GCC Annual Conference
GCC 2026 Annual Conference: Stay Rooted: Growth, Strength, & Resilience
Sacramento, CA on Monday June 22 - Thursday, June 25, 2026
The GCC annual conference strives to provide an opportunity for members to build communities of support and stay on the cutting edge of the field of career and professional development. This inspiring and forward-looking conference will celebrate the positive impacts our work has on the lives of graduate students, postdocs, and faculty, and campus, employer, and community stakeholders, emphasizing our shared commitment to adapting and evolving within academia's shifting landscape. It offers a unique opportunity to showcase and discuss innovative programs, resources, collaborative relationships, and dynamic data approaches that help us stay responsive to the changing needs of graduate students and postdocs.
Our Call for Proposals is now closed! Look out for when registration opens!
Learn more:
Call for Proposals | Conference Theme | Conference Registration, Agenda, & Details | Keynote Speakers (coming soon!) | Sponsors & Exhibitors
What makes GCC special?
Conference Social Events | New Professionals Workshop ("Precon") | Post-Conference | GCC Conference first-timer's guide
OUR THEME FOR 2026: Stay Rooted: Growth, Strength, & Resilience
Join fellow GCCers in Sacramento, historically known as the “City of Trees”, to remind us of our community, roots, and values. Together we can withstand much and our grove can cultivate, nurture, and protect our roots which have nourished our members as we look back over nearly four decades. Whether it is time for us to reach to the sky or find new winding directions to reach for the light, our GCC community will stand for our values, our members, and our trainees.
Sacramento long featured the saying, “the City of Trees” on its iconic water tower. It has a long legacy of orienteering, navigation, and arborist history. Trees were planted historically to help provide shade, until they grew so numerous that it became the city with the highest number of trees per capita. This included Cottonwood trees for shade, Eucalyptus to dry swamps, and eventually willows, palms, and fruit trees to line the streets. The Arbor Day Foundation designated it as such in 1978, and our conference hotel will be hosting our members across the street from the Capitol, where members and guests can wander the spacious tree-lined walkways and be surrounded by surprises of the many varieties of trees on display, growing strong.
Conference Registration and Details:
Pre-Conference for new professional and first-time GCC attendees: Monday, June 22 (all day)
Welcome Reception: Monday, June 22, 2026 (evening)
Annual Conference: Tuesday - Thursday, June 23-25, 2026
Post-Conference (tentative): Thursday afternoon, June 25, 2026
Conference Hotel: Hyatt Regency Sacramento
New Graduate Career Professionals Workshop/Pre-Conference (affectionately known as Precon)
The Pre-Con Workshop experience includes both a required virtual session and an in-person session. If you are new to GCC, new to career development, or new to working specifically with graduate students/postdoctoral scholars, (or want more time to engage with GCC), you are invited to this two-part workshop to learn about best practices for the field, hear perspectives from experienced members, and build a community together. Participants will meet online for a half-day session on Tuesday, June 16, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. (EDT), AND will meet in Sacramento for a full-day, in-person, pre-conference session on Monday, June 22, beginning at 9:00 a.m. (PDT).
So that this workshop is accessible to all GCC members, if you do not have the budget to attend the 2026 GCC Annual Conference in Sacramento, we would love to have you join us virtually for the first session (online, June 16).
Pre-Con Workshop Registration Fee: $50 (discounted from $250 due to the generosity of a conference sponsor)
Pre-Con Workshop Dates: online on Tuesday afternoon, June 16, AND all-day in-person on Monday, June 22, 2026
Post-Conference
For the first time, GCC will have a post-conference event for our attendees. We are looking forward to seeing you there. Stay tuned for more information soon!
Sponsors & Exhibitors
There are many benefits to becoming a sponsor of the Graduate Career Consortium. This year, as a sponsor and exhibitor you have the opportunity to advertise not only during our multi-day conference but also have your company advertised on the GCC website and through our member-only listserv. See what are the way you can become a sponsor of the Graduate Career Consortium.Support the GCC Annual Conference? Become a sponsor!