Author Archives: Graduate School Communications

USC PhD Student Profile: Darshana Mini

Posted on by

Darshana Mini, first year PhD student at USC

Darshana Mini is a first year PhD student with the Cinema and Media Studies Division at the School of Cinematic Arts. She is an Annenberg Fellow and a recipient of the National level Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) awarded by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). Darshana is involved on campus as the Graduate Programme Assistant at the Center for Women and Men and part of VOICE (Violence Outreach Intervention and Community Empowerment), a peer outreach program that works to support survivors of trauma and prevent sexual and gender-based violence. She is also part of the Clinical/Advocacy subcommittee of the USC Sexual Assault Task Force.

Darshana’s Research

Darshana’s research looks at Indian cinema’s relationship to sexuality, import policy and censorship by tracking the emergence of the South Indian state of Kerala as a hub of soft-core pornography. Her PhD dissertation examines how the genre of soft-porn cinema emerged as a subversive form in the late 1990s by contravening government prohibitions on the circulation of sexual content.

USC Graduate School and the Fellowship Application Process

It is essential to take steps towards professionalization very early on. The USC Graduate School also has great resources run by their Academic Professional Department and Fellowship Department

– Darshana Mini

In her first semester as a PhD student, Darshana was curious about the Fellowship application process. Through colleagues in her department, she found out about DPDF –  one of the few external fellowships available to early-career PhD students and one that is specifically geared at aiding the proposal development process. In Spring 2015, she attended the VSGC Grant Writing Workshop held by USC’s Visual Studies Research Institute (VSRI) where she brainstormed her proposal with a panel of mentors. The advice from seasoned academics at the workshop helped her fine-tune her proposal and make it palatable to a wider audience. Extensive discussions with her supervisor, Professor Priya Jaikumar and her committee member, Professor Ellen Seiter, were crucial to the success of her application.

Darshana’s Advice to PhD Students

Given the extremely competitive job market in academia, attending conferences, publishing in journals and applying for Fellowships are crucial for well-rounded academic development. One needs to apply for these opportunities widely. As PhD students we lose nothing if we apply, but we deprive ourselves of so many opportunities if we don’t apply.

– Darshana Mini

USC Celebrates PhD Applicants for Major National Awards!

Posted on by

Dr Meredith Drake Reitan (far right) speaking to guests at the USC Graduate School’s event for Fellowship applicants

The USC Graduate School highly encourages its PhD students to apply for Fellowships, which is why on February 9, 2016, we took an afternoon to celebrate all those who worked hard to put forth applications.

We want to reiterate that this is a celebration not about having received but about having applied for an award. We want to acknowledge the risk you have taken by putting yourself out there. Regardless of the outcome, we are happy to support you in this endeavor.”

– Meredith Drake Reitan, PhD, Associate Dean for Graduate Fellowships 

USC had approximately 150 PhD students apply for major national awards this year! We were especially delighted to see that at least 50 students applied for the NSF Fellowships and 11 students applied for the Ford Foundation’s Pre-Doctoral or Dissertation funding. Furthermore, of the 46 students who completed this year’s Fellowship Boot Camp, close to 80% submitted a proposal!

Whether it be the the NSF GRFP, NIH NRSA F31, SSRC DPDF, AAUW, DOD NDSEG or any other Fellowship, these acronyms represent a wonderful alphabet soup of opportunities! The Graduate School is here to encourage PhD students and provide the resources they need to put forth competitive Fellowship applications.

USC PhD Student Profile: Marko Chavez

Posted on by
Marko greets Dr. Sally (Sarah) Pratt, vice provost for graduate programs

Marko greets Dr. Sally (Sarah) Pratt, vice provost for graduate programs

Marko is a first year PhD student in the Physics program at USC Dornsife. In his first academic year, he undertook the ambitious task of applying to six external graduate research fellowships!

Marko’s Research

Marko’s research is primarily focused on harnessing the unique “metal-reducing” properties of the Shewanella bacteria for the construction of primitive renewable energy devices such as photoelectrochemical cells.

USC Graduate School & the Fellowship Application Process

Marko chose to defer his Teaching Assistantship in order to dedicate his time outside of the classroom to developing his fellowship applications. He saw this as an opportunity to develop his own research focus, collaborate early on with an advising professor, and thus put forth the strongest applications he could.

“It was an incredibly challenging experience, but I had fun writing each and every statement. The applications required that I produce an original research question and a realistic procedure for getting to the answer. This in turn encouraged me to think proactively about the direction I want to take my doctoral research in. I felt like I was taking control of my future,” said Marko.

In addition to frequent collaboration with his advising professor, Dr. Moh El-Naggar, Marko used the USC Graduate School’s resources to help with time management. He met with Leah Aldridge, the Graduate Student Advocate for Fellowships, to discuss strategies he could use to help with balancing his classroom commitments with the Fellowship application process.

Leah and I touched base several times throughout the semester. She assisted me with prioritizing and organizing the many projects I was juggling my first semester. Together we made sure that nothing important fell to the wayside while I worked through each application.

– Marko Chavez

Marko’s Advice to other PhD Students

“I am the first person in my family to pursue higher education. My father never finished high school. He had to immigrate to America from El Salvador at the age of seventeen in order to escape a civil war. My mother, whose parents were both non-English speaking Greek immigrants, was unable to attend college. As a result, I did not have access to many professional development resources growing up. When I first discovered my passion for physics, it was up to me to find and then utilize the resources around me. From my persistent searching, I was able to meet the professors who would ultimately offer me a spot in their laboratories and I was able to find resources like the external graduate research fellowships I applied to here at USC,” said Marko.

Sometimes opportunities are easily obscured by difficult circumstances growing up. Therefore, it is important that students keep their head up and stay on the lookout for anything and everything, no matter how small, that can bring them closer to accomplishing their dreams.

– Marko Chavez

USC PhD Student Profile: Chris Warren

Posted on by
Chris Warren speaking at the 2016 USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute Symposium

Chris Warren speaking at the 2016 USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute Symposium

Chris is a PhD student with the Keck Department of Preventive Medicine in his third year of the Health Behavior Research Program. He is a USC Provost’s Predoctoral Fellow and recent recipient of a NRSA F31 award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Chris’ Research

Chris’ background is in cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychology. As a doctoral student he has explored the neurocognitive factors that influence a child’s ability to engage in goal-directed behaviors relating to health. He focuses specifically on executive function. Executive function forms a key part of the mechanism that allows an individual to say “no” to unhealthy options in service of a long-term goal. An example would be the ability to forgo having a calorie-laden dessert in an effort to achieve a weight-loss goal. He is particularly interested in knowing to what degree near-roadway pollution may affect the development of executive function in children. Near-roadway air pollution is loosely defined as the pollution from vehicle traffic including tailpipe emissions, partially combusted fuel, and debris from tires and brakes. The NIH, which funds most biomedical research, was particularly interested in Chris’ research because most of the current attention in the field is directed towards regional air pollution (smog, power plants, etc.) and the effects of exposure to pollutants early in life. Focusing on the effects of near-roadway air pollution on behavioral outcomes during adolescence is what sets Chris’ research apart from the rest.

USC Graduate School & the Fellowship Application Process

USC Graduate School Academic Professional Development

USC Graduate School Academic Professional Development

Two summers ago, Chris participated in the USC Graduate School’s Academic Professional Development program, which ran for ten weeks. In this doctoral summer institute, students from across the university gathered once a week to attend workshops on grant writing and manuscript writing.

Forcing yourself to explain your research to someone who isn’t well-versed in it is valuable because you’re communicating and translating the research to concepts that everyone can understand. That was the value of the summer institute – there were people from all around USC and it’s great to have any opportunity to bring people from various disciplines together and learn from one another – Chris Warren

Chris also credits the Provost Fellowship as instrumental to his capability of putting forth a competitive application for the NIH F31 Fellowship. Due to the fact that he wasn’t a TA, it freed up an additional 15-20 hours per week where he could pursue his own research ideas.

Chris’ Advice to PhD Students

As a graduate student, you need to take advantage of the fact that you’re in this incredible community of scholars and put yourself out there, otherwise your focus may narrow too much  – Chris Warren

“For instance, within the Health Behavior Research Division there’s little focus on air pollution; they’re looking more at other determinants of health. But within the broader department of Preventive Medicine there are many people who are interested in that topic and the health effects of environmental exposures more broadly. Seeking people outside of my division is what led me to make these links in my own research. Had I not put myself out there and attended talks on topics different from my own, and taken additional classes taught by professors from other disciplines, I wouldn’t have made these connections. There’s a tendency to want to focus on one area and be the expert, which is important, but as a graduate student you need a variety of perspectives,” said Chris.

USC PhD Student Chris Warren

USC PhD Student Chris Warren

Graduate School Fellowships for Advanced PhD Students 2016-2017

Posted on by

Kate Tegmeyer, Fellowship Assistant at the USC Graduate School, held two info sessions this week detailing our Fellowships for Advanced PhD Students.

These included: Endowed PhD Fellowships, Dissertation Completion Fellowships, Research Enhancement Fellowships, and Provost’s Mentored Teaching Fellowship.

In case you missed it, below is the handout from her presentation with all the information you need! You can also reach Kate at gradfllw@usc.edu if you have any questions.

Advanced Fellowship Info Session Handout 2016

 

Info Session Info Session

We Want You to Help Us “Deck the Halls”! Send Us Your Submission!

Posted on by
We want these walls to show off USC graduate student research!

The USC Graduate School has reserved these walls to show off YOUR research!

The USC Graduate School has moved to STU 301 and finds itself with a little problem…the walls are too bare! So we’re enlisting the help of USC graduate students to “Deck the Halls”! We want our new office space to proudly display your PhD research.

It can be in any visual format! Data visualizations, paintings, photographs, graphics, textiles, or other contributions that reflect the interests and research pursuits of our USC graduate students are all welcome, so get creative!

Within reason, the Graduate School will be covering the cost of professionally printing and mounting works selected for display. Those selected will be invited to an open house early next semester, so don’t miss out on the fun! The work will be featured for up to one year, then returned to the student no later than December 2016.

To be considered, please submit a copy (or draft) of the proposed work via email to mereditd@usc.edu by January 15, 2016. Proposals will be reviewed the following week and final selections will be made by the end of January.

We look forward to your submissions!

The USC Graduate School's hallways are bare

Your work could be up on these walls for everyone to see!

Fall 2015 Fellowship Info Session and Faculty Review Clinics

Posted on by

FALL 2015 FELLOWSHIP INFO SESSIONS

Each of these hour-long info sessions offers an insider’s look at funding opportunities that can make your academic and professional goals a reality.

Wednesday, September 2, 10:00am, GFS 329: Fellowships in STEM Fields
Thursday, September 3, 10:00am, GFS 329: Fellowships for International Students
Tuesday, September 8, 12:00 noon: Fellowship in Health Fields, Norris Medical Library East Conference Room at HSC
Wednesday, September 9, 10:00am, GFS 329: Fellowships for Students of Color
Thursday, September 10, 10:00am, GFS 329: Fellowships for International Research
Wednesday, September 16, 10:00am, GFS 329: Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences

FALL 2015 FELLOWSHIP PROPOSAL FACULTY REVIEW CLINIC
Once you’ve identified the fellowships you want to apply for, take advantage of the unique opportunity to submit your application materials for review by a USC faculty member. Application materials will be due to the Graduate School by midnight on Friday, September 18 for one-on-one meetings with faculty during the week of September 28-October 2. Priority consideration will be given to students who have attended a fellowship info session or the Graduate School’s 2015 External Fellowship Boot Camp.

Fulbright U.S. Students Grant Application Tips

Posted on by

Hello Fulbright (and potential) Applicants!

This is a friendly reminder that the USC Fulbright deadline is just about 2 months away.  Wherever you are in the application process, we hope these suggestions help you take your proposal planning and drafting to the next level.

If you have not done so already, make it a priority to begin your application online.  Select USC as your host institution for question #5 on the “B. Application Form” section.

  • Watch the USC Academic Honors and Fellowships Fulbright Information Session.
  • Watch all Fulbright Recorded Webinars that are applicable to your grant.
  • If you are apply for a research grant, read over the attached presentation for crafting a strong essay.
  • Review the Fulbright Application Tips section.
  • Expect to write 5-6 drafts (or more) of your essays.
  • Ask faculty in your field or a mentor to review your drafts and provide feedback.
  • Come into the office and read the binders of successful Fulbright applicant essays.
  • Search the Fulbright Grantee Directory by school, field and/or year. Reach out to folks who have already been to your target country on Fulbright.
  • Secure three recommenders who know you the best and can speak to your project proposal (teaching English, research and/or study) while on Fulbright.

Remember that all components of your application are due September 14 by 4:30pm.  This includes your letters of recommendation, and any applicable materials such as – affiliation letter, language form and supplemental materials.

We are happy to schedule a time to meet with you in person or chat over the phone. Our office is open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.  Please email ahfstaff@usc.edu with your availability.

We look forward to working with you on your Fulbright journey!

Sincerely, 

Academic Honors and Fellowships Staff