Under the GSPD umbrella and building on a legacy of more than 20 years, PROMISE events are organized with minoritized scholars in mind – with input from students from underrepresented backgrounds in content and design, PROMISE events build academic skills, social supports, and career networks. While there is intention in ensuring PROMISE events meet the needs of scholars from minoritized backgrounds, they are open to all graduate students and postdocs and PROMISE whole-heartedly welcomes participants from all backgrounds and disciplines. PROMISE at UMBC is a part of a PROMISE network across the University System of Maryland and hopes to provide a community of learning and support from the day you arrive on campus to the proud day you depart for your next career stage.
In your time here, we hope you come to rely on PROMISE to be a “third space” where you feel safe, supported, and championed. We hope you join us for coffees and games, seminars on preparing for a career as a faculty member, building teaching and public speaking skills, enhancing your writing and writing productivity, and learning to network to build a community of peers and mentors effectively. You can learn about the latest offerings and workshops our myUMBC page. We frequently partner with the Graduate Student Association, the Black Graduate Student Organization and the Latinx & Hispanic Graduate Student Association and other organizations on campus.
Flagship Events
Besides monthly workshops, some of the PROMISE’s flagship events include:
- Dissertation House: A multi-day intensive writing workshop with one-on-one coaching to help you make significant progress on your proposal, thesis, or dissertation
- The Annual PROMISE Research Symposium: An event that honors the work of underrepresented graduate scholars throughout the University System of Maryland
- Fall Harvest Dinner: A community-building event that brings the whole PROMISE group together for a warm meal and sharing of stories.
- Summer Success Institute (SSI): A professional development conference hosted by PROMISE program volunteers from across the University System of Maryland that serves as a platform to highlight researchers from underserved backgrounds and facilitates networking opportunities for current graduate students, postdocs, and early career faculty across the State to propel their careers.
PROMISE has a long history not just here but through the University System of Maryland. PROMISE was initially developed as part of a state-wide alliance through an NSF Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) grant. For additional history on the 2003-2018 AGEP programming, visit PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP website.
The PROMISE Academy for Postdocs
In 2018, PROMISE received NSF AGEP funding to build a model for a how a state university system might diversify faculty through enhancing support of postdoctoral scholars and creating mechanisms retain that talent and transition them into tenure-track faculty positions (see the PROMISE Academy Alliance, 2018-23). In 2023, PROMISE was funded by NSF’s Eddie Bernice Johnson. INCLUDES Initiative: Re-Imagining STEM Equity Utilizing Postdoctoral Pathways (RISE UPP). This effort will be in alliance with seven other University System of Maryland institutions. We are thrilled to offer a community, career support, skill building, and inspiration in this vital part of their academic journey. You can learn more about this program at the RISE UPP PROMISE Academy Alliance website. You can register for events by going to my.umbc.edu/groups/gspd.
PROMISE Engineering Institute (PEI) and PEI Mentor Academy
Our mission is to research the career aspirations of doctoral students in engineering fields, particularly their motivations for becoming faculty, and measure the impact of enhanced mentoring and programming on those aspirations. Building upon networks from the previous PROMISE grants, we engage students in conferences, peer-group activities and access to successful engineering deans and presidents.
Collaboration:
The PROMISE Engineering Institute is led by UC Davis and UMBC. The overall network will be led by the “west coast branch” at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). The program will keep its original partners and will extend offerings to engineering stakeholders at 8 additional schools within the University of California (system) with Colleges of Engineering. These include: UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Merced, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. Similarly, the “east coast branch,” led by UMBC (via sub-award) will extend offerings to the engineering colleges in Maryland and the surrounding area, with emphasis on Morgan State University (an HBCU), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), and the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP). UC Davis and UMBC are both Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), and this collection of universities within this east-west network, have additional MSIs which include a subset of schools with Department of Education designations for HSI and HBCU.
Championing Diversity
The Graduate School at UMBC and PROMISE support all students and view diversity as a central part of our vision for creating the best, most effective academic community to push this country forward through outstanding teaching and excellent research, creative scholarship, fieldwork and contributions to society through professional work.
We connect graduate students to:
- Fellowship Programs such as the GEM fellowship, G-RISE (formerly Meyerhoff Grad Program), and LSAMP Bridge to Doctorate
- PROMISE programming including monthly success seminars (see our myUMBC page) and yearly events (see flagship events)
- Professional Organizations for scholars from underrepresented backgrounds
- Graduate Student Organizations for underrepresented scholars and international students
- Other UMBC Groups of Interest
