Get involved!
Want to get involved in the GSO? Great! We need your help!
What does the GSO do?
The GSO is a group of graduate student representatives from Boston University. We hold monthly meetings to allocate funds to student groups and initiatives, plan events, and discuss issues related to graduate student life at Boston University. The GSO is completely student-run, so nothing gets done without students like you. A few key roles the GSO fulfills are:
- Provide a liaison between graduate students and administration
- Support graduate student travel by awarding grants 3x/year for conferences and research
- Plan social events, like Pub Nights, coffee hours, or swap meets, to build community
- Advocate for graduate students on important issues
- Support conferences and other events on campus by co-sponsoring events with other student groups
How do I get involved?
All graduate students at Boston University, regardless of program, are welcome at GSO meetings. While our organization is sponsored by GRS specifically, and thus departmental representation and voting rights are limited too GRS programs, we welcome involvement from graduate students from all departments and colleges. You do not need to be a department representative to attend meetings.*
- Join the GSO email list. We use this list to announce meetings and generally communicate with GSO members.
- This is the most important part: attend the meetings! Please see a list of upcoming meetings.
- Come to GSO sponsored events! There are many opportunities throughout the year to connect with the GSO and other graduate students.
Why become a GSO rep?
- Make your voice heard and use it to make BU a better place for all graduate students
- Ensure your department’s eligibility for GSO Travel Grants (to be eligible, someone from your department must attend at least 3 meetings each semester)
- Free food at monthly meetings
- Have the opportunity to plan fun events for your peers
- Serve as a spokesperson for your department to raise issues for which you would like the GSO to advocate
Becoming a GSO Department Representative
Since our organization is sponsored by GRS, we have representatives from each GRS department who serve as voting-members of our organization. Departments have different ways of appointing or electing representatives.* The Representatives are crucial members of our organization as they help decide which actions we will take.
* In some departments, department representatives are appointed by the chair or elected by a graduate student committee while in other departments reps are self-appointed. Regardless, all graduate students are still welcome to attend meetings. There is no limit on the number of people from a department that may attend, although there is a limit on the number of votes that a department may cast based on the number of graduate students in the department, which you can find more information about on the Becoming a Department Representative page.