Components of University of Vermont IGERT Program
The National Science Foundation Program in Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) is intended to support PhD education in areas that bridge traditional academic disciplines. IGERT awards are highly prestigious, both for the student trainees and for the institutions receiving the award. In order to achieve the desired integration, IGERT awards are more structured than usual PhD programs in terms of academic requirements, but also typically offer more freedom in development of research topics than is the case for many PhD students funded on grants. The University of Vermont (UVM) IGERT award focuses on the integration of technology, policy and human behavior under the framework of complex systems theory, with application to development and analysis of smart grid energy systems.
Students in the UVM IGERT Program are required to be admitted in one of the regular academic PhD programs offered by the University and also to satisfy a number of requirements specific to the IGERT program. These requirements are arranged into three groups, as indicated below.
A. IGERT Entry Requirement
1 year of calculus
1 semester of a computer programming course
1 semester of an introductory psychology course
1 semester of a micro- or macro-economics course
1 semester of a statistics course
If the IGERT entry requirement is not satisfied when a student initially joins the program, it must be completed within one year of entry into the IGERT program in order to retain IGERT funding.
B. IGERT Trans-disciplinary Breadth Requirement
1. Complete the requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Complex Systems. This requires completion of two graduate courses (CSYS 300 Principles of Complex Systems and CSYS 302 Modeling Complex Systems) and three complex-systems related elective courses chosen from a list of 24 approved electives. The elective course selection for the IGERT Trainees must include PA 306 Policy Systems.2.Pass a 1 credit course on Research Ethics. [This is a new course offered through the School of Engineering.]
3.Pass a 3 credit course on Behavioral Economics. [This is a new course offered by either the Psychology Departments.]
4.Pass a 3 credit course on Smart Grid Power Systems. [This is a new course offered by the School of Engineering.]
5. Regularly attend and participate in the weekly Smart Grid Seminar. Each IGERT Fellow will present at least one talk each year, addressing technical, behavioral, and policy aspects of their research.
6. Include a discussion on technical, behavioral, and policy implications in their PhD dissertation, including how their research is influenced by different societal and political cultures.
7. Include at least one member on their PhD studies committee from each of the technical, behavioral, and policy theme areas.
C. IGERT Experiential Learning Requirement
1.Complete a 10-week Summer Internship at Sandia National Laboratories working in an area that is related to the Trainee’s academic research.
2. Participate in at least one field trip each year to a Vermont utility company involved in developing the nation’s first statewide smart grid.
3. Participate in a minimum of one public outreach activity each semester of IGERT funding, such as a program or display presented at the ECHOCenter, a presentation at a K-12 school, or staffing a booth at a local energy fair of conference.
4.Present research at one domestic and one international scientific conference.
Together these various requirements provide a combination of the depth characteristic of PhD education and the multidisciplinary, systems thinking and breadth that is the trademark of an IGERT trainee.