From Vice Provost Nieman
Believe it or not, we are halfway through the semester.
I am pleased that the School of Graduate Studies is partnering with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Engagement for the second annual Preparing Future Faculty Retreat on November 7th and 8th. This event has several sessions designed for graduate students and postdocs to uncover the steps necessary for success as you prepare for a career in academia.
In the last newsletter, I mentioned our plans for developing a mentor training program to share best practices and practical advice across our programs. The Center for Improving Mentored Experience in Research (CIMER) has an excellent program that has openings for their next facilitator training program. These will be held via Zoom in January and March 2025. If you are interested in joining our cadre of facilitators, please let me know and we will coordinate our effort. These are open to all disciplines and programs.
I’ll close with a reminder to take a walk through campus or one the many parks in our area to enjoy the autumn colors and cool air.
Dr. Marvin Nieman, Vice Provost and Dean for Graduate Studies
Grad Life Fall Feast
All graduate and professional students at CWRU are invited to a free dinner at the annual Fall Feast hosted by the Office of Graduate Student Life on Tuesday, November 5 at 5:30pm in Thwing Ballroom! Register here on CampusGroups to reserve your free ticket.
Academics
Resolve Spring & Summer 2024 Incompletes
If you received an Incomplete (I) grade in the most recent spring or summer semesters, you have until the date specified by your instructor - but no later than the 11th week of class (Friday, November 8) - to submit all outstanding work in order to have a final grade posted. If the Incomplete is not resolved by this date, the I grade will be converted to an F. See our Incomplete Policy in the Bulletin for more details.
Last Day for Course Withdrawal: November 8
If you need to withdraw from a single course (as long as it is not your only class), you have until Friday, November 8. For most classes, this is done in SIS; see the University Registrar's page on class registration (start at #20) for instructions.
When you drop the individual course, you will receive a grade of W on your transcript and you will receive a 0% tuition refund. If you have more questions or are unsure whether you should drop the individual course, speak to your professor and/or advisor before making the decision to withdraw.
Final Oral Defense
Doctoral candidates must submit the Notification for Scheduling the Final Oral Exam to Graduate Studies at least three weeks prior to the scheduled defense date. If you intend to graduate in January 2025, you should pay careful attention to submission deadlines now and plan accordingly. Dissertation defenses are to be held in-person. If special circumstances exist, students can petition Grad Studies for exceptions. See our Graduation page for more details.
Spoken English Sessions
Most Friday afternoons this fall, our Spoken English Language Programs (SELP) offers in-person workshops and conversation hours designed for international students for whom English is an additional language in Tomlinson Hall. Registration is open for graduate students and their spouses/partners; enrollment is limited to allow maximum conversational time for participants. Please contact Eric Moore at if you have any questions.
- SELP Workshops
- English Conversation Hours
- Idioms and Other Expressions (a four part series)
SELP also offers English language tutoring consultations to to practice speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary for presentations, speeches, interviews, and talks or just a chance to chat with someone who knows CWRU and the Cleveland area well. Graduate students can make appointments online through TutorTrac. You can also contact Eric Moore with questions.
Looking to Audit a Course?
Students can audit a course to gain knowledge in a subject area without being bound to complete all of the required coursework. Email a completed Add/Drop Form to gradstudies@case.edu to audit a course for Fall 2024 by Friday, November 8. A student may audit a course with the approval of the instructor and advisor, however, they receive no credit for the course (a grade of AD is posted on the transcript). Note that a course cannot be changed from Audit to Credit, and audited courses cannot be used to fulfill any degree requirements. Full tuition is charged for audited courses.
End of Daylight Saving Time: November 3
Daylight Saving Time (DST) for the United States will end overnight Sunday, November 3. Before going to bed that Saturday night, make sure reset any clocks that do not automatically update back one hour so you're on time for any appointments the following week!
Submit Required Admission Documents
Do you have admission materials to submit to the School of Graduate Studies? If you have not yet turned in your official transcripts or test scores, please check your account for an email titled "CWRU official admission documents needed" sent on September 26. All students with unresolved conditions will have a Spring 2025 registration hold until the documents have been received and you will not be able to register for classes.
Meet the Incoming Fall 2024 Grad Students
Welcome to all of our students that started in Summer and Fall 2024! We wanted to provide some statistics to show you what the incoming group of students looks like. As the chilly weather sets in, be sure to give your fellow students a warm welcome as they continue to settle in to the CWRU community.
Academic Plans: 343 (57.17%) Master's students; and 257 (42.83%) Doctoral students
Gender: 320 (53.33%) Female; 242 (40.33%) Male; and 38 (6.33%) Other
Minority Ethnic Groups: 221 Asian; 55 Black or African American; 37 Hispanic or Latinx; 18 multi-ethnic; 1 Native American; and 25 other
International Students: 32.83% of incoming grad students are international, representing 29 countries!
