December 5

Current Grad Students Newsletter

Graduate Student News

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs (FGPA) distributes this newsletter to all graduate students on the first and third Thursday of every month (with a few exceptions). The next issue will be sent to you on Monday Jan. 6. For up-to-the-minute news, follow us on Twitter @CUGradStudies or visit our website: gradstudents.carleton.ca. To comment, email us at: fgpa_newsletter@carleton.ca.

Exam Information

For updated information about exams, please go to this web page. In case of inclement weather, you can find information on this web page. Good luck on your exams!

Important Message About Scantron Processing in December

Instructors using Scantrons are asked to drop off their answer sheets to the EDC main office (410 Dunton Tower) as soon as possible after their exam is done. Please note that all Scantrons must be dropped off no later than 12 a.m. (midnight) on the 21st.

Read On for More Details →

Feeling Stressed Out?

As exams are looming and the fall term comes to a close, it’s a particularly stressful time of year. If you need assistance, there are various resources to help you out.

Carleton's 3MT is Back!

The Three Minute Thesis Competition, in which graduate students are challenged to talk about their research in three minutes or less, is coming in the Spring. The 3MT can help you build confidence, develop your presentation skills and focus your research. And there are cash prizes! In January, we will be holding two information sessions for those interested, so stay tuned.

Have a Great Story to Tell?

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is once again hosting its annual Storyteller competition. The top 25 finalists will each receive $3,000 and have an opportunity to present their research at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences being held in London, Ontario.

NSERC's Science Exposed Competition

Again this year, the research image contest Science Exposed will challenge individuals and groups to combine creativity and science for a chance to win cash prizes. You have until Jan. 13 to submit a photo.

Holiday Closures and Hours

Carleton will be closed from Tuesday, Dec. 24 until Thursday, Jan. 2, re-opening on Jan. 3. Here are campus closures and reduced service hours on campus during the holidays..

Winter Orientation for New Graduate Students & TAs

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs (FGPA) is hosting a winter orientation session on Friday, Jan. 10 for new incoming graduate students and Teaching Assistants. Registration is now open.

Important Information for TAs - Or Those Who Want to Become One

Will you be a new Teaching Assistant as of January? If so, here are several things you need to know. More

All full-time graduate students who have NOT been awarded a Teaching Assistantship can now express interest in becoming an “out of priority” TA. The deadline to apply for winter 2020 is Dec. 15. Check this page to see if you are eligible and for information on how to apply.

Dec. 31 is the deadline for TAs to apply for a “leave from duties” for the winter term. More (scroll down on this page).

Consultation on the Campus Sexual Violence Prevention Strategy

Carleton University is continuing to accept feedback from all members of the community on the draft Campus Prevention Strategy for Sexual Violence. Feedback and comments can be submitted through the consultation website.

Reminder: Export your saved searches and lists from Library Catalogue before December 10

On December 10, the Library Catalogue will be replaced by Omni, the new library search tool.

Any saved searches, lists, or reading history saved in your library account will not be migrated to Omni, so you will need to export and save those manually.

Outstanding TA Award Nominations Open

If you’ve been taught by or worked with a great TA this year (Fall 2019 – Winter 2020), why not take a moment to acknowledge their hard work by nominating them for a TA Award? The Outstanding TA Awards nominations are now open at https://carleton.ca/tasupport/taawards/

U-Pass Opt-Out

The deadline to apply to receive a full refund when opting out of the U-Pass for the winter term is January 14. Find out if you are eligible.

Find Out More →

New Grad Diploma in Work and Labour

The nature of work has changed profoundly – and that change is not yet over. Carleton’s new Graduate Diploma in Work and Labour will offer graduate students an opportunity to focus on this area through coursework and an experiential learning component via a work placement with a labour or work-related organization.

Grad Research: Saving The Planet (And Our Pockets) With Energy Efficiency

Master’s student Brodie Hobson in the Civil Engineering program has been working towards finding new ways to bring about energy efficiency in existing buildings.

Convocation: Political Management Alumna Says Her Program Was "Awesome"

Tessa Seager had been a practising lawyer for a couple of years, but she had her eye on something more. She recently graduated with a Master of Political Management and landed a position as principal in a Vancouver public relations firm.

Convocation: Soldier Earns Master of Accounting Degree

Peter Drogosiewicz will tell you that despite having three degrees, a diploma and roughly 60 university-level courses under his belt—an MBA among them—he’s still a soldier first.

Convocation: Carleton Staff Member Gets a Graduate Degree

Since 2011, Eddie Villarta has been a Carleton University employee. Now he’s also a graduate, with a Master of Engineering in Technology Innovation Management. His journey to Carleton and through graduate school had many challenges and rewards.

Important Dates and Deadlines

ACADEMIC DEADLINES

December 6: Fall term ends; Last day of fall term classes; Classes follow a Monday schedule; Last day for academic withdrawal from fall term courses; Last day to pay any remaining fall tuition fees to avoid a hold on access to marks through Carleton Central and the release of transcripts and other official documents.

December 7-8: No classes or examinations take place.

December 9–21: Final examinations in fall term courses and mid-term examinations in fall/winter courses may be held. Examinations are normally held all seven days of the week.

December 15: Deadline to apply to be an Out-of-Priority TA (see below)

December 24: Deadline for course outlines to be made available to students registered in winter term courses.

December 24, 2019-January 2, 2020: University closed. Re-opens on Fri. Jan. 3.

January 6: Winter term classes start

January 14: OSAP deferral deadline. Late payment charges and late registration charges applied to the student account on or after this date for eligible OSAP students.

January 17: Last day for registration for winter term courses. Last day to change courses or sections (including auditing) for winter term courses.

January 17: Graduate students who have not electronically submitted their final thesis copy to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs will not be eligible to graduate in winter 2020 and must register for the winter 2020 term.

January 17-19, 24-26: Fall term deferred examinations will be held.

January 31: Last day for a fee adjustment when withdrawing from winter term courses or the winter portion of two-term courses (financial withdrawal). Withdrawals after this date will create no financial change to winter term fees and will result in a permanent notation of WDN appearing on your official transcript.

For a complete list of all official academic and financial dates and deadlines, please go to the Registrar’s website. For all financial matters, go to Student Accounts.

TRAINING & CAREER WORKSHOPS

Grad Navigate is now closed for the fall term and will re-open in January. Please note that online training modules or workshops advertised outside of Grad Navigate do not count towards paid training hours for TAs.

AWARDS & COMPETITION DEADLINES

December 18: Deadline to apply for a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation 2020 Scholarship

January 13: Deadline to apply to NSERC’s Science Exposed competition

January 28: Deadline to enter the SSHRC Storyteller competition

March 3: Deadline to apply for the W.L. Mackenzie King Memorial Scholarships

Mitacs offers several funding opportunities for graduate students. You can apply any time, except there are two deadline dates each year for the Mitacs Elevate program. Check out:
(a) Mitacs Accelerate (Funding starts at $15,000 for research internships with industry or non-profit partners)
(b) Mitacs Elevate ($57,500 annual grant for two-year postdoctoral fellowships with industry or non-profit partners).
(c) Mitacs Globalink Research (Travel funding for research projects with international universities)

Note: For information about Carleton awards, go to our awards and funding website.

EVENTS

December 7: Holiday Skate

December 10: Carleton University’s Holiday Concert

January 7: Deadline date to submit your artwork to CUAG for its annual community show

March 9-10: Emerging Perspectives: FPA Graduate Conference

March 11: Kesterton Lecture

March 31: Data Day 7.0

For other events, please check out the University Events Calendar.

TA DEADLINES

The deadlines to apply for a Leave From Duties are: Dec. 31 (winter term), April 30 (summer term) and Aug. 31 (fall term). You can access the form via Carleton Central.

Deadlines to apply to be an “out-of-priority” TA are as follows: December 15 (Winter term), April 15 (Spring/Summer term) and August 15 (Fall/Winter term),

“Pedagogical” training hours must be completed by Nov. 30 for a fall-only TAship and by March 30 for a full academic year TAship or a winter-only TAship.

TAs – Please note that it can take up to two weeks before your attendance at workshops is recorded. You are strongly encouraged to track your progress independently of the TA Management System in order to ensure its accuracy. In the event of a discrepancy, you are responsible for ensuring your training is captured in Carleton Central