The Graduate Student Association (GSA) sponsors a variety of social and cultural activities for graduate students and represents their interests to the university through its legislative body. The GSA provides free legal advice to students and it sponsors academic programs, films, mixers, trips to New York, and community action programs.
Every graduate student, full-time or part-time, in any of the 10 Rutgers University-New Brunswick graduate and professional schools automatically becomes a member of the GSA. A president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary are elected at large. The GSA's main legislative body is its council, which meets once a month. Every graduate program and department may elect one representative for every 40 students enrolled; schools not organized into departments elect their representatives at large, one for every 40 students enrolled. (Departments with less than 40 students also are allowed one elected representative.) If you are interested in being a department representative, check with your departmental organization or the GSA office. The GSA offices are located in the Graduate Student Lounge (GSL) in the Rutgers Student Center on College Avenue in New Brunswick and may be contacted at 732-932-7995 (GSA) or 732-932-7994 (GSL).
Graduate student lounges, located in the Rutgers Student Center and Douglass Student Center, are primarily for the use of graduate students and for the functions sponsored by and for graduate students. These provide a comfortable atmosphere for socializing, lounging, and studying.