Maximizing Your Graduate Experience: The Benefits of Joining a Graduate Student Organization
When considering ways to enhance skills and gain professional experience, graduate students often think of internships or fellowships. However, another valuable avenue for growth exists right on campus: graduate student organizations. These organizations offer a wealth of opportunities for personal, professional, and academic development. From advocacy and skill-building to community engagement and wellness, becoming involved in a graduate student organization can significantly enrich your graduate school experience and prepare you for future success.
Advocacy and Impact: Making a Difference
Graduate student organizations often play a crucial role in representing student interests and advocating for change within the university. They serve as a vital link between the graduate student body and the university administration, ensuring that student voices are heard on important issues.
For example, Graduate Student Governments (GSGs) actively represent graduate student interests at various levels within the university administration. By joining a GSG committee, students can directly influence decisions related to healthcare, technology, social events, and overall quality of life for graduate students. These organizations engage with a wide range of issues, from social and cultural events to shaping policies and procedures governing graduate student life.
Students passionate about specific causes can also find or create organizations focused on those areas. Whether advocating for sustainability, the needs of veteran or international students, or improvements to campus parking, graduate organizations provide a platform for making a tangible impact on the university community. Individuals can volunteer to participate in institutional committees, contribute to discussions on the university's budget, or even serve on hiring committees for key administrative positions.
Tithi Basu Mallik, who received her PhD in Philosophy at UConn and is now Associate Director for PhD Career and Professional Development at the University of Pennsylvania, encourages graduate students to get involved with their graduate organizations. From her own experience, she learned these organizations often play an integral part in weaving the fabric of the graduate student experience at an institution.
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Honing Career Skills and Competencies
Beyond advocacy, graduate student organizations provide invaluable opportunities to develop essential career skills and competencies that may not be readily available within a student's specific research area. These organizations offer a space to practice and refine skills in leadership, communication, project management, and teamwork.
Lu Wang, a recent PhD graduate from Oregon State University and former steering committee member of the Women of Color Caucus (WoCC), describes how the structure of a group can impact your experience. Joining a growing group can be a valuable experience in learning how to restructure an organization with growing demands, as well as effective (and ineffective) ways to work in teams.
Student organizations perform various functions, requiring support with tasks ranging from planning marketing strategies to managing budgets. By engaging with these groups, students gain leadership experience and develop a number of other valuable competencies. Involvement demonstrates to an employer that you are an engaged member of the community and have invested in your professional development outside of your domain knowledge.
Many organizations are professionally focused and host events with alumni or panel discussions with local professionals, providing invaluable networking opportunities. Meeting new students, making connections, and building relationships can significantly benefit students when they begin looking for a job.
For example, the Bentley Consulting Group provides members with consulting case and interview preparation, consulting networking events, and real-world consulting projects. This allows its members to fully experience what it is like to be a consultant. Similarly, participation in organizations like the Student Health Council (SHC) at USC Price provides students with critical academic, professional, and social skills required for a successful career in healthcare administration. Board members of SHC gain skills in leadership, problem-solving, public speaking, and experience working on a cross-functional team.
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Networking and Community Building
Student organizations offer a vital sense of community, bringing together individuals with shared interests and goals. This is especially important for graduate students, who may sometimes feel isolated within their departments or research groups.
Banmai Huynh ’24 found positive connections through the Bentley Asian Students Association (BASA). Regular meetings provide time for members to share stories, enjoy social time, or talk about issues. "When the country experienced a rise in Asian hate crimes in spring 2021, it was good to be together and work to raise awareness," recalls Huynh, who is on the BASA executive board. "We had a lot of heartfelt conversations and became closer."
Lu Wang says being involved in WoCC also helped her step outside of her office and department and be more involved in the campus-wide community.
Through involvement in these groups, students can meet others who are navigating similar challenges and build lasting friendships. These connections can provide a strong support system throughout the graduate school journey and beyond. Moreover, interacting with individuals from diverse disciplines and backgrounds can broaden perspectives and enrich both personal and professional lives.
Personal Wellness and Stress Relief
The demands of graduate school can be significant, often leading to stress and burnout. Student organizations can provide a much-needed outlet for relaxation and personal wellness. Engaging in activities outside of coursework and research can help students maintain a healthy work-life balance and prevent feelings of isolation.
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Research can sometimes be draining, and seeing the end results takes years. In contrast, planning events or working on projects in student groups can yield short-term, rewarding goals that build confidence and deter burn out.
Bentley’s hip-hop dance group CRAZE, for example, has built it into their mission to be “a fun, energetic, hip-hop dance group” committed to a healthy and active lifestyle and self-expression. JOGS at Notre Dame seeks to create a relaxed running community that will promote health, well-being, and exercise to the often stressed population of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Types of Graduate Student Organizations
The landscape of graduate student organizations is incredibly diverse, catering to a wide range of interests and needs. Here are some common types of organizations:
- Graduate and Professional Student Governments: These organizations represent the interests of graduate students at the university level, advocating for policy changes and improvements to student life.
- Activity and Affinity Organizations: These groups bring together students who share common hobbies, interests, or identities. They provide a space for socializing, networking, and pursuing shared passions.
- Professional Organizations: These organizations are focused on specific academic disciplines or career paths. They offer opportunities for professional development, networking with industry professionals, and exploring career options.
- Service Organizations: These groups are dedicated to giving back to the community through volunteer work and fundraising activities. They provide a way for students to make a positive impact on the world around them.
- National graduate student organizations: These groups can connect you with professionals in your industry and greatly expand your network. Check to see if your campus has a chapter of these national organizations.
Examples of specific organizations at various universities include:
- Adelphi University: The Graduate Student Council (GSC) represents and unites the graduate student body.
- Mercer University: The Mercer chapter of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) provides networking and educational opportunities in the field of clinical pathology.
- Indiana University: The Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG) connects graduate students and works to improve the quality of graduate life.
- Seattle University: Women in Business provides career, leadership, and networking opportunities for women in business.
- University of Notre Dame: AGC (a student-led club with a network of graduate students from Africa and those interested in Africa), The Association for Women in Science Notre Dame Chapter (AWIS-ND), Black Graduate Student Association, Latinx Graduate Association of Notre Dame, Science Policy Initiative at ND, and many more.
Time Management and Advisor Support
One common concern among graduate students is how to balance involvement in student organizations with the demands of research and coursework. Effective time management is crucial. Consider assessing how much time you want to spend and the overall timing of your engagement-for many students, starting early can be beneficial, before research expectations increase; others might find more time as they wrap up projects before graduation.
Having a direct conversation with your advisor can help develop mutually beneficial opportunities. In some cases, these activities help build research skills, such as data science skills, or even lead to projects that ultimately are incorporated into thesis work.
Starting Your Own Group
If you can’t find the kind of group you want to join, starting your own group can be extremely rewarding. Sarah Stevens, currently the Data Science Hub Facilitator at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, got her start in teaching computation skills by starting a computational learning group. Lu describes many choices made during the formation of the Women of Color Caucus: what kind of audience (undergraduates, faculty), where they could be hosted, what kind of events, etc. “A part of figuring out our identity was also strategizing about how we could create longevity for the group,” she says. “Eventually we decided that we would be an official student organization with the university, but also be a caucus group within our union, the Coalition of Graduate Employees.
Whatever size group you join, there are many resources to help improve your organization. Lu’s group, for example, sought funding from the Graduate School, OSU’s funding for Student Organization Resources for Community Engagement (SORCE) and the Diversity and Cultural Engagement office, as well as donations from various campus departments and colleges. Larger networks can help you get started. For instance, the National Science Policy Network provides resources like microgrants for events, travel grants, and connections with groups on other campuses.
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