"As we reach the end of another term, I want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of you – our graduate students. Your dedication, hard work, and resilience have been truly inspiring. Whether you are graduating or continuing in your program, it is with great pride that we recognize your achievements." Read Dean Chodzko-Zajko's recent message to all graduate students and watch highlights from the doctoral hooding ceremony. 

Register now for Faculty Job Search Retreat on August 6! This afternoon event will get postdocs and grad students ready to apply for faculty jobs this fall.  Join us for valuable advice from our Career Development staff and from faculty who have recently navigated the process successfully. This virtual event includes an overview of the faculty job search, a faculty panel that will get you ready to apply this Fall (or later), and more. Registration is required. Find more information and the registration link at https://go.grad.illinois.edu/FacultyJobSearchRetreat.

To fulfill the vision of Research Park as a live-work-play environment, housing is an important component. A new housing development being planned along First Street will be designed to meet the needs of professionals and graduate students. To support this vision, your input in a short survey is vital. All responses are confidential and valuable, even if you do not anticipate living in the new housing community. The survey should take less than 8 minutes to complete. All respondents will be entered to win one of 10 Amazon gift cards.

The Graduate College will be closed for walk-in visits Friday, May 23, from noon - 5 p.m. You are welcome to reach us via email at grad@illinois.edu or leave a phone message at 217-333-0035 during that time. We will respond as soon as possible.

May 23 is the last day to add a S1 (4 week) course via Self-Service, to drop a S1 (4 week) course and receive a refund if reducing assessment range (if you are not enrolled in courses in any other summer terms), and to submit a form to elect to audit a S1 (4 week) course. Students enrolled in non-standard part of term courses should refer to their graduate program for deadline information. Have questions about registration deadlines or submitting a form? Click here for an advising appointment!

May 18 is the last day to cancel your Summer registration via Self-Service and receive a 100% refund. The refund schedule for Summer 2025 can be found on the Registrar's website. Students enrolled in non-standard part of term courses should refer to their graduate program for deadline information. Have questions about registration deadlines or submitting a Withdrawal/Cancellation form? Click here for an advising appointment!

Our writing groups will resume on June 10th, following our writing retreat the week prior. Join us for 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 summer!

Summer is a wonderful time to hold a workshop, symposium or other event at NCSA! With our 195-seat auditorium, two state-of-the-art training centers, large and small conference rooms, and a spacious atrium your attendees can learn, network, and imagine future research or collaboration opportunities. The NCSA Events team is ready to provide the audio/visual support needed so you and your attendees can focus on content making your summer experience one to remember. Schedule your event today on the NCSA Events Scheduler or stop by the NCSA Virtual Lobby and we can discuss your plans.

This spring, the Thesis Office deposited 387 doctoral dissertations and 250 master's theses. Congratulations to all of our graduates! We are so proud of you and wish you all the best in your future endeavors. 

Graduate College Career Development will offer a range of programs this summer to help you build toward your academic and career goals. We will offer a Making the Most of Summer workshop, a Career Exploration Group, a job search storytelling workshop series, a faculty job search intensive prep session, and more. Some programs will be in person and others will be available online. Check out the Graduate College Events calendar for more information: https://go.grad.illinois.edu/workshops. 

The American Diabetes Association offers the "Pathway to Stop Diabetes" awards. Open to postdocs with no more than seven years of training since the doctorate, the "Initiator" award supports investigators across the spectrum of diabetes research, from basic science through public health research and implementation science. Awards up to $1,625,000 are available. Campus nominees will be chosen via a limited submission competition managed by the OVCRI, and applications are due June 9. See details here. 

The Career Exploration Group provides a collaborative environment for postdocs and grad students from all fields who want to learn more about career options. Participants work with a career advisor to identify and evaluate career paths that fit their skills, interests, and values. This is a unique opportunity to share and learn about exploring careers through discussion and open dialogue with peers. Participants commit to meeting three times over three weeks. Career Exploration Group will meet in person from 3:30 - 5 PM on 6/17, 6/24, and 7/1. Registration is required.

The Graduate College invites applications from postdocs interested in serving as URAP Mentors in the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP) during 2025-26. URAP is a valuable professional development opportunity during which you will gain hands-on experience mentoring undergraduate researchers. Postdocs in any field are welcome to apply. Applications are due June 22. Learn more about the program at https://grad.illinois.edu/grad-student-life/mentoring/urap.

NCSA is offering a 2-hour workshop for campus researchers to introduce the Illinois Campus Cluster (ICC) and teach how to perform basic tasks in its cluster environment. There are no prerequisites for this workshop. A user account on the ICC will be provided for the hands-on exercises. Register by May 30, 2025. 

Ready to explore how artificial intelligence and computer vision are transforming agriculture? CDA is offering a week-long virtual AI Foundry Short Course focused on real-world agricultural applications. Designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, this hands-on course is also open to faculty, staff, and industry professionals eager to build or strengthen their AI skills. Details on registration, cost, assistance, and more here.

Attend a NAIRR Hackathon Readiness Bootcamp to prepare for the OpenACC and NAIRR partners' Open Hackathons supporting NAIRR Pilot projects. The bootcamp will cover the hackathon program, benefits, and tools like NVIDIA NIM™, NeMo, and profiling software. AI specialists will also be available for project discussions. 

Mental Health First Aid Certification training courses are being offered on campus during May and June. See a complete list of courses and register. Courses are offered at no cost to attendees, but you must register and complete all portions of the training to receive certification. Mental Health First Aid training is available through funding provided by the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act and sponsored by Student Affairs.

The Intensive Language Instruction Program (ILIP) offers classes in 11 different languages. ILIP classes combine language and culture via engaging activities led by skilled instructors. No grade, just for fun! Students receive 30 hours of enjoyable language instruction which maximizes exposure to the target language to help them meet their own personal learning goals. Online and in-person options are available! Register for ILIP today!

Organized by the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance for Technology-Based Healthcare, and held virtually June 23-27, this one-week course will introduce Mayo Clinic and Illinois faculty, staff, and students to the basics of computational genomics and the tools and methodologies used to analyze genomic data. The 2025 course will include synchronous and self-paced sessions led by Illinois and Mayo Clinic faculty, with new modules on Long Reads and AI for Digital Pathology. No previous experience or knowledge of computational genomics is required. Learn more from 2024 course participants.

Summer classes begin this week but there is still time to enroll. Our technology commercialization courses available to grad students in any major. Syllabi are available on our website and feel free to contact us with any questions. We look forward to working with you!

The global Pint of Science Festival launches in Champaign-Urbana this May! The festival is open to the local community, including science enthusiasts and curious minds. Dive into the groundbreaking research at the Pint of Science Festival presented by researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The festival takes place from May 19 to 20. Each evening starts at 7:00 p.m. at Cowboy Monkey in Champaign and Gallery Art Bar in Urbana. Admission is $2 and can be reserved at pintofscience.us/events/urbana-champaign. Seating is first-come, first-served.

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

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.