Newsletter for 02/16/2025

New Announcements

Announcements

Key Winter 2025 Deadlines

*Please note the following upcoming university deadlines, and ALWAYS check the official UCSC Academic and Administrative Calendar for important dates and deadlines. Bookmark this year's Academic and Administrative Calendar and refer to it regularly. 

KEY WINTER 2025 DEADLINES:

Thursday March 7th - Deadline for Grade Change Option: This is your last day to change your grading option for any courses you are enrolled in for winter 2025. IMPORTANT: The system defaults to Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading.  Instructions for how to change your grading option to letter grades (ABC) can be found here.

Friday March 8th - Deadline for Late Add Permission: Deadline to add a class by permission or petition for winter 2025.

Friday March 21st - Deadline for Removal of Incomplete: Deadline to file petition and submit class work for winter 2025. Graduate Incomplete grade within the last three quarters. 

**Friday March 21st - Deadline for Completing Degree Requirements/Submission: Deadline to complete all degree requirements for winter 2025. *Students participating in commencement need to complete all requirements by May 31 to be listed in the program. 

UCSA & UCGPC Optional Fees

Did you know that you can opt out of the UCSA or UCGPC Association charges by submitting an online form before the third-week deadline of the affected quarter? If you opted out and wish to opt-in, you will need to complete the same form. Follow the navigation below to access the form in your MyUCSC portal.

Instructions:
MyUCSC >> Graduate Student eForms tile >> UCGPC Registration Fee Opt-out link in the left navigation

Reminder: After the third week of instruction (the Add/Drop/Swap Deadline on the Academic and Administrative Calendar) you are no longer able to opt out of the fees for the current quarter, but you may opt out for future quarters. A refund of current fees may be directed to the UCSA or UCGPC.

2025 SFI Education programs for graduate students

The nonprofit Santa Fe Institute (SFI) focuses on research and training in the quantitative modeling of complex systems, including social, cultural, and political systems, and economies. We would be grateful if you could circulate the opportunities below to interested graduate students, postdocs, and other early-career researchers:
 
- Complex Systems Summer School:

• intensive 4-week residential program consisting of seminars, workshops, and group research projects.
• June 8 - July 4, 2025
• For eligibility, cost, and more information: https://santafe.edu/csss
• Application deadline: January 28, 2025: https://apply-sfi.smapply.org/prog/csss2025

- Graduate Workshop in Computational Social Science Modeling & Complexity:

• 2-week residential workshop, where graduate students (2nd year or later) add computational & modeling approaches to their existing thesis research.
• June 22 - July 4, 2025
• For eligibility, cost, and more information: https://santafe.edu/gwcss
• Application deadline February 27, 2025: https://apply-sfi.smapply.org/prog/gwcss2025

**Scholarships are available based on need.

SIP Summer Funding Opportunity: Call for Mentors!

We are actively recruiting graduate students, postdocs, research staff, and faculty across all subjects to serve as Mentors, in-person, for the Summer of 2025. As you plan for this summer, please consider including a few high school students to support your ongoing research. 

ABOUT THE SCIENCE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (SIP)

SIP engages high school student Interns, ages 14-17, in university-level open-ended research projects in a variety of academic disciplines, including the arts, humanities, and social sciences. SIP Interns work in small groups of three or more, and each group is supervised by a PhD student, postdoc, or research staff Mentor. 

Over the course of the 8-week program, Interns will work on a specific research project under the direct supervision of their Mentor. While advancing their own research, Mentors will also support their Intern's critical and analytical thinking, skill acquisition, and confidence in a research setting.

Visit our 2024 Research Project page for more context about research projects and Intern tasks. We encourage you to watch our short SIP visual story and visit the SIP website to learn more.

TO APPLY:

Please fill out the SIP 2024 Mentor Application to submit your research for consideration for the 2025 program. All 2025 SIP Mentors will need to create an account and password to login (even if you were a SIP mentor in a previous summer).

• Applications Open: January 7, 2025

• APPLICATION DEADLINE: APRIL 15, 2025

STIPEND

This is a 30% appointment with Mentors expected to work 15 hours/week.

• Mentor Advisors (Graduate Students): $5,250

• Graduate Student Mentors: $4,750

• Postdocs, Research Staff Mentors: $2,750 (in lieu of PTO)

• Undergraduate Mentors: $2,750

IMPORTANT DATES

• Mentor Employment Dates: Friday, June 13 - Friday, August 15, 2025

• SIP Program Dates: Monday, June 16 - Saturday, August 9, 2025 

• Saturday, August 9, 2025: Presentation Day

Mentors must be available on campus for the 8-week program (June 16 - August 9), and maintain a minimum attendance of 80% (Monday-Friday). All meetings with Interns, except for the week of June 16, must be conducted in-person. Any time away from the program, with the exception of emergency or illness, must be pre-approved by SIP staff in advance of the appointment start date. Mentors are expected to facilitate Project Meetings at minimum 3 days per week, and work in-person with their Interns at minimum 9 hours per week. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to the SIP staff at hr-crest@ucsc.edu. We look forward to an exciting SIP program this summer!

Writing Support For UCSC Graduate Students!

The Writing Center offers UCSC graduate students one-on-one writing tutoring and supportive writing groups through the VOCES Program.  The VOCES Graduate Student Writing Center is staffed by advanced graduate students who serve as individual tutors and writing group mentors.  Bring us your budding ideas, your developing thoughts, your unpunctuated drafts, or your final polishing needs.  We are here to work with you and provide support for diverse writing needs!

Writing Process:

●      Prewriting

●      Writing

●      Revising

●      Exploring your writing process and understanding your strengths and needs

Academic/Creative Writing

●      Low-Stakes and High-Stakes Assignments

●      Graduate Seminar Papers

●      Proposals and Articles

●      Dissertation Chapters

●      Narrative and Fictional Writing

Professional Writing:

●      Resumes and CVs

●      Personal Statements & Artist Statements

●      Grant and Fellowship Applications

●      National Science Foundation Grant Writing

TO GET WRITING SUPPORT:

• Visit The Writing Center website and learn about us and our services
• Register, schedule an individual tutoring session (use the “VOCES Tutoring for Grad Students WIN2025” schedule)

• To inquire about joining a grad student writing group, email the Writing Center at writeon@ucsc.edu

All services are free, and take place online.  Services may be synchronous (online in real-time) or asynchronous (students submit writing to tutors in advance for review, the tutor then reads the document and provides feedback in writing (email) or in a Zoom meeting conversation. 

The Robert (Bob) Moses Scholarship

UC Santa Cruz Graduate Student Survey - Now Open!

UC Santa Cruz Graduate Student Survey - Now Open!

The UC Santa Cruz Graduate Student Survey is now open in late winter and will be open through early spring quarter 2025.  All currently enrolled UC Santa Cruz graduate students are invited to participate.  Graduate students can access the survey at ucal.us/ucgsesucsc.  

The survey allows Master's and Doctoral students a formal way to give feedback on academic programs.  Results are used in regular reviews of academic departments, to expand offerings of campuswide services for teaching preparation and other skills, and to improve mentoring, curriculum, and program requirements.

Topics in the survey include academic training, mentoring/advising, teaching preparation, the campus climate for diversity and inclusion, basic needs, and experiences as a GSR/TA/GSI.

In appreciation of students’ time, students who complete the survey are entered into drawings for gift card prizes throughout the survey period, so completing the survey early increases the chance of winning a prize.

This survey takes place every two years and is happening at every UC campus this winter and spring.  For more information, go to iraps.ucsc.edu/surveys.
 

CSE Event at the GSC - Getting the Job: A Microsoft Interview

Getting the Job: A Microsoft Interview

Learn what Microsoft Principal Architect Jeff Stock asks job applicants when they make it through preliminary interviews. Jeff will give examples of the technical questions he asks and the answers he expects to receive from good candidates.

When: Friday, March 14th from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Where: GSC Fireside Lounge