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Resilience and Adaptive Governance of Stressed Watersheds, an IGERT Program

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Forms

  1. How much is the IGERT program assistantship?
    • The IGERT traineeship funding is equivalent to a UNL Graduate Research Assistantship and pays $30,000 per year for two – three years. The assistantship is renewed annually, contingent upon academic progress. This funding may, or may not, be in consecutive years.
    • Other funding will be at departmental levels, if available, or possibly through paid externships.
  2. What are the IGERT tuition and benefits?
    • IGERT funds cover tuition up to 12 credit hours per semester during the academic year, fees, and a portion (over half) of the health insurance premium. Students must be enrolled for credit during the fall and spring semesters.
    • UNL research assistantships do not typically cover student fees. Having fees paid is a bonus of the IGERT traineeship.
    • Summer Sessions: IGERT assistantships cover up to twelve credit hours for the total of ALL summer sessions combined. Graduate assistants are not required to register for courses during the summer term. Graduate assistants employed in the summer but who are not registered for courses during the summer terms are subject to FICA and Medicare taxes; fees for recreation center usage; limited access to libraries and health center fees.
    • To be exempt from FICA (Social Security) and Medicare withholding, GAs must be enrolled for at least 4 or more credit hours in the academic semesters and 4 or more credits for all summer sessions combined. (See Graduate Studies web site for the most current policy.)
    • To be exempt from FICA (Social Security) and Medicare withholding, GAs must be enrolled for at least 4 or more credit hours in the academic semesters and 4 or more credits for all summer sessions combined.
    • Refer to the UNL Office of Graduate Studies for additional assistanship questions.
  3. What other student benefits does the IGERT program cover?
    • Collaborative work space is provided by the School of Natural Resources in room 234 Hardin Hall.
    • Each student will receive a computer: laptop with docking station, monitor and keyboard. This is university property and remains with the university upon graduation.
    • About $1254 total per student is available for specialized software to support research activities, not for homework.
    • No funds are directly available for text books.
    • Each student receives $1300 domestic travel funds, annually, for up to three years, for national meetings, field research, externships, etc. Funds unused by August 15 of each year will carryover until used, or the student graduates. NOTE: Expenses for the March 2011 Resilience Conference in Arizona can/should be paid from the $1300. No additional IGERT funds are available for the Resilience Conference.
    • Each student receives a one-time amount of $2250 to use as needed for various materials and supplies that support the trainee’s research and education.
  4. If we have questions about our bill, who do we contact?
    • Contact in the Graduate Studies Office at 472-8670 (Jane Schneider)
    • While IGERT payment of your tuition and insurance is automated, payment for the fees is done manually. Valerie Egger and Leo Masek (Natural Resources Business Center) work together on paying the fees.
  5. Who do we contact to find how much money we have in our research and travel accounts?
    • You can inquire with Valerie.
  6. Are there any stipulations/limitations on using our research/travel money?
    • Research supplies: place orders through Valerie. UNL’s preferred vendors for chemicals are Fisher Scientific and VWR.
    • Research items purchased locally can be reimbursed within 45 days of purchase. Work with Valerie to be reimbursed.
    • Purchase of research supplies should be O.K.ed by your advisor.
    • All out-of-state travel requires a pre-trip travel authorization. Work with Valerie to fill this out prior to your departure.
    • Airline tickets MUST be purchased through UNL’s program with Travel and Transport. You are welcome to explore flight options first through a public booking site. See Valerie to actually book and purchase the air line tickets.
  7. Following are some addition travel fund opportunities which UNL School of Natural Resources students can apply for.
    • Available to SNR students who are advised by SNR Applied Ecology faculty—The Wildwood Graduate Travel Grant for up to $500 in travel expenses to present at a conference. An email is usually sent out in February but at least in 2010 a deadline wasn't mentioned so it appears you can apply for the grants until they are awarded. Two – fours are awarded a year. You can receive only one of these during your time at UNL. To apply, send Dave Wedin or Mark Pegg a cover letter including details of the scientific meeting to be attended, a title and abstract of the talk/poster, and a brief budget showing estimated total expenses for the trip.
    • The SNR Graduate Student Association awards two $250 travel grants. The email for this one is sent to all the SNR grad students and tends to come out around February/March. The 2010 deadline was March 19.
    • Any SNR grad student whose advisor or co-advisor has a research appointment within the Agricultural Research Division can apply for a Larrick or Whitmore Graduate Student Travel Grant for travel expenses up to $500. The Whitmore is more for animal science/ag/veterinary types but the Larrick is more general and has been given to natural resources students. These are granted a couple times of year | web site.
  8. When are the international experiences scheduled to take place?
    • The first international experience was September—December 2011.
    • The second, and final, international experience is scheduled for fall 2013.

Forms

  1. IGERT Forms
  2. UNL Business Forms