Graduate Student Organization

Graduate Student Lecture Series: Criteria and Call for Nominations 2016-2017

Deadline for Nominations:
Submit a digital copy of all materials to Graduate Studies email:
by January 23, 2017

Graduate Student Lecturers

Each year the Graduate Student Organization along with the Graduate Council solicit and nominate one or two graduate students to the Graduate Student Lecture Series. The lecturer is chosen based on the significance of their graduate research and potential contribution to their field of study. The Graduate Lecturerswill present their work at the Student Academic Conference on April 11, 2017 either in person or via distance technology. The Graduate Lecturerwill be given a plaque and an honorarium from the Graduate Student Organization.

Criteria for Nominating and Selecting

  1. NOMINATION: Students may self-nominate or be nominated by their graduate program faculty.

Each graduate program may nominate up to three (3) current students and/or alumni who have completed their graduate program within the last year. Each nomination must include the following information/ documentation:

  1. A brief nomination statement (100 words or less) by a Graduate Faculty member or Program Coordinator that includes a description of the type of presentation and discusses the significance of the student's work within her/his field of study.
  2. One page statement submitted by the graduate student that addresses the significance of the work to the student’s field of study, its appeal to a broader audience, and relationship of the project/presentation to the student’s career preparation.
  3. A copy of the student's current curriculum vita or resume'.
  4. A short (<3 minute) video “elevator speech” by the student summarizing the work being presented. The video can be unedited and lower resolution to make it easier to email? The focus is on the content and professional delivery not on the type of video platform. Students may use technology of their choice to record and submit the video such as iPad/iPhone/digital video, Explain Everything/PowerPoint voice-over, Presentme, Eyejot, YouTube.

All graduate students will receive an invitation to apply (self-nominate) for the lectureship. The self-nominations must include the following information/ documentation:

  1. A brief nomination statement (100 words or less) by a Graduate Faculty member or Program Coordinator that includes a description of the type of presentation and discusses the significance of the student's work within her/his field of study.
  2. One page statement submitted by the graduate student that addresses the significance of the work to the student’s field of study, its appeal to a broader audience, and relationship of the project/presentation to the student’s career preparation.
  3. A copy of the student's current curriculum vita or resume'.
  4. A short (<3 minute) video “elevator speech” by the student summarizing the work being presented. The video can be unedited and lower resolution to make it easier to upload– the focus is on the content and delivery not on the quality of the video itself. (Students may use technology of their choice to record and submit the video such as iPad/iPhone/digital video, Explain Everything/PowerPoint voice-over, Presentme, Eyejot, YouTube)
  1. The type of presentation by each nominee should reflect significant accomplishment during the nominee's graduate studies at MSUM. It should also be useful to the field of study and may involve a formal lecture, creative presentation, performance, or some combination.
  1. Nominees will be evaluated and ranked based on the following factors.
  1. Content of nomination by the graduate faculty member or program coordinator.
  2. Content of letter of support from graduate faculty member.
  3. Content of the nominee's resume'.
  4. Apparent or demonstrated quality of the scholarship, creative materials or performance.
  5. The contribution to knowledge or understanding in the nominee's field of graduate study.
  6. Broader audience interest in the topic or substance of the lecture/presentation.
  1. The nominees’ materials will be forwarded to the Graduate Council appointed Graduate Student Lecturer committee and will be reviewed by at least three members of the committee and a Graduate Student Organization representative. The Graduate Student Lecturer committee shall select the Graduate Student Lecturer and may select two different lecturers from different fields of study.