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Undergraduate Student Senate

All Undergraduate Student Senate General Body Meetings (GBMs) are open to the entire campus community, so please come join us-- food is provided! GBMs are held, during the regular academic year, every Thursday from 5:20 to 6:30 pm in the UC Danforth Conference Room. We also hold weekly committee meetings that handle specific initiatives, the times of which are posted under the Committees page.

Senators vs. Members-at-Large

A Member-at-Large in may serve on a committee, participate in any committee initiatives, and participate during general body meetings, but may not vote in general body proceedings. Senators, elected to represent their colleges, may perform all of these duties but do hold voting power.

How to Become a Senator

There are two ways to become a senator:

In the spring semester, you can be elected by the undergraduate students from your specific college to represent them. Please visit the official student government election website for additional information.
In both fall and spring semesters, if there is a vacancy in senate representation from your specific college, you can complete a petition [PDF] with 25 undergraduate signatures from your college. Please be prepared to turn in a physical copy of this petition at the beginning of the General Body Meeting in which you plan to run for election.

How to Become a Member-at-Large

You must attend 3 general body meetings of the senate and then be nominated by a senator in your home college.

Graduate Student Assembly

The Graduate Student Assembly is made up of more than 100 graduate student representatives. Representatives are selected at the program level. Timeline and procedures vary from program to program, so speak to your Graduate Program Coordinator for details on how your program selects its GSA Representatives. GSA Meetings are the first Wednesday of each month from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

We also have several committees that are open to all members of CMU's graduate student community. More information on our committees can be found here on our website.

Joint Funding Committee (JFC)

The JFC budgets and allocates over $2.1 million to student organizations. If you would like to be a member of the JFC, which is chaired by the Director of Finance, please contact sbvpf@andrew.cmu.edu. More information on the JFC can be found under the JFC page.

Committee of Student Organizations (CoSO) and University Center Allocations Board (UCAB)

CoSO as a group helps determine what student organizations would become part of the Carnegie Mellon community and obtain Student Government recognition, and aid all types of organizations in the new recognition and re-recognition processes for our 350+ organizations. CoSO meets weekly for approximately one to two hours each time.

UCAB is a committee that reads through applications submitted by organizations requesting space in the University Center’s third floor, Doherty Parking Garage basement, and Margaret Morrison storefront. As a group, UCAB then makes decisions on assignments of space to organizations. UCAB meets biweekly for two hours each time.

If you would like to be a member of the CoSO or UCAB (chaired by the Director of Organizations), please contact sbvpo@andrew.cmu.edu. More information on CoSO/UCAB can be found on the Student Organizations page.

Running for Office

If you would like to run for Director of Finance, Director of Organizations, or as an Undergraduate Student Senator, campus-wide elections are held every spring. Visit the official student government election website for additional information.