FAQ
What is the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC)?
The Graduate Career Consortium (GCC) is a professional international organization of higher education professionals leading and providing professional and career development for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at their institutions.
Full membership in the GCC is available to individuals who provide career and/or professional development support to graduate students and/or postdoctoral scholars at: nonprofit institutions of higher education; medical schools; research institutes; or government or nonprofit organizations in the U.S., Canada, and around the world.
I am a career development professional who serves advanced degree candidates, but not PhD students or postdocs. Am I eligible for membership?
Yes! While GCC historically has been an organization for professionals focused on doctoral-level support, we absolutely welcome members who only work with master's students or only with postdocs. 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. We do not offer institutional membership.
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.
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 Committee with a President, President-Elect, Past-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Communications Officer. Elections are held in the early summer with new officers taking office August 1st. In addition there are several standing committees (Communications, Governance, and the Conference Committee) as well as many committees that are established to work on projects with a specific focus (such as the Diversity Committee, Virtual Career Expo, ImaginePhD, and carpe careers writing group). For more information on our committees, please visit this page and reach out directly to the committee lead(s) for more information.
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.