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Columbia has some wonderful free resources and opportunities available to graduate students. I have compiled a short list for you which includes some of these resources, spaces available to work, read, or relax between classes, and a couple upcoming free workshops. Of course, you could find all of this information by perusing through Columbia’s website, but I picked a few things that I thought you might find convenient to access in one place.

Resources:

The Graduate Student Resources page is a great tool to help you access free services available to graduate students at Columbia Columbia College Chicago.

These services (among others) include the following:

• The Student Employment Office (SEO) administers on-campus part-time student employment programs. The office posts jobs on ColumbiaWorks, an online resource of employment opportunities.
• The office of Multicultural Affairs is a division of Student Affairs. Its offices include African American Cultural Affairs, Latino Cultural Affairs, LGBTQ, Office of Culture and CommunityInternational Student Affairs and Asian American Cultural Affairs.
• The Portfolio Center offers help in compiling an online portfolio.
• Wellness Support includes Counseling Services, Fitness Centers, Health Services and Health Insurance.
• The Writing Center provides writing Consultants to anyone in need of help with their written work — from essays to resumes, from proofing to editing.

Events:

• To find out about events taking place on campus, visit the Columbia Events page, searchable by type of event including: workshops, exhibitions and performances; and by department.
• To maximize info received from in the Loop, the student newsletter, scroll to the bottom of an in the Loop email sent to you from Student Communications, and click on the link to “visit your preferences” to choose which lists to subscribe to.

Places to work, read, or relax between classes:

• Columbia’s Library is located at 624 S. Michigan Ave.

Fall library hours are:
Monday–Thursday 8:00am–10:00pm
Friday 8:00am–6:00pm
Saturday 9:00am–5:00pm
Sunday 12:00am–5:00pm

• The Graduate Student Center located at 600 S. Michigan Ave, Room 205 is open Monday–Friday from 10am–7pm, “and comes complete with two printers, a microwave, a mini-refrigerator, two multimedia projection packages, a conference room, and plenty of comfortable seating.”

Professional Development Workshops:

Another reason to visit the Graduate Student Center would be to attend the “Brain Food: Professional Development Workshops for the Hungry Mind.” Graduate Student Engagement (GCE) provides these workshops, which are held in the Graduate Student Center from 5:00-6:30pm. Upcoming workshops include:

• Preparing for a Career in College Teaching (Tuesday, September 11, 2012)
• Getting the Green: A Grant Writing workshop (Wednesday, September 26, 2012)

Visit the GCE page for more info about these and other Brain Food workshops.