The Graduate School at the University of Louisville advocates for graduate students across the university, promoting the teaching and training of post-baccalaureate students. We work with academic and support units to recruit, retain, and prepare students for successful careers after graduate school.
Please consider a gift to help us sustain one of our many initiatives listed below to help support graduate students’ at UofL.
Retention Programs for Underrepresented Minorities in Graduate School: The Graduate School at UofL provides programs and opportunities to recruit, retain, and support underrepresented minority students in graduate school.
- Diverse, Faculty, Staff and Graduate Student Welcome Day offering community, resources, and a personal network committed to ensuring the success of our incoming and current underrepresented graduate student population.
- Celebration of Excellence in Graduate Diversity, collectively recognizing and celebrating the milestones of underrepresented graduate students who have completed their master's degree, reached doctoral degree candidacy, and those who have completed their doctorate degree.
- The Diversity Check-in-and-Connect is designed to support and monitor the progress of our underrepresented students in their academic pursuits. This program helps identify and develop proactive interventions for improvements in areas to increase student retention rates, provide one-on-one consultations and referrals, and encourage a network of support for students across the academic disciplines.
- The Multicultural Association of Graduate Students (MAGS) is a Recognized Student Organization (RSO) designed to enhance the social and cultural climate for underrepresented graduate students.
PLAN: The PLAN (Professional devopment, Life skills, Academic development, Networking) graduate student professional development program helps students take charge of their own learning and development by offering opportunities and resources related to Professional Development, Life Skills, Academic Development, and Networking skills. PLAN helps graduate students think about what they need to be successful as they enter, move through, and move on from graduate education. Program efforts include:
- Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Academy Part I, GTA Academy Part II, Grant Writing Academy, Entrepreneurship Academy, STEM GTA Academy, Community Engagement Academy, Publishing Academy and the new Mentoring Academy
- 40-60 Workshops a Year, in five different tracks: Research, including reading and writing; Teaching; Leadership, including building self-awareness, interpersonal skills, communication, and administrative skills; and Career planning
- One-on-One Consultations and Referrals
- Online resources including assessment tools, opportunities for reflection and self-assessment, curated lists of professional development links and tools, and other pathways to success
Graduate Student Research and Scholarships: One of the most important ways the Graduate School contributes to graduate student success is through financial support. Current funding efforts include:
- The University Fellowship program continues to fund over 100 doctoral students each year
- The Diversity Scholarship program funds over 20 masters and doctoral students each year to foster increased diversity in our graduate programs
- Tuition awards for up to 619 departmentally sponsored students
- Doctoral Dissertation Completion grants have funded between 10-30 students each year in their last semester of dissertation work
- Awards of up to $30,000 in travel money for graduate students through the Graduate Student Council (GSC)
- Research and travel awards of up to $3000 annually for graduate students through the Multicultural Association of Graduate School (MAGS) funds
- Fund graduate research awards for Research!Louisville and CODRE
- Sponsor the Dissertation Writing Retreat held at the Writing Center each May since 2012, as well as a virtual retreat
Emergency Fund for Graduate Students: The Graduate School has established an emergency fund for current graduate students to alleviate immediate, unexpected expenses due to circumstances beyond a student's control. The fund is intended to help alleviate financial hardships that may endanger a student's ability to continue enrollment in a graduate program at UofL.
