WELCOME

Welcome to the Graduate Student Association (GSA) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). We are proud to represent the graduate students of UMBC and to serve as the liaison between the graduate student body and the university faculty and staff. The mission of GSA is to promote and support graduate students, to allocate the revenue received from graduate student fees to further the GSA mission and the interests of graduate students, to advocate on behalf of the graduate student body, to provide graduate student representation on University committee, and to represent the interests and concerns of all UMBC graduate students.

GSA offers several services that are aimed to promote success in graduate school, to encourage scholarship and research, and to provide networking and socializing opportunities. We staff a writing advisor who is available to help with all stages of the writing process. Each spring, GSA sponsors the Annual Graduate Research Conference (GRC) where students are able to share their research with the entire UMBC community through oral and poster presentations. During the spring, we also host Graduate Student Week (GSW), which is designed to celebrate and to express our appreciation of graduate students. Travel and research grants are two of the most popular services offered by GSA. The purpose of these grants is to help subsidize the costs students incur when presenting their research at conferences and conducting certain aspects of their research. In addition to academic services, GSA allows hosts social events, which include Grad Night at UMBC Basketball Games, Monthly Departmental Luncheons, and Social Hours at Flat Tuesdays.

I encourage you to explore our website, which includes information about creating and maintaining a Graduate Student Organization (GSO), for nominating a fellow graduate student, a staff member, or a faculty member for our annual Awards of Recognition, for becoming more familiar with the Graduate Senate, and about GSA sponsored and co-sponsored events.

As a graduate student, we want you to think of GSA as a supportive partner who is here to help you thrive in graduate school and to receive a graduate degree from UMBC.
Please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here for you and because of you.

Katisha Smith
President of the Graduate Student Association