FAQ

What is the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC)?

The Graduate Career Consortium (GCC) is a professional association of individuals who work at research universities, medical centers, and research oriented government and non-profit organizations providing professional and career development for the doctoral candidates (PhDs) and postdoctoral scholars at their institutions.
 

Am I eligible to join the GCC?

Full membership in the GCC is available to individual staff and administrators who provide or support professional and career development services for doctoral candidates or postdoctoral scholars at:
  • U.S. institutions of higher education classified as RU/VH or RU/H (through the Carnegie Classification)
  • Canadian U15 institutions
  • U.S. and Canadian medical schools
  • Research institutes, government or non-profit organizations that engage in or support the research endeavor, as determined by the Executive Board.

I am a career development professional who serves advanced degree candidates, but not PhD students or postdocs. Am I eligible for membership?

Most likely not. While many GCC members do serve some masters or professional students, the common thread among GCC members is that they all work with PhD or D.Phil students or postdoctoral fellows who are conducting research for their degree or training. If you have questions about whether you qualify for membership, please contact secretary@gradcareerconsortium.org.
 

What does it cost to join?
Membership dues the 2021 – 22 year will be $250 for full members, $125 for emeritus members, and $187.50 for trainee members.

Membership dues are collected at the beginning of each fiscal year (August). Our membership year runs August - August. There is no pro-rated membership if you join midway through the fiscal year.


How are dues assessed for institutions with multiple members?
Institutions with multiple individuals working with graduate students and/or postdoctoral scholars who wish to join the GCC will pay the $250.00 dues for each individual member.
 

Can dues be refunded or transferred to another individual?
There will be no refunds granted on annual membership dues. Membership may not be transferred to another individual at your institution or another institution. For questions, please contact info@gradcareerconsortium.org.
 

What do the dues support?
The dues support the infrastructure of the organization including the website and membership features (online forums for information sharing, benchmarking, access to member information, etc…), financial and conference/event operations, portions of conference expenses, and organization-wide initiatives.
 

What topics are covered in the online forum discussions?
The online forum is available to all full members for communication with members around topics such as best practices, professional and career program ideas, benchmarking among peer institutions, job sharing, as well as current articles and information sharing in the field.
 

How are resources shared and how do members access them?
Full members have access to resources and information from past meetings and conference as well as forums through the member’s only portal of the website. When you pay dues, you will be given an individual username and password for the member’s only information.


How do I get involved in a committee or leadership?
The GCC has an Executive Board with a President, President-Elect, Past-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. The Annual Conference and Communications Committee Chairpersons also serve on our Executive Committee. Elections are held in the early summer with new officers taking office August 1st. In addition there are several standing committees (Communications and Outreach, Membership, Governance, and the Conference Planning Committee) as well as task forces that are established to work on projects with a specific deadlines (such as the Virtual Career Fair, IDP for Social Sciences & Humanities, and IHE writing group).
 

I’m a graduate student. How do I get involved?
Trainee membership is available to graduate students or postdoctoral fellows who are interested in pursuing careers in the profession. Please see the "New Member Registration" page for details about trainee membership. We also encourage you to check with your university’s career center or graduate school to see if their staff members are members of the GCC. Working through your career center will also give you valuable exposure to the kind of work we do.


How do I contact the GCC?
The GCC’s email address is info@gradcareerconsortium.org. Please direct all questions to this email address and one of our officers will respond to you.