Announcements

Fall 2026 enrollment is open - please enroll as soon as possible to ensure all billing and accounting is completed before the first payment due date. Classes begin on Monday, August 24.

Graduate Assistants - for most of you, your contract states an enrollment deadline of July 1. Please enroll ASAP if you have not already.

Thesis and dissertation students - you are required to enroll in each Spring and Fall semester through (and including) your graduating semester.

Format Review Deadline Passed

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 was the deadline for graduate students—aiming to graduate in Summer 2026—and their committee chairs to submit items for the initial format review requirement.

• Students who missed the deadline should discuss their revised T/D completion timeline with their chairs.

Upcoming T/D Deadlines for Graduate Students and Their Committees

• Deadline for completing T/D defenses: Friday, July 17, 2026
• Deadline submit final T/D for final format review with committee submitted T/D forms to SGS: Friday July 24, 2026
• Deadline students submit SGS accepted T/D to ProQuest: Monday, August 3, 2026

Additional Information and Resources

Kuali forms are located on the GradProRoo web page under the subheading “Degree Progress Forms” and on the Kuali Build space under “School of Graduate Studies”:

Please see the webpages Theses and Dissertations and Submitting Your Thesis or Dissertation for Review for more information, including deadlines, the T-D Format Guide, and format guidance workshop material slides and recordings.

The School of Graduate Studies offers travel grants to help defray travel costs for the purpose of presenting original research papers or equivalent work in the creative arts at professional meetings, workshops, festivals or exhibits. Such presentations may be volunteered or invited and may be podium or poster presentations.

Amount of Award

• In order to assist as many graduate students as possible, the maximum SGS travel grant is $400.
• Grants are for in-person conferences only.
• Matching funds from the student’s academic unit or program are encouraged but not required. 

How to Apply

• Only one request per student will be considered per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).
  • Proof of acceptance of your presentation is required.
  • The application is open for travel in October, November, or December.
• Deadlines:
  • Passed deadline: June 1 for travel in July, August, and September
  • Open applications: deadline September 1 for travel in October, November, or December

NOTE: There are typically many more applications than funds available, so funding is not guaranteed for every qualified applicant.

Our SGS offices are moving from Miller Nichols Library to the second floor of the newly-renovated Atterbury Student Success Center.

Most of our staff will be working remotely from other locations during the move week, July 27-31. And we will work to get the new offices in order during the next week, August 3-7. During these two weeks, in-person appointments and visits will be discouraged. We encourage instead communications by phone or email - (816) 235-1301 or umkcsgs@umkc.edu.

Starting August 13, our office suite in Atterbury will be available for walk-ins on the second floor. Note: During the last two weeks of August, there will still be first floor offices transitioning into their new spaces, so please utilize the second floor entrances to reach Suite 250 for the School of Graduate Studies.

The UMKC School of Graduate Studies will accept new cohort members into the 2026-2027 Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Career Preparation. This is a call for applications from students who want to be considered for admission into this graduate certificate program.

In today’s competitive academic job market, institutions of higher education increasingly desire faculty members and higher education employees who not only possess the appropriate educational credentials, but who can also demonstrate that they are prepared to be learning leaders and well-rounded colleagues. The 12-credit hour Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Career Preparation is intended for students from all disciplinary backgrounds who are preparing for careers in higher education. The structure of this graduate certificate program balances the emphases on career exploration, teaching excellence, and the preparation of job search materials.

The certificate complements the discipline knowledge of existing graduate programs by: (1) focusing on strategies for successful teaching, including incorporating technology into the college classroom, and (2) familiarizing students with the academic environment in a variety of institutions of higher education. Courses that satisfy program requirements are taken for graduate credit, and the certificate is officially noted on the student’s transcript upon program completion. Application materials must be received by July 31, 2026 for consideration for Fall 2026.

Minimum Eligibility Requirements

• All applicants must have already completed a Bachelor’s degree.
• All applicants must complete the online UMKC application form for the “Preparing Future Faculty” graduate certificate program.
• Applicants must have a Faculty Mentor who is willing to allow you to observe during teaching, willing to allow you to conduct an interview related to faculty roles and responsibilities, and willing to observe you during classroom instruction in order to share specific feedback related to teaching performance. Your Faculty Mentor can be a faculty member at any institution of higher education.

Requirements for Retention

• Students must maintain 3.0 graduate GPA while enrolled and receive no grade lower than a B- in courses applied to the certificate program.

Curriculum Requirements

The Preparing Future Faculty Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Career Preparation requires a minimum of 12 credit hours. A six-course series of seminar courses is the core of this 12-credit hour graduate certificate curriculum. The 6 one-credit hour seminar courses are graded on a credit/no credit basis and are offered over four semesters, with a new cohort beginning each Fall semester. For the remaining six credits of the certificate program, students complete a 3-credit hour theoretical teaching practicum course, EDUC-C&I 5640, plus one of these 3 credit hour courses or another relevant course as approved by the graduate certificate program Director: EDUC-CI 5505 Introduction to Curriculum Theory or EDUC-UL 5556 The College Student or EDUC-CI 5591 Curriculum and Instruction for the 21st Century.

All courses are taught completely on-line, with 2 synchronous online PFF lecture sessions in both the Fall and Spring semesters.

Course List

• SGS 5651A - Preparing Future Faculty I - 1 credit hour - Fall 2026
• SGS 5651B - Preparing Future Faculty II - 1 credit hour - Spring 2027
• SGS 5652A - Preparing Future Faculty III - 1 credit hour - Spring 2027
• SGS 5652B - Preparing Future Faculty IV - 1 credit hour - Fall 2027
• SGS 5653A - Preparing Future Faculty V - 1 credit hour - Fall 2027
• SGS 5653B - Preparing Future Faculty VI - 1 credit hour - Spring 2028
• Education Elective - 3 credit hours - semester TBD
  • Educ-CI 5505 - Introduction to Curriculum Theory; or
  • Educ-UL 5556 - The College Student; or
  • Educ-CI 5591 - Curriculum and Instruction for the 21st Century; or
  • Educ-RP 5639 - Educational Psychology: Focus on Teaching in Higher Education
• Teaching Practicum - Educ-CI 5640 - Curriculum and Teaching for the College Classroom - 3 credit hours - Summer 2027

PFF Alumni – Where Are They Now?

• Dr. Nazgol Bagheri
  Graduation Year: 2013
  Degree: Ph.D. Geosciences / Sociology
  Dissertation: Modernizing the Public Space: Gender Identities, Multiple Modernities, and Space Politics in Tehran
  Current Position: Assistant Professor – University of Texas at San Antonio
• Dr. Adeeb Jarrah
  Graduation Year: 2013
  Degree: Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction / Telecommunications and Computer Networking
  Dissertation: Investigation of Jordanian Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs About Learning and Teaching of Mathematics
  Current Position: Assistant Professor – United Arab Emirates
• Dr. Bradley Miller
  Graduation Year: 2013
  Degree: Ph.D. Chemistry / Pharmaceutical Science / Oral Biology
  Dissertation: Synthesis and Analysis of Siloranes for Use as a Biomaterial and Extended Twist Molecular Ribbons
  Current Position: Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry – William Jewell College
• Dr. Alivia Allison
  Graduation Year: 2013
  Degree: Ph.D. Geosciences / History
  Dissertation: Paleoseismology and Archaeoseismology along the Southern Dead Sea Transform in Wadi 'Arabah near the Municipality of Aqaba, Jordan
  Current Position: Assistant Professor – Emporia State University

Questions about the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Career Preparation program?
Contact: Dr. Candace Schlein, Director of College Teaching and Career preparation program, School of Graduate Studies
schleinc@umkc.edu
(816) 235-5754 

We've (re)launched the GWI's weekly virtual writing groups! 

• The Monday accountability group meets weekly from 6-7 pm, hosted by GWI GTA Angel Williams via RooLearning+. Meet with other graduate students to set goals together, discuss the process of writing, and hold each other accountable for meeting goals. Join when you are able (consistent attendance not required).
• The Wednesday working group meets weekly from 6-8 pm, hosted by GWI GTA Sarah Feldmann via RooLearning+. Meet with other graduate students to write together for two hours. This is a way to carve out writing time along with your fellow graduate writers. Join when you are able (consistent attendance not required).

Accessing GWI Writing Group sessions

How to Sign up for a GWI Writing Group session in advance:

• Log into RooLearning+ with your SSO credentials.
• Double check that “Writing Studio” is selected in the Support Centers list in the bottom left corner of the calendar display.
• Click on the tile for the GWI Writing Group session that you would like to attend to open the session information panel.
• Click the “Subscribe” button in the session information panel that appears on the right side of the calendar display. 

How to Join a GWI Writing Group session anytime throughout the duration of the session:

• Log into RooLearning+ with your SSO credentials on the scheduled day and time of the session.
• Click on the tile for the GWI Writing Group session to open the session information panel on the right side of the calendar display.
• Click the “Join the session” button in the session information panel.
• Confirm your device’s microphone and video permissions for the virtual session and click “Join.”

GWI for the Academic and Academic-Aligned Job Market: New Module! 

The academic and academic-aligned job market season is in full swing, as is graduate and post-doc application season. To support your academic and professional goals at and beyond UMKC, the GWI has added a new Academic and Academic-Aligned Job Market module in Canvas.

We will continue adding resources to this and other GWI modules for application documents, Writing Teaching Philosophies and Writing Personal Statements. Send your suggestions for the application documents you would like to see resources for and/or share resources you found helpful via email to Annie at Annie.Lowe@umkc.edu!

As always, you can book an individual consultation for your application documents with a GWI team member on RooLearning+!

UMKC Central can help students tackle financial and enrollment barriers!  As the one stop service center on campus, the team at UMKC Central can help with questions and concerns related to financial aid, scholarships, billing, enrollment, and records.

The office is located on the 1^st floor of the Administrative Center, room 120, and does accept walk-ins.  Students can schedule an in-person or virtual appointment through the UMKC Central Service Page in UMKC Connect.

Students are also welcome to call 816-235-6000 or email umkccentral@umkc.edu.

Office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm, except Wednesday, 9:00am – 4:30pm.

Looking for assistance with your resume or job search? Career Services is here to help! Visit umkc.joinhandshake.com to schedule your appointment.

You have access to many campus resources, such as the CARE team, Campus Recreation, Financial Aid, Career Services, University Libraries, and more. More information is available online.