Graduate Department Representative (GDR) Position Description
A Graduate Department Representative (GDR) is a volunteer student role that serves as a liaison between faculty and students within their department and helps share information among students across departments. GDRs provide an informal avenue for graduate students to voice concerns within their program/department and connect with GSAS leadership, the Graduate Council, and other university committees or task forces.
GDRs are selected by their departments and recognized with a small award at the end of each semester in which they participate. PhD GDRs will ideally volunteer a minimum term of 2 years; master’s GDRs will ideally volunteer a minimum of 1 year. The recommended terms run for the academic year (fall and spring semesters). While the engagement of GDRs may vary based on student interest, GDR volunteer activities typically do not exceed 4-5 hours a month including departmental and GSAS activities.
Each department can select up to two GDRs. If a department wants to nominate more than 2 students, it must pay the additional GDR award out of their Graduate Tuition Remission (GTR). The award selection process is up to the individual department (an election is not required; processes could include student-run elections, faculty nominations, or a combination of both).
GDRs have flexibility in choosing how they would like to engage. Examples of possible activities include:
- Consulting with the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs on GSAS-wide programming and student concerns.
- Meeting with faculty outside of department meetings to discuss graduate student life improvements.
- Sharing information with students about campus resources and events (e.g., GSA elections, the counseling center, University Ombuds, etc.) via email, Slack, or other communication channels.
- Attending department meetings if faculty leadership extends an invitation, to discuss student issues.
- Organizing social events such as happy hours and virtual meetups for graduate students.
- Meeting with prospective students.
- Assisting with department communications as needed.
- Holding departmental town halls once per semester to discuss student concerns and collaborate with faculty on solutions.
- Participating in or assisting with department orientation events.
A list of current GDRs is available on our website.