Believe it or not, summer is almost upon us! It's been yet another eventful academic year, and I think we're all looking forward to the change of pace summer will bring. Whether you're planning to hang out in Riverside or finally go on that research trip that's been delayed for over two years, GradSuccess has summer program options for you. We'll be offering online Writing Center consultations and GradQuant drop-in hours starting July 11th as well as a ton of great opportunities to learn fellowship writing skills,  brush up on your statistical methods/programming knowledge, and connect with fellow grad students.  Read on to learn more about our virtual summer programming and in-person community building events!

[Image description: A fluffy white cat laying in a bed of sparkly 20 and 100 dollar bills.]

Pictured: Join us to learn valuable fellowship writing skills! Note: We can't guarantee your winnings will be this sparkly.

Fellowship Writing Support

Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program offers opportunities for master’s and Ph.D. students to conduct research or teach English abroad; the application is currently open for the 2023-24 academic year. The GradSuccess Fulbright support program consists of five Zoom workshops offered between May 23rd and July 29th. These workshops provide an overview of the Fulbright program itself, access to applications from prior award cycles, detailed guidance on writing your statement of purpose and personal statement, and feedback from the UCR Graduate Fulbright Program Advisor.

Ford Predoctoral Program

The Ford Predoctoral Program consists of six Zoom workshops offered between July 11th and September 2nd. These workshops will give an overview of Ford programs, a discussion of successful applications from previous cycles, and guidance on writing the previous research statement, proposed plan, and personal statement. Participants are also guaranteed access to trained Graduate Writing Center consultants in the form of three one-on-one Skype feedback sessions. This program has an excellent track record for students going on to receive awards and honorable mentions at UCR.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The GradSuccess NSF GRFP Program consists of six Zoom workshops offered between July 11th and September 2nd. This program will provide you with an overview of the NSF Fellowships, in-depth guidance on writing your personal and research statements, peer review, and discussion of successful applications from previous cycles. Like the Ford program, participants are guaranteed access to trained Graduate Writing Center consultants in the form of three one-on-one Skype feedback sessions. Also like the Ford program, this program has an excellent track record for students going on to receive NSF GRFP awards!

If you are a currently enrolled graduate student and you’d like to participate in any of these fellowship preparation programs, fill out our interest form by May 25th.

Summer Statistics and Programming Bootcamp

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Pictured: I got this...

Need a confidence booster as you tackle statistics and quantitative research? GradQuant’s Statistics and Programming Bootcamp is a series of instructor-led workshops that introduce graduate students to statistical methods and programming used in quantitative research. You will learn the basics of descriptive and inferential statistics, demonstrate some of their applications, and be introduced to R, Python, and SQL. This workshop series will help prepare you to take graduate-level statistical methods courses and to excel in your own research. There are no prerequisites for this bootcamp – it is designed to take you from any level of statistics proficiency to greater confidence in applying statistics and programming concepts in your research.

The bootcamp will be between July 11th and September 2nd and will consist of one 2-hour Zoom workshop each week. Each workshop will be applicable to a range of scientific fields, so there will always be something for you. This is a small class environment with no homework and no exams, so you can learn a lot without the stress! You will have ample access to the instructor and to GradQuant resources and will develop tools to help you throughout your research career, both during and after graduate school. 

If you would like to participate in the Summer Statistics and Programming Bootcamp, fill out the interest form before 5pm on Wednesday, May 25th.

Get Connected

[Image description: A monster pick-up truck with very large tires drives over and crushes four cars overlaid by the words “Zoom meetings”.]

Pictured: Say “Hello!” to my little friend!

Let’s meet this summer! Our summer Stress Relief Fair (with the tasty tacos) and weekly Coffee Socials (with our gift card giveaways) are back! GradSuccess will host weekly, in-person coffee socials between 3pm and 4pm on Wednesdays from July 13th through August 28th. We are also planning a Stress Relief Fair to be held on Tues, Aug 2nd from 4pm to 6pm so connect with us on social media and look for our e-mail announcements to stay informed.

The campus is livening up again! After such a long time interacting on Zoom, it’s time to experience community with other grad students in full reality. Stop by our Coffee Social and join us at the Stress Relief Fair. We look forward to meeting you!