About SWE's Graduate Committee

Objectives

• Stimulate professional and social networks between all engineering disciplines
• Further our own interests through speakers, symposiums, presentations, etc.
• Promote awareness of research opportunities
• Act as a conduit for information on events of special interest to graduate students
• Encourage undergraduates to consider attending graduate school
• Provide informational resources for incoming graduate students
• Maintain a communication system through e-mail and the www site
• Establish communication between graduate students and faculty

Mission Statement

The graduate committee of the Society of Women Engineers was formed in 1995 to address the needs of graduate students. The goals and objectives of this group were created by and for graduate students.

A common issue established the need for this group - graduate school perpetuated isolation and loneliness. In graduate school, classes are much more competitive with less team effort than undergraduate work. Research is also an extremely individual process which keeps a student secluded in her/his laboratory or office. The graduate committee was formed to, at minimum, establish social relationships to help alleviate this problem and build self-esteem leading to more productive graduate students. It continues to meet this goal as well as many others.

The structure of the Graduate Committee includes a Steering Committee comprised of the Director, Associate 1, and Associate 2 positions, as well as three subcommittees.

Subcommittees

Programs
The goal of the Programs subcommittee is to plan and schedule programs that inform, support, and promote women in engineering. Past events have included the History of Women in Engineering and Science Poster Exhibition, luncheons with Faculty Engineering Women (FEW), and a Welcome Event for incoming graduate students.

Social
The goal of the Social subcommittee is to establish social and professional relationships between engineering graduate students while having fun! Past events have included a Dessert Potluck, Whirlyball and Dinner, a summer picnic, Game Night, the Anniversary Celebration, and informal Study Breaks.

Communications
The goal of the Communications subcommittee is to inform graduate students of the resources available to them throughout the university and to maintain a communication system which includes email, a web site, and advertisements. Additional responsibilities include designing and maintaining a graduate survival handbook, maintaining a Grad-SWE home page, developing an informational bulletin about Grad-SWE, and maintaining a scrapbook for Grad-SWE.