Monthly Archives: February 2015

Student Leadership Opportunities at CMHC

1.  March 3rd:  Student Leadership Open House

A partnership between CMHC and University Health Services (UHS) to provide an open house for students to learn all about the great leadership and academic opportunities we offer.  (Flyer attached and he facebook event can be found here https://www.facebook.com/events/357264007800568)

2. March 3rd:  “Real Talk: How to Help a Friend in Distress” The open workshop will take place on Tuesday, March 3rd from 7-8 PM in BUR 112. This highly interactive, one hour workshop discusses emotional distress and explores how students can support their friends who are going through a tough time. Facilitators engage audience members through conversations and role plays, allowing participants to learn from one another. This workshop is open to all UT students. Here’s a link to the facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1545676819037461/

3.  Looking for stories of student resilience

The Counseling and Mental Health Center is currently recruiting students for a video project.  We are looking for students who have experienced some sort of failure or rejection during college and are willing to share their story in a 90 second video.  These stories are meant to inspire and encourage other students who might be encountering similar experiences.  We will be using these videos in a mobile application we’re developing but also potentially online and through social media as well.   If you’re interested in learning more about this opportunity, contact Steven Stone, CMHC Graduate Assistant at steve.stone@utexas.edu.

The Liberal Arts Honors Study Abroad Scholarships Due March 1

The Liberal Arts Honors Program will award scholarships in varying amounts to support LAH students and Humanities majors who will be studying abroad in the Spring, Summer, and/or Fall.  An LAH student may apply for this scholarship by writing a one-page statement of his or her study abroad plans. The statement should include where and what the student will be studying, the projected cost involved, and the role that study abroad and the mastery of a foreign language plays in the student’s academic and career goals.

Now is the time to apply for Liberal Arts Honors Study Abroad Scholarships! Deadlines are:

5:00 pm March 1 for Fall and Summer.

Please submit your application online through the study abroad online scholarship application, Global Assist and select “Get Started”. The website will prompt you to set up an online profile and show you a list of scholarships which criteria you meet. If you are applying for a study abroad program not affiliated with UT, please enter program code 300999.

Both LAH students and Humanities majors are eligible to apply for the LAH Study Abroad scholarship. Please contact the LAH office with any questions.

Writing Center Intership

Would you like to put your awesome rhetoric and writing skills to work helping your fellow Longhorns? Then, apply to become a paid consultant at the Undergraduate Writing Center!

All consultants are required to take the course, RHE 368C: Writing Center Internship, which is now offered every semester. During the first part of the term, the class covers issues relating to writing center theory and practice. Students analyze the goals and practices of writing centers, examine elements of contemporary rhetorical and composition theory (including the writing process), survey typical course syllabi and assignments, and review basics of grammar, mechanics, and usage. During the final five weeks of RHE 368C, members of the class work under supervision for six hours a week as consultants (unpaid) in the Undergraduate Writing Center.

Any undergraduate who meets the upper-division requirement and gains permission from the instructor can register for the course. Priority is given to students who can give the UWC several semesters of service as a tutor. We actively seek students from across various majors and disciplines. For more information, contact Professor John Ruszkiewicz at jr@austin.utexas.edu

Creative Writing Certificate Reception

The Department of English would like to invite you to a reception and reading celebrating the new creative writing certificate.  Current certificate students and students interested in creative writing are invited to come, hear faculty give short readings, and meet fellow writers.  Refreshments will be served.  Please join us!

 The reception will take place Tuesday, February 24th, 4:00 PM, in the Poetry Space/UFCU Student Learning Commons (PCL 2.500).

Information on the Creative Writing Certificate is available on the undergraduate Creative Writing website.

Join the Clements and Strauss Centers to learn about summer internship funding, research grants, and other student programs!

Tuesday, February 24

12:15-1:00pm

SRH 3.124

Light lunch served

Open to all UT undergraduate and graduate students

Please join the Clements Center for History, Strategy & Statecraft and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law to learn about summer internship funding, research grants, and other student programs.

The Clements Center will discuss the following programs:

The Strauss Center will discuss the following programs:

TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR STUDY ABROAD IN LATIN AMERICA

The Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies is now offering a number of travel scholarships for study abroad in Latin America, both for summer 2015 and for academic year 2015-2016.  For summer 2015, we are offering six $2,500 travel scholarships.  Students must attend degree-granting institutions in Latin America this coming summer and return with at least six hours of college credit.  For academic year 2015-2016, we will award six $5,000 travel scholarships for semester-long study abroad.  Awardees must attend degree-granting institutions in Latin America and return with at least 12 hours of college credit.

Applications and letters of recommendation are due on March 11, 2015, without exception.  Please follow the link to the scholarship portal:

http://bit.ly/WNaeWm

Brumley Next Generation Scholars

The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service are now accepting applications for the 2015-16 Next Generation Scholars program. There will be an information session on the program Tuesday, February 24th from 12:15-1:30pm in SRH 3.122 (more information on our website). There will be an additional information session in late February or early March in the Liberal Arts Building; stay tuned for more details.

The Next Generation Scholars (NGS) program was launched in 2010 with the goal of providing new research and mentorship opportunities for promising UT undergraduate students interested in careers in international security and law. In 2015, the NGS program will expand to include a focus on civic engagement through a partnership with the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, expanding the reach of the program by engaging more students and involving faculty members on a wider range of local, national, and international policy issues. Involving undergraduates in international affairs and civic engagement early in their career is an important part of the Strauss and RGK Centers’ mission to prepare the next generation of leaders to help develop solutions to the most pressing public policy challenges.

Program Components

This one-year program includes two key components: First, students will take a 3-credit research training and professional development course, taught in the Fall of 2015. This course is designed to introduce students to policy work, including basic skills in policy research, analysis, and writing. Students will be trained on designing research strategies and proposals, conducting policy analysis, writing resumes and statements of purpose, crafting op-eds and blog posts, and planning for the steps in their career development. Students selected for the program are required to enroll in PA 325. This course will be led by Dr. Catherine Weaver, LBJ School Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar.

Second, the program also matches each selected student with a research agenda underway by a Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar or RGK Center Faculty Fellow to provide opportunities to directly engage in policy-relevant research and practice skills taught in the fall course. Students will apprentice in their assigned research program for the Fall 2015 semester. Students who perform well in their research apprenticeship and the research training course in the fall will be eligible to then continue as a paid research intern for their respective faculty members at the Strauss or RGK Center in Spring 2016. Students promoted to full intern positions will be expected to commit approximately ten hours per week during the spring semester and will earn a stipend of $500 for the spring semester. Students may use this stipend for independent research, travel to a study abroad program or summer internship, travel to a professional conference, or other experiential and scholarly pursuits approved by Dr. Weaver. Funding permitting, and contingent on positive performance evaluations, students may have the possibility of continuing as research interns at the Strauss Center after the year-long Next Generation Scholars program concludes.

More details and application available here.

Apply for Junior Fellows, 2015 – 2016

The Junior Fellows Program was begun in 1959 by Harry Ransom as a means of encouraging academic excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences. At that time it was essentially an honor society to which students were elected at the end of their freshman year. Over the years, the Junior Fellows has evolved into a society of juniors and seniors from the University at large who are engaged in independent research projects under the direction of members of the faculty.

Fellows are required to attend meetings of the group, held every other week in both the fall and spring semesters. Besides project presentations, meetings feature discussions led by eminent scholars from on and off campus. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in field trips, seminars, and other academic activities.

It is possible to earn academic credit for work done as a Junior Fellow, by enrolling in the appropriate conference course with the supervising professor. For example, Humanities and Plan II majors usually use their senior theses as their Junior Fellows projects. Students pursuing Special Honors in their major use the honors thesis number. Other non-honors courses are also available, for example ARH 376, E 367C, CH 475K, RTF 336. Fellows should register for the course that is approved by their advisers, fits into their degree plans, and has the right format for the chosen topic. Funds are available to assist Fellows with expenses involved in their research. There is also some money available for Fellows who can demonstrate financial need.

Application Procedure

Application is open to any qualified student from any program on campus who will have completed 60 hours prior to the Fall semester. Junior Fellows normally have a GPA of at least 3.75, but outstanding students whose abilities are manifested in other ways should not hesitate to apply. Although administered by the College of Liberal Arts, the program is open to all qualified students on campus. Many students from outside Liberal Arts are presently members.

Application materials may be downloaded using the link below or may be obtained from the Liberal Arts Honors Office,CLA 2.104, Austin, TX 78712. For more information contact Dr. Larry Carver in the Liberal Arts Honors Office by email or phone at 471-3458.

Download Application Form (PDF)

Applications are due Friday, March 27, 2015 for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Membership in Junior Fellows begins the fall semester following the spring recruitment period.

Congratulations to Our Wise Wanderers

We received many outstanding applications, so many that we couldn’t pick just one Wise Wanderer for Summer 2015.  We have selected the following recipients for the Wise Wanderer Scholarship:

Emily Finkelstine, the Silk Road in Western China

Mac MacKay, Palestine

Jeffrey Saeling, Japan

Thank you to everyone who submitted an application.  We wish you all happy travels.