School of Graduate Studies
2014-2015
Progress
Report
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Mandate Message from the dean Message from the associate dean
GRADUATE STUDIES BY THE NUMBERS
ON THE COVER 03 04 05 06
ACHIEVEMENTS Highlights of the year Enrolment management Student awards New programs and courses Awards
11 11 12 13 13
IMPACT OF GRADUATE STUDENTS Marie-Eve Lajoie Matthew Lamont Maggie O’Dea
14 15 16
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
17
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
18
INTERNATIONALIZATION
19
SGS FACULTY/STAFF PROFILE Dr. Faye Murrin, dean pro tempore Dr. Katherine Side, interim associate dean School of Graduate Studies staff (2013-2014)
02 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
20 20 21
Afsaneh Rafighi is a current graduate student from Iran, who is completing a Master of Science in Computer Science, under the supervisor of Dr. Oscar MeruviaPastor. Ms. Rafighi’s research is on computer vision, and involves implementing a calibration free system of multiple Kinect cameras that have applications in gaming and virtual reality.
Mandate the school of graduate studies (SGS) was established in 1975 under the first dean, Dr. Frederick
A. Aldrich. A total of 830 graduate students enrolled in the 51 programs offered at the time. SGS now offers over 100 programs to over 3,600 graduate students and oversees more than 60 postdoctoral fellows at the university. It is a central agency responsible for the collection, maintenance, and distribution of materials concerning all graduate students at Memorial. It maintains graduate files and administers graduate applications, admissions, comprehensive examinations, thesis examinations, and doctoral defences. SGS is also responsible for registrarial functions, graduate enrolment management, and recruitment, and administers graduate student funding including assistantships, external and internal scholarships, baseline fellowships, supervisor support, and Tri-Council global payments. The School also assists academic units in developing new program proposals and administers their approval. Through its Academic Council, SGS also provides a forum for representatives from all faculties, schools and the Graduate Students’ Union to discuss matters pertaining to graduate education and to ensure standards across all graduate programs.
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 03
Message from the Dean
The contribution of graduate students
to research and innovation, and the growth in graduate school enrolment are recognized as essential to Memorial’s goal of enhancing its status as a distinguished research university. We are proud that gains made during the 201415 academic year have enabled us to become, at the start of 2015-16, the largest graduate school in Atlantic Canada and on track to become its most influential. The school’s Strategic Enrolment Plan has been key to our success. With clearly articulated goals, the plan focuses on three areas which encompass all aspects of a graduate student’s experience: recruitment and admission; retention, training, and support; and completion and labour market considerations. My sincere thanks go to our director of graduate enrolment services, Andrew Kim: his keen insight into current theory and practice in advanced education, and fierce commitment to data-driven planning, has been vital to our success. It is only with a strong network of partners within the university and in the broader community that we have been able to move forward toward our goals. Funding for our graduate students was in excess of $20 million this past year. Financial support of graduate students in the form of scholarships and awards, and baseline fellowship support has increased despite the year’s continuing economic challenges. We have also increased our efforts to support students as they apply for external fellowships by offering workshops focussed on some of the
04 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
most prestigious awards: the Trudeau Doctoral Fellowship, Tri-council Canada Graduate Scholarships, and SSHRC Storytellers, among others. SGS is fortunate to have in service of our graduate students, the exceptional expertise and thoughtfulness of our manager of fellowships and awards, Carol Sullivan, who joined us early in the academic year. In these pages you will meet some of the people who make our work so worthwhile. Doctoral student Kirk Luther was awarded the SSHRC Talent Award: valued at $50,000 per annum, it is awarded to only a single student nationally each year. The President’s Award for Graduate Student Supervision this year went to the very deserving Dr. Alistair Bath of the Department of Geography. The School of Graduate Studies Dean’s service awards were awarded to Dr. J.C. Loredo-Osti and Ms. Jingjua Nie. Behind the scenes and not seen in these pages, are the staff of the school, dedicated professionals who enable the school to be an effective and efficient support for our graduate students. With all of these strengths, the School is in a good position to face the challenges of the upcoming year. The School of Graduate Studies continues to grow – in size and in reputation. It feels very good to be part of it! D r . Faye M urrin D ean p r o t e m p o r e
Message from the Associate Dean
Graduate
school
is
an
exciting
time,
although it’s also a time when the future may not always be clear. That makes it especially important to anticipate challenges, and to keep an open mind about future possibilities. This past year, some graduate students at Memorial University participated in a national conversation about Canada’s future, along with graduate students from twenty other Canadian universities. Coordinated by the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, their conversation, framed around ‘Imagining Canada’s Future’, focused on the ‘big issues.’ It encompasses questions-broad and specific-about education, labour markets, energy and natural resources, Aboriginal People’s shared future in Canada, population, and technology. These are important questions that cut across disciplines. Addressing them will require interdisciplinary approaches, knowledge, and expertise, and novel ways of looking at the challenges that are right in front of us. At Memorial University, those participating included masters and doctoral level students, international students, and those researching across a range of disciplines, from gender studies to medicine. Their conversation continued at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Ottawa nearby to where some of the ‘big decisions’ in Canada are made. There are plans underway for their continuation in additional venues.
Graduate student engagement in these conversations is key to ensuring that graduate education is relevant and responsive, and that graduate students have a role in defining how their research will be important in future. Of course, there are also other ways to do this, and over the past year we have been happy to celebrate graduate student accomplishments in competitions for research fellowships and scholarships. We have all benefitted from their participation and winning performances in other places, from the 2015 Aldrich Interdisciplinary Conference in St. John’s, to the regional Three Minute Thesis competition in Montréal, to competition at the top level of the overseas G20 Global Business Challenge in Brisbane, Australia. From our earliest days, with just 830 graduate students, the School of Graduate Studies has grown to include more than 3,500 students, from all over the world. D r . K atherine S ide I nterim A ssociate D ean
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 05
Graduate Students
by the numbers Memorial University continues to increase the number of graduate students enrolling in and graduating from our graduate programs. Since 2010, there has been an overall increase of 22% in graduate enrolment at Memorial.
Our out-of-province Canadian and international graduate student population continues to increase. Since 2010 there has been a 28 per cent and 96 per cent increase in students from out-of-province and international locations, respectively.
ta b l e 1 — g r a d u at e e n r ol m e n t b y f a c u lt y / s c h ool / Ca m p u s Change
2014 / 2010
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Arts
402
379
398
439
418
4%
Business Administration
157
161
148
130
131
-17%
Education
798
850
919
893
833
4%
Engineering & Applied Science
328
376
459
488
559
70%
72
85
93
86
96
33%
108
119
125
113
104
-4%
36
80
92
128
151
319% 14%
FACULTY / SCHOOL / c a m p u s
Graduate Studies — Interdisciplinary* Human Kinetics & Recreation Marine Institute Medicine
233
239
270
293
265
Music
22
19
21
25
21
-5%
Nursing
93
93
107
129
131
41%
8
6
3
7
7
-13%
603
615
657
713
736
22%
91
97
94
106
112
23%
Grenfell
0
0
0
15
31
—
Unspecified
1
0
0
0
2
—
2,952
3,119
3,386
3,565
3,597
22%
Pharmacy Science Social Work
T O TA L * i n c l u d e s M AE d , M ER , IDP h D
06 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
ta b l e 2 — g r a d u at e e n r ol m e n t b y R e g i o n FALL
province
Nova Scotia
2010
2011
FALL
2012
FALL
FALL
2013
2014
FALL
2014 / 2010
Change
148
190
193
175
170
15%
Prince Edward Island
19
21
25
28
26
37%
New Brunswick
56
52
51
64
56
0%
Quebec
31
22
17
11
46
48%
Ontario
179
228
246
278
286
60%
Manitoba
15
13
17
24
22
47%
Saskatchewan
13
13
15
14
14
8%
Alberta
45
49
76
85
89
98%
British Columbia
42
49
61
72
65
55%
Northwest Territiories
8
7
6
6
7
-13%
Nunavut
4
5
6
7
10
150%
Yukon
5
4
4
2
5
0%
93
86
85
96
48
-48%
SUB - TOTAL
658
739
802
862
844
28%
INTERNATIONAL SUB - TOTAL
530
646
791
909
1,038
96%
Other* O u t- o f - P r o v i n c e
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR SUB - TOTAL
1,764
1,734
1,793
1,764
1,715
-3%
T O TA L
2,952
3,119
3,386
3,565
3,597
22%
* Canadian citizens applying with an international address
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 07
Graduate Students
by the numbers FIGURE 1 — IN T ERN A T I O N A L g r a d u at e e n r ol m e n t b y C i t i z e n S h i p 2,000
NUMBER O F S T UDEN T S
1,800 1,600 1,400
I n t e r n at i o n al
1,200 NE W F O UND L A ND & L A BR A D O R
1,000 800
O u t- o f - P r o v i n c e Ca n a d i a n
600 400 200 0
2010
2012
2011
2013
2014
F A L L SEMES T ER
ta b l e 3 — IN T ERN A T I O N A L g r a d u at e e n r ol m e n t b y C i t i z e n S h i p
Asia
Change
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2014 / 2010
286
377
454
513
556
94%
Europe
50
53
55
62
62
24%
Latin America / Caribbean
25
18
24
30
37
48%
Middle East & North Africa
98
113
145
177
201
105%
North America
44
52
53
56
68
55%
Pacific Oceania Sub-Saharan Africa T O TA L
08 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
3
2
1
2
2
-33%
24
31
59
69
112
367%
530
646
791
909
1,038
96%
There was an overall i n c r e a s e of 35 per cent in the
number of graduate degrees awarded at the Convocation ceremonies in 2014. Memorial awarded a total of 871 graduate degrees in 2014 compared to 645 in 2010.
NUMBER O F S T UDEN T S
FIGURE 2 — IN T ERN A T I O N A L g r a d u at e e n r ol m e n t
1,000 791
800 600
1,038
909 646 530
400 200 0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
F A L L SEMES T ER
ta b l e 4 — g r a d u at e d i p lo m a / d e g r e e s c o n f e r r e d b y d i s c i p l i n e 2013
2014
2014 / 2010
12
9
10
10
-53%
—
—
2
2
—
29
24
21
24
24
-10%
25
23
34
28
28
60%
SUB - TOTAL
71
59
64
64
64
6%
Arts
89
91
80
81
81
-8%
2011
Arts
17
Graduate Studies — Interdisciplinary*
—
Professional Sciences
f a c u lt y
Doctoral
Master’s
Change
2012
2010
DE g r e e
Graduate Studies — Interdisciplinary*
9
14
31
14
14
122%
394
489
523
553
553
43%
63
91
89
101
101
73%
SUB - TOTAL
555
685
723
749
749
40%
11
19
23
15
15
5%
total
645
767
799
828
828
35%
Professional Sciences Graduate Diploma
* i n c l u d e s M AE d , M ER , IDP h D SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 09
Graduate Students
by the numbers FIGURE 3 — d o c to r al d e g r e e s c o n f e r r e d b y d i s c i p l i n e
NUMBER O F c o n f e r r e d
40 arts
35 30
interdisciplinary
25 20
p r o f e s s i o n al
15 10
Sciences
5 0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
YE A R
NUMBER O F c o n f e r r e d
FIGURE 4 — m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e s c o n f e r r e d b y d i s c i p l i n e
600
arts
500 400
interdisciplinary
300 200
p r o f e s s i o n al
100 0
Sciences 2010
2011
2012 YE A R
10 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
2013
2014
Highlights of the year Graduate student enrolment increased by 22 per cent (Fall 2014 versus Fall 2010). A new Graduate Diploma in Educational Leadership Studies was approved by Senate. More than $20 million in financial support was provided to graduate students from internal and external sources, and two esteemed h o n o u r s w e r e a w a r d e d : t h e P r e s i d e n t ’s A w a r d for Outstanding Graduate and Postgraduate Supervision and the School of Graduate Studies D e a n ’s A w a r d s f o r S e r v i c e E x c e l l e n c e . Memorial provided financial support to over 1,600 graduate students.
Enrolment Management SGS’s graduate strategic enrolment management plan continues to guide
Memorial’s efforts to increase the number of graduate students and improve conditions for student success. The plan has hinged on partnerships with multiple academic and service units across the institution. The outcomes have been exceptional and include the following:
The total number of graduate students grew by 6% from 2012 to 2014. The number of international graduate students grew by 31% from 2012 to 2014. The number of students in thesis-based masters programs grew by 4% from 2012 to 2014. The number of students in doctoral programs grew by 22% from 2012 to 2014.
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 11
Student
Awards A total of $469,889 in internal scholarships were awarded in 2014-2015 to graduate students. Of the 150 awards and scholarships available for graduate students, 15 were newly c r e a t e d l a s t y e a r. Graduate students at Memorial continue to excel in external scholarship competitions. Some examples of this are as follows:
12 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
In 2014, Kirk Luther, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology, was awarded the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Impact Award for Talent. Mr. Luther was the lone recipient of this award valued at $50,000. Among science and engineering students, 11 master’s students were awarded the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s Scholarship valued at $17,500. Three doctoral students were awarded the NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships, valued at $21,000 per year for a maximum of three years. Two recipients were also awarded the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral Scholarship valued at $35,000 per year for a maximum of three years. In the social sciences and humanities fields, 16 master’s students were awarded Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s Scholarship, valued at $17,500. Three doctoral students were awarded the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, valued at $20,000 per year for a maximum of four years, and one doctoral student was awarded the SSHRC Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral Scholarship valued at $35,000 per year for a maximum of three years.
New Programs and Courses One new graduate program, the Graduate Diploma in Educational Leadership Studies, was approved by Senate in 2013-2014. Several enhancements were made to existing graduate programs offered by Memorial during this period. A large number of new programs across all of the major campuses are currently in development and expected to be available in the c o m i n g a c a d e m i c y e a r.
Awards In 2015, Dr. Alistair Bath was awarded the 2015 President’s Award for Outstanding Graduate and Postgraduate Supervision. The award is presented to a graduate or postgraduate supervisor who demonstrates exemplary supervisory behaviours and serves as an outstanding role model for other supervisors to emulate. Dr. Bath is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Memorial University with more than 25 years of experience in human-wildlife conflicts and human dimensions in natural resource management issues. Dr. Bath was noted for working with graduate students in a collaborative environment, listening and learning from his human dimensions team of students, very similar to how he engages communities in understanding and addressing key issues in conservation. In 2015, Dr. J.C. Loredo-Osti and Ms. Jinghua Nie were awarded the School of Graduate Studies Dean’s Awards for Service Excellence. The Dean’s Awards recognizes the work and contributions of graduate staff members that exceeds the expectations for those positions. Among the criteria considered are job performance, service to graduate students, commitment to quality and/or innovation in the workplace, and contributions to achievement of departmental/ program goals. Dr. J.C. Loredo-Osti is a professor of statistics and has served as graduate officer in the
Department of Mathematics and Statistics since 2008. Dr. Loredo-Osti has been proactive in the implementation of measures aimed at improving the quality of the Department’s graduate programs, such as the introduction of mandatory courses and increasing student participation in a research day. In his ten years at Memorial, Dr. Loredo-Osti has supervised 11 graduate students and he currently supervises or co-supervises seven. He is an active member of SGS Academic Council for which he serves on various committees. Ms. Jinghua Nie is the International Officer for the Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science. She oversees support services for graduate students, ensuring excellent student experience at Memorial and preparing them for life after graduation. She is noted for serving as both an advisor and mentor to many students and their families. Ms. Nie has worked at Memorial since 2006, and strives to facilitate open dialogue and engagement between graduate students and key stakeholders. SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 13
Impact of
Graduate Students M arie-Eve Lajoie Originally from Alexandria, Ontario, Marie-Eve Lajoie completed her undergraduate degree in geology with a minor in geomatics and spatial analysis at the University of Ottawa. “During my research for graduate studies, I looked for specific criteria that best fitted me and my career goals, including the reputation of the Earth Sciences department, the quality of research and academic focus of professors in my field of study, the opportunity to receive scholarships and awards, and the surrounding community of the university,” she said. “Memorial University met all of these criteria and more.” Ms. Lajoie is currently studying Economic Geology/Geochemistry/Earth Sciences, specializing in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits (Zn-
“ GE O L O GY IS T RU LY DE T EC T IVE W O R K A ND INC O RP O R AT ES EVERY FIE L D O F SCIENCE T O S O LVE A C O MP L E X MYS T ERY. ”
14 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
Pb-Cu deposits). In particular, her research area is focused on the Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag-Au Lemarchant volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit in central Newfoundland. VMS deposits are among the most common ore deposits in the world and are very valuable. Canada is well endowed with VMS deposits and together with her supervisor, Dr. Stephen J. Piercey, Ms. Lajoie’s research group is devoted to understanding their formation. The group’s research helps exploration geologists and prospectors target new mineral resources which are critical to the Canadian economy. “Geology is truly detective work and incorporates every field of science to solve a complex mystery,” she said. “Every rock contains clues about geological
processes that happened in the past. By understanding these, we can better understand the geological processes that govern our environment today and how they can affect us.” While at Memorial, Ms. Lajoie has won the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s Scholarship, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) Foundation Scholarship, the A.G. Hatcher Memorial Scholarship, the Dr. Alfred K. Snelgrove Graduate Scholarship in Earth Sciences, the Dennis R. Prince Memorial Scholarship, and the School of Graduate Studies F.A. Aldrich Fellowship. Following her degree, she plans on starting a career in exploration geology with a Canadian junior company or as a production geologist in a Canadian mine.
M atthew Lamont Matthew Lamont completed his BSc (Hons.) in psychology at the University of New Brunswick and hails from Saint John. He chose Memorial for graduate studies because it offers the degree specialization he was looking for, and a faculty member whose research matches his interests. “I’ve always had a keen interest in healthcare, with initial plans to be a physician,” he reflected. “However, by the end of my bachelor’s program I had narrowed my interest to the field of neuropharmacology, as I was fascinated by the extremely different effects certain compounds have on the brain, for example mood alterations, changes in cognition, movement and speech impairments, and even temporary changes in personality.”
Mr. Lamont completed his master’s program in neuroscience in Memorial’s Faculty of Medicine under the supervision of Dr. John Weber. Upon completion of his master’s degree he enrolled in the PhD program in the School of Pharmacy with a specific focus on Pharmacology. Since beginning the PhD program, Mr. Lamont has received a number of awards and honours, including the A.G. Hatcher Memorial Scholarship, the School of Pharmacy’s Millennium Graduate Fellowship and the Dr. Mohsen Daneshtalab Graduate Research Poster Award. He also received $63,000 over three years for a national NSERC PGS-D Award. The areas he’s more extensively studying are the long-term effects of adolescent binge drinking and a
mutant mouse model with altered motor coordination. “In the simulations, we’ve seen significant movement impairment and are examining alterations to neuronal function. For my doctoral thesis I will examine the common alterations to understand what underlies movement disorders and investigate novel treatment options.” After completing his degree, he plans to pursue a career in clinical drug development.
“ . . . BY T HE END O F MY B A CHE L O RS PR O GR A M I H A D N A RR O W ED MY IN T ERES T T O T HE FIE L D O F NEUR O PH A RM A C O L O GY, A S I W A S FA SCIN AT ED BY T HE E X T REME LY DIFFEREN T EFFEC T S S O ME C O MP O UNDS H AVE O N T HE BR A IN . . . ”
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 15
Impact of
Graduate Students M aggie O’ Dea Maggie O’Dea originally thought she would go into medicine. With an undergraduate degree in life sciences in hand, she began to explore her life goals and realized she wanted a career that offered a wide scope of knowledge and experiences and began to look for something that would help her achieve these goals. “A MBA kept cropping up as a practical stepping stone, a degree with broad practical applicability in nearly every capacity,” she says. “Unlike most graduate work which involves niche specialization, a MBA would open doors and broaden opportunities. I was drawn to the opportunity to widen the horizons of my career trajectory.”
“ SUCCESSFU L BUSINESS VEN T URES H AVE T HE PR O SPEC T T O CH A NGE T HE W O R L D , T O INS T IG AT E A PA R A DIGM SHIF T IN H O W PE O P L E L IVE T HEIR L IVES . ”
16 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
Memorial’s master of business administration program appealed to Ms. O’Dea because of its low tuition, scholarships, and opportunities to study abroad. During her degree, Ms. O’Dea took advantage of the latter to study at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. She also received several scholarships throughout her program including the Imperial Tobacco Canada Graduate Scholarship in Business, Jacinta Sheppard Fellowship, and Rob Crosbie Scholarship for International Study. Ms. O’Dea says Memorial’s MBA is helping the local workforce gain advanced knowledge that will help to better the province’s economic outlook.
“More and more individuals are becoming educated, knowledgeable and informed about commerce and the management of business, the keystone to essentially every aspect of society,” she says. “To me, this is a tremendously positive thing. It means that we, as a province, a nation and a world, will be even more efficient, and more effective, in our interactions. Successful business ventures have the prospect to change the world, to instigate a paradigm shift in how people live their lives.” Following the completion of her degree, she looks forward to getting hands-on experience in the business world and ultimately plans to become an entrepreneur.
Professional
Development
S ervices & P rograms ETP C areer D evelopment
The School of Graduate Studies initiates and supports pan-university collaboration to provide graduate students with professional skills beyond their disciplines. Designed for all graduate students, Enhanced Development of the Graduate Experience (EDGE) is a comprehensive collection of professional development programs and services to help provide students with the complementary skills required to be successful in their lives after graduate school. EDGE fosters skills and knowledge around various themes such as communication, leadership, career development, global competencies, teaching and research. Some of the major programs and services include:
PSDP WRITING SKILLS GRADSWEP TSEP
The Entrepreneurship Training Program (ETP) for Graduate Students is a 16-week program
designed and developed to raise awareness of entrepreneurship and new venture creation as viable career options among international graduate students. The ETP also aims to nurture stronger communication, analytical, leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills in students leading to better integration, success, and employability.
The Professional Skills Development Program (PSDP) for International Students is an eight-week, non-
credit certificate program offered each semester which helps prepare international students for professional employment in North America. It covers themes of communication, culture, volunteering and interactive professional skill development. Offered by the Writing Centre in the spring and fall
semesters, the Thesis Writing Retreat is an intensive oneweek program designed to help graduate students make significant progress on or complete their theses. It provides a dedicated time and space free from distractions to help students write within a supportive and interdisciplinary intellectual community. The Graduate Student Work Experience Program (GradSWEP) provides Memorial’s graduate
students with the opportunity to participate in 75-hour job placements and is directed by a Memorial faculty or staff supervisor. The program provides relevant career experience in the student’s area of study and connects the student with a community organization for all or part of his/her hours worked.
Career Development and Experiential Learning (CDEL) offers a series of eight career
The Teaching Skills Enhancement Program (TSEP) is a two-semester, non-credit program that provides
development workshops for graduate students focused on career enhancement and the job search on an ongoing basis each semester.
graduate students with training and practice in teaching at the undergraduate level. More details on these and additional EDGE programming can be found at: www.mun.ca/sgs/edge.php
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 17
Financial Support F unding & Scholarships
F u n d i n g f r o m M e m o r i al U n i v e r s i t y s o u r c e s Fellowships Scholarships
$ 7,125,887 $ 469,889
Memorial University continues to build on its success to increase graduate student enrolment by providing competitive funding packages and accessing additional financial resources to help support our graduate students in their research activities.
Departmental Funding (includes GAs)
Again this year, financial support from all sources, internal and external, to Memorial graduate students surpassed $20 million. Internal funding helps students’ professional development through graduate assistantships and conference travel assistance. Our exceptional students are recognized financially from Tri-council agencies, provincial funding agencies and through the support of faculty research grants. All these funding sources gives students access to competitive financial support to pursue their studies at Memorial University.
F u n d i n g f r o m s o u r c e s e xt e r n al to M e m o r i al U n i v e r s i t y
$ 2,927,736 $ 84,712
Student Conference Travel Assistance TOTAL I n t e r n a l S o u r c e s
NSERC SSHRC Research and Development Corporation Scholarships Faculty Research Grants TOTAL EXT e r n a l S o u r c e s
$ 10,608,224
$ 397,435 $ 1,018,583 $ 863,333 $ 8,007,350 $ 10,286,701 $ 20,894,925
TOTAL FUNDING SOURCES
D u r i n g 2 0 1 4 - 1 5 y e a r , Memorial provided financial support to 1,661 graduate students or 1,095 master’s students and 566 doctoral students. The funding sources include fellowships, graduate assistantships, departmental support, grant funding and scholarships.
18 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
Internationalization
SGS c o n t i n u e d i t s w o r k i n 2 0 1 4 - 1 5 t o s u p p o r t M e m o r i a l ’ s b r o a d e r i n t e r n a t i o n a l i z a t i o n strategy by attracting international students and developing high-value support services and programs. Among the more notable achievements are the following: SGS’s international graduate recruitment strategy yielded impressive results. The use of a combination of e-marketing, webinars, foreign social media, and direct sales has helped increase the total number of international graduate students at Memorial by 31% from 2012 to 2014. SGS participated in the 2014 PhD China Workshop in Beijing, soliciting over 100 graduate applications and accepting five PhD students through a joint sponsorship agreement with the China Scholarship Council, the China Scholarship Council - Memorial University of Newfoundland Joint Funding Program. A similar strategy is underway in a number of countries, including Vietnam, Mexico, and Brazil. SGS continues to negotiate MOUs with high-potential partner institutions at various international education conferences. With funding from Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), SGS and the Internationalization Office pursued new institution-level agreements. The MOUs confirm intent between Memorial and its partners to undertake any number of activities, such as: the exchange of faculty members; undergraduate and graduate student mobility; joint research projects, teaching and faculty development; development of joint initiatives with partner institutions, including joint or collaborative degree programs; opportunities for fulldegree fee paying undergraduate/graduate study; and an exchange of publications, research materials or newsletters.
SGS continues to work with Career Development and Experiential Learning (CDEL) to offer career and professional skills programming for international graduate students. The EDGE program offers a comprehensive range of relevant workshops and sessions for graduate students to make the transition to the labour market more seamless and successful. In 2014, SGS, CDEL, and the Internationalization Office were awarded funding through ACOA’s Business Development Program to continue the ETP for international graduate students. Memorial’s first-of-itskind program aims to develop both the entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviours as well as provide training in technical and managerial competencies necessary to create new ventures, and makes use of a combination of lectures, social events, special presentations, one-to-one advising, and mentorship.
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SGS Faculty
Faculty Profile D r . Faye Murrin dean p r o t e m p o r e Dr. Faye Murrin is dean pro tempore of the School of Graduate Studies and a faculty member in the department of biology. She completed her B.Sc. (Hons.) at Memorial University, her M.Sc. at Acadia University and her PhD at Queen’s University. Her research interests have always been focused on fungi, in particular the cell biology of insect pathogenic fungi and, more recently, the ecology of mycorrhizal mushrooms in the boreal forest. Dr. Murrin has
served in a number of positions on the Council of the Mycological Society of America and was awarded the title of MSA Fellow for her contributions. She was named a Women in Science and Engineering Lifetime Member as founding co-director of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Summer Program. Dr. Murrin participates in public lectures and workshops, and is a director on the board of Newfoundland Foray, Inc.
D r . Katherine Side interim associate dean Dr. Katherine Side is interim associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies and associate professor in the Department of Gender Studies. She completed graduate degrees in Women’s Studies at York University (PhD), at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK (MA) and, undergraduate degrees (BA, BPE) at McMaster University. A previous holder of the Margaret Laurence Visiting Scholar in Gender and Women’s Studies, Brandon University, she is a past President of Women’s and Gender Studies
20 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
et Recherches Féministes. Her research examines contemporary conflict transfor mation in Northern Ireland; representations of conflict and conflict-instigated displacement; and, relationships among gender, justice and reproductive rights in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. She is the author of Patching Peace: Women’s Civil Society Or ganising in Norther n Ireland (St. John’s, NL: ISER, 2015).
Dr. Faye Murrin dean pro tempore of Graduate Studies
School of
Graduate Studies Staff
(2014-2015)
Dr. Katherine Side interim associate dean of Graduate Studies Ms. Katrina Arbuckle Fellowships Officer Ms. Ruby Barron Programs Officer Ms. Julie Bowering Senior Career Development Coordinator Ms. Connie Brenton Financial Assistant Mr. Dan Dillon Entrepreneurship Training Coordinator Ms. Nancy Fagan Assistant to the Dean
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT 21
Ms. Cassandra Feltham Receptionist
Ms. Elizabeth Noseworthy Recruitment and Retention Coordinator
Ms. Ashley Hurley Marketing Coordinator
Ms. Krista Shea Senior Clerk
Ms. Heather Harris Programs Assistant
Ms. Carol Sullivan Manager, Fellowships and Awards
Ms. Kim Hearn Admissions Officer Mr. Peter Kerrivan Committees Secretary Mr. Andrew Kim Director, Graduate Enrolment Services Ms. Gail Lamkin Scholarships Officer Ms. Valerie Mercer Applications Officer Mr. Sheridan Moores Financial Assistant
22 SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES 2014-2015 PROGRESS REPORT
Ms. Denene Whelan Applications Officer Ms. Annette Williams Secretary to the Deans Ms. Sharon Winsor Records and Registration Officer
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES M EM OR I A L U N I V E R S I T Y O F NEW F O U N D L A N D
ST. JOHN’S
NL
T. 709 864 2445
A1C 5S7
CANADA
F. 709 864 4702
www.mun.ca/sgs
sgs@mun.ca