Graduate and professional students can get involved in student leadership through the Grad and Professional Student Government. Similarly structured to IU Student Government, GPSG offers a variety of roles to provide advocacy and resources to grad and professional students across campus.
History of the GPSG
The GPSG was created in 1983 as the Graduate Student Organization by then-Graduate School dean Leo Solt, hoping to create more room for graduate voices on campus.
Since its inception, the organization has pioneered several programs and benefits for grad and professional students at IU.
They led the charge on improving health insurance benefits, lowering costs of grad school programs and creating opportunities for grad and professional students to assist in teaching and research.
For a more comprehensive look at their history, visit their website here.
Available positions
The GPSG Executive Committee comprises three elected officers — president, vice president and treasurer — and five appointed officers, as well as two coordinating positions.
There are roughly 100 members of the GPSG general assembly, with members representing all graduate and professional programs across the Bloomington campus. The number of seats allocated to each program is determined by said program’s total enrollment reported by a bi-annual audit, according to their website.
Assembly members also make up five committees: Awards, benefits, inclusion and engagement, health and wellness, and sustainability.
All representatives have a seat in at least one of these committees.
Getting involved
General assembly applications run this year from Sept. 11-18. If you’re interested in a representative position, you can either fill out the form on their website or request your department nominate you as a candidate.
Elections for representative positions take place Sept. 19-25. Positions are voted on by their respective departments.
Executive positions have already been filled for the upcoming academic year, as appointments last May 1-April 30 the following year. Elections for president, vice president and treasurer usually take place during the GPSG general assembly meeting each March, according to their website. Appointed position applications were due this year on April 11.
Contact
The GPSG office is located in the graduate suite at Wells Library, East Tower rm. E544G. The email address for general inquiries is iugpsg@iu.edu, and you can reach them by phone at (812)-855-8747.
