminars per semester and visit two or more partner institutions. All of these activities help you develop professionally and give you the opportunity to explore different academic career options. Mizzou's Academic Job Searches Weg page also provides helpful links to articles, Web sites and books related to academic job searches. Or, you can read about the national PFF organization and explore some of their resources as well.

Think you don't have to worry about your intellectual property?

We've all heard the horror stories about faculty taking credit for graduate student work - okay, I have. Looks like some students at Carleton University in Ottawa are doing something about it. They've launched an initiative to educate grad students about how to safeguard their intellectual property while making sure they get credit for their work.

Probably not something on your radar right now, but with copyright issues becoming more common, frequent dissemination of research over the internet and the commercialization of research, maybe it should be...

Tips for Landing an Internship: Part II

Yes, this is Part II of the Landing an Internship posts, but this one will be short and sweet, I promise. First, I'm going to recommend that everyone read “What Color is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career Changers.” Although it is aimed primarily at job hunters, the advice is invaluable for internship and future job seekers alike--really. This book has been published since long before I was born (1970, in fact), is updated annually and was listed as one of the Library of Congress' Center for the Book “25 Books That Have Shaped Readers' Lives.” Like I said, a great place to start.

The author of Parachute, Dick Bolles, also maintains a Web site designed to supplement his book, Jobhuntersbible.com. In both his book and his Web site, Bolles notes that less than 10% of job-hunters obtain a job through the Internet--meaning in part that networking is not only more effective than Internet searches, but also a vital component of job and internship hunts. Here are what some MU students have to say about how they found their own internships:

Arielle Whitmer, a first-year Master of Business Administration student, landed an internship at MarketSphere Consulting in Kansas City for the coming summer.

“I found out about the MarketSphere internship through the College of Business' Career Fair last fall. I was able to talk quite a bit with their recruiter, Greg Davis, and he kept in touch with me all the way up until the regular interview process started. I had heard a little bit about MarketSphere before, but nothing more than it is a growing consulting agency.”

Lauren Spath, a graduate student in the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs, found an internship in the Environmental Protection Agency during the summer of 2006. Spath says she found her internship through contacts:

“I actually got this internship because the director in the office in which I worked is a Truman School alumn and came to the school looking for summer help…My advice would be to stay in touch with alumn, new and old, and use those contacts. Don't be afraid to reach out and ask for help.”

So hopefully by now you're getting an even clearer picture of the necessity of networking. Now that you are fully equipped to find a great internship, get out there and get at it! And, of course, let me know when you decide what color your parachute is.

How Much of a Caffeine Fiend Are You?

The phrases “caffeine fix” and “graduate student” go together like PB&J. Want to find out exactly how much caffeine you're consuming? Head over to the Caffeine Database.

Via Lifehacker