Rossier Doctoral Support Center Blog

Cohort of 2011

Dear Cohort of 2011 students,

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a great start of the Fall semester. Please see below some important reminders for the Fall semester:

Fall 2013 Registration Reminder- Deadline has already passed!

If you still haven't registered for the Fall semester yet, please contact me as soon as possible. Each week you do not register, there will be a $100 late fee. As a student in the Cohort of 2011, you are scheduled to take EDUC 794A: Dissertation Writing in the Fall 2013 semester. Students will be eligible to take EDUC 794A once they pass their Qualifying Exam. The last day to register without late fees is August 23, 2013, and the last day to add/drop a class is September 13, 2013.

You must be enrolled in a class by August 23, 2013 to avoid late fees, but you can still make changes (add/drop) until September 13^th. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you schedule your qualifying exam prior to August 23^th, 2013. Students who complete their qualifying exam between August 23- September 13, 2012 will need to add EDUC 791 by Friday, August 23, 2013 to avoid accruing a late registration fee and then add EDUC 794a and drop EDUC 791 once they pass their qualifying exam. Students must pass their qualifying exam by September 13, 2013 to add EDUC 794a in the Fall 2013 semester.

If you do not pass the Qualifying Exam by September 13, 2013, you will need to enroll in EDUC 791 for the Fall semester. This is a 1-unit course designed to allow you extra time to complete your proposal and pass your Qualifying Exam. You can request clearance for this course using the Permission to Enroll in EDUC 791 form. 

Some of you may still have regular coursework to complete after the summer term. Please contact me as soon as possible for advisement and departmental clearances. If you register for a “makeup” class, you do not need to register for EDUC 791, as you will already be enrolled in units for the fall. Please remember to register in EDUC 794A if you pass your Qualifying Exam by September 13^th, 2013 even if it is in addition to your other coursework.

Ed.D. Mentorship Program: Meet and Greet

The first annual Ed.D. Mentorship Program: Meet & Greet will be held on campus on Monday, September 9, 2013 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. The location of the event is to be announced. The Meet and Greet is a networking event that gives mentors and mentees an opportunity to mingle and get to know one another. No matches will be made at that time and the event is not mandatory, however, it is a great chance for some of the first-year students to get to know the second and third year students or alums from the Ed.D. program. Students who have been accepted to the mentorship program should RSVP if they are able to attend the event or not by visiting the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rsvpmeetandgreet .

For more information or questions, please contact Katy Lin at (213) 821-1516 or [email protected]

EDSA Welcome Tailgate- September 7, 2013

Please join your fellow Ed.D. students in an afternoon of food, fund, and mingling at our Welcome tailgate on September 7, 2013. Feel free to bring your friends and family, and join EDSA anytime between noon and 7pm! They will be stationed in front of WPH (look for EDSA signs).

East Asian Studies Center

The East Asian Studies Center provides support to graduate students focusing on East Asia at USC through funding opportunities, special event programming, job announcements, and more. We also offer access to the UCLA libraries free of charge through our Joint UCLA-USC Joint East Asian Studies Center (JEASC), funded by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI NRC grant. If you would like to receive information about funding opportunities and events for graduate students or to sign up for free UCLA library access, please follow the link below and complete the form.

EASC Mailing List & Free UCLA Library Access Request:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1arF_Ii3hKOEi5-7PTrJW_Yiu6EBbYsIf1ZCRaN02PpA/viewform

If you are requesting free UCLA library access for the 2013-14 academic year, please complete the above form by Wednesday, September 4, 2013. Once the submission deadline has passed, they will send the information to UCLA libraries and provide all students who submitted requests with further information on how to finish establishing access. Please note that requests for access from previous years will not be rolled over to this year. If you would like access again for 2013-14, please fill out the form again.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Fall 2013 EASC Graduate Student Mixer

Thursday, September 19, 2013, 4:00-6:00 PM
College House (CLH) 101

EASC invites graduate students focusing on East Asia to join them for food, drink and conversation with fellow students across USC. Graduate students from any field are welcome to join, so it's a great opportunity to meet students with a similar East Asia-related research topics in a variety of different fields. Click here to RSVP by Thursday, September 12, 2013.

Please feel free to contact them at [email protected] or at 213-740-2991 for more information regarding EASC and our programs.

Doctoral Support Center- Contact Dr. Jimenez y West

Please contact Ilda Jiménez y West, Ph.D.  for any writing support and questions about APA style formatting and literature review. Dr. Jiménez y West can be reached at [email protected] or (213) 740-8099. If you need Dr. Jiménez y West to review your paper, please make a review appointment in advance and then submit your paper by email.  

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Fight On!

Katy Lin
Cohort of 2011 Advisor

Cohort of 2013: September Updates

Dear Cohort of 2013:

Hope your first core group classes have been great so far—certainly looking forward to a wonderful semester with you all! Feel free to contact me if there is anything I can do to assist as you transition into the program—I am here to make this transition as smooth as possible :)!

Gmail and Skype Availability for Advising

Please feel free to utilize Gmail chat/Skype to connect with me if you have any questions/concerns or even if you want to simply say hello and let me know how the program is going at any time.  I will be logged into Gmail Monday-Friday and throughout the day depending on availability.

For those who are new to Gmail chat please note the following:

A green dot next to my name: I am available for chat
A red dot next to my name: I am currently busy and unavailable
An orange dot next to my name: I have become "idle" or have possibly stepped away from my computer
A gray dot next to my name: I am not logged into Gmail

My contact information:

Gmail chat: [email protected].
Skype: nancy.guirguis.ed.d. (by appointment only)

USC Email

Please make sure to check your USC emails regularly. All program office emails and faculty correspondence will be sent to your USC email address. For those of you who wish to link your Gmail accounts to your USC email addresses, please visit this website: http://getgoogle.usc.edu/

USCard (USC Student ID card)

Please visit http://www.usc.edu/bus-affairs/admin_serv/uscard_serv/students/ for more information regarding your USCard (USC student ID card). You can submit a picture online and pick up the ID card in the USCard office. You can also choose to take your picture there and pick up your USCard in the office. USCard services office is open Monday through Friday 9:00 AM-5:00 PM--they can be reached at (213) 740-8709. You will need your USCard to enter USC buildings after hours (evenings).

Mentorship Program: Meet and Greet

The first annual Ed.D. Mentorship Program: Meet & Greet will be held on campus on Monday, September 9, 2013 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. The location of the event is to be announced. The Meet and Greet is a networking event that gives mentors and mentees an opportunity to mingle and get to know one another. No matches will be made at that time and the event is not mandatory, however, it is a great chance for some of the first-year students to get to know the second and third year students or alums from the Ed.D. program. Students who have been accepted to the mentorship program should RSVP if they are able to attend the event or not by visiting the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rsvpmeetandgreet

For more information or questions, please contact Katy Lin at (213) 821-1516 or [email protected]

Blackboard

Please make sure to check out the Content Folder of the Orientation Blackboard site for valuable information! Additional information will be added to the Blackboard site so please continue to check the site. Blackboard can be accessed from my.usc.edu or www.usc.edu/blackboard.

APA Manual

 Have you written an academic paper lately? Please familiarize yourself with the 6^th edition of the APA Manual as it will come in handy throughout your three years in the program! All courses, and your capstone project/dissertation, will require use of correct APA format. Here’s an option - http://www.amazon.com/Publication-American-Psychological-Association-Edition/dp/1433805618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339777196&sr=8-1&keywords=APA.

Parking at USC

If you have questions about parking passes, daily reservations, USC transit, etc, please visit the USC Transportation website at http://transnet.usc.edu/. Many of your first year classes on the main campus will take place in Waite Phillips Hall (WPH) so the closest parking structures to the building are Parking Structure X (PSX) or Parking Structure D (PSD). We encourage you to think about the cost-effectiveness of purchasing a permit as it may make more sense to pay the $10.00/day if you are only coming to campus once a week for class. If you are taking classes in Hawaii or in Orange County, parking is free.  

Financial Aid

If you have any questions regarding your financial aid award or loans, please contact USC’s Financial Aid Office at (213) 740-4444 or visit them in person at John Hubbard Hall (JHH) from 9:00am – 5:00pm, Monday – Friday. Please visit their website (http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/) for more information regarding scholarships, fellowships, loans, work study and jobs, etc.

Student Health Insurance

USC requires that ALL students have supplemental health insurance. You are automatically enrolled in the USC Health Insurance Plan if you are taking 6 or more units at USC or are an international student. If you already have a health insurance plan, you may be eligible to waive enrollment in the USC Health Insurance Plan by providing proof of comparable coverage. Please visit the following website for more information regarding the Student Health Insurance Waiver -http://engemannshc.usc.edu/insurance/waivers/. All requests for insurance waivers for the Fall 2013 semester must be submitted online before September 13, 2013. If you have any questions related to this process, feel free to contact the Engemann Student Health Center at 213-740-0551. USC also provides services at the Engemann Student Health Center, and the separate fee for this service availability cannot be waived.

Proof of Immunization and Screening Requirements

USC requires all students receive two doses of MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) vaccine, or show proof of Measles and Mumps immunity, prior to their first semester of enrollment at USC by submitting one of the following:

1. Documentation (month and year) of receiving TWO doses of the MMR vaccine (or TWO doses of Measles vaccine and TWO doses of Mumps vaccine)
   – OR –
2. Documentation of a positive Rubeola titer and Mumps titer (laboratory blood test)

In addition, USC requires all new, incoming International Students to receive, or provide documentation of, a tuberculosis blood test performed in the United States or Canada, within 6 months prior to enrollment at USC. You must submit all documents by September 13, 2013 to avoid late fees and registration holds. Please visit  the following website for more information: https://engemannshc.usc.edu/medical/immunization-clinic/required/ Please note that a hold will be placed on your student account if you do not take care of this requirement in a timely manner.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions—looking forward to working with you all!

Best regards,

Nancy Guirguis, Ed.D., MSW

Dissertation Self-Assessment

            Preparing for your proposal or dissertation defense includes planning and preparation.  While the dissertation process has general requirements that all students will accomplish, the journey is unique for all students.  The first step of the proposal or dissertation defense is a self-evaluation of your work.  What follows is a guide to assist you with the writing process. This tool was developed using the work of Lovitts (2005) published in Academe Online.

            The focus of the checklist is to facilitate your navigation of the proposal and dissertation defense. Lovitts (2005) suggests there are characterizations for the levels of quality of a dissertation. The characterizations for the dissertation are outstanding, very good, acceptable and unacceptable.  As a part of this self-assessment, you should evaluate how you would characterize the quality of each chapter of the dissertation, prior to submission to your chair. There is no expectation that you would achieve excellence in all areas, as student strengths vary.  However, a high-quality and comprehensive written product should be your end goal.   Download Dissertation Self-Assessment

Write On and Fight On!

Write Times for the Fall 2013

Weekend and Thursday Night Writes     Download Write Times Fall 2013

Welcome to the DSC. There are Weekend Writes and Thursday Night Writes. All Doctoral students are welcome to attend as we support students in all phases of the program.  This provides students the opportunity to commit to writing and have an advisor available to assist with questions regarding academic writing or the dissertation process. There is no cost for attending. Students are encouraged to develop individual writing goals and plans. You can attend as an individual or create a writing group which meets regularly. Students are encouraged to coordinate with their writing advisor for meetings and to schedule any review dates for drafts.  Bring your laptop, work materials, and ear buds and go to work. Remember to bring your Student ID to access the building. I look forward to seeing all of you. RSVP at  http://www.doodle.com/mugk5tkh98nmz3m5 

Fall 2013 Weekend Writes in WPH Rm. B49

Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, 2013, 9 am – 4 pm, WPH Rm. B49

Saturday and Sunday, November 9 and 10, 2013, 9 am – 4 pm, WPH Rm. B49

Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8, 2013, 9 am – 4 pm, WPH Rm. B49

          Saturday Finale 5-7 pm Location McKays

Thursday Night Writes -- 5 pm to 9 pm WPH 201

October 17 – 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH 201

October 24– 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH 201

November 14– 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH 201

November 21– 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH 201

December 5 – 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH 201

December 12– 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH 201 (Tentative)

 

Mark your calendars.  Please RSVP for Weekend Writes and Thursday Night Writes at: http://www.doodle.com/mugk5tkh98nmz3m5.  This is a great opportunity to focus and get ‘er done!   I look forward to celebrating with all of you at graduation.

Write On and Fight On! Linda

Contact Information: Dr. Fischer via [email protected]  or (213) 740-3813

EDSA Football Tailgate - September 7th

The Educational Doctorate Student Assembly (EDSA) will be hosting an afternoon tailgate on September 7, 2013, before the first USC home game of the season against Washington State. Feel free to stop by at any time between 12:00 and 7:00 PM in front of Waite Phillips Hall. There will be EDSA signs posted to help you find the location. Friends and family are also welcome.

For more information on EDSA, please visit http://uscedsa.blogspot.com. You can contact EDSA at [email protected]. 

Cotsen Foundation Program Officer - Professional Development

The Cotsen Foundation is looking for a Program Officer of Professional Development. The person in this role works to advance the mission and vision of the art of teaching by facilitating quality professional development for participating mentors, fellows, and alumni. For an overview of the position, please download the attachment below.

Download Cotsen Program Officer

California Science Center Early Childhood Coordinator

The California Science Center is looking for an Early Childhood Coordinator. The position is responsible for the development and implementation of high-quality, innovative California Science Center Discovery Rooms Programs. These include exhibits, hands-on Discovery Boxes, storytelling, animal displays, and self-exploration science experiences for young children (toddler to 2nd grade) and their chaperones. If interested, please download the attachment below for more details.

Download CSC Early Childhood Coordinator

4th Grade Teacher at Kabbalah Children's Academy

Kabbalah Children's Academy is looking for an energetic 4th grade teacher to join their team. Interested candidates should have a CA teaching credential and at least 2 to 3 years of teaching experience. Experience with EveryDay Math, Readers and Writers Workshop curriculums is preferred but not necessary. Also, Smart Board experience and/or training is a plus.

Anyone who is interested should send a resume and cover letter to the school's Principal, Edward Eiseman, at [email protected].