Click on one of the links to the right for more information.
International Student Services
Many PhD graduates are international students. Purdue Polytechnic is proud of its international diversity.
For most international students, getting their visa status established to attend Purdue is their first challenge. Because U.S. and international immigration laws can be very complex, we defer all questions and issues about visas to Purdue's Office of International Students and Scholars.
For our admitted and continuing international students, see The Graduate School's Resources for International Students for important and useful information and services.
Student Organizations
There are many opportunities for graduate students to become involved in voluntary student organizations. Many of these brief descriptions are linked to web pages for more information.
Closest to home is the Polytechnic's Council of Graduate Students (COGS). COGS includes graduate student representatives from each of the departments in the Purdue Polytechnic. They address issues and needs of graduate students specifically enrolled in the Purdue Polytechnic. They are always looking for students who want to get involved.
At the University level, there exists a Purdue Graduate Student Government (PGSC). The PGSC student president and student working groups lobby the faculty and administration on issues and needs pertaining to all graduate students for the entire University. They also host social events for graduate students, and manage a very nice student commons facility (on the ground level of the Northwestern Parking Garage) for study and events.
Many other student organizations are available to students with specific interests, computing and otherwise. Many of these are listed on the Graduate School's Student Organizations web page. Links to other student organizations and callouts can be found at BoilerLink.
Entertainment and Personal Growth
Your education is not just about your courses and research. Not everything in life revolves around studies. After you graduate, you will rejoin society. To that end, you are encouraged to take advantage of Purdue's many cultural, sporting, and social networking events. One advantage of attending a large university like Purdue is that you gain access to many such events designed to expand your mind beyond your chosen major -- and have FUN. Many of these events are free or low cost -- even the most expensive events are usually offered at student prices that are much lower than you will again see after graduation.
It is sometimes difficult to keep up with "entertainment" events at a university as large as Purdue. Thankfully, Purdue provides a one-stop, web clearinghouse to provide information about events for your entertainment and stress relief. It is called Don't Miss It. Bookmark that web page for the latest news of upcoming events.
Another useful link for students looking for either entertainment or student clubs in BoilerLink.
Travel Funding for Scholarly Activities
The PhD faculty encourages, and in some cases, requires students to publish scholarly and industry papers as part of your learning experience. In many cases, such papers are co-authored between students and faculty. Opportunities may arise to present papers to scholarly and professional conferences. It is recognized that graduate students often do not have the funds to pay for travel, lodging, and fees for conferences. Within the limits of the university budget, we will try to help with travel funding.
As a general rule, to become eligible for travel funding your paper must be officially accepted to be presented at the conference. Once accepted, you may apply for travel funding assistance to various sources. Also as a general rule, the chances for funding may depend on a willingness to share costs. For example,
· How much of the cost are you willing to pay yourself?
· How much of the cost can your faculty co-sponsor contribute (from their funded research accounts)?
· How much of the cost do you seek from your department? Your department head may be willing to match the contribution of your faculty co-sponsor.
· How much of the funding can you get from the Purdue Polytechnic? See Dean's Student Travel Grant Program.
Career and Job Placement Services and Events
As you approach graduation, you may be looking for career counseling and job placement resources and services. See Purdue Center for Career Opportunities (CCO) for some of the services and events offered at Purdue.
NOTE: For graduate assistantships, graduate fellowships/scholarships, and local part-time job opportunities, see Funding in the main menu for this page.