Resources available specifically for graduate students are plentiful at UMBC. Five of these resources were listed in a previous blog post found here, but here are some more that are available.
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs offers workshops on how to develop portfolios, writing proposals, and academic articles may help hone your writing ability and develop your professional skills. They often host “Postdoctoral Morning Coffees” for Postdoctoral students to meet each other and discuss various topics.
Graduate Student Association (GSA)
The GSA is governed by the Graduate Senate, which is built from elected graduate students representing academic as well as cultural diversity at UMBC. Four senators come from each college (College of Engineering and Information Technology, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences) and another four senators come from the graduate student population at-large.
Graduate Experiences, Achievements, and Research Symposium (GEARS)
The mission of GEARS is to provide a platform for students to showcase their creative achievements, present research accomplishments, and share their experiences with peers. GEARS aims to provide a friendly atmosphere to promote collaboration, improve communication skills, and to celebrate the hard work of UMBC graduate students.
Graduate Student Organizations (GSOs)
Graduate Student Organizations are various groups of students that seek to have representation at the Graduate Senate meetings. Some examples of these organizations include the Black Graduate Student Organization, Association for Computing Machinery, and organizations for each graduate program as a whole.
Graduate Assistant Advisory Committee (GAAC)
The Graduate Assistant Advisory Committee (GAAC) was created under the University System of Maryland (USM) Meet and Confer policy. This policy facilitates formal discussions between Graduate Assistants (GA’s) and University Administration about employment issues such as compensation and benefits. The GAAC functions independently of the GSA, providing a platform specifically for GA’s to voice their concerns.
On top of these, other university resources not specifically for graduate students are also available. The Counseling Center, The Women’s Center, and many more are also available when you need them. Anything you could need, UMBC has!