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Graduate Programme in Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty of Graduate Studies
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Student Association

Representing more than 6,100 full- and part-time graduate students at York University, the York University Graduate Students’ Association (YUGSA) is organized around principles of accessibility, social justice, and equity as it works to improve the learning, teaching, and working environments for all graduate students at York University. The YUGSA is dedicated to providing advocacy and support to all members across various graduate departments on this campus. As a student union, the YUGSA is committed to representing graduate students’ diverse interests and defending and advancing students’ and workers’ rights across and beyond York’s campuses.

YUGSA has all kinds of support in place for Graduate Students. For more information, visit the York University Graduate Student’s Association. They also provide funding for conference travel, thesis costs, and skill development. View the YUGSA funding page for further information and the deadline to apply for funds.

Every September YUGSA registers Departmental Graduate Students’ Associations (DGSAs) to which it provides an Operating Grant Fund (OGF), web services, and more. DGSAs offer services back to their own department’s members such as support for funding, academics, socials, and events. Executives of DGSAs are elected by the graduate students of their own department and appoint representatives to take their voting seats at the YUGSA Council.

Every year at the Full Time IS Orientation, a president-elect is nominated and voted in. That person serves alongside the current ISGSA president. Below please find a message from the 2015–2016 President.

We invite you to visit the YUGSA webpage to view what we do, who we are, and the campaigns and services offered.

The ISGSA also applies for funding from YUGSA (through the Operational Grant Fund, our only source of funding) to enjoy social activities and promote educational experiences. We receive monies twice a year, with the amount dependent upon various factors such as how many registered graduate student associations there are in a particular academic year, how many students are enrolled in that department (pro-rata basis), and whether the registration has been continual over successive academic years.

Your president, treasurer, and social convenor discuss opportunities for social and educational events throughout the year, and we will always send an email to our members asking for their input prior to scheduling an event. Again, this is YOUR student association and you have the right and responsibility of deciding when and where our funding is spent.

We are a department that is wildly different than other departments in that our interests and courses may never converge with one another’s, therefore this year we have instituted a buddy system, pairing up first-year students with second-year students. This is a support system that we hope may help guide first-year students through the maze of interim reports and thesis proposals, and get second-year students out of their dark basements or small apartments as they are struggling with their thesis writing, and provide an opportunity to converse with human beings. So go email your buddy!

Junior Fellows

The University College system has enjoyed a long and rich history at York University — a history in facilitating intellectual and social fellowship between faculty, staff and undergraduate students and the broader local community. And within this college system, the role of the Fellow is, at its very core, an extension of the university into the community surround. Interdisciplinary Studies is proud to be the first programme at York to pilot a Junior Fellow role for IS student leaders.

The role of the IS Junior Fellow is to provide mentorship to undergraduate students through an offering of guidance and skill transfer. Specifically, Junior Fellows offer mentoring to undergraduate  Peer Mentors and offer their own specific skill set, be that a lunch-time talk, a workshop, an art exhibit demonstrating principles of art-informed inquiry, etc. The Founding IS Junior Fellows were Keith Francis, Zainub Verjee, Kaspar Saxena and Emad Zahedi.

The role of the IS Junior Fellow is to provide mentorship to undergraduate students through an offering of guidance and skill transfer. Specifically, Junior Fellows offer mentoring to undergraduate  Peer Mentors and offer their own specific skill set, be that a lunch-time talk, a workshop, an art exhibit demonstrating principles of art-informed inquiry, etc. The Founding IS Junior Fellows were Keith Francis, Zainub Verjee, Kaspar Saxena and Emad Zahedi.

Interested graduate students would prepare a statement of intent providing an overview of the student’s relevant background, proposed offerings to the community as well as an overview as to their intended time availability for mentoring undergrad Peer Mentors. Applicants are asked to submit their statement of intent to the Graduate Program Director. These statements would be confidentially reviewed at the programme level, and if so directed, the GPD would nominate the candidate to the Master of the College. The student would meet with the Master to discuss their background, skills and ideas as to how they would like to contribute to the college. The appointment of Junior Fellows is at the discretion of the Master and would last for the duration of time the student is a registered IS Graduate Student. IS Graduates would then apply to be full College Fellows.

Learn More

The Graduate Programme in Interdisciplinary Studies at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Programme Administrator to learn more.

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