The GSCO sponsors Academic Workshops, Fireside Chats, Scholarly Dinners, Study Break Lunches, monthly Happy Hours, and an annual Graduate Student Conference. Check out our calendar for dates and read more about these events below.

Academic Workshops

The GSCO, in cooperation with the Associate Dean of Academic affairs, sponsors two academic workshops each year that address professional development topics. Past topics have included Writing Literature Reviews, Interviewing for Academic Positions, Making the Most of Mentors, and Writing Grant Proposals.

Fireside Chats

In her tenure as Dean of the School of Education, Dean Ball has made interacting with and listening to students a priority. Once each semester, the GSCO co-sponsors a Fireside Chat where she informs students of current happenings at U-M and the SoE and engages in open dialogue about topics to support graduate students. Lunch provided.

Scholarly Dinners

GSCO holds one Scholarly Dinner per semester with School of Education faculty and graduate students. The focus of the dinners is to foster informal research discussions in the spirit of the Socratic meeting of minds. These dinners are intended to supplement the more formal conferences, research meetings and courses that make up much of academia. The first dinner of the semester will consist of a "working dinner" in which students and faculty members review manuscripts centered on common themes. The SOE professors will lead the review discussion of the manuscripts, which will give students experience in professionally reviewing manuscripts in a supportive environment as well as feedback specific to their manuscripts. The GSCO Winter Scholarly Dinner (formerly called the "SOE Faculty/Student Potluck") focuses on a discussion theme (past themes were "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Building on the Work of Others" and "Using Theoretical Perspectives in Research"). This dinner includes a panel of professors who will each speak to the theme and address related questions, as well as a casual discussion between the panel and SOE graduate students. Thus, students and faculty members have the opportunity to interact on an individual as well as group level within an informal professional environment.

Study Breaks

The GSCO recognizes that the end of the semester can be a grueling time of year for graduate students, especially those finishing up coursework! To help support you in crafting top-notch end of semester presentations and papers, the GSCO provides lunch time study breaks during the last week of each semester. Join us in Prechter for an hour of food, fun, and freedom from work. Clear your mind, so you can return to your work refreshed and ready to roll!

Third Thursdays

In addition to larger social events sponsored by the GSCO, we organize monthly opportunities for socialization between graduate students in the SOE. Every third Thursday (with the exception of December and April due to finals), the GSCO reserves space at a local establishment. The GSCO does not pay for these events, but advertises the event and provides a common setting for mingling.

GSCO/BET Graduate Student Conference

As part of our mission to support and strengthen the academic endeavors of our graduate student community, the GSCO sponsors an event in March for graduate students to present posters and papers of their on-going research. This is an opportunity for graduate students to present and get feedback on their work, particularly as people prepare for AERA. Faculty and students in the School of Education, in addition to our partners and fellow educators around the state are invited to attend this event and see the important work of our graduate students.

You can find out more about the 2016 conference, to be held on Friday, March 11, here.

Follow this link for information about the program.