First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees

General information about Nebraska MCTP can be found here.

Each year, two First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees will be selected from the pool of incoming UNL graduate students, with special consideration given to students who either are from underrepresented groups (including women), are first-generation college students or are from four-year colleges. The stipend for MCTP Graduate Trainees is $25,000 for the calendar year. In addition, the MCTP Graduate Trainee receives a full tuition waiver and all fees are paid, except for 21% (currently about $325 for the calendar year) of the fee for health insurance. First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees will have no teaching duties, so they can complete their core course work and make substantial progress on their Ph.D. Qualifying Exams by the end of their first calendar year.

Activities of First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees:

  • Participate in Nebraska IMMERSE during the summer before they begin their graduate studies and again during the summer after their first year, this time as graduate student mentors.
  • Attend the Mathematical Landscape Seminar during the spring semester.
  • Attend the Introduction to Teaching Seminar during the fall semester.
  • Participate in the Qualifier Exam Workshop during the interim between the spring semester and the summer session.

Mentoring of First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees: Each new graduate student at UNL (including each First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainee) is assigned both a Peer Mentor and a Faculty Mentor. The Peer Mentor is an advanced graduate student and the Faculty Mentor is a member of the permanent faculty. Mentors will share the responsibility of helping new graduate students adjust to their new surroundings, counseling them on managing their time and advising them regarding both their course work and their teaching responsibilities. (Although First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees will be fully supported through NSF funds, each will have a meaningful teaching experience later in his or her graduate program.) It is assumed that once a graduate student chooses a Ph.D. advisor, that person will assume the role of Faculty Mentor, although the original Faculty Mentor will remain available to provide advice and encouragement as needed.

Brief descriptions of the programs for First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees:

  • Nebraska IMMERSE
  • The Mathematical Landscapes Seminar is a one-credit seminar, offered during the spring semester, for first-year graduate students and advanced undergraduates. The seminar will introduce students to the range of mathematical research that is done in our department and provide a perspective on how different areas of mathematics fit together. Talks will be given by faculty and postdocs from our department, in an informal atmosphere (complete with coffee and cookies).
  • The Introduction to Teaching Seminar is a one-credit seminar, offered during the fall semester and aimed at first-year graduate students, especially First-Year MCTP Graduate Trainees. Presentations will include such issues as preparing a syllabus, preparing a lecture, facilitating group work, what to do if you suspect academic dishonesty and the like. There will be several hands-on sessions in which participants prepare and give practice "mini-lectures", which will be videotaped and analyzed.