• No. You can take prerequisite courses at the beginning of your PhD program under guidance of your advisor.

• Location
• Financial support (tuition waiver, stipend, Health insurance)
• Teaching opportunities
• Research facilities
• Professional Development
• Opportunities for jobs after graduation
• Connections to industry/national labs/internships/ etc.
• Advisor-student relationship
• Feedback from Prospective advisor's current grad students
• Support for graduate students such as graduate student Union, graduate student organizations, designated office/person to support/mentor/advise graduate students.

• See the road maps page for information pertaining to your department.
• The plan of study requires advisor/co-advisor signatures, so plan on reaching out to these people and get the necessary signatures before submission.
• You can find the form for plan of study here at the registrars office.

• MSE: January of your first year. No paperwork is necessary. The department will contact you if you have qualified to sit for the qualifying exam. You must have a minimum 3.0 GPA at the end of the fall semester. You must take 3-3 credit courses, two of which must be core courses.
• BME: You take the qualifying exams after two years in the Ph.D. program.
• ENVE: You take the qualifying exam usually in your second year after you've taken the 4 core classes that are covered in the exam. It's usually offered in January and in May and you have two opportunities to pass.
• See the road maps page for more information pertaining to your department!

• No.
• Many students end up going into industry or work in national labs.
• I highly recommend teaching if you want to become a professor.
• Nothing is set in stone; the Ph.D. gives you a way to stand out amongst other applicants in jobs within your field (industry or academia). For industry, it’s helpful to tailor your resume/CV to the job and broaden your experience at UConn (join SoE organization, such as SAGE, John Lof Leadership Academy, Graduate chapters of any organizations, etc.)

• At least 6 months before your desired graduation/dissertation defense. See the road maps page for more information pertaining to your department!

• MSE: I recommend sooner rather than later but highly dependent on your advisor.
• ENVE: You should do it in your 3rd or 4th year. The purpose is to get feedback from your committee ahead of time and talk through your timeline for finishing. Doing this early avoids surprises with the committee disagreeing with your final thesis/dissertation and ensures that you are on track to complete your program.

• Yes and no. This is dependent on your department’s requirements in the year in which you started. Check those to be sure.
• BME: Requires 2 publications before graduation.
• Usually depends on your work and your advisor, but MSE encourages at least one publication before the final defense.
• The School of Engineering requires 3 published papers for all Ph.D. students. They however do not all need to be published by the time you graduate. You need (at a minimum): 1 published paper, 1 paper submitted and soon to be published, and 1 paper under review.

• MSE: Determined when ready for dissertation proposal.
• You need to have your committee by your proposal defense. It can change between your proposal defense and your dissertation defense, but you must submit paperwork to approve the change.

• The final committee must have 5 people but only 3 of them need to be core to your project. One will be your advisor, another will likely be a collaborator (within your department), and another must be from an outside department.
• MSE: Advisor and 4 others. Had a discussion with my advisor about who would be good options based on their research and our relationship.

Information regarding mental health resources is available at the Student Health and wellness website. Students may schedule a screening by phone (860-486-4705) or online and should be prepared for the appointment by being in a quiet and private location. Please call us for any specific requests or accommodations.

• The International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) supports the greater internationalization of the University of Connecticut through the development and delivery of services and programs that help international students and exchange visitors accomplish their academic and professional goals at UConn.
• Email: international@uconn.edu
• Telephone: (860) 486-3855

• Members of SoE (graduate students) have written a proposal to develop counter spaces for BIPOC students/visitors, guidelines for faculty/staff/student behavior (consequences and accountability), and a system to encourage anti-racist behavior.
• An Inclusive Excellence Program was established from this proposal and aims to train faculty and staff on diversity training and learning how to incorporate inclusive teaching practices.
• Vergnano Institute for Inclusion offers many workshops and community conversations on race-related topics.
• Vergnano Institute for Inclusion created a Collaborative Action Network (CAN) for undergrad and grad students to come together with the SOE deans to create change on race-related issues.
• John Lof Leadership Academy (JLLA) created an anti-racist book club.
• An effort to establish environmental representation and counter spaces for BIPOC.
• students are underway.
• Many departments have started their own programs such as ENVE has an Action Team dedicated to evaluating diversity in the department.
• A task force was established to determine how UConn represents BIPOC students across media.

• Advisor
• Other graduate students
• Office of National Scholarships & Fellowships
• Check your emails, there are often many opportunities for fellowship application writing help.
• Reach out to aida@uconn.edu for further information!

• This is the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) run by the National Science Foundation (NSF)