Campus Wide
See also Preparing for Graduate School at WSU and the 2017-18 Graduate School Report.
Professional Development Initiative
The Professional Development Initiative (PDI) is organized by the Graduate School and the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA). This initiative provides a range of programs, training opportunities, and resources to graduate and professional students that will help prepare them for academic and career success. The goal of PDI is to ensure that all graduate and professional students have the skills, knowledge, and mindsets necessary to succeed both professionally and academically.
All workshops and activities are free and open to graduate students, faculty and staff.
Graduate Student Study Center
Located in Terrell Library 4/35, the graduate student study center is open during library hours and accessible with your Cougar Card. The study center provides graduate students with computers, printing, tables and chairs for meetings, white boards, and a wall mounted TV for practicing presentations.
Graduate School Costs
As a graduate student receiving an assistantship in the department of physics and astronomy, the department will waive your tuition. The only WSU fees you are responsible for are the student activities fees, which can be paid in full at the start of the semester, or split up into 8 payments that come directly out of your bimonthly paycheck, known as "payroll deduction." Many graduate students opt to pay over the semester. See here for more information.
To compare the cost of living between Pullman and other Pac12 schools, see the Cost of Living Comparison Sheet from the graduate school.
The Office of Civil Rights Compliance and Investigation (CRCI) at WSU is the main WSU resource for:
For filing complaints from students, staff, faculty, and visitors or guests who have experienced discrimination, discriminatory harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct.
This policy expresses WSU’s commitment to maintain an environment free of all forms of discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.
CIVIL RIGHTS CONSULTATION AND TECHNICAL GUIDANCE
For questions relating to civil rights compliance, requirements, and obligations, and to monitor and provide compliance recommendations for university programs.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMPLIANCE
For monitoring activities and providing technical guidance to ensure WSU is in compliance with state and federal equal employment opportunity and affirmative action laws.
For providing Title IX technical guidance and grievance procedures to the university community, including providing resources and support for individuals who experienced stalking, intimate partner violence, or sexual misconduct.
For providing technical guidance to the university community about our obligations under the ADA, as well as grievance processes for those who experience discrimination on the basis of their disability.
To engage in educational endeavors, with the intent to improve campus climate, improve best practices, and help secure a diverse workforce that can meet the needs of the University.
For more information about what resources CRCI provides and for a listing of the trainings offered, please see the CRCI website.
Scholarships
The McNair Scholars Program at Washington State University prepares first-generation/low-income students, and students from underrepresented backgrounds in graduate education for their future doctoral studies.
The McNair Scholars Program at WSU will provide program participants with graduate education preparation activities and services to include faculty-mentored research experiences, coursework focused on the culture of graduate education, and academic and career counseling.
There are a wide range of scholarships available to prospective and current WSU graduate students. Most scholarships for current students require a 3.5 graduate GPA.
If you have been accepted and plan on attending WSU at the start of next fall, contact the chair of the department to ask them to nominate you for the The Graduate School Recruitment Scholarship for STEM Disciplines which is a $1000 award for the first 2 years of your graduate studies ($2000 total). Each college is allowed to nominate 2 incoming students for the award.
There are other opportunities from the graduate school and the GPSA to earn extra funds through the GPSA Research Expo in the Spring semester. During this event, you are asked to present a poster of your research to a panel of 4-5 judges during the event. The top three from each category are awarded scholarships.
CAS has many scholarships available to both undergraduate and graduate students. During the academic year, the physics department will forward the calls to apply for these scholarships.
The CAS also partakes in the NASA Space Grant awards, which offer scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate researchers in science, engineering, and math at WSU. These are competitive grants that are based on academic achievement, a personal essay, and a letter of recommendation from your research advisor.
There are also opportunities to earn extra funds by competing in the CAS 3 Minute Thesis competition, where graduate students are given 3 minutes and 1 static powerpoint slide to explain their research and its importance in laymen's terms to a panel of judges. The winner of the CAS 3MT competition moves on to the university-wide competition.
There are two scholarships for incoming WSU Physics and Astronomy graduate students:
Claire May Band Physics Scholarship
Claire and William Band Graduate Fellowship in Theoretical Physics
The Graduate Studies Committee and Department Chair will award these scholarships based on application materials.
There are also opportunities for students completing their first and second year of graduate work to earn a summer research fellowship from the department with the support of a faculty advisor. Speak with your advisor for more information.
The WSU Institute for Shock Physics (ISP) is recognized for its excellence nationwide and a DOE/NNSA "Center for Excellence." The ISP provides exceptional graduate students with scholarships and assistantships separate from WSU Physics and Astronomy. For more information about this program, see the ISP Website.
Please see the Division of Student Affairs website to learn more about the steps WSU is taking to provide an inclusive, safe, and engaging community for our students, faculty, and staff.
The AWARE Network allows you to share concerns about a student’s emotional or psychological well-being, physical health, or academic performance with colleagues who can help.
The Keys to Cougar Success provide resources and tips to succeed during your undergraduate or graduate studies at WSU. As a student at WSU, this link should be tagged as a bookmark on your browser!
This refers to WSU's goal of becoming one of the nation’s top 25 public research universities by 2030 and is considered the University's highest strategic priority.
The Access Center provides accommodations and services to incoming and current WSU students with disabilities, psychological or medical conditions, or temporary injuries that limit their access to the educational environment. Some examples of the accommodations and services they provide are testing accommodations (reduced distraction testing environment, extended time, etc.), note-taking, alternative print media, and time management or organizational skill development.
The mission of the Graduate Writing Center (GWC) is to assist graduate students from all disciplines with all types of written communications from research papers and publications to cover letters and curriculum vitae. The GWC offers individual face-to-face appointments as well as walk-in hours. The GWC works with students to help them learn to revise and edit their own writing. The GWC mission is educational, and as such do not proofread or copyedit student work.
The goal of the women*s center is to engage with the multi-dimensional experiences of women, to challenge patterns of injustice for people of all genders, and to provide a welcoming and inclusive space. They provide resources for all genders of the WSU community and student family friendly resources that can be found on their webpage.
Note: The Women*s center lists the Webster basement as a lactation space. As a member of the Department of Physics and Astronomy or the School of the Environment, you can contact the Physics and Astronomy Department Chair and ask for a more private and permanent lactation space to address your needs.
If you know of any other WSU campus-wide resources, please let us know so we can include them!