Brown Center for Students of Color

Orientation for Graduate Students of Color

Welcomes new graduate students to Brown and provides an introduction to the support structures and resources available to them.

The Graduate Student of Color Orientation (GSOC Orientation) is a community-building program grounded in understandings of racialized and gendered identities and is dedicated to principles of racial and social justice. The program assists students in increasing their awareness of issues encountered by minority students in a predominantly white institution through conversations with current graduate students of color and with one another. It provides students the opportunity to understand and discuss the various “-isms” in the context of the academy, while learning about community-based and institutional resources available at the Brown to navigate those challenges. 

Events

Orientation consists of a webinar series with tips on moving to Providence and budgeting as a graduate student, as well as a full-day orientation retreat in August. These discussions are carried forward during the year through events organized by:

  • Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC)
  • First Generation Low-Income Student Center
  • LGBTQ+ Resource Center
  • Sarah Doyle Women’s Center (SDWC)
  • Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America
  • Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice
  • Graduate School
  • Other campus partners 

Welcome to All

The GSOC Orientation is people-of-color centered, queer and trans affirming, and welcoming to those of all abilities and bodies. The program is open to all newly admitted students and rising second year graduate students, but space is limited. This is not a mandatory event but registration is required.