Support Services for Students

Admissions

Admission to the Graduate College may be granted to a graduate of an institution in the United States that is accredited by a recognized regional association or to a graduate of a recognized institution in another country whose requirements for the bachelor's degree are substantially equivalent to those of Iowa State University. Application forms, available from the Office of Admissions, can be completed on-line. The application fee is $30 for US applicants and $70 for international applicants. Students who completed their undergraduate degree at ISU are not charged an application fee. Higher Education faculty review applications on a monthly basis. Students are urged to complete applications by January 1 to insure consideration for assistantships. Applications received after January 1 are considered on a space available basis only and no incomplete applications will be considered. (See Masters program and Doctoral program sections of the Higher Education home page for application requirements.)

Go to Admissions Home Page

Career Services (placement) offices are operated in each college to assist students and alumni with their career-related needs. They deliver a broad range of programs and services, including computerized scheduling of on-campus interviews; coordination of co-op and internship programs; credential/reference services; workshops and seminars on subjects such as career exploration, resume preparation, and letter writing, off-campus job search techniques, interview skill building, preparing for the interview trip, summer job search strategies, getting into graduate and professional schools, obtaining government jobs, values clarification, and adjusting to your first job.

Go to Human Sciences Student Services (Career Services) Home Page

Advocates in the office are available for students who may need assistance with their personal adjustment to college, with an academic problem, or with interpretation of university policies and procedures. Advocacy and other special services also are provided for students with diabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, students of color, and women students. Educational programs and workshops in the areas of leadership, time management, and interpersonal skills are presented on an on-going basis and when requested by campus groups.

Go to the Dean of Students Office Home Page

The university provides apartments for single and married graduate students, as well as students with families. Other students live in private rooms and apartments in Ames or nearby communities. Each newly admitted student to the university will receive a housing application form immediately following his/her admission.

Go to Department of Residence Home Page

Information Technology provides computing and networking for the university. Instructional and research support ranges from microcomputing and local area networking to supercomputing and wide-area networking. The center's research computing group is active in the development of advanced computing techniques and aids researchers in efficiently carrying out the computing needed for research projects. The center also provides support for SCHOLAR, the library's on-line information system, and management services for Project Vincent, high-performance workstations networked via a high-speed campus backbone. In conjunction with off-campus network connections, Project Vincent provides computation capabilities for supercomputing, visualization, and numeric computation. In the increasingly distributed academic computing environment, the center seeks to promote computing standards and to achieve commonality of operations and economies of scale where appropriate

Go to the Information Technology Home Page

The Graduate College at Iowa State University is responsible for monitoring the quality of graduate education, for administering students' graduate programs, and for promoting research support from various governmental, industrial, and private agencies. Members of the graduate faculty have a dual role of teaching and research. All courses offered for major or minor credit are taught by graduate faculty members. Through a program of study committee system, they supervise individual programs of study which are specially designed for each graduate student's needs.

The Graduate College also houses the Thesis Office which distributes The Graduate College Thesis Manual, which provides guidelines for thesis and dissertation submission.

Go to the Graduate College Home Page

The Graduate Minority Assistantship Program (GMAP), sponsored by the Graduate College, assists minority students during the admission process, while they are enrolled, and upon completion of graduate study. The program provides financial assistance, educational assistance, mentoring, and nurturing to admitted students. GMAP also provides assistance with career exploration during and upon completion of a degree.

Eligible students can expect tuition assistance and a graduate assistantship through GMAP as follows:

Go to the Graduate Minority Assistantship Program Home Page

The Margaret Sloss Women's Center promotes the educational, personal, and career development of all women in the Ames/ISU community. Along with other departments, the Women's Center shares the university's responsibility of creating a safe and supportive environment for all individuals. The purpose of the Women's Center is to promote and sustain women through advocacy, programs and information and referral services.

Go to the Margaret Sloss Women's Center Home Page

International Students and Scholars (ISS) is committed to courteous, accurate, timely service and informative programming for 3.000 international students and scholars, American faculty, students, and citizens of Iowa interested in international education. Internationals attend orientation and other intercultural programs organized by ISS staff, receive advice on personal concerns, information on financial aid, U.S. visa regulations, university policies, and community resources.

Go to the International Students and Scholars Home Page

Study Abroad Center

The Study Abroad Center informs 2,000 plus Americans yearly on foreign study and work opportunities through individual advising, group orientation meetings, and other programs with recently returned students. Staff assist faculty interested in developing new study abroad opportunities for ISU students. IES programs contribute to intercultural learning and understanding on campus and throughout Iowa.

Go to the Study Abroad Center Homepage

The Parks Library collections total more than 5.1 million items, including more than 2 million books and bound materials, 3 million microforms, and thousands of audio-video materials, manuscripts, films, maps, and archival photographs. The library is nationally recognized for its holdings in the basic and applied fields of the biological and physical sciences, and has a long-range program for strengthening collections in the humanities and social sciences.

The library encourages use of its collections, services, and study facilities. Instruction in the use of library resources is offered to graduate and undergraduate students.

The library provides access to local and national resources in several ways. The library's on-line system provides access to the library's local on-line catalog (iPac) and selected subject databases that index individual journal articles. In addition, the on-line system provides access to several other university on-line catalogs, including the University of Iowa Library's catalog.

Go to the Parks Library Home Page

Recreation Services is dedicated to the provision of quality recreational opportunities for the campus community. Programs include intramural sports, sports clubs, open recreation, outdoor recreation, special events, fitness programs, and recreational facility scheduling. Assistance for other recreational services is provided. Other physical, cultural, and social recreation programs are sponsored in coordination with various departments, organizations, and groups on and off campus.

Go to the Recreational Services Home Page

Disability Resources coordinates those support services that students may need in order to reach their fullest academic potential. As part of the Dean of Students Office, the coordinator serves as a resource within the university community concerning students who have a disability. Disability Resources provides advocacy, information, support, counseling, education, referral, and awareness to students, faculty, staff, the Ames community, and the state of Iowa.

Go to the Disability Resources Home Page

The Student Counseling Service provides a wide range of services to help students benefit from their college experience and maintain their psychological well-being. Counseling may involve self-understanding, personal development, choice of major or career, communication skills, or college adjustment. Groups and workshops are offered for personal growth, assertiveness, career exploration, stress management, alcohol education, and other issues. Other services include the Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Program, Career Exploration Library, Orientation and Placement Testing, consultation, and outreach services. Counseling services are free; however, there are, nominal fees for some testing services. Clients must be currently enrolled Iowa State University students.

Go to the Student Counseling Service Home Page

A number of graduate teaching, research and administrative assistantships, fellowships, and grants are available at Iowa State University - all through the individual departments and affiliated research institutes in each academic college.

Half-time graduate assistantships - research, teaching and administrative - permit a student to enroll for 12 credits per semester or seven credits per summer session. He/she is also required to devote half time to the teaching or research projects of the department. These appointments are open to students admitted on a full or provisional basis. Most of the assistantships available to Higher Education students are sponsored by the Student Affairs Office.

Additionally, the Office of Student Financial Aid offers two types of financial assistance: loans of various types and employment assistance.

For information on graduate assistantships, Go to the Graduate College

For loan and employment information, go to the Office of Student Financial Aid

The Thielen Student Health Center provides health services including doctor and nurse consultations, physical exams, laboratory and x-ray services, trauma care, sports medicine and physical therapy, immunizations, pharmacy, diet and nutrition consultation, free and confidential HIV testing, fitness consultation, computerized health risk appraisal, stress management, wellness assessment, workshops, and referral services.

The $85 student health fee, which partially finances the services of the Thielen Student Health Center, is charged to all students taking five or more credits each semester. Those taking four or fewer credits may also access services at reduced cost by electing to pay the health fee. This fee is not a substitute for health insurance. It is a prepayment plan that complements the student's individual insurance coverage.

Go to the Student Health Center Home Page

The Student Activities Center staff has compiled a list of organizations to better inform students of the opportunities available to them outside of the classroom. This list is available in the ISU telephone directory and in the Student Activities Center in the Memorial Union. The staff provides consultative services to student leaders, members, and advisers of organizations on an individual basis or in groups.

Go to the Student Activities Center Home Page

This program strives to provide preventative and informative services to the ISU community regarding substance use/abuse and related issues. Their goal is to create a campus and community coalition that works to provide students, faculty, staff and the administration with a safe and healthy learning environment.

Go to Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention Department Home Page

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