| printable version |
Press Kit
[Graduate students are different from undergraduates and faculty]
The transition into graduate school is as large as the transition from high school to college. Graduate students are expected to do a lot of learning on their own, to be self-driven and independent, and to serve not only as students, but as instructors and researchers -- often without the benefit of orientation and other resources primarily in place for undergraduates, or the salary and security of a faculty member. Also, graduate students must often balance school with getting married and having children, all on a very limited budget.
Graduate students are thus more often concerned with issues such as healthcare, parking, graduate student assistantships and research positions funding, and federal and state policies that change the function (and usually the funding) of higher education.
At Indiana University, the student voice for graduate student advocacy is the Graduate and Professional Student Organization (GPSO).
More information on the graduate student experience.
[About the GPSO]
The GPSO was officially recognizing as the sole governing body of the graduate and professional students at IU-Bloomington in 2002, after departmentally ratifying a new constitution.
The GPSO is consensus-based with a moderator and assistant moderator, rather than a president, and is primarily composed of staff (1 elected/ 2 hired) who serve as the main contacts for the organization and provide continuity, an executive committee (elected) who sets longterm goals for the organization, keep tabs on the graduate student issues and takes care of the details of the organization, departmental representatives (elected) who represent the interests of graduate students from each academic department, and committee members (not elected) who work together on specific graduate student issues.
Staff: GPSO Moderator, Office Coordinator, Public Relations Director
Executive Committee: GPSO Moderator, Assistant Moderator, Treasurer, Recorder, Campus Liason, NAGPS Liason and Parlimentarian
Departmental Representatives: One representative from each academic department (two for the largest departments)
GPSO Committees: Campus Affairs, Diversity, Grad Benefits, Funding, Programming, University Life
Overseeing the GPSO is an Omsbudsperson from the University Graduate School (UGS), the umbrella organization for GPSO.
[Facts about graduate students and the GPSO at Indiana University]
- Indiana University Bloomington currently enrolls about 8,000 graduate and professional students.
- IU offers more than 100 different graduate degree programs.
- The GPSO is not the same organization as the GEO (Graduate Employees Organization).
[More information]
More information on the services GPSO provides
A map to the GPSO office
Questions about the GPSO, graduate student issues, or the graduate student experience should be directed to gpso@indiana.edu or call (812) 855-8747.