Dal News

Get to know the Faculty of Graduate Studies

Pop-up Lecture

Faculty of Graduate Studies Powerful Presentations, 3 Minutes at a Time

Our graduate students and Postdocs compete in a number of competitions throughout the year focussed on the dissemination of research to a non-specialist audience. One of the more popular competitions is the Three Minute Thesis (3MT).

Please join the Faculty of Graduate Studies and some of our 3 Minute Thesis and 3 Minute Oral Presentation (post doc) contestants for a lunchtime of learning. Some of our presenters for the lunch hour are:

Kala Hirtle, a Killam-funded doctoral candidate in English. Her dissertation builds on her interest in medical humanities and is tentatively titled “Altered States of Consciousness: Gender, Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse and Gothic Literature.”

Dr. Jin Zhang, who's work is based both in the Department of Pharmacology and in Brain Center Repair. He is currently working on the pharmacological studies in neurosciences and his presentation will briefly introduce the some of the major interests in the neurosciences, including neurodegenerative diseases, pain and vision and hearing.

Xujie Li will present on the topic Hatching Egg Sanitation for Improvement of Storage, Hatchability and Chick Performance.

Justine McMillan is a PhD Student in the Department of Oceanography who is actively involved in ongoing tidal energy resource assessments in south west Nova Scotia. Her doctoral thesis is focussed on an assessment of the intermittency of turbulence and the limitations of existing instrumentation techniques.

Date: Friday, December 4

Time: 12:00 PM

Location: Mona Campbell 3107

Storify

The Faculty of Graduate Studies includes students and faculty from across the university. Appropriately, for this week's Storify, we look back on social media activity from across the entire #KnowYourDal campaign.
View a "Storify" collection of our social media activity.

Dean's video

Faculty of Graduate Studies Dean Marty Leonard answers our questions in this video interview.

Feature story

Five things you didn't know about the Faculty of Graduate Studies

The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) is perhaps the most unique of all faculties at Dalhousie. Rather than classroom teaching and academic research, our core responsibility is the review, approval and monitoring of all things graduate: PhD, master’s, visiting, and qualifying graduate student admissions, course and program approvals, graduate scholarships, professional development, program regulations, registration and degree audits.

But did you also know:

We have a LOT of members
Admission to Dalhousie Master’s and PhD programs is very competitive
We take the time to focus on our team
We support Dal’s important role as a Killam institution
We review hundreds of theses each year

Read the full story on Dal News

Photo gallery

Get to know some of the faces at the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

"I've worked in Grad Studies for over four years now, in a couple of different roles. Currently, along with a really great team, I coordinate thesis submissions. In addition to that, the primary focus of my job is facilitating doctoral defences, which I love because I get to work with every single doctoral student that comes through Dalhousie! I also get to work closely with departments as the liaison between supervisors, key departmental contacts and external examiners who come from all over the world and are experts in their respective fields. Grad Studies recognizes doctoral defences as the culmination of years of collaboration and hard work, and as one of the best ways for Dalhousie to showcase all of its top-notch research. Each one is a hugely important event, so it's awesome (and inspiring) that I get to be a little part of them all. Representing Grad Studies in this capacity is such an honour — I love my job!"

Alicia Kirk (Senior Thesis Clerk)

"I believe I am the newest addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, having moved from England in July and starting with Graduate Studies in August of this year. I am a native to Nova Scotia, and a Dalhousie alumnus, so being back on campus was a refreshing start and a familiar environment. Currently I am the Acting Administrative Officer for FGS. I bring a history of HR experience to the role and enjoy working closely with people in the area of professional development. I am also working towards a coaching certification and expanding my knowledge in the area of change management."

Crystal Casey (Acting Administrative Officer)

"I came to Dalhousie and the Faculty of Graduate Studies as a temp in September 2001 and I’ve been here ever since. I am currently the Scholarships Officer and absolutely love my job. I work with the best group of people a person could ask for. I administer all the graduate scholarships that are offered through and by Grad Studies. I work closely with almost every department on every campus, including academic departments and administrative departments. I also work closely with outside agencies like Tri-council and Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, to name a couple. My favourite part of the job is being able to tell students when they’ve been awarded a scholarship. They have put a lot of hard work into that application and their academic career, so when it pays off with a scholarship, it’s a great thing to experience."

Danielle Pottie (Scholarships Liaison Officer)

"By now, I’ve been at Dalhousie University for 25 years and a bit. Before that, I was a Research Associate and then an Assistant Professor at the Saarland University for 11-plus years, which makes for a total of more than 36 years in academia. That time was divided more or less equally into research, teaching and administration. Highlights in each of these three areas include: the Outstanding Young Investigator's Award of the German Physiological Society; the 10-year MRC (now CIHR) Regional Development Grant including full salary awards for me and my closest collaborator, my wife; the Recognition of Outstanding Teaching Award in Undergraduate Medical Education; the Professor of the Year Award (selected by the Med. Class of 2009); my time as member and Chair of Faculty Council in the Faculty of Medicine as well as my membership on the Academic Program and Curriculum Committee and Faculty Council of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS); and last, but not least, my appointment as Associate Dean of FGS. The most challenging, but also the most satisfying, part of my long march through the jungle maze of academia has been, and still is, to do the best job possible under often not ideal, and sometimes even adverse, circumstances."

Dr. Dieter Pelzer (Associate Dean)

"I've been working as a Student Assistant at FGS for the past two-and-a-half years. This position allows me to study full time and work part time in between my classes. I have a very interesting viewpoint being both an employee and student at Dal. I do many things around the office, such as emails, phone calls, filing, writing letters, helping with orientation and convocation, events and much more. Over the past few years I have learned lots about myself from working in this office and have had an opportunity to interact with and learn about people from all over the world. Dal has roughly 3,000 international students and many other students who have different views, religions, beliefs, values and outlooks on life. My favourite part about working here is interacting with such a diverse group of people and helping to make their days a little easier."

Hayley McCabe (Student Assistant)

"Contact with the students is my favorite part of the day, as many general inquiries start with me, through email, phone or in-person. Answering a potential or current student’s question is a bit like a traffic cop, directing the inquiry to the right person within the university or the department, and keeping the flow of information moving. I’m amazed at the wide range of education and research that Dalhousie University facilitates, and am glad to be part of it. As the majority of my family lives in Halifax, I recently moved here from the Valley. After working many years at Acadia University, I am happy to find a similar collaborative and friendly work experience here at Dal, in spite of the difference in size."

Jaye Cartney (Information Clerk)

"I have worked in the Faculty of Graduate Studies as the primary contact for postdoctoral fellows at Dalhousie since September 2014. My responsibilities include reviewing contracts for postdoctoral fellows, and working with Human Resources to support these appointments. I also work closely with the Dalhousie Postdoctoral Society. I enjoy seeing the enthusiasm and dedication to academic work that the postdocs continually demonstrate. Postdoctoral fellows contribute greatly to maintaining Dalhousie’s standing as the only Atlantic Canadian University that is a member of the U15 group of Canadian Research Universities."

Meagan Chaffey (Scholarship and Postdoctoral Fellows Clerk)

"In the summer of 2007 I started working at Dalhousie University. Over the past eight years I have worked with a few different departments. I first started out in the Registrar’s Office as an undergraduate recruiter, then in 2009 I took a position with the Faculty of Management for the Corporate Residency MBA program as the Recruitment Coordinator. Now, I am with the Faculty of Graduate Studies as the Admissions and Convocation officer. I am such a people person and the great thing about all three of the positions that I have had at Dal is that they all involve a lot of interaction with people. On a daily basis I interact with graduate coordinators and administrators, graduate students and potential applicants. The job of the Admissions and Convocation officer is very busy. I evaluate and approve all master’s and PhD applications for admissions. I also audit the degrees of all of the graduate students at some point so that they can graduate at either the May or October convocation. Seeing these students cross the stage at convocation is probably the most rewarding part of this job."

Sarah Berrigan (Admissions and Convocation Officer)

"I received my Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie in 1996 and started working in the Faculty of Graduate Studies just over 10 years ago. During my time in the Faculty of Graduate Studies I have performed many different jobs and have been fortunate to work with a dedicated group of people. In my current position I work closely with the Dean and Associate Deans, organize the annual Killam Celebration, and coordinate the Faculty of Graduate Studies Faculty Council and Academic Programs and Curriculum Committee meetings. One of my favorite things about this job has been assisting with the coordination of the 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. This is a great event that showcases all the wonderful research being conducted by graduate students across Dalhousie’s many faculties."

Stephanie Theriault (Assistant to the Deans)

"I’ve been working in post-secondary education for over 30 years and the last 12 years have been in FGS. In this position I meet graduate students from down the street and from all over the world and that is truly inspiring. I love being able to help students find solutions to obstacles in their pathway to success. One of my most fun experiences was when a PhD student met with me to request permission to propose to his girlfriend during her master’s degree convocation ceremony!"

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