Whereas most college and university faculty and staff teach together with doing research, not many Ph.D. training programs nationwide provide teacher training in graduate school. This week, Oregon State graduate students got a chance to learn about all the Center for Teaching and Learning has to offer at Graduate Orientation.
In addition, new initiatives to support graduate students have rolled out as well. The Oregon State University Libraries and Press and the Graduate School just announced a new space for graduate students on the sixth floor of the Valley Library starting fall term 2019: The Graduate Student Commons.
The Grad Commons supports student success by providing independent, collaborative and facilitated learning experiences. These experiences will help students with timely degree completion, prepare them with the collaborative skills needed for the contemporary workplace, and enhance their contributions to Oregon State’s scholarly enterprise.
As graduate students have unique educational journeys at Oregon State, creating a space on campus dedicated to all graduate students demonstrates their importance to the institution’s culture and mission.
The Grad Commons features a variety of spaces and services to support graduate student needs. At the Grad Commons students can:
- Study and relax in the comfortable and light-filled Reading Room.
- Reserve a small group room for group study and research.
- Reserve the technology-enhanced 6420 classroom for teaching practice, an oral exam, or committee meetings.
- Attend workshops in the 6420 classroom.
- Work in the open study space and utilize computer workstations with statistical software.
- Meet with representatives from the IRB Office, Graduate Writing Center, and the Department of Statistics.
- Reserve long-term research rooms for the length of an academic term. Available to all graduate students in the writing or research phase of their degree.
- Checkout a laptop for up to 10-weeks for off-site research projects.
