Student government on the medical campus comes from a variety of levels and sources. These are the primary intra- and inter-program groups that serve on behalf of DBBS graduate students.
The primary aim of the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) is to foster a positive graduate school experience for students in DBBS while serving as the liaison between students and the DBBS administration. SAC maintains an active dialogue with the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, to report on issues within the DBBS student community and to discuss opportunities for improvement. Our Town Hall meetings provide a forum for DBBS students to discuss issues and concerns with administrators. Additionally, SAC sponsors a variety of educational, social and peer mentoring events to keep students current in issues pertaining to their personal, academic, and professional lives. Among these are the annual Tax Help Seminar, student panel discussions on choosing rotations and a TAship, the Orientation Party, Prime Time social hours, and events for first-year students and their senior peer mentors. SAC also interfaces with SAC members hail from many departments and programs, and are elected during annual dinner and election ceremony. Officers organize open meetings every month, which DBBS students are welcome to attend. SAC’s activities are publicized by email, fliers, Facebook and website announcements. The website also features our annual event calendar, SAC guidelines, and the SACademic Guide. SAC is always open to student feedback. If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions, email us or join our Facebook group.
The Graduate Professional Council (GPC) is a multidisciplinary student group that represents more than 6,000 graduate and professional students at Washington University in St. Louis. The GPC’s central purpose is to advocate the mutual interests of the graduate and professional students to the faculty and administration. In addition, GPC supports graduate and professional student organizations and interschool interaction via campus-wide social events. Past GPC functions have included an evening with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, discounted tickets to St. Louis Cardinals and Blues games, various community service activities, “Nights Out” to various locations around St. Louis and much more.
Established in 1993, the GSS is a student governance association composed of one graduate student representative from each degree-granting department or program within the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS). However, all graduate students are encouraged to participate in monthly GSS meetings and become involved in various GSS committees.
The GSS provides a channel of communication between graduate students and other members of the Washington University community and enhances the professional and social lives of graduate students in Arts & Sciences. To this end, the GSS works with Washington University faculty, staff and administrators to encourage and facilitate academic activities, graduate student governance associations within each department/program, and interdepartmental social activities within the GSAS. The GSS sponsors and participates in a wide variety of activities on campus and across the nation. Established GSS programs and initiatives include orientation for new graduate students in Arts & Sciences, Graduate Student Research Symposium, Outstanding Faculty Mentor Awards, panel discussion events, conversations with the dean (open forum discussions between the dean of the GSAS and graduate students), health insurance plans for graduate students, teaching workshops and the teaching citation, career and professional development workshops for graduate students, representation in national conferences organized by National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, peer-mentoring development for graduate students, and social events. If you have an issue or concern that pertains to the lives of Arts & Sciences graduate students at Washington University, contact your program senator or email the GSS directly.
The Health Professional Student Leadership Council (HPSLC) is a collection of students from each of the biomedical programs on the medical campus at Washington University in St. Louis. The purpose of this organization shall be to serve as a forum to discuss and resolve specific and global School of Medicine issues affecting any and all programs and provide a channel of communication between the students and the School of Medicine Administration. In addition to these official duties, HPSLC also hosts a series of lunch talks, community service opportunities, and social events for its constituent groups.