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Graduate Student Success

1530 Rackham Building
915 E. Washington St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070
Phone: (734) 647-9404
Fax: (734) 936-2848
E-mail: gradstudentsuccess@umich.edu

Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Recruitment and Outreach

Graduate Student Success can help you to increase the pool of outstanding graduate students interested in your program. We can assist your efforts in a variety of ways as we collaborate to achieve your program’s goals. Here are highlights of the resources we offer:

  • Workshops for potential applicants about the nature of graduate school, the application process, and how to fund graduate education. if you’d like to arrange for an outreach session.
  • Resources for faculty, staff and advanced graduate students about effective recruiting activities
  • Recruitment materials about graduate school at the University of Michigan for distribution at recruiting events.
  • Prospective student registration and distribution of this student data to the graduate programs in which they express an interest.
  • The holistic review of applications is a central component in an effective recruiting strategy.

Recruitment Fairs and Campus Visits

Graduate Student Success works with graduate programs to make the most of graduate recruitment fairs, including special presentations to targeted groups and campus visits to the University of Michigan. These graduate fairs and visits attract talented students to the University of Michigan and create successful networks with other educational institutions. The students gain important information on the research conducted at the University of Michigan while the faculty and administrators let future prospects know they are welcome to apply. We have established relationships with schools across the country to attract top scholars to the University of Michigan. Faculty and staff: contact for access to the U-M recruiters’ calendar.

Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP)

Rackham provides the opportunity for undergraduates from across the country to gain research experience with faculty at the University of Michigan. This is an excellent recruiting opportunity for graduate degree programs, as faculty can preview the talents of these potential applicants. (There are similar programs for U-M students at all member universities of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) and other institutions across the country.) The students are provided with a stipend and housing as well as funds for travel. Weekly seminars address a variety of issues such as financial aid, writing a statement of purpose, being successful in graduate school, and other topics to help prepare students for graduate school. The program culminates in a research symposium at which the students give either an oral or poster presentation. Many students have gone on to publish papers from their summer research and become graduate students here at the University of Michigan. Further details about U-M faculty sponsorship as well as student application are available on the SROP information pages.

Collaborative Efforts and Affiliations with National Organizations

Our recruitment efforts are a collective venture with degree programs within the University as well as with external organizations. We work with faculty and administrators at these institutions and organizations to identify and mentor qualified students interested in attending one of our summer research programs or one of our graduate degree programs. Our efforts are directed to attracting a highly qualified, diverse student community. Among these affiliations are the National Association of Graduate and Admissions Professionals (NAGAP), Ronald E. McNair Scholars programs at universities across the country, the National Name Exchange (NNE), National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Science and Engineering (GEM), the Michigan AGEP Alliance and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. for more information about these organizations and for use of related data sets to contact targeted, potential applicants to your degree program.

Visit the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program website.

Rackham Summer Institute for Newly Awarded Merit Fellowship Recipients

Doctoral students who are selected for Rackham Merit Fellowships (RMF) are offered an opportunity to participate in the Rackham Summer Institute (SI). These Fellows participate in courses and lab work related to their specific research interests. The Rackham Graduate School covers the cost of tuition or program fees for approved academic courses taken in conjunction with SI. The program also provides a stipend plus health insurance for all SI Fellows.

  • SI Fellows attend weekly seminars designed to enhance their networking opportunities with other fellows as well as U-M faculty and staff. The aim is to expand their community of scholars and introduce them to the graduate experience.
  • SI Fellows collectively address and answer common concerns regarding the transition from their current personal and professional status to that of doctoral students.
  • SI Fellows take advanced courses in one of the following areas: laboratory research, mathematics, language study, humanities research methodology or social science research methodology.
  • SI Fellows engage in an accelerated introduction to graduate education that enables them to better anticipate the demands of their degree programs. This should lead to a more productive and successful academic experience during their first and subsequent years at the university.

Requesting Recruiting Reports from MPathways

These instructions for requesting recruiting reports from MPathways are supplemental to the already existing training you should have received from MPathways and their help desk. Please be sure to refer to your documentation regarding access and technological issues.