Despite recent cuts to UF's budget, some programs will continue to flourish.
Thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, some UF graduate students will have new opportunities to prepare for future careers.
Though the money has not been divvied out for specific purposes, it will likely be used to arrange workshops, guest lectures and internships for graduate students who are studying science, engineering, technology and mathematics.
Emory University has a similar program, so Patricia Marsteller, the director of the Emory College Center for Science Education, visited the Reitz Union on Friday to speak with students and faculty about the grant's possibilities.
She said students should have more opportunities to develop skills they can use in the workplace.
"There's not any formal programming on how to apply for jobs, networking or teaching," she said, adding that the grant has the potential to provide all of these things.
Many graduate students feel unaware of what to do or where to go once done with school, she said.
One function of the grant will be to help graduate students learn the fundamentals of communication in the form of workshops and mentor programs with professors.
Learning to write grants, negotiate starting salaries or prepare research statements will help students gain further funding.
The grant will also allow students from the different departments receiving the money to work together.
This can be a challenge though, Marsteller said, because different departments have different needs.
"You have to get where you can sit down and create partnerships that are win-win for both (departments)," she said.
Marsteller went on to offer advice for when the time comes to divvy up the money.
"Plan strategically," she said. "When the money goes, so will the institution's commitment. Ask the grad students what they're not getting. " She said that leadership may lose interest in the program once the funding is gone.
Marsteller said although UF has the money in hand, the hard part will be deciding where the money will go.
"Remember," she said. "(The process is) hard and it's slow. You have to figure out ways to make this work."
