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Graduate School Diversity Office Summer Institute

The Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) Summer Institute provides seven weeks of research opportunity for newly-admitted graduate students.

2024 Summer Institute: JULY 8 – AUGUST 23, 2024 (in-person)

Information for programs and departments > 

Program Description

The Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) Summer Institute (SI) provides a seven week summer bridge program, on the Twin Cities campus, for newly-admitted UMN-TC graduate students.

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Students who are eligible for SI include: 1) Recipients of the Diversity of Views and Experiences (DOVE) Fellowship; 2) DOVE nominees; and 3) and must be incoming students attending the UMN Twin Cities campus. As space permits, additional incoming domestic students to the Twin Cities campus who have received a first year fellowship, GAship, or TAship, and whose identities have been historically underrepresented in their fields of study may also be nominated by their graduate program to participate.  Each participant receives a $4,000 stipend and (optional) health insurance coverage over the summer provided by their graduate program or department.

Program Components

  • Orientation to the GSDO and UMN-TC community and services
  • Weekly seminars on acclimating to and successfully navigating graduate school
  • Social activities with SI Peer Mentors and SI Cohort community building
  • Research with a Faculty Mentor (who is identified by the student prior to the start of SI)
    • This may entail joining an existing research project, beginning the first steps of a new research project, performing a literature review for a potential future research project, etc.
    • SI students are not expected to start and complete an entire research project during the seven weeks, rather this is an opportunity to gain research experience in preparation for the work they will do in their graduate programs
  • Short research paper and presentation
  • Community engagement and GSDO activities during 2024-2025 academic year

SI Student FAQs >

SI General Overview (PDF) >


Information for Programs & Departments

2024 Summer Institute Info Session for DGSs and GPCs

March 19th, 1pm-2pm, z.umn.edu/SI24_infosession_zoom

Programs and departments who would like to fund eligible graduate students to participate in SI 2024, please fill out a Summer Institute Nominee Form for each nominee. 

SI Info Sheet for Programs & Departments (PDF) >

Eligibility

Eligible students are: 1) Recipients of the Diversity of Views and Experiences (DOVE) Fellowship; 2) DOVE nominees; and 3) and must be incoming students attending the UMN Twin Cities campus. As space permits, additional incoming domestic students to the Twin Cities campus who have received a first year fellowship, GAship, or TAship, and whose identities have been historically underrepresented in their fields of study may also be nominated by their graduate program to participate.

Please note, graduate students in programs on the Duluth campus are not eligible for SI.

SI Administrative Process

When the Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) has approved a nominee's eligibility, a Summer Institute staff member will email the potential applicant(s) the SI Participant Application Form. The GPC and/or DGS will be notified when we send the SI Participant Application Form to the potential SI Participant(s). For SI 2024, we are accepting up to 30 SI Participants.

All DOVE Fellowship recipients are guaranteed a spot in SI if they apply by the priority deadline; all other applicants are accepted on a first-come first-served basis.

If your student(s) has been accepted into SI 2024, GPCs and/or DGSs will be notified by Maija Brown, Assistant Director Transition and Retention. In order to alleviate the administrative burden to departments, the Summer Institute requests that all payments to SI participants be handled through our payroll system. GPCs and/or DGSs will receive detailed instructions for chartstring funds transfer in early June from Hanna McLevish, GSDO Office Manager (hmclevis@umn.edu).

Graduate Program, Department, or College Responsibilities 

Provide an SI Faculty Mentor

  • It is very important that the Faculty Mentor be available to meet and work with the student at least once a week throughout SI.
    • Faculty who plan to be unavailable for any significant amount of time during the SI are not suitable for mentoring SI students.
  • The Faculty Mentor is ideally the student’s future Faculty Advisor, or a faculty in their program or department with similar research interests.

Cover the $4,000 SI Stipend

  • Every SI Participant receives a $4,000 stipend for their participation in SI.
  • Your program must transfer stipend funds to our office (Graduate School Diversity Office) and we will disburse stipend payments to the participants.
    • Instructions on fund transfers will be sent in June by Hanna McLevish, GSDO Office Manager.

Cover July-Aug UMN Health Benefit Plan & Boynton Extended Coverage, as needed (cost $640 + $152.06 = $792.06)

  • All SI participants will be offered the opportunity to enroll in the University of Minnesota Health Benefits Plan for the months of July and August. Department/programs are responsible for covering the costs of the UMN Health Benefit Plan for the months of July and August as well as the Boynton Extended Coverage, required for all SI participants. 
  • If SI participants elect to NOT enroll in the UMN Health Benefits Plan for July and August, the department, program or college must still cover the costs for the Boynton Extended Coverage. This is a mandatory fee of $152.06, required for all SI participants. 
  • Your program must transfer health insurance funds to our office (Graduate School Diversity Office) and we will set up summer health insurance coverage for the participants.
    • Instructions on fund transfers will be sent in June by Hanna McLevish, GSDO Office Manager.
    • Our office will not set up health insurance for coverage beyond the summer.

Faculty Mentors 

A major goal of the Summer Institute is to provide newly admitted graduate students the opportunity to conduct full-time research with a Faculty Mentor in their department while adjusting to graduate student life. The role of the Faculty Mentor includes helping students identify a research topic or project that is manageable within the given timeframe (July 8-Aug 23, 2024). SI Participants may join existing/ongoing research, begin the first steps of a new research project, conduct a literature review for a potential future research project, etc. WhileSI Participants are not expected to complete a research project, from start to finish, within the seven week time frame, SI Participants are expected to submit a short Research Proposal (~ 3 pages) and do a 10-min Final Presentation at the end of SI based on their summer research. Faculty Mentors are encouraged to review the final Research Proposal and provide constructive feedback, as SI Participants often use it as a first draft for grant applications, conference proposals, and/or research papers.

Depending on schedules and the nature of the research project, we anticipate that students and faculty will meet at least once weekly via phone, email, Zoom, or in person, to discuss the research during the institute. SI Participants are required to give their 10-min Final Presentation on their research topic during the last week of the program (Aug 20-22) and complete their Research Proposal on their topic by Aug 26.

Summer Institute Faculty Mentor Orientation: Date TBD. 

Faculty Mentors, Graduate Program Coordinators (GPCs), and Directors of Graduate Studies (DGSs) are requested to attend a Welcome Reception during the SI participant's first week (July 8-12, 2024). Details are forthcoming as we get closer to the date.

Faculty Mentors may attend their mentee’s Final Presentation (Aug 20-22), if invited by their mentee. They may only attend their own mentee’s presentation, if invited, as this is intended to be a low-stakes presentation opportunity.

SI 2024 Participant Eligibility

  • Participation in SI is limited to first-year, incoming domestic graduate students who are from underrepresented groups in graduate education.
    • Students do not have the option of postponing participation for another summer.
  • Participation in SI is limited to graduate students in research-based masters or doctoral graduate programs on the Twin Cities or St Paul campuses only.
    • Duluth students are not eligible for SI.
    • Students in non-research-based graduate programs, and those in certificate programs, are not eligible for SI.
  • SI Participants must have:
    • A Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) Diversity of Views and Experiences (DOVE) OR 
    • Must be a domestic graduate student of color or Native American graduate student who:
      • will be supported by a fellowship in the 2024-25 academic year, 
      • will be offered funding for the SI participation by their program, department, or college, and 
      • has been approved to attend by the Assistant Director of Transition & Retention (Dr. Maija Brown).
  • SI Participants are responsible for working with their graduate program to identify their own Faculty Mentor prior to the start of the SI program.
    • Faculty Mentors may be their Faculty Advisor or another professor in their department. If there are no faculty available during SI in their department, they may choose a professor from a similar UMN department whose research interests align with their own.
  • SI Participants are responsible for finding their own housing in the Twin Cities.
    • SI Participants are required to move to the Twin Cities for the duration of the Summer Institute. 
  • SI Participants must commit to participating in the full seven weeks of the program.
    • However, they may request excused absences (such as mandatory graduate program orientation, family emergencies, etc.) with the Assistant Director of Transition & Retention (Dr. Maija Brown). 

SI 2024 participants will: 

  • Receive a stipend of $4,000 (paid in installments during the institute), provided by their graduate program, department, or college. We request that the program transfer stipend funds to our office (Graduate School Diversity Office) and we will disburse stipend payments to the participants. Instructions on fund transfers will be sent in June. 
  • Receive July-August UMN health insurance (if needed), provided by their graduate program, department, or college.
    • For SI 2024, participants are only eligible for the UMN Health Benefits Plan during the months of July and August.
  • Participate in weekly seminars and check-ins.
  • Participate in community-building social activities with the SI 2024 cohort and with Peer Mentor families.
  • Participate in a research project full-time with a Faculty Mentor.
    • This may entail joining an existing research project, beginning the first steps of a new research project, performing a literature review for a potential future research project, etc. (not performing a full research project from start to finish within the seven weeks).
    • Participants and their programs are responsible for identifying and contacting the faculty with whom they will work with during SI. The participant and their Faculty Mentor will be responsible for developing the student’s research schedule.
  • Complete assignments throughout SI, such as an Individual Development Plan, Annotated Bibliography, and a Short Research Proposal and Final Presentation on the work completed with the Faculty Mentor.
  • Participate in community engagement and Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) activities during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Important Deadlines

  • All potential SI Participants must fill out THE SI PARTICIPANT APPLICATION FORM 
  • Priority deadline for DOVE Fellows: Friday, April 26
  • Deadline for all other eligible fellowship nominees: Friday, May 10

Contact Us

Email: summerinstitute@umn.edu

Maija Brown, Ph.D. | brow0723@umn.edu
Assistant Director, Transition and Retention

Hanna McLevish | hmclevis@umn.edu
GSDO Office Manager

Trae Larson | lars5558@umn.edu
Coordinator Transition & Fellowships