The Graduate Program Committee is responsible for guiding the first year graduate students through their initial coursework and research rotations. This Committee together with the Graduate Recruiting Committee organizes a summer (June) and a fall (August) New Graduate Student Orientation for incoming students of each year. The purposes are: to inform the students the about the Program procedures and expectation, to offer students necessary safety and teaching training, and to help students to familiarize with registration, department procedures and living in Lincoln.

All international graduate students who wish to become graduate Teaching Assistants must participate in the Institute for International Teaching Assistants (ITA) which is usually scheduled for three weeks in the summer. Students need to qualify for the ITA by demonstrating their oral English language proficiency by taking the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) Test. The SPEAK Test, the institutional form of the Test of Spoken English (TSE), is a taped and timed test developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Entrance into the ITA requires a score of 45 on either the SPEAK test or the TSE. There are two opportunities during the summer to take the qualifying SPEAK test on campus.

Related links

New Graduate Student Orientation Schedule

Living in Lincoln Information

Institute for International Teaching Assistants