Are you new to Illinois? There are a few tricky names on campus that trip up even seasoned Illinois students and staff. Visit the Pronunciation Guide on the brand website for a comprehensive list with audio. Here’s an example of one of the iconic buildings on campus. Foellinger Auditorium: FOAL-in-grrr (like a baby horse with a hard “g”) 

Newcombe Fellowships support doctoral candidates in their final year of writing whose dissertations engage with conversations about religion, ethics, values, or morals. Students in any discipline may apply, and there is no citizenship requirement. The initial application requires a brief proposal; finalists will be invited to submit a full proposal and letters of recommendation. Applications are due November 1. 

Female-identifying graduate students, come learn about AAUW fellowships! AAUW offers International Fellowships (for international students pursuing a master’s, doctorate, or first professional degree) and American Dissertation Fellowships (for U.S. citizens writing up their dissertations) to applicants in any field of study. There are also Selected Professions Fellowships for women pursuing master’s and professional degrees in select fields. Awards provide up to $25,000, and applications are due November 15. Lunch provided with registration.     

Are you looking for a new way to organize your thesis notes or citations? Programs like Evernote will allow you to store your notes, photos, web clippings, and files in one place. Citation managers, like Mendeley and Zotero, can help organize your citations into bibliographies and store notes and PDFs. You can learn more about these resources on the Library’s website or at a Savvy Researcher workshop.

The Technology Entrepreneur Center in The Grainger College of Engineering offers graduate-level courses, certificates, and programs that help you thrive as an innovator and turn new technologies into market successes! Engineering grad students even have the option to pursue a graduate concentration. Learn more. 

Are you preparing to go on the academic job market? The Writers Workshop will review genre expectations for diversity statements and provide examples from a range of disciplines. We will share strategies for brainstorming and drafting your own statement. This event is open to current University of Illinois affiliates (students, faculty, and staff). Please register with your University of Illinois email account by 11:59pm CT on 9/24, and we will send a reminder email with the Zoom meeting invitation on the morning of the event.

Graduate College Career Development advisors specialize in the needs of grad students and postdocs. Meet one-on-one to revise application documents, prepare for interviews, get ready to negotiate, explore new career paths, develop a job search strategy, and more. We work with students/postdocs on any kind of job search, including industry, nonprofit, faculty, and government. Appointments are available in person or on Zoom. 

Aimed at instructors interested in teaching with Human-Centered Design, this workshop will focus on the design thinking tools you can implement to empathize with your students, as well as teaching activities and strategies.

What can you ask for and how do you ask for it? After you receive a faculty job offer, you have a short period to evaluate it, negotiate and make your decision. In this workshop, you will learn how to develop a strategy to help you know when and how to negotiate effectively. You can join in person (Graduate College, 507 E. Green St., Champaign) or on Zoom (https://go.grad.illinois.edu/eventspace).

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is an open access digital library of more than 59 million pages. Focused on biodiversity literature, it includes many rare materials containing the original descriptions of plants and animals. The historic, artistic, and scientific materials are useful across a wide range of disciplines. Attendees will learn to search the BHL catalog as well as the stunning collection of public domain images in Flickr.

New to the university? Need a refresher on using the library? This hands-on workshop will introduce you to library resources and services. After this workshop, you’ll be able to navigate the library website with confidence to access print and electronic materials. Come with questions if you have them!

Are you having trouble organizing all of your sources but don’t know where to start? A citation manager can help you store your files, create citations, and insert formatted citations into papers. This hands-on workshop will introduce you to three popular citation managers—Mendeley, Zotero, and Endnote. We will go over pros and cons of each one and give you a preview of how they work to help you choose the best fit for your citation needs.

This interactive workshop will use practical applications of two AI tools—Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity AI. These tools support your research process, offering intelligent assistance with brainstorming, refining ideas, finding sources, and enhancing your writing development. While AI can provide invaluable support, it won’t replace your critical thinking or authorship; it will not do your academic work. Instead, you will learn how to use these tools to efficiently gather insights, structure arguments, and streamline your research workflow while honestly maintaining academic integrity.

Need a free option for analyzing qualitative data? In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to code and explore data using three free options: Taguette + Google Sheets, Word docs, and QualCoder. For more information: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/qualitative/workshops/free This session will be taught twice on 9/25: 11-11:50am in Main Library 106 and 7-7:50pm online via Zoom.

This session will give you insight and strategies for getting the most out of Scopus; the largest interdisciplinary database of peer-reviewed literature including journals, books, and conference proceedings, particularly in the sciences. This session will highlight how to find literature about a particular topic, reviewing author details, using article citations to discover more information, and evaluating sources. Attendees will have time to ask individuals questions at the end.

Are you overwhelmed by organizing your sources? Zotero is a free, open-source citation manager that helps you store and organize your files and insert formatted citations into papers. You will leave this hands-on workshop with a Zotero library set up and ready to use!

Join us weekly to work on your projects! Our hybrid writing group provides grad students with dedicated time to make progress on any writing project in a supportive atmosphere. Each meeting consists of a short goal-setting conversation, quiet writing time, and a concluding reflection and wrap-up. You only need to register once with your U of I email to receive weekly email reminders all semester! 

This Illinois REDCap (https://healthinstitute.illinois.edu/redcap) workshop will focus on advanced ways Illinois REDCap can be used to collect research data, including how to build or edit projects with a Data Dictionary, collecting data with repeatable instruments, and collecting longitudinal data with defined events. It is recommended (but not required) that you have a REDCap account prior to attending the workshop. Attending the “Introduction to Illinois REDCap” or having a working knowledge of REDCap is recommended before attending this workshop.

Need compute time, data storage or research expertise? Illinois Computes is available – at no cost – to researchers from every domain on campus to elevate their work with computing and data storage resources, technical expertise and support services. Get started with Illinois Computes now and take advantage of NCSA’s state-of-the-art resources and world-class experts right here on campus.

International Student and Scholar Services is hosting a virtual workshop led by two Iranian student representatives who are native speakers of Farsi on Thursday, October 3rd, 12-1pm through Teams to learn more about the native pronunciation and cultural background of Farsi names. Please register in advance here: https://go.illinois.edu/ISSSTrainsNamesFarsi. The Teams link will be sent to registrants.

Lab 217 is the Molecule Maker Lab Institute's AI + Chemistry + Molecule Making themed escape room experience, aimed at bringing familiarity of ongoing research, specifically around artificial intelligence to members of the community. Volunteers will get a chance to run through the escape room, receive training, and receive an MMLI T-shirt. You are not required to be available for the entire time. 1 shift = 1 hour (1 run + reset). Most volunteers enjoy running multiple sessions to see how they improve with experience!

Human Library is an project where people acts as ‘books’ for others to borrow in order to learn more about their life experience. Conversations serve to create dialogue and understanding between people. At the reimagining the classroom event, we are hoping to find individuals with identities that may shape their learning experience, such as being a caretaker or being a first generation student. The event will take place on October 9 from 9-11.

Interested in exploring the potential commercial application of your research? Apply to the Lean Launchpad Short Course that provides a set of skills and entrepreneurial knowledge that can be applied to any career path. Explore your innovation from a business and customer perspective and prepare to apply for federal grants. Fall session application is due Oct. 15.

Join us for the iCU (Now I See What You Mean) Intercultural Dialogue Series, where stories and flavors come together to celebrate Latinx/Hispanic heritage. This unique series offers a platform for international and domestic students and the campus community to connect through learning about their personal cultural journeys. We'll journey through the rich culinary traditions of the Andean region, starting with Colombia and Ecuador (Sept 25) traveling through, Peru (Oct 2), and making our way to Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina (Oct 9). Dinner is provided, and everyone is welcome to attend.

The Indian Graduate Students Association (IGSA) is thrilled to invite you to our signature event —Bollywood Night! Get ready for an unforgettable evening full of vibrant entertainment, music, and dance as we celebrate the magic of Indian pop culture. Following the performances, we’ll turn up the volume for a DJ dance party at the Anniversary Plaza—so bring your dancing shoes! This event is open to all students and staff of the university. Whether you're familiar with Bollywood or just looking to experience something new and exciting, this is the perfect opportunity to celebrate and have fun.

Roughly 75% of people face some degree of anxiety when speaking in front of others. Tremors, butterflies, and "blacking out" are common, but that does not make them any more comfortable. Join the Speakers Workshop for its first workshop of the semester, "Coping with Presentation Anxiety," to learn skills to help stave off the nerves when speaking. Pre-registration is requested using the link above.

Join us to hear from community leaders tackling our most pressing public concerns through an unwavering pursuit of social justice. Folks from Braver Angels, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthening our democratic republic, will be joining us for a discussion on democracy in 2024. Free lunch will be offered to attendees.

RBML’s new exhibit celebrates the 75th anniversary of Gwendolyn Brooks’s Annie Allen – the poetry collection that won the first Pulitzer Prize by a Black author – and explores the rich history of Black literature’s emergence into the mainstream. The opening reception will feature remarks by Brooks’s daughter, Nora Brooks Blakely. This event is open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

Join the Interseminars Initiative’s second cohort for a culminating event series featuring panels, performances, interactive workshops, and more. Invited guest Kameelah Janan Rasheed (artist, educator, and writer) will lead Saturday afternoon's workshop. View the full schedule. Free and open to the public! Cosponsored by the Independent Media Center.

Join us for the brightest 5K on campus! This fun run/walk will take place on the Main and South Quad on Thursday, October 3 at 7pm. Cost is $5 and all proceeds go to the Tony Clements Scholarship Fund. Race packets can be collected at the ARC Member Services desk September 30 - October 1 during regular business hours or from 6-6:45pm at Anniversary Plaza the night of the race. Use your NetID and password to register for the race via Active Illini.

Local bat biologists and educators invite you to this first annual FREE event! There will be something for all ages and levels of bat enthusiasts including exhibitors, guest speakers, kids’ activities, information on bat conservation and more. Daytime activities around Anita Purves Nature Center from 1-4pm. Evening activities at Crystal Lake Park Lake House from 5:30–8:30pm.

The Imaging Technology Group and the IGB Core will be co-hosting a half-day X-ray CT workshop. Talks covering theory, the instrumentation available on campus, and current research projects will be presented along with tours of both the ITG and IGB facilities. Workshop agenda: Check out the Workshop Agenda at this link. 

Join the Center for Children's Books to hear from six different children's book publishing houses about the intersections of religion, culture, and sacred belief during two Zoom panels. For those on campus, a watch party and discussion also will take place at the School of Information Sciences, 614 E. Daniel, 4th Floor Multipurpose Room. Please register via the link below to receive the Zoom information.

Armando Torres is earning his PhD degree in Global Studies in Education. He maps local favela organizations and their mobilizers in Brazil digitally. Armando has spent the last 5 years conducting community-based participatory research with Brazilian mobilizers, virtually and locally, to identify and strengthen community assets. This talk will present the findings of this study, which aims to accelerate the development and impact of community mobilizers by boosting agency, capacity, collaboration, and learning through transformative, culturally relevant, and digitally inclusive pedagogy.

The University of Illinois Counseling Center provides mental health counseling and well-being education for students. 

If you or a student you know may need support with their basic needs or financial stressors, please reach out.

McKinley Health Center serves on-campus students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.