The Women's Center's Returning Women Students Scholarships Application for 2021-22 is available now via ScholarshipRetriever to undergraduate students who meet the eligibility requirements. 

The deadline for submission via ScholarshipRetriever is Friday, April 9, 2020. 

This common application which is called Women's Center: Returning Women Students 2021-2022 in ScholarshipRetiever enables eligible students to apply for more than one of the Returning Women Students Scholarships with just one submission. Please note that this opportunity to apply will only appear in ScholarshipRetriever to students who meet the scholarship qualifications. The five available scholarships via the Returning Women Student Scholarship Application are:

• Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship & The UMBC Scholarship for Mature Students 
• Jodi Mister/Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship
• AEGON Scholarship
• The Richard & Roselyn Bryson Neville Memorial Fund for Returning Women Scholarship
• The Rosalie Tydings Business and Professional Women’s Scholarship

Undergraduate students of any gender over the age of 25 and with at least 60 credits and 2.5 GPA may be eligible. Students must be completing their first undergraduate degree. 

Students who are selected to be scholars are required to participate in the Returning Women Students Scholars + Affiliates program. For more information about the program, visit our website and be sure to attend an information session.

Information sessions related to the application process and scholars program requirements on: 

• Monday, February 22nd from 5:30-6:15pm OR 
• Wednesday, March 31st from 5-6pm (the focus of this session will be on crafting your personal essays)

Applicants are highly encouraged to attend an info session before submitting their application. For students who cannot attend a session live, a recording of the 2/22 session will be made available to those who request it. 

Head Start and Child Care Dissertation Grants

Two NEW 2021 Funding Opportunities for Early Childhood Dissertation Research!  The Early Care and Education Research Scholars grants support doctoral dissertation research addressing issues related to Head Start and child care. Both grant programs support work that informs policy and practice decisions and solutions, particularly for underserved/understudied populations, and utilizes the most rigorous research methodology.

The full announcement for “Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Head Start Dissertation Grants” is available at: https://ami.grantsolutions.gov/HHS-2020-ACF-OPRE-YR-1822. The full announcement for “Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Dissertation Grants” is available at: https://ami.grantsolutions.gov/HHS-2020-ACF-OPRE-YE-1823.

Letter of Intent Due: Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Application Due Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

Update on Library Services for Spring 2021

Updated 1/12/2021

The Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery will provide virtual and contactless services for the Spring 2021 semester. The Library and Gallery building will remain closed to users to ensure the safety of our staff and community.

We will continue to offer the following services and resources for our users:

• Virtual research appointments and “Ask a Librarian” chat service with our Subject Librarians and Archivists.

• Virtual information literacy and library instruction sessions and research workshops. Please contact a Subject Librarian to discuss your instructional goals and options for how to reach them. Use the Instruction Request Form to schedule a session for your class, or request a Special Collections Instruction session.

• A robust collection of electronic resources, including ebooks, databases, journals, research guides, and more, all available from your device. Get started with this guide. 

• Purchasing additional electronic books and streaming media. Contact your Subject Librarian or send a request directly to libraryacq@umbc.edu. 

• Providing electronic Course Reserves, with scans of book chapters, journal articles, and archival materials from UMBC Library collections. Visit this page for information on how to submit your requests via Blackboard.

• Scanning of book chapters, journal articles, and archival materials from UMBC library collections, as well as purchasing individual journal articles, all for electronic delivery. Submit your request via Interlibrary Loan. Chapter and article delivery from partner libraries may vary as conditions change. 

• Contactless checkout and return of books and media, including physical library materials from UMBC and, to as great an extent as possible, from our library partners in the University of Maryland System. Learn more about how to place a request or view a map of book return bin locations on campus.

• Interlibrary borrowing for books and media from partners outside of USM will continue and/or resume as conditions permit. 

• Contactless checkout and return of digital media equipment, laptops, and accessories. Details available at the main curbside pickup page.

• We’ve added a Virtual Study Room where you can work alongside fellow Retrievers for a focused study environment

For up to date information on our services and resources, consult the Library & Gallery website or our myUMBC page.

In light of the recent attack on our democracy and associated concerns of safety, University Health Services and the Counseling Center extend our support to those affected. University Health Services and the Counseling Center completely denounce the deplorable acts committed in the U.S. capitol on January 6, 2021. These violent, threatening, and racially and culturally intimidating acts are disturbing, and we must not normalize this horrifying behavior. It is not lost on us that  the nature of the response to this insurrection compared to law enforcement response to peaceful protests in the past may be triggering for many. We acknowledge the impact on our community and recognize that direct or indirect exposure to such events can be troubling, concerning, or traumatizing and result in many emotional reactions, included but not limited to those of fear, astonishment, frustration, hopelessness, anger, distrust, and distraught. 

Counseling Center Resources:  

As always, if you are in distress, please know we are here to help. Students may contact the Counseling Center between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.,  Monday – Friday at 410-455-2472. If you have mental health concerns outside of regular business hours and wish to speak with someone from our After-Hours Support Line, please call 410-455-3230. As such events can have a significant impact on our ability to self-regulate and feel safe and at peace, please utilize the self-care techniques and strategies that can be found on our Instagram and Facebook platforms at @umbccounseling. 

Additional Resources: 

UMBC Together Beyond Election 2020/Support and Care Resources 

Managing stress related to political change

How To Cope With Trauma In A Time Of Civil Unrest

Coping After Disaster

Application Deadline: February 15, 2021

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) is celebrating its 25th anniversary! Due to the COVID-related campus closure, URCAD XXV will be held online again this spring. You will be able to view presentations, watch films, see video of dance and music performances, view artwork, and interact with presenters during the asynchronous event.

Last April, 251 students presented their research and creative work, and thousands of visitors logged on the URCAD online via an interactive platform called VoiceThread. Nothing can compare to being together to be able to celebrate all of the research, scholarship, and creative work of our talented UMBC undergraduate students. Experiencing the live dance performances, being able to talk face to face with students about their research, or being able to take a ride on a kinetic sculpture are things that are meant to be experienced in person, and the energy of hosting URCAD on campus is irreplaceable. But last year’s online event provided a unique experience for visitors to explore the presentations and to interact with presenters in really meaningful ways. The online format also expanded URCAD to a global event- visitors logged on from as far away as Korea and the U.K. 

Mark your calendars for the week of April 19-23, 2021 for URCAD XXV Online!

You can still view the presentations form 2020 here: https://urcad.umbc.edu/departments/

We will host several workshop to help students prepare their online presentations.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Over 300 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects.  They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated.This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

All current undergraduates who have conducted research, scholarship or creative work in the last year may apply to present their results at URCAD. Mentors, fellow students, friends, family members, high school teachers and students, graduate school recruiters, and the general public are invited to attend.

URCAD 2021 Alumni Keynote Speaker

Klaudine Wakasa

Green Economy Advisor to International Governments

’08 B.S. Financial Economics, UMBC
’10 M.Sc. Gender Development and Globalisation, London School of Economics

Klaudine is a Strategy Advisor who has spent her professional career working with government, multilateral/bilateral organizations, and private sectors across the African continent – first as an Advisor within KPMG’s International Development Advisory Service; later as a Strategy Consultant with Dalberg Global Development Advisors; and currently as the Regional lead for the Government of Canada’s effort to build Clean Technology ecosystems in Africa, and for the United Kingdom’s goal of mainstreaming a ‘Green Economy’ approach into its work in Africa. 
(Read more about Klaudine here.)

Questions? Email aprilh@umbc.edu