Follow-up: Department Zoom Sessions to Address Concerns

Our department has held informational sessions for graduate students to drop-in and ask questions that the previous surveys have not been able to cover. These sessions are in attendance with the administration of the department and graduate program advisor and coordinator. 

May 23, 2025

Written by: Ariel L.

Notes from: Carol L, Jovani A, Lydia Z, Christine C.

The department has held 3 zoom sessions with attendance of our graduate advisor, chair, graduate student administrator, and director of research in attendance to address the concerns and questions students may have. Students were welcome to drop in remotely and ask any questions.

Some issues that were raised by students were:

• Hiring freezes for graduate students and faculty (there is a possibility of lower enrollment numbers, but no news of hiring freezes for faculty…. Yet. There are some limitations to junior faculty and teaching faculty hiring, but there are many things still evolving and up in the wind. The department is doing everything to support the current positions and making sure classes that have been taught in the past continue to be taught as this is central to the functioning of the department.

• TA positions and RA sponsorship in the aftermath of the funding issues (the department will continue to support as many TAs as possible. If positions are decreasing, this could be more so due to the number of graduating students that year -- if this is the case, instructors would take off some of the workload to ensure graduate students are not being overworked. RAships are specific to each situation of the lab, but many faculty with extra funding are trying to support students who are not in their lab if it is possible)

• Other funding: internship funds, reader/grader, student hourly positions (these have currently not been affected). Donor funds, which our summer fellowships come from, are not affected currently.

International student concerns

• Students have been aware of the extra caution to unnecessary travels abroad, and the department will be forwarding any new developments to the student body if they arise. (However, it should be noted that a few students were able to travel to Canada for conferences without a problem, but this is only in the case of valid visas and short time periods. All international students should check their visa status when planning these trips and double check with ISSS and the department to make sure they have all the necessary paperwork needed for re-entry!)

• International students have brought up the issue that there has been news of deportation, visa rejections from other institutions. In response to this, departmental administrators have been forwarding the graduate student body any important emails sent campus-wide to faculty. The ISSS currently has a site monitoring federal policy updates here. 

Research grant and other issues:

• The toll on DEI-related research has been particularly hard on those who are specifically working on research in these areas. The Online Research Participation Program is available to all psychology staff, faculty, and students to utilize to run research studies for free.

• Where can we find information on federal administration updates that are related to research and other affairs of UW: here! 

• Where can we find information on the termination of NSF grants? Here!

It is important to note that the situation is evolving and may change over time! The federal policies are also quickly evolving and changing, and the department will make sure that information reaches the students, and that there are resources available to protect and support our students. 

*For more questions and detailed view of meeting notes, please reach out to the graduate DSC co-chairs.