Each fall, the Graduate School offers a lineup of events during the week or so before classes begin to welcome and help acclimate new graduate students to campus and to welcome back current graduate students. The 2023 schedule includes something for everyone, from planning ahead for a successful semester to thinking ahead about your professional advancement, and more.
Register in advance to attend Welcome Week events unless otherwise noted. The link in the event title leads to the registration form.
Setting Up for Success in Your Mentoring Relationships: Aligning Expectations
Monday, August 28
10 – 11:30 am
Online
The Delta Program in the Graduate School will offer an interactive online workshop on research mentorship, with a focus on aligning expectations. We will explore signs of misalignment, how it might occur, as well as strategies for preventing and realigning. At the conclusion of the interactive workshop, participants should be equipped to take a proactive approach to aligning mentor-mentee expectations.
Beyond the Grade: Professional to Possibility
Monday, August 28
1 – 2:15 pm with reception to follow
1310 Sterling Hall and Online
What if alternative paths to personal and workplace advancement proved more beneficial over the long run? In this session learners will examine how they define success, understand how traditional expectations and established norms in graduate school and society can impose accidental barriers, and learn ways to navigate grad school and life “differently”. Let’s debunk the myth of being “self-made” and learn how to leverage MAPS (Mentors, Allies, Partners, and Sponsors) for strategic advancement. Break free from traditional measures of success and navigate graduate school with the support you need while building a powerful personal brand. Attend this session if you are ready to move beyond the grade!
Presenter Sybil Stewart is known for stories, humor, and a little “Sage” advice. Stewart is the Founder of C-Suite, a mentorship organization dedicated to supporting women, people of color, and neurodiverse individuals entering into and transitioning within the workplace. She empowers people to redefine success on their own terms. Previously, Stewart was a global human resources director at a top-ranking brokerage. She’s spoken at HR conferences, partnered with coaching clients, and hosts a talk show for women entrepreneurs. Sybil believes the most powerful tool we have is a story, so you better make it a good one.
Time Management for Graduate Students
Monday, August 28
3 – 4:15 pm with reception to follow
1310 Sterling Hall and Online
In this interactive workshop, you will learn tips and techniques for staying on track and managing your time. We’ll cover goal-setting, minimizing distractions and staying focused, and overcoming some of the most common challenges to staying on task. Participants will leave with strategies that they can apply immediately. The strategies we’ll cover are appropriate for students in any discipline.
Flourishing in Graduate School: How to Manage Stress and Maintain Your Mental Health
Tuesday, August 29
1 – 2:30 pm
1310 Sterling Hall and Online
Want to make graduate school a time to thrive and not just survive? This workshop will focus on promotion of psychological well-being in graduate school. Topics covered will arm graduate students with strategies to thrive through the challenges of graduate school, including managing the transition/adjustment process, coping with stress, promoting work/life balance, and establishing habits to maintain or improve mental health. This event is presented by the Graduate School Office of Professional Development in collaboration with University Health Services.
Cool Tools: Apps and More to Increase Productivity
Tuesday, August 29
3 – 4:30 pm with reception to follow
1310 Sterling Hall and Online
Prepare to maximize your time and energy this semester by taking advantage of software available to UW–Madison graduate students that can help streamline your workflow. This workshop, presented by Pete Valeo from Software Training for Students (STS), will introduce you to both basic and advanced software tools, including cloud storage services, notetaking apps, mobile scanners, research tools, tasks managers, password managers, lifestyle apps, and more.
The Power of Inclusive Teams
Thursday, August 31
11 am – 12:15 pm with lunch to follow
Old Madison Room, Memorial Union
The most successful teams are diverse, but diversity in the absence of intentional and inclusive practices is not enough. Evidence from the interdisciplinary study of teams reveals that diversity’s power depends upon purposeful inclusion. This interactive workshop will explain how diversity helps teams improve their productivity and generate more innovative ideas while exploring the concepts of psychological safety and the inclusion mindset.
Psychological safety allows team members to feel safe to engage in interpersonal risk-taking, which is essential for team performance and innovation. The inclusion mindset helps us reframe how we interpret situations, promoting acceptance and learning while preventing defensiveness and alienation. Psychological safety and purposeful inclusion are essential for leveraging the richness that diversity adds to the collaborative process. This workshop will provide practical insights and concrete, tangible applications for participants and their teams.
Graduate School Dash & Bash
Friday, September 1
8 – 11 am
Races start at 8 am and 8:15 am
Library Mall
The Graduate School invites you to celebrate the start of the academic year at the Graduate School Dash & Bash. Whether you plan to “Dash” to the finish line, handcycle the route, take a scholarly stroll, or join the “Bash” activities just for the fun of it, all are welcome and encouraged to participate in this free event – new and current graduate students, faculty, staff and family members. Dash participants and the first 200 attendees at the Bash will receive a commemorative UW–Madison 175th anniversary t-shirt.
Registration for the Dash is open. Advance registration is not required for the Bash.
BIPOC Graduate Student Welcome Reception
Friday, September 1
4:30 – 6 pm
AT&T Lounge, Pyle Center
Students are invited to engage in community with one another and with leadership across campus at the BIPOC Graduate Student Welcome Reception. Students will have an opportunity to network and socialize with peers, as well as connect with campus resources and leadership.
This event is co-hosted by the Graduate School Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Funding and the Graduate School Office of Professional Development.
Donuts and DiscoverPD for Graduate Students
Tuesday, September 5
10 am – noon
Northwoods Room, Union South
Come enjoy donuts and coffee or tea and meet other graduate students while learning about professional development. At this drop-in event, we will share exciting news about our professional development tool, DiscoverPD, and how it can be used to develop a wide variety of skills (such as career development, networking, leadership) and connect you with campus resources. Attendees will also receive a free tote bag and a copy of the book, A Field Guide to Grad School: Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum, by Dr. Jessica Calarco – an essential resource for grad students! (Giveaways are while supplies last.)
Enhancing Your Graduate Degree with a Certificate
Tuesday, September 5
3 – 4:30 pm
Online
What are graduate certificates, and how can they add value to your graduate degree? In this virtual session, faculty and staff representing several graduate certificate programs (and their equivalent doctoral minors) discuss the multiple benefits that these programs provide to graduate students across campus—including fulfilling breadth requirements, expanding interdisciplinary knowledge, mastering new skills, creating community and networking opportunities, and building cultural competence. Attendees will also have the opportunity to speak with each certificate representative in smaller groups.