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Online Courses

The last thing you want to do is take more classes, but maybe there’s a gap in your knowledge or skill base you want to fill without paying more tuition. The UW offers free online courses, based on popular classes offered by UW degree and certificate programs.

Do I Have to TA if I Have a Fellowship?

I received an NRSA predoctoral fellowship. My understanding is that the fellowship is to cover my graduate school tuition so that I can devote full-time efforts to research (as required by NIH policy). However, my department has requested that I TA in the Spring quarter (concurrently with my fellowship) to cover the tuition shortfall. Is this typical? Are there options for tuition waivers so that I may focus solely on research? Are there limits to the number or amount of tuition waivers for NRSA recipients? 

(This week’s answer is courtesy of Helene Obradovich, Director of Fellowships and Awards, Graduate School.)

The Graduate School often provides tuition waivers for students who receive prestigious, individually-awarded, nationally-competitive fellowships from external organizations that don’t cover the full cost of tuition. We want to ensure that graduate students know that they can and should apply for these prestigious awards without concern for how they will cover the cost of tuition. Examples of types of funders/awards include the Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral and Dissertation fellowships, NSF Graduate Research fellowships, ACLS fellowships, etc. NIH NRSA individual fellowships also fall into that category. Have your department contact our Fellowships & Awards office to discuss how this might work. The request for tuition coverage must come from your department.  Our staff can be reached at gradappt@uw.edu or 3-7152. Any graduate student considering applying for an award that doesn’t cover the full cost of tuition should also contact our Fellowships & Awards office before applying for confirmation on whether we can assist with tuition coverage.

Ask the Grad School Guru is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guru doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guru is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Husky Card Discounts

UW students with a valid Husky Card are eligible for all sorts of discounts, from retail to tickets to services to travel. (Note: the site is specifically for faculty/staff, but all discounts should also apply to students as long as you have a Husky Card. Call merchant for confirmation.)

Thriving in Graduate School with Peer Mentoring

Throughout the past few months, Core Programs has sent out newsletters offering wellness, intellectual, and professional development strategies to help you thrive during—and beyond—graduate school. As part of our continued efforts to connect you with ideas and resources that support you in being your whole self, we dedicate this newsletter to the topic of peer mentorship.

Who is a graduate peer mentor? What do they do? Why is connecting with a peer mentor critical to your success? We looked toward the insights and wisdom of several experienced graduate student mentors by organizing an event called Thriving in Graduate School with Peer Mentoring in November.

Here is what they had to say:

  • A peer mentor draws from their authentic voice as an experienced graduate student to listen and connect with you on a human level.
  • A peer mentor opens a space for the mentee to drive the mentoring relationship in terms of frequency of meetings, what to talk and not talk about, and any goal setting.
  • A peer mentor does not try to be your best friend or counselor and encourages you to grow a mentoring and support team of faculty, colleagues, and when needed and appropriate, licensed mental health care professionals.
  • A peer mentor is not a problem solver, yet will reflect back to you potential options and refer you to campus and community resources.
  • A peer mentor has “gone through it too” and you do not need to put on your best face when seeking peer support.
  • A peer mentor acknowledges that while all grads and professional students go through imposter syndrome, it is experienced differently based on race, gender, class, sexuality, nationality, and ability.
  • A peer mentor shares wisdom on cultivating healthy norms (validating small and big milestones) versus unhealthy norms (“the comparison game”) in graduate school.
  • A peer mentor appreciates and learns from the knowledge and experiences of their mentees.

Core Programs extends a warm thank you to the following grad students who participated in the Thriving in Graduate School with Peer Mentoring event, held on November 12, 2015.

Julie Cass, Physics Peer Mentoring Program
Federico Fabbri, Grads Guiding Grads (G3)
Sarah Vorpahl, Women in Chemical Sciences
Ben Wiselogle, Husky United Military Veterans (HUMV)

ArtsUW

ArtsUW is comprised of the Seattle campus arts units and offers art exhibits, musical, dance, and theater performances. There are multiple student perks. Enjoy some arts this season!