Graduate-Run Committees
Executive Committee of the Association for Graduate Students in Psychology (AGSP)
Reps needed: unlimited
This committee allocates the budget for the graduate funds from the Graduate Students Association (GSA) with the purpose of enhancing students experience as a graduate student. Responsibilities include organization of all graduate student committees, and organizing social events, seminars, and give-aways in order to enhance all graduate students experiences. This committee typically meets 3 – 4 times per semester.
Graduate Instructor and Teaching Assistant (GITA) Committee
Reps needed: minimum 4 (MA and/or PHD)
The goal of the Graduate Instructor and Teaching Assistant (GITA) committee is to encourage dialogue within the Department about how to support and improve graduate instructors’ and teaching assistants’ skills and working conditions. Agenda topics can include training policies and practices, teaching awards, professional development opportunities, and contractual/workload issues. The GITA committee is expected to meet monthly and to hold at least one meeting with an AGSP executive member, the undergraduate curriculum committee rep, and the Psychology Department’s TRAC Delegate per semester. GITA Committee representatives are encouraged to regularly correspond with the AGSP’s VP Internal, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Rep, and the Psychology Department’s TRAC delegate.
Mentorship Among Psychology Students (MAPS) Committee
Reps needed: Unlimited
The primary aim of the MAPS committee is to facilitate mentorship between graduate and undergraduate students at Concordia. This includes a mentorship program, professional development workshops given by graduate students (i.e., how to get involved in research, how to apply to graduate school), and networking opportunities. The MAPS committee works in collaboration with the Concordia Undergraduate Psychology Association (CUPA) and other organizations on campus to promote cohesion among the psychology program and help undergraduate students reach their full potential. As a MAPS committee member, you are mainly responsible for mentoring undergraduate students, and can choose your level of involvement with workshops and other events (1 event/month). As a new initiative, we look forward to an exciting first year!
Concordia’s Journal of Accessible Psychology
Concordia’s Journal of Accessible Psychology is a student-run blog-style journal published annually in September by Concordia University’s Psychology Department. The journal’s mission is twofold. First, we aim to teach undergraduate students about science communication by giving them the opportunity to write about their own psychological findings. Second, we aim to train graduate students on the same topic, while giving them experience with the review process.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee
Reps needed: unlimited
The EDI Committee strives to open conversations and provide opportunities to reflect on and develop strategies for personal and systemic improvements regarding equity, diversity and inclusion in the psychology graduate program. The committee’s mandate is as follows: to assess the diversity of current students; to evaluate the priorities and gaps in the recruitment and admission process; and to generate and recommend a proposal addressing these gaps to improve the diversity in the program while respecting priorities.The EDI Committee also includes a Clinical Sub-Committee which works closely with Clinical Steering student representatives and faculty to address these issues in the clinical psychology program; student representatives attend Clinical Steering meetings by rotation. Graduate students with any EDI-related concerns (clinical or non-clinical) are encouraged to reach out to the listed student representatives.
Department-Run Committees
Supervisory Relationship Committee:
Reps needed: 2 (any)
This committee meets on an as-needed basis with the PhD program director and psychology faculty members to implement policies and related documents to optimize student-supervisor relationships.
Space Committee:
Reps needed: 1 MA, 1 PhD
This committee makes decisions about how space (including grad offices and testing spaces) is going to be allocated to different labs.
Health and Safety Committee:
Reps needed: 2 (1 experimental, 1 clinical)
Assist the committee by representing any student safety concerns. This committee typically holds a 2-hour meeting once per semester with some advance reading.
Departmental Committee and Graduate Committee:
Reps needed: 1 PhD, 1 MA, and at least one should be clinical student
The Departmental Committee (all faculty members in the department) meets every month to discuss things like curriculum, distribution of funds, the hiring of new faculty members, etc. This committee requires a very minimal time commitment and minimal work. No special preparation is required on the part of the student representative for these meetings.
This committee will also meet to discuss the graduate curriculum. A rep is required to provide insight into the graduate student experience, provide feedback about any curriculum issues experienced by graduate students, etc. They are also expected to attend policy meetings with the director of the graduate program.
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee:
Reps needed: 1 (MA or PhD)
This committee requires a graduate student to provide insight on the undergrad experience, problems related to curriculum that could have been encountered as a T.A., observations, and so forth. The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee representative will also be asked to attend at least one meeting per semester with the Graduate Instructor & Teaching Assistant Committee.
Clinical Curriculum Committee:
Reps needed: 2 (clinical students only).
This committee meets to discuss aspects of the graduate curriculum that relate to students’ clinical training. Reps are needed to provide feedback from students regarding things like sequences of courses, students’ wishes for courses/feedback about current courses, etc. It is likely that this committee will meet primarily in the Winter term.
Clinical Steering Committee:
Reps needed: 1 MA2, 1 PhD1, 1 PhD2, 1 PhD3+ : clinical students only
The clinical steering committee consists of a (usually) monthly meeting of all the clinical faculty (1.5h). The committee deals directly with a variety of aspects of the clinical training program, including issues about practica and internship, accreditation, and courses. Because the committee is rather small, student representatives get a chance to voice student perspectives on relevant issues, which faculty are interested in hearing. Students on the clinical steering committee also have the ‘duty’ to chaperone clinical interviewees (when applicable). Other points of discussion include new materials for the APC (tests, treatment manuals).
Departmental EDI Committee:
Reps needed: 2 (1 experimental, 1 clinical)
The departmental EDI committee consists of faculty working to enhance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the graduate program. Student representatives attend meetings (less than once a month), bring EDI-related ideas from the graduate students to the committee, and coordinate EDI initiatives between the departmental committee and AGSP’s graduate-run EDI committees. Priority for student representatives is given to students who identify as part of a minority group.
Interested in getting involved?
If you are interested in volunteering for a committee (or even multiple committees!), please keep an eye our for our next recruitment period in August 2021.
Please note: Representatives are determined by seniority and previous committee experience. Specifically, senior students and those who have not been on committees before are given preference. If students are volunteering for the same committee and are equal in terms of year and previous experience, it comes down to a random draw. Representatives will be expected to forward meeting notes/minutes to the AGSP President. We kindly request that you highlight content that directly concerns the psychology graduate community.
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