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Graduate Research Certification
The Graduate Research Certification (GRC) is a year-long professional development program that provides graduate, professional, and select undergraduate students with the skills and knowledge necessary to initiate, conduct, and successfully conclude research projects. Students will strengthen their skills by attending workshops that foster intellectual discussion of ethical issues in conducting research and best research practices, presenting their research/creative/scholarly activity, completing a culminating experience, and more. The GRC is a collaborative effort between the Office of Research Integrity, UNLV Libraries, UNLV Writing Center, the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Professional Development Committee of the Graduate Council, GPSA, and the Graduate College.
This is a medallion-qualifying program for UNLV graduate & professional students. For additional information, please see the Graduate College Medallion Program website.
Graduate Students
In order to participate in the program, graduate students must:
- currently be enrolled.
- be in good academic standing in a graduate degree program.
Undergraduate Students
In order to participate in the program, undergraduate students must:
- be in good standing in the UNLV Honors College and/or UNLV Ronald E. McNair Baccalaureate Programs and/or be graduates of the UNLV Graduate College Grad Rebel Advantage Program
- have completed a minimum of 90 credits with a minimum 3.0 overall GPA.
- currently be enrolled.
Applications are only accepted once a year. We will accept applications between May 5 and August 4. There is no application fee.
Graduate Student Application Process
The 2023-2024 Online Graduate Research Certification Application can be found on The Grad Rebel Gateway. Please log in to the Grad Rebel Gateway and click on The Grad Academy tab to apply.
Please be prepared to provide the following information when completing your Graduate Research Certification Application:
- CV/Resume
- Letter of Interest
- The Letter of Interest should address the following question: Why do you believe that gaining skills and knowledge necessary to be an effective researcher will help you obtain your professional and career goals? Please limit the response to a single page.
- Endorser Name
- You will identify the name and email address of a faculty member. They will receive a form to endorse your participation in the program.
Undergraduate Student Application Process
The 2023-2024 Online Graduate Research Certification Application can be found online. The application cannot be saved and must be completed and submitted in one sitting.
Please be prepared to provide the following information when completing your Graduate Research Certification Application:
- CV/Resume
- Letter of Interest
- The Letter of Interest should address the following question: Why do you believe that gaining skills and knowledge necessary to be an effective researcher will help you obtain your professional and career goals? Please limit the response to a single page.
- Endorser Name
- You will identify the name and email address of a faculty member. They will receive a form to endorse your participation in the program.
All program requirements need to be completed in full by the student in order to complete the program, receive a certificate of completion, and have the GRC completion noted on their UNLV transcript.
- Program requirements will be submitted through the Graduate Research Certification WebCampus Course. Participants will be added to the course in August.
- Once accepted into the program, participants must be actively working on a research/creative/scholarly activity throughout program duration.
- Students must attend all cohort meetings, which include: (1) an Introductory Cohort Meeting in August; (2) a Mid Cohort Meeting at the end of the Fall semester; (3) and, a Final Cohort Meeting at the end of the academic year. Please note that students will be put on program probation after one cohort meeting absence and the second absence may lead to program separation.
- Students must watch 1 mandatory GRC workshop and submit a one-page (single or double spaced) summary. Mandatory workshops will be available for viewing via WebCampus.
- Students must attend a minimum of 5 workshops that are regularly scheduled in the fall and spring terms.
- Undergraduate students in the GRC program must submit to and present their research/creative/scholarly activity at either a university-level research forum or a professional conference.
- Graduate students in the GRC program must present their research/creative/scholarly activity in the Rebel Grad Slam.
- GRC students must complete all components of the research portfolio, which include:
- Scholarly Research Statement
- Strengths Assessment Self-Reflection (additional information below)
- Self-reflection of the research/creative/scholarly activity during the program duration
- Finally, GRC students must submit their research portfolios at the end of the spring semester (typically a meeting is held towards the end of April/ early May). GRC Participants will receive general feedback from a faculty member.
- Portfolios need to be submitted by: Friday, March 31, 2023
- Complete all program assessments (surveys/feedback forms).
Undergraduate students in the GRC program must submit to and present their research/creative/scholarly activity at either a university-level research forum or a professional conference. Graduate students in the GRC program must submit to and present their research/creative/scholarly activity at the Rebel Grad Slam.
University-Level Research Forums
Undergraduate GRC students in the McNair program may opt to present at the McNair Scholars Forum. All undergraduate student participants may also choose to present at the Undergraduate Research Forum.
Rebel Grad Slam
Graduate students in the GRC must present their research/creative/scholarly activity at the Rebel Grad Slam. If they cannot present at this venue, then they may fulfill the research presentation requirement by presenting at a professional conference (please see below for additional information). However, they need to receive prior approval from the program manager.
Professional Conference
If graduate students cannot participate in the Rebel Grad Slam, then with permission, the students may present their research/creative/scholarly activity at a professional conference in their field in order to fulfill the presentation requirement. In order to obtain permission, please email gradacademy@unlv.edu.
Undergraduate students who cannot participate at a university-level research forum can, with permission, present their research/creative/scholarly activity at a professional conference in their field in order to fulfill the presentation requirement. In order to obtain permission, please email gradacademy@unlv.edu.
- Students must apply and be admitted before they can begin participating in the GRC.
- Once admitted, students must complete all program requirements in one academic year with their cohort.
- All cohort meetings are mandatory.
- If a student is not in good standing in their degree program, or if they create any problems as a participant in the GRC, they may be removed from the program at the discretion of the graduate college dean.
All cohort meetings are mandatory unless you have a documented excuse that has been approved. If you miss a cohort meeting, without prior permission, you may be removed from the program.
Below are the meeting dates and times for the 2023-2024 GRC cohort:
- Intro Cohort Meeting: Wednesday, August 16, 2023, 3:30-5 p.m.
- Mid Cohort Meeting: Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 3:30-5:00 p.m.
- Final Cohort Meeting: Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 3:30-5:00 p.m.
- The Grad Academy: Mixer & Trivia Night, Wednesday, December 6, 5-6:30 p.m., University Gateway Building, Room 268 (Optional but Highly Recommended)
- Join us to mingle with your fellow Grad Academy participants and compete in Trivia Night! Food and drinks will be provided. The winning team will earn prizes!
- The Grad Academy: End of Year Celebration, Tuesday, May 14, 5:00-6:30 p.m., University Gateway Building, Room 268 (Optional but Highly Recommended)
The below workshops will help fulfill the requirements for the Graduate Research Certification. You must RSVP for all workshops at least 24 hours in advance. To RSVP, please click on the workshop below. This will send you to the calendar entry page, which has the RSVP information. A full list of the workshops offered this semester can be found on the Graduate College Student Workshop Calendar.
The below workshops will help fulfill the requirements for the Graduate Research Certification. To receive credit for a workshop, click on the workshop recording you would like to watch, write a 1-page summary (single or double-spaced), and submit the summary via WebCampus.
- How to Make Bad Plots
- The Importance of Gender Pronouns
- Big Data & Sustainability: Research and Community Impact
- Reading and Writing about Academic Literature: An Introduction to Writing a Literature Review
- Resume vs. CV Workshop
- Gaining Confidence as a Graduate Student, Researcher, and/or Professional
- Preparing for Rebel Grad Slam: How to Effectively Translate your Academic Work for a General Audience
- Research/Thesis/Dissertation/Scholarly Writing
- Building Mentorship Skills for Academic Careers
- How to Write a Conference Proposal: Advice on Finding Calls, Writing an Abstract, and Submitting your Scholarship
- Post-Graduate School: Exploring Non-Academic Pathways + Translating Your Skill-set
- Professionalism 101
- Time Management: Strategies for Success
- Difficult Conversations & Conflict Resolution
- Research Poster Design
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae: How to Create Them and When to Use Them
- Getting Started with ORCID
- Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research: Which should you use?
- Rebel Grad Slam: Tips & Tricks
- Public Speaking 101
- I’ve published - now what? How to locate and understand citations, metrics, and more
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
- Thesis/Dissertation Writing
- Rebel Grad Slam
- GPSA Sponsorship
- Preparing Manuscripts for Publications
- Engaging Policymakers & Establishing Dialogue Around Research
- Ethics & Professionalism
- Grant Writing
- Giving Great Virtual Presentations
- Creating and Maintaining a Curriculum Vitae
- Writing Effective Research Abstracts
- Launching the Leader in You
- How to Give Constructive Feedback on Colleagues’ and Mentees’ Writing Materials
The Graduate College will be hosting Tuesday Talks: Your Questions Answered for current The Grad Academy program participants. Please drop by on any of the following Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m., to ask us any questions you might have or just to check your progress:
Research shows that knowing and using your strengths:
- Promotes self-reflection
- Accelerates growth and development
- Leads to higher career engagement
Assignment
This assignment is due by Friday, December 9, 2022.
- Visit High5 test website and take your strengths assessment.
- Save a copy of your results
- Write and submit a 1-2 double spaced page self-reflection
- Was there any part of your results that you already knew about yourself?
- Did you learn something new about yourself?
- How can knowing your strengths benefit your student and professional career?
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Submit your assessment results and self-reflection via WebCampus.
- All human subjects research conducted by UNLV faculty, staff, and students must be approved by the UNLV Institutional Review Board before the research project begins. Visit the IRB website for more information.
- Demystifying the Journal Article (Inside Higher Ed)
- How to Create a Fabric Presentation Poster from a Powerpoint or PDF