The Office of the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education (AVPGE) offers a variety of academic supports, and hosts multiple events, often collaborating with individual colleges and schools for our graduate and professional students.
Ā» Graduate Student Academic Supports & Events
Upcoming AVPGE Events
- 3 Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Argyros Forum 209AB Orange Campus. See the 2024 Submission Guidelines at bit.ly/3MTChapman.
- Presentation Skills Workshop was held Thursday, April 25, 3:00-4:00 p.m. via Zoom for finalists. See Flyer. We are happy to share that the Writing Center partnered with us to host an online Presentation Skills Workshop tailored for 3MT presentations, it covered the general skills of preparation and presentation of the talks for a broad audience. View presentation and recording here from the March 12 workshop.
- Graduate and Professional Student Research Showcase is held each spring and fall. See the Student Scholar Symposium information page for abstract submission guidelines. Submit abstracts at bit.ly/CUGradResearchSymposiumS24. Submission deadline was 11:59 p.m. Sunday, March 31, 2024. Poster deadline was 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Graduate Poster Session was Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 5:00-6:00 p.m. in Argyros Forum 209C Orange Campus.
- Graduate Student Workshops:
- Early Career Leadership Workshop Series, will be held on six (6) consecutive Fridays from 12:00-1:30 p.m. via Zoom began on February 2, 2024. With generous support from both the Provost’s Office and the Dean’s Suite in the Schmid College of Science and Technology, the University is happy to be hosting an Early Career Leadership Workshop Series for advanced Chapman University graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. This series of interactive online workshops is designed to help early career scholars thrive in a research environment, deal with conflicts, and be effective leaders and team members. The topics have all been developed with a focus on research groups and the academic environment. The training will provide strategies for effective integration into the lab, and the department, as well as offering a forum for participants to share experiences with peers and build community. We encourage participation from advanced graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from across disciplines. The agenda is described in further detail below. The workshops will be facilitated by the remarkable Dr. Diana Azurdia. Dr. Azurdia serves as the Director for Recruitment and Inclusion for the Graduate Programs in Bioscience at the University of California Los Angeles, where she is also the Director of the UCLA Entering Mentoring Training Program that provides mentorship support and development for researchers at all career stages. This workshop series should be particularly helpful for the students who want to stay in academia. Space is limited. To register, please fill out the following form. Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Greg Goldsmith goldsmit@chapman.edu, Associate Professor and Director of the Grand Challenges Initiative, with any questions.
- Thesis and Dissertation Submission Workshops
- The In-Person Workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, 2024 from 2:00-3:15 p.m. in the Leatherby Libraries Instruction Room 305. Participants can register for this workshop here.
- The Virtual Workshop is scheduled for Friday, October 18, 2024, from 3:00-4:15 p.m. This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email. Participants can register for this workshop here.
- More details are available here. Please contact Kristin Laughtin-Dunker, Chair of Resources and Scholarly Communications, with any questions.
- National Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week (GaPSAW) is the first week of April each year.
- Annual Graduate and Professional Student Excellence Dinner and Celebration is held in May of each academic year.
Additional events will be scheduled and information provided throughout the year; visit this section often for updates.
Upcoming & Recent Dissertation and Thesis Defenses
Upcoming Defenses:
- Dony Ang (Ph.D. in Computational and Data Sciences) on Friday, July 26, 2024
Congratulations to all these graduate students who recently successfully defended!
Behavioral and Computational Economics, M.S. - Thesis
- James Gilmore on Monday, May 6, 2024
- Jingzhi Liu on Monday, May 6, 2024
- Aaron Berman on Monday, May 6, 2024
Communication, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Amy Hellem on Tuesday, December 5, 2023
- Arielle Leaonard Hodges on Friday, April 12, 2024
- Noel McGuire on Monday, April 15, 2024
- Cailin Kuchenbecker on Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Computational and Data Sciences, M.S. - Thesis
- Grace Grupta on Monday, November 13, 2023
- Gregory Tyler on Friday, November 17, 2023
- David Licerio on Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Sarah Caruthers on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Howard Huang on Friday, April 26, 2024
Computational and Data Sciences, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Mohammed Eyad Kurd-Misto on Wednesday, November 8, 2023
- Yesha Patel on Friday, November 17, 2023
- Sachi Perera on Monday, April 8, 2024
- Rejoice Thomas on Monday, April 22, 2024
- Sina Mohammadi on Monday, May 13, 2024
Creative Writing, M.F.A. - Thesis
- Anthony Alegrete on Thursday, March 28, 2024
- Yuya Hattori on Thursday, April 11, 2024
- Casie Grambrel on Friday, April 12, 2024
- Sarah Johnson on Tuesday, April 16, 2024
- Diego Garcia on Friday, April 19, 2024
- Henneh Kwaku Kyereh on Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Bailey Powell on Friday, April 26, 2024
Education, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Daryl Park on Monday, September 25, 2023
- Pedro Espinoza on Thursday, December 14, 2023
- Megan Doty on Thursday, March 21, 2024
- Stacy Eldred on Friday, March 29, 2024
- Michael Gorse on Wednesday, April 3, 2024
- Yiying Teng on Wednesday, April 3, 2024
- Xiuying Han on Monday, April 8, 2024
- Weiyi Xia on Tuesday, April 9, 2024
- Ivan Enzo Noe on Friday, April 12, 2024
- Limei Cao on Monday, April 15, 2024
- Nick Irwin on Monday, April 15, 2024
- Xochitl Morales on Tuesday, April 16, 2024
- Fei Wang on Thursday, April 18, 2024
- Christopher Tran on Friday, April 19, 2024
- Rabab Atwi on Friday, April 19, 2024
- Ying Zhu on Friday, April 19, 2024
- Qian Wei on Tuesday, April 23, 2024
- Yiwei Li on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Jiayu Shao on Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Katelyn Kitchens on Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Chaoran Li on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Breána Victoria-Delgado on Wednesday, May 29, 2024
- Victor Vega on Thursday, June 27, 2024
English, M.A. - Thesis
- Ian Koh on Wednesday August 23, 2023
- Catherine Gallegos on Friday, November 17, 2023
- Kristen Venegas on Friday, November 17, 2023
- Tlotlo Tsamaase on Monday, April 8, 2024
- Sarah Johnson on Friday, April 12, 2024
- Miranda Roberts on Friday, April 19, 2024
- Audrey Fong on Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Emily Velasquez on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Brianna Radke on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Matthew Lemas on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Sofia Sakzlyan on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Rebecca Rhodes on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Eileen Pierce on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Sawyer Kelly on Friday, April 26, 2024
Film and Media Studies, M.A. - Thesis
- Mason Dickerson on Wednesday, April 10, 2024
- Livia Lozoya on Wednesday, April 10, 2024
- Nicolas Clark on Wednesday, April 10, 2024
- William Yonts on Thursday, April 11, 2024
- Manjima Tarafdar on Monday, April 15, 2024
- Z Evan Long on Monday, April 15, 2024
- Olivia Gerzabek on Friday, April 19, 2024
- Laine Marshall on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Food Science, M.S. - Thesis
- Jennifer McCoy Sanders on Wednesday, September 6, 2023
- Christianne Yapor on Friday, April 19, 2024
- Kylie Sacapano on Monday, April 22, 2024
- Sarah Ahles on Tuesday, April 23, 2024
- Diane Kim on Friday, April 26, 2024
International Studies, M.A. - Thesis
- Reyhaneh Zamini on Thursday, November 16, 2023
- Gary Mercer on Monday, April 22, 2024
- Maggie Quiroz on Tuesday, April 23, 2024
- Stephanie Santiago on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Allison Flame on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Eleina Beltran on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Leah Shoff on Friday, May 24, 2024
- Iara Gonzalez-Ascencio on Monday, June 3, 2024
Pharmaceutical Sciences, M.S. - Thesis
- Choi Wonsuk on Tuesday, August 29, 2023
- Wadj Zakir on Thursday, January 4, 2024
- Taran Harris on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Dorna Davanidavari on Thursday, June 13, 2024
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Judy Weng on Thursday, September 7, 2023
- Ajayi David Akinwale on Monday, April 22, 2024
- Roya Hosseini on Tuesday, April 23, 2024
- Jonathan Moreno on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Khulud Bukhari on Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Olajide Adekunle on Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Ashwaq Alanazi on Friday, April 26, 2024
War, Diplomacy, and Society, M.A. - Thesis
- Brian Corteville on Thursday, December 14, 2023
- Kyle Missbach on Friday, January 12, 2024
- Socrates Mbamalu on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Grayson Jones on Friday, April 26, 2024
- Katerina Ludwig on Friday, April, 26, 2024
Past Dissertation and Thesis Defenses
Past Defenses:
Communication, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Jessica Marie Journeay on Wednesday, April 19, 2023
- John Capra on Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Computational and Data Sciences, M.S. - Thesis
- Gabriela Pinto on Thursday, April 27, 2023
Computational and Data Sciences, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Iris Kinzie Mowgood on Tuesday, April 25, 2023
- Sam Oliver Ford on Friday, April 28, 2023
- Ehsan Yaghmaei on Friday, May 26, 2023
- Mohammed Rajeh Alshahrani on Thursday, May 17, 2023
- Albert Pierce on Wednesday, May 31, 2023
- Isaac Nwi-Mozu on Friday, June 9, 2023
- John Jake Gavenas on Thursday, July 20, 2023
- Krupa Rajen Nagori Friday, August 4, 2023
Creative Writing, M.F.A. - Thesis
- Belana Beeck on Thursday, April 13, 2023
- Matthew Lemas on Thursday, April 13, 2023
- Vesper North on Friday, April 14, 2023
- Nour Abuelreich on Monday, April 17, 2023
- Sinclair Adams on Tuesday, April 18, 2023
- Samantha Diaz on Tuesday, April 18, 2023
- Piper Gourley on Tuesday, April 18, 2023
- Lydia Pejovic on Tuesday, April 18, 2023
- Kayla Chang on Wednesday, April 19, 2023
- Montez Jennings on Wednesday, April 19, 2023
- Nina Handjeva-Weller on Wednesday, April 19, 2023
- Ximena Delgado on Thursday, April 20, 2023
- Todd Gilbert on Thursday, April 20, 2023
- Kate Hampton on Thursday, April 20, 2023
- Emily Velasquez on Thursday, April 20, 2023
- Nicole Cook on Friday, April 21, 2023
- Audrey Fong on Friday, April 21, 2023
- Isabelle Danforth Stillman, April 21, 2023
- Mikayla McLean on Friday, April 28, 2023
- Louis Labat on Thursday, August 3, 2023
Education, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Huiru Zhu on Thursday, January 19, 2023
- Lauren Dudley on Thursday, March 9, 2023
- Abraham Aryadad on Wednesday, March 29, 2023
- Sara Morgan on Thursday, March 30, 2023
- Lara Ameen on Friday, July 28, 2023
English, M.A. - Thesis
- Bekah Izard on Thursday, April 12, 2023
- Su Chen on Friday, April 14 ,2023
- Constance von Igel de Mello on Friday, April 14, 2023
- Makena Metz on Monday, April 17, 2023
- Patrick Hanna on Thursday, April 20, 2023
- Elizabeth Tran on Friday, April 21, 2023
- Ani Gazazyan on Monday, April 24, 2023
- Karuna Hin on Monday, April 24, 2023
- Eurydice Dye on Wednesday, April 26, 2023
- Jessica Bocinski on Friday, April 28, 2023
- Hannah Montante on Friday, April 28, 2023
Film and Media Studies, M.A. - Thesis
- Own Bradford on Monday, April 17, 2023
- Frances Wendorf on Monday, April 17, 2023
- Livi Edmonson on Tuesday, April 18, 2023
- Austin Kang on Thursday, April 20, 2023
- Bryce Thompson on Friday, April 21, 2023
- Afra Nariman on Tuesday, April 25, 2023
- Charna Flam on Friday, April 28, 2023
- Marynell Dethero on Saturday, April 29, 2023
Food Science, M.S. - Thesis
- Charles Drucker on Monday, March 13, 2023
- McKenna Rivers on Monday, April 24, 2023
- Amanda Tabb on Wednesday, April 26, 2026
International Studies, M.A. - Thesis
- Joshua Jackson on Thursday, April 27, 2023
Pharmaceutical Sciences, M.S. - Thesis
- Abdullah Jameel M Althomali on Monday, April 17, 2023
- Mohammad Al Ghamdi on Monday, April 24, 2023
- Khushbu Bhakta on Tuesday, April 25, 2023
- Mrigank Rai on Friday, August 4, 2023
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ph.D. - Dissertation
- Michael Sayer on Friday, January 20, 2023
- Turki Altowairgi on Monday, April 24, 2023
- Taibah Yousef Aldakhil on Thursday, April 27, 2023
- Razan Saud Orfali on Wednesday, May 10, 2023
- Nouf Saleh Alwadei on Thursday, May 11, 2023
- Mohammad Asikur Rahman on Wednesday, June 14, 2023
War, Diplomacy, and Society, M.A. - Thesis
- Victoria Castillo on Friday, January 5, 2023
- Natalie Pendergraft on Thursday, April 27, 2023
- Megan Lee on Friday, April 28, 2023
- Christen Kadkhodai on Monday, May 22, 2023
Past Events with archived documents
- Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, Spring 2024
- Student Scholar Symposium Poster Session (Graduate), Spring 2024
- Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, Spring 2023
- Student Scholar Symposium Poster Session II (Graduate), Spring 2023
- Commemoration of Graduate and Professional Student Excellence, Spring 2023
- Virtual Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, Spring 2021
- Virtual Graduate and Professional Student Research Showcase, Spring 2020
- Commemoration of Graduate and Professional Student Excellence, Spring 2020
- Graduate Student Success Events:
- Entering Mentoring Workshop, August 21, 2023 With generous support from the provost's office, Schmid College of Science and Technology will be offering a workshop open to all Chapman University post doctoral scholars and advanced doctoral students. This 8-hour workshop, designed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER; cimerproject.org), is built on interactive discussion driven by example scenarios. It will cover topics including aligning expectations, promoting professional development, maintaining effective communication, addressing equity and inclusion, assessing understanding, fostering independence, and cultivating ethical behavior. This outstanding curriculum is designed to empower you to build more effective relationships with those you are mentoring and those who are mentoring you, whether that is an undergraduate student doing research in your lab group or your next supervisor after you complete your time at Chapman. The workshop is appropriate for scholars from all research-driven disciplines. Those who have participated consistently report that they found the training to be very valuable. The training will be facilitated by Professor Aparna Bhaduri (UCLA) and Associate Professor and Director of the Grand Challenges Initiative Gregory Goldsmith (CU). This workshop should be particularly helpful for the students who want to stay in academia.
- Habit+Accountability=Success, October 8 and 9, 2019
Presented by Dr. Leslie Blood, Director of Graduate Community and Professional Development at University of Colorado Boulder. Flyer - Graduate and Professional Student Research Showcase, Spring 2019
- Graduate Student Excellence Dinner and Celebration, Spring 2019
- 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition
- 2019 Finals - View video here
- All contestants' information (preliminary and final rounds) is found in the Excellence Dinner program
If you need access to events prior to
Three Minute Thesis (3MTĀ®)
What is 3MT?
Three Minute Thesis or 3MT® is an internationally recognized competition founded at the University of Queensland, Australia. Participation in the competition helps students develop and practice their academic, presentation, and research communication skills. Presenting in the competition increases student’s capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes in a language appropriate to an audience unfamiliar with the topic.
- 3MT celebrates excellent research, scholarship and creative works of graduate students.
- 3MT cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills.
- 3MT is a three-minute presentation with a single
visual in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
Why participate?
- Skills development for graduate students to present their research and scholarly activities.
- Contributes to graduate student and scholarly culture at Chapman University.
- Cash prizes are provided to the top presenters and a People's Choice award.
- The first prize winner represents Chapman at the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) annual meeting with the chance to compete at the national Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) meeting thereafter.
Eligibility and rules:
- Active doctoral and master's students in any graduate degree program at Chapman
are eligible to participate. - A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations. No additional electronic media (e.g., sound and video files).
- No additional props (e.g., costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
- Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum.
- Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g., no poems, raps or songs).
Tips and resources:
- Wear business attire.
- Use
limited text on the PowerPoint slide. - Use visuals such as charts, graphs, illustrations & photos.
- Practice, practice, and practice!
- Time yourself; keep it under 3 minutes (but not less than 2:40!).
- Speak to your audience, make
eye-contact , speak clearly and confidently. - Avoid jargon: present your ideas in an accessible way.
- Be engaging: make the audience feel something.
- Watch other 3MT presentation videos for guidance and inspiration.
- Be aware of the scoring rubric to help you prepare your presentation.
Complete instructions for participation can be found at bit.ly/3MTChapman.
Sponsored by the Office Research and Graduate Education.
Graduate Student Achievements & Entry Database
Chapman University's graduate and professional students distinguish themselves in the following ways:
- Scholarly or creative works published
- Presentations at state, national, and international conferences
- External grant awards received
- Honors or awards received from professional associations or organizations external to Chapman
- Recognition and awards received at external festivals, juries, and competitions
- Recognition or honors for scores received on professional licensure examinations
- Participation in Chapman’s Three Minute Thesis competition
- Nomination to represent their academic unit in the Doti Awards competition.
Graduate students
This year’s reporting period is June 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025 - all achievements/activities must have been earned/conducted within these dates.
Graduate Student Scholarly/Creative Grants
Consistent with Chapman University's commitment to the scholarly and creative activity of its graduate students, Graduate Student Scholarly/Creative Activity Grants are offered through funding from the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education. If you are interested in applying for funding for a specific scholarly/creative activity you are undertaking independent of a class assignment (e.g. master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation, research or creative publication, or other original research or creative work), please read the following.
There are four graduate student grant types for which you might be eligible:
- Travel: Scholarly or creative activity preparation (funding that supports travel to undertake or carry out research or creative activity)
- Travel: Scholarly or creative activity dissemination (funding that supports sharing your work external to Chapman University)
- Scholarly or creative activity financial support, non-travel (funding that supports the purchase of consumable research materials, data access, publication fees, or other non-travel related expenses)
- Travel: Conference, professional meeting or festival attendance only (funding that supports attendance at a specific event without the presentation of your scholarly/creative work)
Note: priority for funding in 2024-25 will be given to the first three categories. Funding for "attendance only" travel awards will likely be extremely limited as we prioritize student supports for the resumption of preparation, dissemination, and non-travel research/creative endeavors after COVID-19's.
You may start an application in the online submission system, save it, and return to it later to finish. You should apply BEFORE incurring the expenses. Please be mindful of the timing of the expenses as all expenses must be incurred by May 31, 2025 for any grant given this academic year.
Applications are routed to reviewers twice per month, on the 1st and 15th, with their decisions requested within two weeks. Please keep this in mind if you are applying with little time before your start date/travel date. For example, if you submit your completed application on October 18, you should not expect a decision until mid-November.
In addition to answering questions about your planned activity, you will need the following to supplemental materials complete your online application:
- A copy of your Chapman IRB or IACUC approval (or exemption) letter if your research involves human or animal subjects;
- Proof of acceptance at conference/venue if applying for a dissemination grant;
- Email address of faculty member to request a letter of support;
- A document that you compile that contains verification of estimated expenses for which you are requesting funding.
Please read all instructions in the application carefully. Deadlines and financial terms are contained in the instructions. Expenses submitted which do not comply with university and IRS rules will not be reimbursed. Additionally, funds received may be subject to tax; complete information is provided in instructions and award documents.
Please choose your college/school to access your application website:
If you encounter questions or problems as you complete your application, please email Lonnise Magallanez in the Associate Vice President’s office.
Graduate Student Awards
The James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award
The Doti Award is given annually to one doctoral and one master's student and is the highest honor for graduate students at Chapman University. The Doti Award trophy, incorporating artist Nick Hernandez's sculpture Emergence, remains on perpetual exhibit in Argyros Forum. The trophy is engraved with the names of all Doti Award recipients and is displayed at Commencement.
The recipients of the Doti Award receive a cash award in the amount of $1,000 and a replica of the Emergence sculpture, crafted by the artist himself. The recipients are publicly recognized at their schools' graduation ceremonies.
To qualify, nominees must have:
- Received degree conferral in January of the current academic year, or have applied for degree conferral for May or August of the current academic year.
- Exhibited academic excellence and outstanding professional leadership as a graduate student at Chapman University.
The selection procedure for the recipient of the Doti Award is as follows:
- The faculty of each college/school may select up to two doctoral-level nominees and tor master level nominees for submission for its cohort of graduates who qualify under the criteria.
- Nominations will be forwarded by staff to the Graduate Academic Council for selection of the doctoral and master level recipient. Each award recipient and their college/school will be notified in writing.
WAGS/ProQuest Awards
Chapman University is a Full Member of the Western Association of Graduate Schools. WAGS is a regional association affiliated with the
One benefit of the WAGS membership is the opportunity to submit a nominee to participate in the WAGS Regional Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) GradSlam Competition at the Annual Meeting in spring and the opportunity to advance to the 3MT competition at the Council of Graduate Schools Annual Meeting each December.
Another WAGS membership benefit is the opportunity to nominate outstanding graduate students from Chapman University’s graduate and professional programs for recognition.
ProQuest partners with WAGS and supports four awards. Each member institution may submit one nomination for each award. Nominations are collected over the summer each year and submitted to WAGS in September. Categories include:
- The WAGS/ProQuest Innovation in Technology Award
- The WAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award STEM
- The WAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award Non-STEM
- The WAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis and/or Final Master’s Capstone Project Award in the Creative, Visual and Performing Arts.
For additional information, including nomination details, please visit the WAGS award website. Contact your Program Director for more information; submission instructions have been sent to all Graduate Program Directors. If you need assistance, please email the VPGE office at GradEd@chapman.edu.
Writing Supports for Graduate Students
The following writing supports for graduate students are available through the Writing Center and IS&T.
- The Writing Center Tutors are available to help you with any kind of writing assignment, research project, or presentation at any stage in the composing process, in all academic subjects. Enroll to gain access to on-on-one Zoom appointments with a tutor. Learn more about the Writing Center's new Canvas Den.
- Grammarly Premium is available for FREE to all Chapman graduate students. Not only does Grammarly Premium provide a robust copy editing platform that works in web-based and desktop computer applications, it also provides writing productivity tracking. Learn more about Grammarly Premium and how to install it on your computer here.