Intellectual Life
- Annual Conference
- With faculty funding, graduate students in the department plan and host an
annual day-long research conference involving graduate students from other universities in the region.
Beginning during the fall semester, students select a theme and venue and invite a keynote speaker known for work
on that topic. During the spring semester, students review proposals, organize the program, arrange a group luncheon,
and of course deliver their own papers and research proposals. The event usually occurs on a Friday during March.
UICC 2006 · UICC 2007 · UICC 2008 · UICC 2009 - Colloquia
- The Department sponsors a monthly colloquium during Fall and Spring Semesters. Students sit at the table
(and can bring a lunch) and are first to exchange opinions with speakers, faculty, and each other. They receive feedback
on emerging projects and join the intellectual community with professors and fellow graduate students. The colloquia are
informal 90-minute conversations. Presenters may circulate a paper in advance for those attending to read.
Each year usually one colloquium is an opportunity for students to present their research to an informed audience, an important step in the pursuit of scholarly achievement. Appropriate times to propose a presentation for the colloquia are during the drafting of the proposal and near completing the thesis or dissertation. The Department expects all students writing a thesis to give at least a 15-minute presentation and all those writing a dissertation to give a full-length presentation (usually one hour) at least once during the program. - CommGrad Listserv
- Graduate students track conferences, speakers, grant opportunities, interesting trends, valuable web links, and cutting-edge research papers and post these in brief messages to the department graduate student listserv. The Department automatically subscribes all students once they accept admission into one of its graduate programs. The list is not moderated but the posts avoid non-scholarly topics, especially those involving private or personal concerns.
- Department Wiki
- The Department encourages healthy teamwork and discourages unhealthy competitiveness among students. Graduate students have established a wiki where they create pages for collaboration related to courses, research projects, and other scholarly exchanges. The page is password protected, so that students can work without concern for the larger world watching. For the password, send a message to wiki administrator.
- Social Events
- Students and faculty gather for informal brown-bag lunchtime discussions and socializing, usually once
or twice a month during regular semesters on the weekday when no colloquium is on the schedule. Students writing theses
and dissertations organize themselves to meet weekly for happy-hour discussions about their progress and research issues.
The Department Head or Director of Graduate Studies organizes occasional events in faculty homes to gather with professors, graduate students, staff, and alumni. Each spring, the Department hosts an open house for applicants interested in admission to the graduate programs. - Department Committees
- After completing the first year of study, students are eligible for appointment to department committees, especially those related to graduate study, including Graduate Program (admissions), Colloquium, IRB, Awards, Faculty Search, and others. To express an interest in serving, send a message to the department head by the end of the second semester, indicating any committee preferences.
- Student Council
- The UIC Graduate Student Council (GSC) is the student governing body representing graduate students to the university administration. The Department has one representative on the Graduate Student Council, who attends a monthly meeting and reports to the other students, usually through the listserv. Students in departments with a GSC representative attending the meetings are eligible for travel support. Further information is available from the GSC representative.
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