Graduate Student Resources

IMPORTANT NOTE (OCTOBER 28, 2024): THE UNIVERSITY RECENTLY MIGRATED THIS PAGE FROM THE PREVIOUS DOMAIN AND WE ARE DISCOVERING THAT NOT ALL OF THE FILES/LINKS MADE THE TRANSITION PROPERLY.  IF YOU DISCOVER ANY BROKEN LINKS OR NEED A FORM THAT YOU CAN NO LONGER ACCESS FROM THIS PAGE, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO EMAIL ME AT MDODD2@UNL.EDU AND I WILL FIX IT OR GET YOU WHAT YOU NEED AS SOON AS I CAN.

This page contains a variety of resources that current graduate students should find helpful.  Please also consult the general student and faculty resources page if you do not find something you are looking for.

Psychology Graduate Student Handbook (Updated 9/5/2024)

The Psychology Graduate Student Handbook is your best resource for many of the things you will need to know during your graduate school tenure.  The handbook is updated every few years (we have just done a complete update of the handbook as of August 2022) but unsurprisingly, there can be changes to policies and procedures at the College and/or University level between handbook updates.  We will work to ensure that changes that are not reflected in the handbook currently will be both emailed out to all graduate students in addition to being updated on this resources page (which is more straightforward to make quick changes to given that the handbook goes through a formal editing process with feedback from Graduate Executive Committee.  

Graduate Teaching Plan/Calendar and note on registering for courses (Updated May 23, 2024)

Updated teaching schedule 3-12-2024: Added Psychology 921 for Spring 2025.  This is a new graduate seminar that will focus on executive function across the lifespan.

Important note on registering for courses each semester: When registering for classes each semester, please remember that your tuition wavier includes of to 12 hours of tuition towards graduate course work during the academic semesters (fall and spring), plus 6-12 hours during the summer (must meet minimum salary requirement).  If you enroll in more than 12 credits during the academic semester, you will incur additional tuition expenses that cannot be waived and that you will be responsible for.  You are not required to register for courses during the summer, however, if you are employed in the summer bot not registered for courses, you will be subject to FICA and Medicare taxes (currently 7.65% of your salary).

Important note on quantitative training and additional offerings: The Department of Psychology offers several courses in quantitative methods. Many students seek out elective courses beyond program requirements and may choose to complete a Concentration in Quantitative Methods. Upcoming opportunities for continuing education (e.g., power analysis workshop, Quant Club training events), additional courses, and stats consultation can be found on our Quantitative Training page HERE. 

Graduate Executive Committee maintains a tentative Graduate Teaching Plan which is revisited and updated after either our January or May meetings.  Though this is intended as a document to help students plan for when courses will be offered, it is important to note that the calendar is a work in progress and can change at any time based on numerous factors.  If you see a "?" next to an offering that may be an indication that we are unsure if a specific course will be offered or if the individual listed will be teaching that course.  Please also note that just because a course is not listed here does not necessarily mean it will not be offered.   It is always important to check what the current course offerings are each term when enrolling for courses.  Each time the calendar is updated, a new read-only copy will be uploaded here.  Feel free to reach out to the Graduate Chair or Associate Chair in charge of course scheduling with any questions about offerings.

Forms/Steps to Degree Completion (Updated January 2024)

The Office of Graduate Studies has an excellent Steps to Program Completion page which links to all of the forms that you will need to complete your M.A. and Ph.D.  The relevant forms are all linked below though it is strongly recommended that you still consult the graduate studies page for additional instructions, dates, etc.  For some of the forms, additional context/instruction is provided below that is not outlined on the graduate studies page, making it important to review all of the below info when completing the respective forms.  The info below is also intended to supplement the department Ph.D. path page.  Please note that all of these forms need to be submitted to Jamie Longwell who will set up a DocuSign to obtain all of the relevant signatures and who will then send the completed form on to graduate studies.  You should not be directly submitting these forms to graduate studies on your own.

M.A. steps to degree completion (note that all relevant forms are below but graduate studies may have additional steps and deadlines that can be found HERE)

Though students in the Psychology program are accepted directly into the Ph.D. program (e.g. we do not offer a terminal Master's degree), students do earn their M.A. degree along the way (if you entered the program with a Master's degree, you will determine with your advisor whether you will still do a MERP project or whether this will be waived).  Here are the relevant forms you will need on the way to earning your M.A. along with important additional notes for Psychology students.  Please note that there may be other steps and deadlines outlined on the graduate studies page but the intent below is to provide you easy access to relevant forms.

1) Memorandum of Courses (Master's degree) - There is considerable variability in the type of project individuals engage in for the MERP and, unsurprisingly, this also means considerable variability in time to complete the MERP.  Despite this, it is a good idea to complete your Memorandum of Courses form for the Masters relatively early, often in the spring of your first year of graduate study.  Even if you complete the Memorandum at a point later than this, there are a few important things to keep in mind: 

a) The Memorandum of Courses form requires you to select between two options, A & B.  Generally speaking, all Psychology students should select Option B.  The verbiage for the options can be confusing as Option A suggests the project will be a thesis and B suggests that no thesis is required.  Though many students may do a MERP that is more “thesis-like” (this is determined jointly with your advisor), Option A requires you to formally submit a thesis to graduate studies.  There are various expenses and forms associated with that option.  Option B does not require the thesis to be submitted to Graduate Studies but does still require a formal defense (this is useful practice for the later PhD defense).  So even in cases where you may think the project you are doing sounds more like Option A, it is always desirable to choose Option B.  You will receive your Master’s degree no matter which Option is chosen.  If you do choose Option A there are additional forms and requirements that can be found on the Graduate Studies Steps to Completion page.

b)      Though there is variability in terms of how long it takes individuals to complete the MERP, it is a good idea to file your Memorandum of courses relatively early for a few reasons.  First, putting together the Memorandum will help you to map out your anticipated course of study (understanding that things might change if a course is not offered at a time that you can take it, but it is good to have a general sense of what you’re hoping to do).  Second, the Memorandum is technically supposed to be completed prior to completion of over one-half of required coursework.  It is possible to submit later though this usually requires additional context/justification from your advisor.  Please note that you cannot file a Memorandum and graduate in the same semester.  Third, there is a limit on the number of courses that you can apply to your Memorandum at the Masters level (more on this in the next point below) and a certain number of credit hours need to be unique to the PhD.  Though not all of you will be ready to file your Memorandum in the spring of your first year (and that’s okay!), it’s still something you should keep in mind to complete sooner rather than later.

c)       In cases where your MERP has taken some time to complete, it may be the case that you have already completed far more credit hours than is allowed for the Masters Degree.  Even if this is the case, you should  list no less than 30 hours (minimum required for the M.A. under the current options) and no more than 36 credit hours on the Memorandum of Courses for your Masters.  As you progress to the PhD level, there are a minimum number of credit hours that have to be exclusive to the PhD.  Some of the other courses/credit you have taken can subsequently be listed on the Program of Studies for the dissertation.  You will be disadvantaging yourself considerably if you list anything more than 36 hours on the Memorandum for your MERP, even if you have already completed more than 36 credit hours, as it will leave you with additional hours to make up that are unique to doctoral study.  When putting together the Memorandum of Courses for your PhD, you can list courses that you took prior to the completion of the MERP, even if it was not listed on the Memorandum of Courses for your Masters.

d) Requests to change an approved Memorandum of Courses must be submitted by the student’s major advisor via email to the Master's Programs Coordinator in Graduate Studies. DO NOT submit a new Memorandum of Course.  Also note that you cannot file your memorandum of courses and graduate in the same semester.

2) Application for Graduation: The online Application for Graduation will become available in MyRED the semester following approval of your Memorandum of Courses.

3) Application for Final Examination Report: The Final Examination Report Form with the signatures of the major advisor, the department graduate committee chair, and (if applicable) the minor advisor is due 4 weeks prior to Final Oral Examination.

4) Consult the Graduate Studies M.A. Steps to Completion for any other relevant dates or instructions.  The relevant forms are included on this page but there are other deadlines and steps you may need to be aware of.

Ph.D. steps to degree completion (note that all relevant forms are below but graduate studies may have additional steps and deadlines that can be found HERE)

1) Supervisory Committee: As you near the end of your MERP (or after completing your MERP), it will be time to form a supervisory committee.  Please note that before this form can be filled out, your advisor needs to put in a request to the Graduate Chair (and Graduate Executive Committee) to indicate that you have progressed to the point that you are ready to form a committee.  There is no formal form required for requesting to establish your supervisory committee at the department level but this request must be made and approved prior to completing the Supervisory Committee form for graduate studies.  Generally speaking, Grad EC considers requests to form supervisory committees at each of our meetings in January and May though you can contact the graduate chair about trying to okay at other times if this does not fit your timeline (program coordinators will often prompt program faculty prior to Grad EC meetings to solicit new requests to form a committee).  Grad EC will discuss your progress and once they okay you to form a committee, you can complete the official form for graduate studies.  Please note that your committee needs to consist of on Chair (your advisor), a minimum of two other program faculty from the Psychology department, and an external member from a department outside of Psychology.  Please note that all members of your committee also need to be Graduate Faculty or Graduate Faculty Associates (we monitor for this and it is always easy to catch if a Psychology faculty member is listed who is not Graduate Faculty, but it is not always clear in outside departments so always good to get clarification on this from external members you are considering).  If you need to make any changes to your Supervisory Committee for any reason (e.g. a faculty member has left the university, your research focus shifted and that necessitated different expertise on your committee, etc.) you can do that with the Change of Supervisory Committee form.

After you have formed your supervisory committee, you will meet with them to determine a) your program of studies for the remainder of your Ph.D. and b) what you will be doing for your comprehensive exams (there are a few options and these tend to be decided upon in consult with your advisory and committee).  Once those things have been decided, you are able to consider the next two forms.

2) Program of Studies (Updated March 2023 - The old form will continue to be accepted through the spring semester but we would appreciate if you adopt the new form right away): This form is to be submitted when there is still a minimum of 45 credit hours to be taken (note that sometimes this form is submitted past this point and this usually will require some additional context/explanation from your advisor to graduate studies) as a certain number of credit hours need to be exclusive to the Ph.D.  As noted above, you should never submit your initial M.A. Memorandum of Courses with more than 36 credit hours listed, even if you have already taken more than 36 hours (this is because a certain subset of your credit hours need to be "exclusive" to the Ph.D.).  You can list courses on your Ph.D. program of studies that you have already taken but were not listed on the M.A. Memorandum (in cases where you had already done more than 36 hours of credit).

3) Comprehensive Examination and Candidacy: Once you have completed your comprehensive examination, you complete this Admission to Candidacy form.

4) Preparation for Graduation: The online Application for Graduation will become available in MyRED the semester following approval of your Admission to Candidacy form.  If you plan on attending commencement, you also need to fill out the Hooding Participation form that can be found in the Ph.D. Steps to Completion page on the Graduate Studies website.

5) Application for Final Oral Examination: This form is due at least 2 weeks prior to the Final Oral Examination.  It requires the signatures of the two readers and supervisory committee chair(s)

6) Report of Completion: You will submit this after successful defense of your thesis and approval of the written thesis by your committee.  Your advisor should use this form to submit a grade for all dissertation hours previously graded as Incomplete or No Report. This is placed in your permanent record as proof of completion of your degree.

7) Consult the Graduate Studies Ph.D. Steps to Completion for any other relevant dates or instructions.  The relevant forms are included on this page but there are other deadlines and steps you may need to be aware of.

800-level courses and Program of Studies forms (Updated June 2023)

Previously, 800-level courses in the Department of Psychology could not count on an individual Program of Studies for the dissertation (you could enroll in these courses, they just could not towards degree requirements).  Graduate Executive Committee recognizes, however, that some of the 400/800 courses offered in department are structured similarly to graduate courses and offer experiences quite like our 900-level courses.  We have reviewed and approved a subset of course/instructor combinations that may now be counted on Program of Studies going forward (please note this is only for subsequent offerings of these courses and not previously offered versions)

APPROVED FOR PROGRAM OF STUDIES

Psy421/821 – Psychology of Gender (Holland)

Psy466/866 – Attention and Performance (Dodd)

 The reason we have to approve course/instructor combinations is that sometimes different faculty teach the same courses in quite different ways.  But once a course/instructor combination is approved here, these courses can be added to your program of studies form if desirable.  The listing of approved courses will continue to appear on this page and additional information will also appear in a subsequent handbook update.  More courses may be approved and we will allow students to inquire directly to the Graduate Chair if they think a Psychology 800 course they are taking or planning to take could/should be considered, but please note that we cannot consider retrospective requests to approve already taken courses.  To inquire whether a Psychology 800 course can count towards a program of studies, please reach out directly to me via email (mdodd2@unl.edu).  Please note this is only for Psychology courses, all other 800 courses from outside disciplines can already currently count on a Program of Studies.

We have already considered a few separate courses and will be happy to continue to do so via faculty/student request (note that even if a course had been looked at at some point in the past and not approved, it may have changed since that time and warrant consideration again).  Students can submit a course syllabus for review to the Graduate Chair (mdodd2@unl.edu) and the Graduate Chair will initially reach out to the instructor to get the instructor’s sense of whether the course material and course structure is suitable to fulfill a graduate level requirement. Grad EC also has a process where we will consider the following: course structure, course readings, assignment and evaluation, whether there are other existing 900-level courses which are more suitable, instructor opinion, and the content/format of the additional assignment that is specific to graduate students in making a determination.  We have created a decision tree to help guide and frame our discussion and hope to be able to act on each request relatively quickly.

Important additional note for Clinical students: A course being approved for a program of studies does not necessarily mean that that course would meet accreditation requirements. Clinical students should consult the Clinical Psychology Training Program (CPTP) manual for courses that are approved to meet accreditation requirements for profession-wide competencies and discipline specific knowledge. 800-level courses may be useful for additional coursework to broaden one’s program of studies but it will not replace (or substitute) core program requirements.

Additional Important note: The purpose of this is not to create a situation where students feel they can negotiate with their professors to change their course in some way to satisfy Grad EC requirements for inclusion on the Program of Studies.  Instructors have complete control over the structure and content of the class and there are many considerations that go into how they present the material and how they evaluate students.  This mechanism is simply intended to allow students to document and count 400/800 courses that have been acknowledged as similar in structure/content to 900-level offerings.  Even if a course is not approved for your Program of Studies, there could be valuable reason to take it for breadth and training reasons so we are also not seeking to dissuade people from taking any 800-level courses.

Career and Professional Development Opportunities (November 2023)

Graduate Student Career, Teaching, and Professional Development: https://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/professional-development - Graduate studies offers a number of opportunities and resources for career development, teaching development, etc., all of which can be accessed on their professional development page but I have added direct links to some of the services/pages they highlight:

 

 

 

Preparing Future Faculty Workshop: http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/current/development/preparing-future-faculty

Funding Opportunities (Updated February 2023)

UNL Fellowships: https://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/funding/fellowships - UNL offers a few different fellowship awards that current graduate students can apply for and these can be found at the bottom of the fellowships page (under the subheader "Awards").  The application process for this has been tweaked over the last few years and as of 2022-2023, submissions will now generally go through NURamp.  The application and info for these is generally posted in December.

Office of Graduate Studies Travel Grants: https://graduate.unl.edu/funding/travel-awards  Can be used to support travel expenses related to conference presentations.  Note that there are eligibility requirements and students can only receive 2 of these during their time in the program.

GSA Travel Awards Program: https://www.unl.edu/gsa/graduate-travel-awards-program-gtap  Another mechanism that can be used for conference travel

NSF Graduate Fellowships: https://www.nsfgrfp.org/

NIH Research Training and Fellowships: https://researchtraining.nih.gov/

Sigma Xi Grants-In-Aid Of Research (you and your advisor do not need to be members to apply for this but you will have a better chance of getting a grant if you are members): https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid

Association for Psychological Science (APS) Grants and Awards: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/members/grants-awards-and-symposia

American Psychological Association (APA) Scholarships: http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/scholarships/

Note on external funding mechanisms which limit the number of applications from each institution: If you are applying for any external funds, it is your responsibility to go through the award guidelines to determine whether it is limited submission (e.g. only allowed one application per institution).  For limited submission proposals, it is important that you contact the Office of Research Proposal Development Team (https://research.unl.edu/proposaldevelopment/home/) as soon as you can to make your intent to submit to these clear.  The Proposal Development Team handles all limited submissions through the University and you can expect some form of internal competition/additional materials to be requested in advance of the external deadline in case the Office of Research needs to rank proposals.

Department Talks and Brown Bags (Updated September 2023)

There are a number of brown bag sessions in the department that are generally open to all.  These are often announced via listserv emails and I have provided the person to contact to be added to each listserv

CABIN Brown Bag: The CABIN (originally Cognition and Biopsych in Nebraska) brown bag series features speakers and presentations relating to Cognition and Neuroscience, broadly defined.  The talks take place every other Monday at 12:30 pm in B60 CB3.  CB3 Guest Speakers and Department Guest Speakers are also often accomodated during these times.  To be added to the email listserv for the CABIN brown bag, please contact mdodd2@unl.edu.  The schedule of speakers/topics can be found HERE.

CB3 Club: CB3 Club takes place on off weeks of CABIN at the same time in the same room.  Whereas CABIN tends to be more formal research-driven presentations, CB3 club can serve a variety of different purposes (journal club, roundtable discussion of academic issues, job and career advice).  We are happy to receive recommendations for topics/issues you would like to see addressed in CB3 Club.  To be added to the email listserv for CB3 Club, please contact jstevens5@unl.edu).   The schedule of speakers/topics can be found HERE.

Diversity Brown Bag: The brown bag is currently on pause for Fall of 2023 but will return in the Spring of 2024. The Diversity brown bag series features speakers and presentations relating to diversity, broadly defined.    The brown bag takes place every other Tuesday 12:30 - 1:30.  There is no listserv for these, rather they are announced to the entire department.

Law Psych and Social Brown Bag: The Law Psych and Social brown bag features speakers and presentations relating to Social, Personality, and Law Psychology, broadly defined.  The talks take place every other Thursday from 3:30 - 4:30 pm in Burnett 80.  To be added to the email listserv for the Law Psych and Social brown bag, please contact ashley.votruba@unl.edu.

SPLAT (Strengthening Psychology Learning and Teaching): These are held on Thursdays (roughly the first Thursday of every month) at 9:30 a.m. and annoucnements/meetings will be sent out to the department listserv.  This brown bag features speakers, presentations, and discussions centered around teaching-related issues.  You may also benefit from accessing the SPLAT webpage which has excellent additional resources from previous meetings.  If you have questions or ideas for the group, or if you need the Zoom link, please email Chelsea Witt (cwitt@unl.edu). 

Grad Chair Office Hours (Burnett - Updated September 3, 2024) 

I am available to y'all at any time so you can email me at any time with questions (mdodd2@unl.edu)  Feel free to swing by my office (B82 CB3) or email me and set up a meeting whenever you need to.  If the meeting requires a certain level of privacy, please let me know in advance.  The offices in CB3 have glass exteriors so anyone that walks by may see whoever is in the office or potentially hear parts of a conversation.  I can book a different room in those cases.  Beyond that though, I don't want my being in CB3 to ever be an impediment to anyone coming over, so I've also arranged to do a monthly office hour in Burnett UPDATE: For this year, the office hours will take place in Burnett 201 on the following dates/times. 

September 23, 9:00-10:00 am

October 28, 9:00-10:00 am

November 25, 9:00-10:00 am

Grub at the Hub (formerly Open Meetings for Graduate Students; Updated March 2024)

 The Department has held monthly open meetings between graduate students and faculty leadership in the Department for the last few years though these have not been well attended and a series of discussions with the GSA reps led to a replacement event we are trying out this semester, Grub at the Hub.  This is designed to be a more casual/social setting where you can have some food and interact with other graduate students and faculty.  The first of these happened in mid March and the next one is scheduled for April 22.  Days and times may change for these going forward but so long as they continue to be well attended and useful, these events will continue to be offered.  Please watch out for the emails to RSVP so that there is a good sense of how many will attend which allows us to ensure enough food is available.  The next scheduled Grub at the Hub time is

April 22, 12:00-1:00, The Hub (228 Burnett) 

 

CVs and Annual Evaluation (Updated 1/2024)

The Department of Psychology used to have an annual tracking system in which students needed to fill out and submit a fair amount of information about their progress 1-2 times a year.  The previous system was unnecessarily burdensome and we have been working on ways to track progress in a more straightforward manner.  Given that all paperwork in the department has to go through Jamie Longwell so that we can set up as a DocuSign, she has set up a system where we can track your progress through your paperwork so that we always know where you are at in your program of studies (e.g. completed MERP, formed supervisory committee, completed comps, etc.).  In addition to that, we will be asking students to submit their CV once a year, generally near the end of the spring semester.  Please watch out for that request which will just require you to click a link and upload a CV.  We will not ask you to fill out anything manually but given that everyone may have slightly different CV formats, please just ensure that the following sections are represented somewhere on your CV: Grants/Honors/Scholarships, Publications, Under Review/Revision, Presentations, Research Experience, Teaching Experience, Professional Experience, Professional Affiliations, Research Training and Skills. When you submit your CV each year, please use the following naming convention on the file: LastName_FirstName_CV_Year.

 Please note that this new tracking system replaces what we had been doing in department for some time and is still relatively new (beginning 2022-2023).  As such, Graduate Executive Committee is still determining whether we would like to collect some additional info beyond the CV (e.g. a few prompts to respond to that could be included on the back page of the CV).  Please be sure  to carefully read the CV request each year in case we request any additional information.

We realize that not everyone has considerable training/experience in setting up a CV, so we also want to take this as an educational opportunity to help out.  To that end, we are providing an EXAMPLE CV so that you have one example of a format you may want to adopt.  This CV has all of the sections outlined above with example information, along with a series of annotated comments/advice for how to structure a CV, what to include vs. not include, etc.  Please note that this example is specifically  an academic CV, there may be other forms you have prepped but for annual evaluation purposes we would like something in this format.  If you already have a CV you're happy with, no need to change it, just make sure the information requested above is on there somewhere.  But if you're unhappy with how your CV is structured currently, this example could help (please note there are other examples out there but we tried to update this one with information specific to graduate students).

 

Additional Graduate Student Training (Updated April 2024 with info on the Institute for Ethnic Studies Graduate    Specialization)

1) Graduate Diversity Minor - This minor allows students to document some expertise in cultural diversity, sexual minorities, and gender studies. The diversity concentration is open across program areas and specific coursework is individually determined by supervisory committees within the guidelines set forth for the concentration. 

2) Quantitative Methods Minor - Known informally as the "quant minor," this is an opportunity for psychology graduate students to document training in statistics and methodology.  This is not an an official minor and should not be listed as such on the doctoral program of studies.  

3) Advanced Teaching Practicum - This is intended to allow students to build their teaching CV by developing and offering their own class in exchange for academic credit rather than money.  You can reach out to mdodd2@unl.edu for more information but I have also attached the original teaching practicum proposal above so that you can see the general possibilities available to you.

4) Institute for Ethnic Studies Graduate Specialization - Ethnic Studies offers graduate specializations at the MA and PhD levels that are available to Psychology students.  The academic credential in Ethnic Studies further legitimizes any claims individuals may make about commitment to inclusion and diversity, which may be helpful in distinguishing them for later job opportunities in positive ways.  The link above provides more information about what is available to students and instructions on applying can be found HERE.

Diversity and Inclusion Resources

There are a number of resources available at the Department, College, and University level, in addition to resources that we sometimes compile from external sources.  Below I have begun to include links to a number of valuable resources and I would like to continue building this list.  Note that some of these are resources aimed at individuals who may be a member of a group that is underrepresented and underserved as it relates to academics, other resources are teaching resources aimed at creating a welcoming and respectful environment in the classroom.  As there are many different forms of diversity and many different types of resources available, this is not an exhaustive list, but one that I hope we will continue to build on going forward.  Please feel free to forward any additional resources you think would be valuable to list here, or feel free to let me know specific issues that you might like resources on and I will be happy to look for these if I do not have them available (mdodd2@unl.edu)

 1) Graduate Diversity Minor - This minor allows students to document some expertise in cultural diversity, sexual minorities, and gender studies. The diversity concentration is open across program areas and specific coursework is individually determined by supervisory committees within the guidelines set forth for the concentration. 

2) Office of Diversity and Inclusion Newsletter - You can sign up for this monthly newsletter from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.  In addition to news and other story/article types, this often announces additional training and workshops that are available at the College and University level.

3) The UNL Trans Guide from the UNL LGBTQA+ Center

4) APA Guide for Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Students 

5) A List of Gender Inclusive Restrooms on Campus (this is also in the Trans guide but linked here for direct access)

6) Surviving and Thriving in Academia: A Guide For Members of Marginalized Groups 

7)  LGBTQA+ Resource Center 

8) Office of Academic Success & Intercultural Services (OASIS)

9) College of Arts and Sciences Inclusive Excellence and Diversity Award (graduate students are eligible for this)

10) College of Arts and Sciences Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Committee

11) UNL Diversity and Inclusion Website

12) Some potentially helpful resources here on racism-related stress and trauma 

13) Examples of Inclusive Syllabi Language

14) Example Diversity and Inclusion Statements for Syllabi

15) The Gender Unicorn

16) Syllabus language for disability inclusivity

 

Mentorship Networks for Students from Minoritized Backgrounds

The Department strives to provide excellent support and mentorship for all students, but we know that there are many situations where alternative perspectives and additional support can be critical.  As such, we want to make everyone aware of some of the additional mentoring network resources that are available, many of which specifically support students who are from historically excluded groups and/or minoritized backgrounds. Also, if you would like to find additional support based on a group not listed here  (e.g., Veterans, new parents), please reach out so we can help identify additional mentorship resources.

https://nrmnet.net/ (run by NIH, students can sign up for virtual mentorship, open to a wide range of groups)

 https://www.apa.org/pi/disability/resources/mentoring (for students with disabilities)

 https://www.apa.org/apags/governance/subcommittees/clgbtc-mentoring-program (for gender/sexual minority students)

 https://abpsi.site-ym.com/ (for Black students)

 https://aapaonline.org/divisions/division-on-students/ (for Asian students)

https://the-ana.org/ana-mentorship-program/ (also for Asian students)

 https://www.nlpa.ws/mentoring-program (for Latinx students)

 https://hnps.org/mentoring-program/ (also for Latinx students)

Office of Graduate Studies Links/Resources

1) The Graduate Report - This is a weekly newsletter from Graduate Studies that often contains up-to-date information on new initiatives, training sessions, administration changes, etc.  It is emailed out weekly but you can also access these (and previous issues) from the link above at any time.

2) Office of Graduate Studies - There are many links on the present page that direct you to specific information on the graduate studies website, but it is also good to have access to the home page of the site in case you want to more fully examine what is offered in the Office and how they can assist you during your graduate career.

Conflict and Grievance Resolution (Updated 9/5/24)

Graduate Executive Committee

The Graduate Executive Committee consists of the Chair of the Graduate Committee, Area Program Directors (Clinical, Developmental, Law-Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior, and Social & Cognitive), and two at-large faculty members. The at-large members are appointed by the Department Executive Committee. The at-large members are appointed for staggered two-year terms. 

The purpose of the two at-large members is to facilitate a diversity of faculty input. The Department Executive Committee will consider but not be restricted to representation from the Department’s Diversity Committee and Executive Committee when making appointments for the at-large members. It is possible that the Executive Committee and Diversity Committee will be well represented by the Chair of the Graduate Committee and/or Area Program Directors, and in such cases other factors will be considered in selecting at-large members (e.g., faculty rank, bringing new members to the committee).

The function of the Graduate Executive Committee is to handle student evaluations as well as discuss and address recruitment/retention issues, curriculum issues, research issues, graduate assessment issues, grade appeals, and other graduate training issues. Grade disputes should first be addressed directly with the instructor or through facilitated conversation with the Department Chair or Associate Chair. If a dispute cannot be resolved through these channels, then the Graduate Executive Committee may hear a grade appeal. The committee follows the processes outlined by Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Graduate College (see the last page of this handbook for additional grade appeal procedures). For other kinds of conflicts or grievances, students should refer to the internal conflict management guidelines below and the detailed list of formal University channels which can be used if internal procedures fail. The committee will typically meet at least three times a year (once at the beginning of each term and once at the end of the spring term). Before the annual process to evaluate graduate students, the Graduate Committee Chair will request that graduate students provide relevant information via a web link and Area coordinators will gather input from their respective faculty. With that information, the Area Program Directors will provide annual evaluation letters to students, with additional consultation from Graduate Executive Committee as necessary. The Graduate Executive Committee will consult with the Department’s Graduate Faculty on an as needed basis.

Conflict and Grievance Resolution

Conflict and grievances are an inevitable aspect of interpersonal relationships in an academic department. The Department is committed to building a culture that directly address conflict and grievances amongst graduate students and faculty in a manner that builds a more collaborative, healthy working environment. Please see below for internal conflict management procedures. The internal conflict management procedures are reviewed and updated on an annual basis. If internal attempts at conflict or grievance resolution are unsuccessful, people may file reports, grievances, or grade appeals using formal University processes.

Internal Conflict Management


Graduate Student Conflict Management Procedure Manual

Statement of shared values

Conflict and grievances are an inevitable aspect of interpersonal relationships in an academic department. Graduate students face unique challenges in certain conflict situations, especially when there are disparate levels of power such as between a graduate student and faculty member. In order to build a healthy and productive academic atmosphere in the Department of Psychology, we approach collaboration and dispute management with the following shared values:

Respect for the rights, dignity, and autonomy of all members of the Department.

Fairness to all parties involved in a dispute. Commitment to problem-solving to find the best possible solution for all.

Transparency in communication and procedures as much as possible while still respecting the rights of all involved, including the right to privacy.

Continuing education in equitable and inclusive practices and communication skills to convey respect and prevent and/or resolve conflict.

Commitment to academic freedom including full freedom in research and publication, as well as freedom in the classroom in discussing the subject.

A climate free from retaliation in any form as is consistent with our values of respect, transparency, fairness, and commitment to problem solving.

In sum, the Department is committed to building a culture that directly address conflict and grievances in a manner that builds a more collaborative, healthy working environment.

The Scope of Conflicts & Grievances that May Arise

The Department recognizes that the scope and nature of the conflicts and grievances that may arise are highly varied. Consequently, there is no one “right” way to resolve the issue. The primary purpose of this document is to outline the available informal processes for resolving conflict and reporting grievances. These processes are designed to reflect the Department’s shared values and offer graduate students and faculty several options for managing conflict and grievances in productive and appropriate ways. The procedures are not intended to replace any University policies or procedures (e.g., reporting to Title VII or Title IX) or filing a police report in the event of a potential crime. University reporting procedures can be found at the end of this document.

Conflict Resolution Procedures

Conflict resolution procedures are meant to address the typical conflicts that arise in the daily life of an academic department. Common types of disputes could include disagreements about 23 authorship, grading, access to resources within a research team, work load for a research or teaching assistantship or as a member of a research team, faculty availability for meetings, delays in returns of graded materials or manuscripts, etc. Often, these conflicts can arise from poor communication, misunderstandings, differing values, differing interests, limited resources, personality clashes, etc.

Consistent with the Department’s shared values, the conflict resolution procedures provide an opportunity for parties to communicate, as well as work toward a shared understanding of what has occurred and/or a mutually agreed upon plan of action. These conflict resolution procedures can provide an opportunity for the conflict parties to:

- Engage in a pro-active approach that addresses issues and conflict before they fester and grow.

- Clearly articulate the issues or problems, with recognition that there may be differing perceptions of the problem(s).

- Address the issues face-to-face in a setting that is most conducive to productively managing the problem.

- Communicate how they want the conflict resolved and provide an opportunity to reach agreement on how to move forward.

- Re-establish trust.

If a graduate student finds themselves trying to manage a conflict situation with anyone in the Department, there are a number of steps they can take and people they can seek out for guidance and help. The following subsections details the possibilities. The possible steps and procedures are listed in the order they are commonly used. However, there is no “right path” for resolving conflict. Parties are encouraged to think about which options best fits the situation, their needs, etc.

Conflict Management Steps and Procedures

Consultation for advice and support. Often it is helpful and appropriate to seek advice and support from faculty and leadership. This step is available at any point and may be especially valuable if the person bringing forward the issue is struggling to decide what to do, feels uncomfortable approaching the other person(s), or was not successful with initial attempts to directly discuss the issue with the other person(s). Discussing the situation could provide an opportunity to:

- Talk through the issue and related concerns with a neutral party.

- Discuss and weigh options for how to address the issue (the faculty member may seek additional information about options on behalf of the graduate student if desired by the graduate student).

- Create a strategy for how best to take action on one of those options.

Direct discussion with the other person(s). Often, an early step in addressing an issue or conflict is to directly discuss the issue with the person(s) involved. Open and direct dialogue conveys respect for the other person and respect for their right to know how they may have harmed someone as well as the opportunity to resolve the dispute. Although email may be useful for scheduling a time to meet, the Department highly encourages face-to-face conversations either in-person or via Zoom. This allows the parties to engage in the type of direct communication and dialogue that promotes conflict resolution. Listening and expressing oneself are important in these conversations.

Facilitated conversation. Sometimes, the parties involved in a conflict have a difficult time reaching resolution on their own and it may be useful to have an outside person help to facilitate a productive conversation. Facilitated conversations are a voluntary process in which a neutral, third-party guides a future-focused conversation, generally with the goal of reaching mutual understand and agreement on how to move forward. These conversations are typically informal and the facilitator’s primary role is to promote productive conversations by engaging in active listening, asking clarifying questions, and helping the parties come up with creative solutions. Often, these conversations will end in a verbal or written commitment between the parties to make specific changes to resolve the issue and ensure the conflict does not resurface.

Third Party Support Person. The Department recognizes that disparate levels of power exist in many academic working relationships. Although direct communication is generally recommended, there are situations in which an individual may feel uncomfortable directly confronting the person(s) they are having issues with. To protect the parties involved or promote the best resolution outcome, it may be reasonable for faculty (e.g., advisors) or other department leadership to act as a third party representative of the person bringing forward the issue. In their capacity as a third party support person, this individual might speak directly to the other person(s) about the issue, bring the issue to the attention of someone in an appropriate leadership positions (e.g., graduate chair), or attempt to address the issue in a broader context (so as to not single out any one individual). In these situations, the third party support person will act on behalf of the individual bringing forward the issue and must have their permission to do so. In addition, the third party support person should discuss with the individual bringing the issue forward their desires for confidentiality and anonymity, including the extent to which confidentiality and anonymity is possible in a given situation.

Who to Seek Out for Conflict Management Assistance

The Department is committed to providing a collaborative climate in which conflict is address in an open and timely manner. Any faculty member may be able to assist with the conflict management steps and procedures discussed in the previous section. However, some faculty may be better situated to help specific students because of pre-existing relationships, knowledge of research area content, etc.

Suggested Order of Department Contacts. The following is an ordered list of who a graduate student can go to for conflict management assistance:

- Advisors or other trusted faculty members

- Any area head, though most often students’ seek out their own program area head (https://psychology.unl.edu/graduate-programs)

- The graduate chair (Mike Dodd, mdodd2@unl.edu)

- The chair (David DiLillo, ddillilo2@unl.edu) of the department Importantly, the person bringing forward the issue can skip any of these steps if they are either not comfortable with the person or the issue involves them. If a student wishes to speak to someone other than the chair of the department, they may seek out either of the associate chairs of the department (Manda Williamson, mwilliamson3@unl.edu, Sarah Gervais, sgervais2@unl.edu).

External Ombudsperson. The Department recognizes that because of the nature of an academic unit, there may be situations in which the person bringing forward the issue may wish to consult someone outside of the department. An ombudsperson is a neutral party who provides confidential, informal, independent and impartial assistance with managing conflict. 25 The ombudsperson is available to listen, discuss options, and support the person bringing forward the issue. Dr. Eva Bachman (ebachman1@unl.edu) is the Director of Graduate Student Support and serves as an ombudsperson for graduate students at UNL.

Confidentiality Expectations

An individual bringing forward an issue to a faculty member or the ombudsperson can generally expect a degree of confidentiality. However, there are times when the anonymity of the party bringing forth a concern cannot be maintained (e.g., if the specifics of a conflict issue allow one party to deduce the identity of the other). Exceptions to confidentiality also arise if someone is in imminent danger. It is considered best practice to openly discuss confidentiality concerns and expectations before engaging in a conversation about a conflict issue.

Potential Outcomes The goal of most conflict management processes is to generate a verbal or written commitment between the parties to make specific changes to resolve the issue and ensure the conflict does not resurface. Importantly, this is an agreement between everyone involved and all individuals must actively participate in forming the agreement. Each agreement will likely be unique because the needs of the parties, nature of the issue, etc. is likely unique. However, here are a few examples of potential outcomes:

- In an authorship dispute a plan could detail improved procedures to assist the research team in better communicating authorship order and associated responsibilities.

- Workload or resource disputes may involve more clear communication about expectations and/or redistribution of workloads or resources.

- Feedback about insensitive or inappropriate language may yield an opportunity for the student to express why the language was problematic and a faculty member agreement to make changes or provide needed context if the material under question is within the scope of course material. A faculty member may provide an acknowledgement or make an apology to the class. (Repeated instances may require more formal processes as students should not have to repeatedly engage in this process with the same faculty member).

Commitments between the parties should take into consideration the needs and interests of the parties involved. Often, the most successful agreements offer creative solutions to problems that strengthen communication, trust, and a strong working relationship. Keep in mind, it is common for both parties to make commitments to change the situation for the better.

Conflict Management Training Opportunities

Although conflict is pervasive, the skills necessary to resolve the conflict are not always intuitive. Thus, the Department is committed to continued training and discussion relevant to managing conflict. The training opportunities will be open to all members of the department and program heads, the graduate chair, department chair, and the ombudsperson will be expected to actively participate in these opportunities. Training opportunities could include:

- Trainings & discussions on how to have difficult conversations that include conflict management skill development including active listening, problem solving, etc.

- Continued training on University policies and procedures such as Title IX.

Advice for Students From Students

Advice For Students From Students links to a page on the Social and Cognitive program website as this was an initiative that began there.  Often times senior graduate students will pass along tips to newer graduate students in a relatively informal fashion and this was an attempt to formalize this advice.  Though it came out of the SC program, the advice is relevant to students in all programs and can be a useful resource for you if you are looking to obtain additional perspectives on a variety of topics.  Note that not all of these tips will work or be applicable to each individual, but hearing advice from multiple different sources will help you to figure out which things are likely to work for you and which things are unlikely to work for you.  Some of the tips may also contradict each other as different students have different perspectives and approaches.  The point of this is not to provide you with the "correct" answer but to help you figure out things that work best for you.  If you are a student who is looking for advice on a specific topic, feel free to email mdodd2@unl.edu and suggest it so I can add to this page.  If you're a current or former graduate student, please pass along any helpful tips that you think would be worthwhile to have added.

Other Important Resources

Health Insurance and Related Issues (Updated 3/2023)

As a graduate student, you are automatically enrolled each semester with UnitedHealthcare to cover medical, mental health, dental, and prescription insurance.  If you have other qualifying insurance and wish to waive the insurance assigned to you by UNL, you must take action to cancel the insurance and you are required to do so in both the Fall and Spring Semesters.  Information on health care and how to waive University insurance (you would need to provide proof of your other qualifying insurance, you can not just opt out and not have anything) can be found HERE.

It is important to note that in some situations, challenges can arise and students may find that they need more support/guidance in navigating their health care needs.  The best contact is this situation is the UHCSR advocates email (unebraskaadvocates@uhcsr.com).  Please also feel free to contact the graduate chair with additional questions/issues.  Though the graduate chair is not in a position to answer specific questions surrounding health care and related processes, they will often have additional contact information for people who may be able to help/advocate for you.

Psychology Student and Faculty Resources

A wide variety of additional resources can be found on the Psychology webpage HERE.

Graduate Student Photo Directory (Updated 8/2024)

We used to have photos of all of our graduate students in the mailroom in Burnett, but as the department has grown it has proven harder to update and we are missing images for a number of folks.  Moreover, to the degree the pictures helped put a name to a face of someone you may not have met before, it's useful to have those accessible beyond the mailroom.  To that end, here is a Photo Directory that has an image of most of the graduate students in our program along with some other basis information if provided (e.g. pronouns, preferred name, year of entry into program, advisor).  There are a few folks missing and there are a variety of reasons for this, if you need your information updated at any point you can reach out to me at mdodd2@unl.edu.  The document is password protected as it is intended as an internal document only.  A password was emailed out from the Grad Chair email account, if you no longer have that email you can reach out to me for the password.  I will update the password each year and email out.

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