Questions about Community Partners
Q: I am a community partner interested in connecting with the training program. How do I become involved?
Please contact Program Director Siddhartha Sikdar at ssikdar@gmu.edu to become involved. Here are some ways you can be involved:
- Participate in informational interviews with CASSBI students to help them understand the complex dimensions of the problems faced by the communities you serve
- Connect students to others in your network who might be willing to share their perspectives on community needs and potential solutions
- Brainstorm with the students to help them identify workable solutions or approaches
- Do you have another idea for how to partner with CASSBI students to solve problems that are important to you? We’d love to hear from you!
See our About page for a bit more info.
Questions about the training program
Q: Who is eligible to participate in the training program?
CASSBI trainees are George Mason University graduate students. Trainees may apply as prospective Mason graduate students or during their early graduate career. The training program lasts the length of a trainee’s graduate career. U.S. citizens, nationals, permanent residents, and international students may fully participate in the program. Competitive fellowships may be available for eligible students.
Q: What will I get out of the traineeship program?
Trainees will benefit from an individualized interdisciplinary curriculum, scaffolded by laboratory rotations and hands-on workshops; a year-long community-engaged design project; and training in entrepreneurship, communication skills and team science. By the end of your graduate program, we anticipate that you will have Convergence Learning skills in:
- Knowledge integration: Applies knowledge based on a disciplinary foundation and integrates knowledge from different disciplines; can define a problem using multiple perspectives based on disciplinary knowledge, lived experience and community knowledge.
- Procedural learning: Knows how, when, and why to apply different methodological approaches to problems and questions.
- Transfer of learning: Independently adapts and applies skills, abilities, theories, or methodologies gained in one situation to new situations to explore complex issues in original ways.
- Communication: Demonstrates teamwork, critical and reflective thinking, and intercultural knowledge and competence to communicate effectively with community stakeholders
- Team science attitude: Values the diversity of the multiple disciplines, perspectives, and experiences that support convergence and team science.
Q: Is there funding available for trainees?
Trainees who are U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents may be eligible for a CASSBI fellowship. Funded trainees must be a Mason master’ or doctoral-level student enrolled in a research-based STEM degree program that requires a thesis or dissertation. The application for funding is the same as the application to join the training program.
Trainees who are not eligible for CASSBI funding are typically funded by research and/or teaching assistantships through faculty mentors or home graduate programs. We encourage trainees to contact CASBBI faculty to learn more about funding opportunities they may have available.
Questions about the application process
Q: I am a prospective Mason graduate student and I am interested in applying to the CASSBI Training Program. How do I apply?
Please contact Program Director Siddhartha Sikdar at ssikdar@gmu.edu and your prospective degree program department mentor to indicate your interest in the CASSBI Training Program. You must be enrolled as a Mason graduate student to join the Training Program. Please note that admission to the CASSBI Training Program is separate from admission to your degree program.
Q: Do I need to submit a letter of recommendation with my traineeship application?
No, you do not need to submit a letter of recommendation with your application. On the application we request the contact information for one professional reference. For select applicants, we will solicit a letter of recommendation separately.
Q: Are the laboratories and/or mentors that I select on the application binding?
No, the laboratories and/or mentors that you select on the traineeship application are not binding.