Blogging with CUNY Commons

We’d like to take the time to encourage you to join the CUNY Commons (the site that is hosting this blog.)  As soon as you have been assigned an @gc.cuny.edu email address, you can join the Commons and either become a contributor to an existing blog or group or begin your own blog or student group.  Before then, however, you can read most pages and comment on some.

Interested in why you should blog?  Take a look at From Tweet to Blog Post to Peer-Reviewed Article: How to be a Scholar Now by GC’s own Jessie Daniels or take a look at The Virtues of Blogging as a Scholarly Activity at The Chronicle.

Some active blogs on the Commons (that you can read now even though you aren’t yet a Commons member) are:

GC Students of Anthropology – https://anthropology.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

GC English Students blog – https://gcenglish.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

Le Hub (French students’ blog) – https://french.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

GC Marxist Reading group – https://capital.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

Collaborative Seeing Studio – https://collaborativeseeingstudio.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

Zines at the Brooklyn College Library – https://brooklyncollegezines.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

Doctoral Certificate Programs at the GC

Although getting  your Ph.D. might seem like enough work (for a lifetime…), the GC offers several unique opportunities for additional bells and whistles to add to that fancy degree, like Doctoral Certificates! These certificates allow you to engage in interdisciplinary research in areas that are related, but outside, your home discipline. These doctoral certificates are approved by the state and give you the experience to work and teach in interdisciplinary fields for which there is no Ph.D. degree at the Graduate Center.

You can earn a doctoral certificate in the following areas:

Each of these programs consists of about five classes, or 15 credits: two or three core courses and two electives from anywhere at the GC (often these come from your home discipline, but don’t have to). Depending on the courses taken and the certificate program, you might even be able to use a cross-listed course twice for two different–yet applicable–certificates! This means that your New American Cinema class might count for both the Film Studies elective AND the American Studies elective! Use the links above to contact the Certificate Program with any questions or for more information.

So why bother? The certificates give you a theoretical and practical foundation through core courses in an interdisciplinary field of interest. In addition, because they are recognized by both the GC and the state, they appear on your transcript, which may come in handy when you’re on the market [for a *fingers crossed* tenure-track job]. Some of these interdisciplinary subject areas are also ones that are difficult to find in doctoral programs (although not impossible), so the doctoral certificate is an excellent way to demonstrate your interest in multiple areas at a doctoral level while earning your Ph.D. in one of the 30+ programs available at the GC. Consider it an enhanced non-related minor in a different discipline.

The upshot: If you have the time and desire, the certificate programs are a great way to broaden your knowledge and credentials to cover a wider range of interesting, interdisciplinary work. You’ll meet people from many different programs at the GC in your core classes, and learn new perspectives and methodologies.

Ask me; I’m earning five certificates, both for my own edification and research, as well as for my future job prospects. It does increase time-to-degree: I’m taking an extra year of coursework to finish everything (plus I came in without a M.A., so I am not as pressed for time as some of my colleagues who entered with one). That said, if you can spare the extra couple of classes, the certificate programs are a wonderful way to interact with colleagues from many different fields and work on complex problems with new, different, and exciting tools.

Gwendolyn Shaw is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Art History Program at the Graduate Center. 

Welcome new students!

This blog is for newly admitted students to the Graduate Center, CUNY.

We would like to welcome and congratulate you! If you haven’t already accepted our offer of admission please do so by logging back into the online application. Registration materials will not be generated for you if you do not officially accept the offer.

Official Documents – Transcripts and Test Scores

All admitted students MUST have official academic transcripts sent by the issuing institution(s) directly to The Graduate Center.  The documents that were uploaded into the online system are not considered official.  Please have official documents be sent either through the postal mail in unopened envelopes sealed by the issuing institution OR electronically from Parchment and/or Clearinghouse. We are listed as “The Graduate School and University Center” in the electronic systems. Transcripts from degree granting institutions also need to also list proof of degree as having been issued.

All transcripts should be sent directly to the Office of Admissions prior to registration.  You can view the receipt of your official documents by logging back into the online application system.  Questions regarding these documents or electronic documents should be emailed to admissions@gc.cuny.edu

Please have transcripts sent by mail to:

Office of Admissions, The Graduate Center

365 Fifth Avenue, Room 7201

New York, NY 10016

Official GRE/TOEFL/GMAT/IELTS scores need to be sent to The Graduate Center directly by the testing company.

The official school code for GRE and TOEFL is: 2113

The official school code for GMAT is: XWT-S7-47

Immunizations

All new students are required to submit up to date immunization information prior to registration.

NY State Residency (F1 and J1 visa holders will not be able to file for residency)

If you are a US citizen and have lived at your current NY state address for more than a year, you should automatically be identified to receive in-state tuition.

If you are a US citizen and a NY state resident, but have lived at your present NY State address for less than one calendar year, please fill out the NY State Residency Form and return it to the Office of Admissions by mail or email.  Guidelines for completing the residency form can be found here.

If you are a Permanent Resident or if you are on a visa other than B, C, D, F, H2, H3, H4, J, M, O, P, Q, or TN and live in NY State please fill out the NY State Residency Form and return it to the Office of Admissions by mail or email.  Guidelines for completing the residency form can be found here.

Registration

Registration instructions will be sent to you by email usually in the second week in August.  ALL registration email will be sent to your Graduate Center email address.

Accessing your Graduate Center Office 365 E-mail Account (jdoe@gradcenter.cuny.edu):
New students must claim their GC email account, update their initial password and sign up for O365’s password reset tool before using.

Go to http://aka.ms/ssprsetup and follow the instructions.

Once you’re registered, you can use the Office 365 self-service portal to reset your password in the future at
https://passwordreset.microsoftonline.com

International Students

Applicants who will apply for Nonimmigrant F-1 or J-1 Entry Visas to the United States, and applicants already in the United States in F-1 or J-1 Student Status must complete the “Request for Certificate of Eligibility and Declaration & Certification of Finances for International Students.” More information can be found on this page. 

An applicant who would like to change Immigration status to F-1 Student Status should consult the Office of International Students for information on the correct procedure to follow.

Permanent Residents must document their status in the Office of Admissions.

All questions regarding Immigration Status should be directed to the Office of International Students at intstu@gc.cuny.edu

More New Student Information

We will update this blog regularly throughout the summer with topics that we hope you will find interesting and informative.  Please feel free to leave comments about what additional topics you might like us to cover.  Furthermore, we suggest take the time to explore the rest of the CUNY Commons.

We look forward to you becoming a part of our intellectual community!