The Graduate School confers 195 research and professional degrees in almost 100 graduate fields across the disciplines. Additional professional degree programs are overseen by colleges/schools (e.g., JD, DVM, MBA) or delegated by the Graduate School to colleges/schools for administration and degree conferral. Delegated programs include the Master of Engineering degrees conferred by the College of Engineering, the Master of Architecture conferred by AA&P, the Master of Professional Studies in Management and the Master of Management in Hospitality conferred by the SC Johnson College of Business.
The Graduate School hosts orientation for all incoming students in graduate and professional degree programs for which the degrees are conferred by the Graduate School. Participation in the Graduate School orientation is strongly encouraged, but not required. The only educational “requirement” of all incoming graduate and professional degree students is their participation in Not Anymore, an online interpersonal violence prevention program from Vector Solutions, overseen and administered by Cornell’s Title IX office. This video-based program provides critical information about sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking, gender discrimination and bystander intervention options. The program takes approximately 40 minutes to complete. Though required, there is no penalty enforced if students do not view this video.
Every graduate student pursuing a research degree (master’s or doctoral) is required to complete training on Responsible Conduct of Research, addressing issues of authorship, peer review, plagiarism, and research misconduct. The online training content is determined and delivered by Cornell’s Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (ORIA) and must be completed by every research degree student prior to the end of the second registered semester. Content is the responsibility of ORIA; communicating the requirement and tracking completion is the responsibility of the Graduate School.
Additional requirements for graduate and professional degree students would be determined locally by each Graduate Field for a specific degree program.
Though graduate and professional degree students within the Graduate School have the opportunity to participate in a number of workshops, programs, and events centered on advancing their understanding of various aspects of diversity, equity, access, justice, and inclusion, there are no requirements or common learning experiences for graduate and professional degree students in this arena. Below are examples of some of the programs and learning opportunities available to graduate and professional degree students within the Graduate School. A larger list of opportunities can be found here.
- My Voice, My Story sessions pair video monologues – constructed from experiences of graduate students – with facilitated discussions. The primary objectives of My Voice, My Story are to utilize the power of narrative to achieve greater understanding of the identities and lived experiences of graduate and professional students, share stories that frequently go untold, and to develop strategies on how to create more inclusive and supportive research and learning environments. These workshops accommodate audiences of 12-30. Open sessions are offered at least once person and are delivered upon request by graduate fields and/or academic departments. Sessions are also embedded in the curriculum for other programs such as the Postdoc Leadership Program and the Building Mentorship Skills for an Academic Career.
- An Intergroup Dialogue Project short-course for graduate and professional degree students, and postdocs was launched in Summer 2016 through a collaboration of the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement (OISE), Future Faculty and Academic Careers, and IDP. Each course only accommodates 14-16 participants and through FY20, the course was offered twice per year. We are presently participating in planning discussions with IDP to explore a different course format that might expand the number of participants in the course. However, we are in the early planning stages so the program model has not yet been determined. However, the annual maximum number of participants in this intensive learning experience will likely not be more than 60.
- There were some early discussions with IDP on whether they might have the capacity to deliver programming analogous to the new undergraduate programming to graduate and professional degree students during the Graduate School orientation. However, IDP does not presently have the capacity to offer such programming.
- Initiated by the GPSA Diversity and International Students Committee, the Building Allyship Series is a collaboration of the Graduate and Professional Student Diversity Council and the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement (OISE). This series provides an opportunity for members of the Cornell community to engage in productive dialogue focused on fostering greater understanding of the many aspects of allyship and how we can better support one another through active, informed, and authentic allyship.
There may be additional learning opportunities available to professional degree students in programs delegated to other colleges or conferred by the professional schools; however, this information would need to be secured from those specific colleges and schools.
