IV. NON-FINANCIAL RESOURCES
A. Advising
The advisory relationship with faculty is one of the most important elements of any Ph.D. program. Incoming students in our program are assigned a first-year advisor to help guide them through their adjustment to the department. Students are encouraged to select their own permanent advisor who shares their substantive interests, methodological approach, and/or general orientation to sociology by the beginning of the second year. This may or may not be a continuation of the first-year advisor relationship.
All students are encouraged to have at least one meeting per semester with their advisor to discuss their progress on coursework, qualifying papers, the dissertation proposal, and the dissertation. Students may also consult with their advisor regarding other issues and concerns with teaching, professional development, research funding, and publishing. It is critical that students keep their advisor updated on their progress and on any problems that arise in the program. Effective mentoring is a two-way street, where the student keeps the advisor updated on personal progress, and the advisor checks in on the student to ensure that they are making satisfactory progress in the program. More information about the advising, or mentoring, relationship is in development and will be added as an additional Appendix in the future.
In addition to consulting with their advisors, students are encouraged to develop working relationships with several other members of the department. Obtaining multiple perspectives on intellectual and professional matters is critical for a student’s development as a sociologist and as a scholar more generally.
B. Mail and E-mail Services
Each graduate student has a departmental mailbox in the mailroom on the first floor of Davison Hall. All departmental e-mails are sent to the students’ sociology RU Connect e-mail addresses (i.e., accounts that use the @sociology.rutgers.edu domain). The University also sets up each student with a Scarletmail account (a Google product), but to repeat, for department communication purposes, the RU Connect account should be used. Students can forward their Scarletmail messages (and email sent to non-university accounts, should they so wish) to the RU Connect account, but not vice versa. It is critical that students check their departmental email on a regular basis (at least once a day) to ensure that they are informed of all department matters including registration, funding, department events, course information, and the like.
C. Computer- and Data Storage-Related Services
Upon entering the program, each student is assigned a Rutgers NetID that is used for accessing all kinds of Rutgers services: computing, email, the library, and much more. This ID is also to be used for accessing the single computer terminal located in the graduate student conference room in the basement of Davison Hall (room 007). That machine has a small number of programs on it available for student use. Much more important are the following protocols and services for dealing with computer- and data storage-related issues, managed through the School of Arts and Sciences Information Technology office (SAS-IT).
a. IT Requests
The University uses ServiceNow for the management of IT-related issues. All technical requests must go through this system. There are two ways to submit a request directly to SAS IT:
- Web: https://ithelp.sas.rutgers.edu
- Email:
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Typical requests include: the purchase of hardware/software; connecting computers to the Rutgers network; installing Rutgers software (antivirus, VPN, O365, Box, Adobe); connecting to a network printer; other hardware/software issues. The SAS IT site contains a lot of information that should answer most common questions: https://sasit.rutgers.edu/how-to-guides .
Rutgers policy states that major computer issues on personal machines cannot be handled by SAS IT staff. The full SAS Computer Maintenance Policy is available at the following location: https://sasit.rutgers.edu/images/policies/SAS_Computer_Maintenance_Policy_2013.pdf.
b. Network Storage Resources
We do not recommend storing data on local machines. Instead, Rutgers provides access to several network-based storage solutions. One less common method is via RAD drives. Access to these requires permission from the administrative staff and/or a faculty member. One example is the department’s W: drive, an area on the Rutgers Active Directory server where documents are shared, or the H: drive, the home directory for your personal work-related documents. Far more common, and highly recommended for your use, is Rutgers’ version of Box (https://it.rutgers.edu/box). The department stores many folders and files here for our collective use, but you can also set up Box folders of your own. It is, for example, a great place for storing data securely, as well as your own documents. We currently maintain a Box folder “Faculty, Students and Staff” containing this document, but also an expandable depository containing examples of dissertations, dissertation proposals, qualifying papers, grant proposals, job market letters, CVs, replies to reviewers, etc. Students should feel free to share their successful documents on Box, in order to help others succeed.
c. Printing
Rutgers provides access to network printers via the central computer labs. The department has a Ricoh multi-function device in the mailroom (room 117) that provides printing, copying and scanning services. For information, see https://sasit.rutgers.edu/how-to-guides/desktop-mobilesystems-support/163-printing-and-photocopying/87-how-do-i-connect-to-a-networked-printer.
d. Rutgers Computer Labs
OIT maintains central computer labs throughout NB. Information about their locations and services offered is available at https://it.rutgers.edu/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-computer-labs. A virtual PC-based computer lab is also available. The virtual lab provides access to all the software that is available in the physical computer labs (such as SPSS, Stata, SAS) – see the following pages for the full list of available applications:
e. Duo -- Two-step Login
Duo is a software app that you install on your phone. Two-step login with Duo, also known as twofactor authentication, helps protect your account by adding an extra layer of security beyond your password. All users are required to use Duo to access many University resources. Setup instructions are available: https://it.rutgers.edu/two-step-login. Students can purchase a physical hardware token as well: https://software.rutgers.edu/product/3423.
f. Software
Rutgers has a site license to provide Adobe Creative Cloud products (Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Acrobat, and many more Adobe apps and tools) to all faculty, staff, and students. See https://it.rutgers.edu/adobe. Rutgers provides free access to various Microsoft Office products for all current students. Every student can install Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Sharepoint, Office Online, OneNote, Publisher, and Access on up to five computers, five tablets, and five phones. Details can be found at https://it.rutgers.edu/microsoftoffice/microsoft-office-for-students.
D. Student Organizations
a. GUSS: The Graduate Union of Sociology Students (GUSS) is an organization composed of all sociology graduate students. GUSS conducts new student orientations, sponsors social events, elects student reps to department committees, and manages the GUSS budget.
b. The GSA: The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is an organization for graduate students from all departments. All graduate students are automatically members of the GSA. The budget is generated from student fees (paid by all graduate students). With these funds and graduate student support, the GSA sponsors a wide variety of activities.
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