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Support Services

Student Consumer Information

Student consumer information on cost of attendance, refund policy, description of academic programs, and other matters relating to enrolled or prospective students may be obtained from the Registrar and from The Graduate Center’s website. Please refer to the current Student Handbook | CUNY Graduate Center for specific information regarding consumer complaints and redress of grievances.

Housing/Residence Life

The assistant director of admissions assists in coordinating matters pertaining to residence life, including helping students locate affordable housing within the New York City area. The office maintains listings of available rooms within households, apartments for rent or sublet, and spaces for students in shared lodgings, and can suggest techniques for finding an apartment.

The Graduate Center’s Graduate Center Apartments offer 12 spacious apartments for faculty and 64 for graduate students, thus offering one of Manhattan’s most sought-after resources—bright, comfortable, airy, and affordable housing. The eight-story building, located in the East Harlem neighborhood, on 118th Street between Lexington and Third avenues, shares the plaza of CUNY’s new East Harlem Campus with the University’s School of Social Work. With easy access to bus, subway, and train travel, the residence hall offers ready transit to The Graduate Center. One-year renewable licenses (leases) are offered to students on a first-come, first-served basis. For further information: gchousing@gc.cuny.edu or http://housing.gc.cuny.edu.

Wellness Center

Student Health Services. The Student Health Services is staffed and directed by a licensed Nurse Practitioner providing episodic and primary health care to registered Graduate Center students. Services include visits for short-term medical problems as well as management of ongoing health issues, women’s health examinations and Pap smears, men’s genitourinary examinations, screening for STIs (sexually transmitted infections), immunizations, referrals to outside healthcare providers, and health and wellness programs and workshops. For problems requiring specialty care, patients are referred to external resources. Students are seen by appointment. Students with urgent problems will be seen on a walk-in basis as available. There is no charge for visits to Student Health Services. For uninsured students, laboratory costs for blood and urine tests are substantially reduced through an arrangement with Mount Sinai Medical Center and then reduced further through partial subsidies through The Graduate Center.

Student Counseling Services. The Student Counseling Services (SCS) is staffed by licensed psychologists and postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows. SCS provides confidential counseling and short-term psychotherapy, group counseling, crisis intervention, and referral services to Graduate Center students, and couples therapy to students and their partners. Workshops that address the challenges and stresses of graduate student life are also offered. Individual consultations, ongoing groups, and workshops help deal with challenges in work on the dissertation. All center services are provided free of charge.

Career Planning and Professional Development

The Office of Career Planning and Professional Development (OCPPD) supports The Graduate Center’s master’s and doctoral students in achieving their career goals. The office offers individual career counseling to students, including advice on CVs, résumés, and other job search materials, assistance with preparing for interviews, and discussions of career planning strategies. In partnership with other Graduate Center offices, the OCPPD endeavors to help students develop a multidisciplinary skill set, to provide opportunities for training in current research tools, and to encourage students in their pursuit of outside funding opportunities. Together with the Office of Institutional Advancement, the OCPPD fosters connections with alumni and employers in governmental, nonprofit, commercial, and academic organizations. The Director of the Office of Career Planning and Professional Development works closely with the Executive Officers of academic programs and the Provost’s Office, and reports directly to the Vice President for Student Affairs.

For students interested in working at The Graduate Center while enrolled, listings of part-time positions are available through Anne Johnson, Work Study Coordinator, Office of Financial Aid. Other full-time job listings are available via the Office of Career Planning and Professional Development. The office can be reached by email at careerplan@gc.cuny.edu.

The Teaching and Learning Center

The CUNY Graduate Center’s Teaching and Learning Center (GCTLC) was established in 2015 to connect existing, and create additional, opportunities for GC students to evolve as educators. Its work includes preparing new college teachers for their entry into the classroom, guiding developing teachers as they refine their practices, and helping experienced teachers think through how to best apply what they’ve learned through their teaching in the next stages of their careers, whether those careers be inside or outside of the classroom. The GCTLC offers workshops and other programming for new and experienced Graduate Center students and CUNY faculty, and collaborates with partners and programs across The Graduate Center and CUNY on special projects meant to empower CUNY’s faculty and students to get the most out of their time teaching and learning together.

The GCTLC is located in the 3300 suite on the third floor of The Graduate Center, and maintains an active web presence through its site on the CUNY Academic Commons: cuny.is/teaching.

Dossier Services (Letters of Recommendation)

Student portfolios can be placed online in an Interfolio account. The student works directly with Interfolio to establish a portfolio that can include letters of recommendation, curriculum vitae, writing samples, dissertation abstracts, teaching certifications, student evaluations, and more. The Interfolio system accepts and stores almost any type of information.  For more information, visit https://careerplan.commons.gc.cuny.edu/blog/interfolio or https://www.interfolio.com. The Office of Student Affairs no longer sends out dossier materials by mail.

Student Disability Services

The 504/ADA Compliance Coordinator for persons with disabilities is Matthew G. Schoengood, Vice President for Student Affairs, Room 7301; Telephone: 1.212.817.7400. The Vice President for Student Affairs also serves as the chair of the 504/ADA Committee for Persons with Disabilities.

It is the policy of The Graduate Center to provide auxiliary aids and services and to make appropriate academic accommodations needed by students with disabilities. The provision of student disability services is a function of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs (the Student Affairs office). The Graduate Center provides readers/library assistants, sign-language interpreters, note takers, scribes, assistive technology, and other auxiliary services as needed. A few examples of possible academic accommodations are extended or divided time for taking an examination, as might be required for a student who has a learning disability or for whom physical stamina is reduced; use of a computer or other auxiliary aid during an examination; and recording of classes. Assistive technology available at The Graduate Center is described below. Students who wish to request accommodations or have questions about Graduate Center facilities, auxiliary aids and services, or any Graduate Center academic matters should consult with Elise M. Perram, Director of Student Affairs; or the Vice President for Student Affairs. Discussions and information regarding a student’s disability will be kept confidential unless a student requests otherwise. Documentation appropriate to the requested accommodations must be provided to the Student Affairs office. This documentation must come from a qualified professional and provide information on diagnosis/specific disability conditions, functional limitations in the higher education setting, and recommended accommodations. The purpose of this documentation is to enable us to determine, together with the student seeking accommodations, the most appropriate accommodations for the student. Students are encouraged to contact the Office of Student Affairs to discuss present and future needs to facilitate effective planning.

Adaptive equipment and computer software are available at The Graduate Center. Computer users have access to screen-character enlargement, text-to-speech, and optical-character recognition scan-and-read software, a closed-circuit television, and voice-recognition software. For students with hearing impairments, The Graduate Center has available a personal FM listening system (for use on an individual basis for classes and meetings). The auditoriums are equipped with infrared equipment to assist those with hearing impairments. Contact Elise Perram in the Office of Student Affairs to request accommodation and for additional information about facilities and services available to students with disabilities.

The Mina Rees Library can provide students with disabilities with such services as staff assistance in catalog searches and location of books and journals.

Students with disabilities should register with the Office of Security and Public Safety (Room 9117; Telephone: 1.212.817.7761) so that provision may be made for their safety should an emergency arise.

Users of TDD (Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf) within New York State should call the Telecommunications Service at 711 or at 1.800.662.1220. Users of TDD outside New York State should call their local telecommunications service.

Services for Students Who Are Veterans

Eligible veterans who wish to obtain benefits and information on other matters of concern to veterans may consult the Office of the Registrar. A useful CUNY website for veterans may be found at www.cuny.edu/veterans. Also see “Special Provisions for Students in the Military” under “Tuition and Fees” in this bulletin.

Office of International Students

The Office of International Students provides advice and assistance to international students, particularly with regard to issues relating to F-1 and J-1 student immigration status. Each semester the office conducts an orientation session for new international students. New international students should contact the office as soon as possible after their arrival so that their immigration documents and status can be reviewed and verified.

Because it is the student’s responsibility to comply with all existing government regulations, students are urged to familiarize themselves with the regulations and procedures that apply to their specific immigration status. Students should keep copies of all documents relating to their immigration status and bring their original passport, I-94, I-20, or DS-2019 and I-901 SEVIS Fee Receipt when consulting the Office of International Students about an immigration matter.

International students should consult this office for requirements to maintain active immigration status and for information on the following: (1) obtaining Form I-20 or Form DS-2019; (2) travel outside the United States and reentry; (3) extension of stay; (4) school transfer; (5) practical training; (6) change of degree or program of study; (7) employment regulations; and (8) passport and visa information.

More detailed information can be found at The Graduate Center website under International Students and periodic updates published by the Office of International Students.

Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity

The Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity (EOD) has been established to support efforts to increase the representation of historically underrepresented students in The Graduate Center’s doctoral programs. The office initiates and supports grant efforts to enhance recruitment, retention, and academic progress of historically underrepresented students. This includes managing such Graduate Center–based programs as MAGNET and CUNY Pipeline. The Executive Officer of the Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity works closely with the Executive Officers of the doctoral programs and reports to the Provost.