About Me • Native of St. Louis, MO • Education: BSEE, MS. EMGT, & Ph.D EMGT • Institution Attended: University of Missouri - Rolla • Work Experience: 3M, AT&T Bell Labs, FBI, Texas Instruments, University of Missouri – Rolla, & The National GEM Consortium. • Current Responsibilities: Graduate Recruiting and Programming at The National GEM Consortium. Marcus A. Huggans, PhD The National GEM Consortium

About GEM… ENHANCE the value of the nation’s human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups (African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans) at the master’s and doctoral levels in engineering and science.

GEM Fellowship • Award ~ 125 Fellowships Annually • Full tuition and fees, plus minimum $10K stipend and paid internship(s) • Industry and University sponsored • GEM applicants, awarded or not, receive many opportunities, including: • Graduate application fee waivers • GRE registration fee reduction • University graduate recruiting • Other funders: University and other external fellowships

Encouragement Retention Degree attainment GEM Undergraduate Programming G.R.A.D. Lab Getting Ready for Advanced Degrees Lab • “Why Graduate School?” • “Preparing for Graduate School” • “The GEM Fellowship” • “Voices from the Field: Real Life STEM Experiences”

Academia Industry Non-traditional careers GEM Graduate Programming FFP Future Faculty & Professionals Symposium 11th Annual: October 28, 2009, Washington DC • Graduate school success • The dissertation • Proposal writing, research • Multi-cultural issues • Job search, tenure • Mentoring

Why Graduate School? • Passion • Community Representation and Impact • Leadership • Enhanced career flexibility • Increased compensation

How much more will I make? BS Salary? $50,000 - $70,000 Ph.D. Salary? $90,000+ Source: www.salary.com What will these advanced degrees do for my career? Will I have more flexibility? What type of jobs or research will I do? Why Graduate School?

Levels of Degrees • B.S. provides a foundation of knowledge to build on for a lifetime of learning. • M.S. provides more in-depth knowledge in one or more areas. May or may not include a thesis. • Ph.D. provides understanding of how to do structured research. You contribute new knowledge to your field.

Types of Graduate Programs Do you want to: • Manage professionals in your field? (M.S. or Ph.D. may be best) • Move away from undergraduate discipline into area such as marketing? (MBA) • Practice patent law? (J.D.) • Practice medicine? (M.D.) • Do medical research? (M.D./Ph.D.) • Be a faculty member or do govt./industry research (or advanced development)? (Ph.D.)

Graduate school application components 1. Application/Questionnaire 2. Resume/CV 3. Transcripts 4. Letters of reference/Letters of recommendation 5. Statement of purpose/Personal Statement 6. GRE Graduate admissions process

Application, Resume, Transcript • Application • Follow instructions to the letter • List your full name on top of every submitted document • Submit before the first deadline! • Resume • Submit a professionally done resume • Know the difference between CV and a resume, submit what is requested • Transcript • Submit official transcripts for every school matriculated since high school

4. Recommendation Letters • Types of Reference Letters • Optimally, submit faculty letters • Do not submit letters from friends, coaches, religious leaders • If submit industry letters should be at a high level from a technical experience • Timing • Allow 3-5 weeks for letters to be written • PAD the due date • Ensure Strong Faculty Recommendations • Undergraduate Research • Visit Their Office • Do well in their courses! • Read their publications • Ask them to be your mentor

5. Statement of Purpose • What is a statement of purpose? • One or two page essay describing your career goals and how your past experiences have prepared you for your desired path. • Should be customized for research happening at the department of application • Tips • Concise • Identify gaps quickly • Write, rewrite, have others edit • Customize

6. GRE • Take it! • even if your first choice school does not require it • Take practice tests • Be very familiar with the format and instructions prior • Score very high on the Quantitative section • Be cognizant of score submission deadlines

Paying for Graduate School?

Funding • Institutional Aid Fellowships Teaching Assistantships (TA) Research Assistantships (RA) Grants • External Sources Federal & State Aid (FAFSA) Loans Industry External Fellowships: • Organizations (GEM), • Philanthropic Foundations, • Private Individuals

Alfred P. Sloan FoundationGraduate Scholarship Programs • Goal: Faculty-Student development • Target: Under-represented minorities • Scholarship amount tied to expected retention rate • Money Provided Directly to Students • Average MPHD Award:$26,031 • Average AIGP Award :$34,843 www.sloanphds.org

National Science Foundation • AGEP- Professional Development ($20K+) • IGERT-Grads ($30K) www.igert.com • NSF Grad Research Fellowships- ($40K) • GK-12- Grads ($30K) • Faculty Early Career- Faculty • Research Grants – Faculty • Others!!!! • www.nsf.gov

NASA GSRP Requirements: • U.S. Citizenship, F/T Graduate Student, GPA 3.0 or higher, not receiving other federal funding • 30,000 per year, renewable up to 3 years • 30K includes stipend ($21K), travel allowance ($4K), university allowance ($4K), health insurance ($1K) http://fellowships.hq.nasa.gov/gsrp

Applying for a GEM Fellowship?

How to Remember GEM? • G – Graduate School • E – Employment • M – Money

GEM delivers Graduate School 100+ GEM member universities, including: U of Arizona UC Berkeley UC Davis UC Irvine UCLA UC San Diego FAMU U of S Florida Drexel Stanford Texas A&M Rice U of New Mexico U of Notre Dame Tuskegee MIT U of Pittsburgh Cornell ColumbiaGeorgia TechU of IllinoisJohns HopkinsU of MichiganNorthwestern Penn StateU of WashingtonPurdue RIT Yale U of Puerto Rico

GEM Internship Requirement • Internship Expectations: • Internships begin summer immediately after year of application • MS Engineering Fellows are expected to complete two internships with employer sponsor; • PhD Engineering and PhD Science Fellows are expected to intern at least once with employer sponsor; • All interns are evaluated as potential full-time employees; and • Employers pay internship salary and travel.

The National GEM Consortium • The GEM Fellowship is an EMPLOYER sponsored program, where students receive: • Full tuition and fees • Paid summer internship (s) at one of 55+ employer members • MS Engineering Fellowship Program • Minimum $10,000 stipend over 4 semesters/6 quarters • Full tuition and fees at GEM member university • 2 paid summer internships with GEM Employer sponsor (required) • PhD Science/Engineering Fellowship Program • Minimum $14,000 academic year stipend for year one from GEM • University support year 2-5 • Full tuition and fees at GEM member university • 1 paid summer internship with GEM Employer sponsor (required)

GEM Application Requirements • Eligibility requirements • Minimum 2.8 GPA for MS Engineering Fellowship • Minimum 3.0 GPA for PhD Engineering and Science Fellowships • Submit three (one from faculty) letters of recommendation • Detailed resume • Include statement of purpose • Undergraduate and graduate transcripts • Be member of underrepresented minority group (African American, Hispanic American, and American Indian) • Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident

GEM Application Deadlines • Juniors and Seniors apply @ www.gemfellowship.org by October 1st for early consideration all supplemental material must be in by November 15th. • Apply to a minimum of 3 graduate STEM programs at GEM member universities (university list on GEM’s web site) by their deadline (latest February 1st but typically December 1st for the best financial package.) • Leverage relationships with GEM Employers in the Fall to request their consideration of sponsorship

GEM Calendar • October 1: Early Consideration • November 15: Application Deadline • December/January:Employer Interviews • March: Award notification • April: Graduate admittance confirmation • May/June: Internship begins • August/September: Fall semester begins • Meet campus GEM Representative • Meet other GEM Fellows!

Q&A

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