Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s Office of the Graduate School is planning upcoming online sessions for the spring semester, including an orientation for new graduate students taking place virtually now through Jan. 15.

Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School Peter Ryan said despite the ongoing pandemic, dedicated staff are utilizing virtual programming to offer students exceptional service.

“We are really pleased and thrilled to have you here at Mississippi State University, and I wish you every success with your graduate studies,” Ryan said in welcoming newly enrolled graduate students.

Upcoming Graduate School events include:

—Graduate School Orientation. This optional, no-cost session can be experienced now through Jan. 15, 2021. The session may be completed at the student’s own pace but should not exceed two hours. Whether a student received an undergraduate degree at MSU or if new to the Bulldog Family, this session provides information to help navigate grad school and includes details about resources and opportunities to aid in graduate school success. To register, click here. During the university closure (Dec. 23–Jan. 3, 2021), please allow 48 hours to be added to event.

—Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Workshop. This workshop certifies GTAs for their TA career at MSU and is required to maintain the teaching assistantship. The GTA workshop consists of two parts: the General Session and Classroom Evaluation. Typically, the GTA workshop is a two-day event held in person before classes start; however, it was transitioned to a hybrid event in the fall, and this format will continue for the Spring 2021 workshop. The General Session is held virtually through Canvas now through Jan. 4, 2021, while the Classroom Evaluations for GTA2 and GTA3 will be held in person at the Old Main Academic Center Jan. 5, 2021. For more information regarding this workshop, please click here.

—Spring Graduate Student Research Symposium. The 19th GSRS will be held virtually Feb. 27, 2021 and will include oral and poster presentations. For more information, please monitor MSU’s Graduate School website for updates.

—Image of Research. The Graduate School is pleased to offer a new competition for graduate students in the Spring 2021 semester. For this competition, students are asked to submit an image of their research. “Research” is defined broadly to include creative and scholarly work in all fields. To learn more about this event, check the Graduate School website in early January and monitor email.

For more information, visit www.grad.msstate.edu.