In This Issue...

• Thanksgiving Thoughts
• Funding Update
• HealthyU Survey Opportunity
• Save the Date: Scholar to Scholar Graduate Project Showcase
• TimelyCare: A Virtual Mental Health Platform
• Graduate Student Resources
• Campus Partner Spotlight: The Leonard Gelfand Center
• Graduate Student Spotlights: Stephen Sudia (Dietrich College) and Saksham Bhutani (College of Engineering)

We Are Grateful for You!

We hope you had a restorative Fall Break and have returned to classes with excitement, focus, and energy as the end of the semester approaches. November brings a wave of changes to campus, from the beautiful fall leaves to the dropping temperatures, with Thanksgiving at the end of the month as a highlight for many students and families. Carnegie Mellon will mark the holiday with a short break from the usual routines, and we hope you find a way to enjoy the occasion by relaxing or celebrating with friends.

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for gratitude, and we in the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Affairs are grateful for all of you--for your engagement, your creativity, and the contributions you make to Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, and beyond. We hope to have many opportunities to gather with you in the months ahead!

Participation Opportunity: HealthyU Survey

At Carnegie Mellon University, supporting the holistic health and well-being of our students is a top priority. Since 2013, CMU has administered HealthyU, an online survey designed to capture students’ experiences and perspectives related to health and well-being. Data from HealthyU have informed institutional policies, programs, and initiatives that foster a culture of wellness, resilience, and personal growth. Insights from the 2023 findings inspired several initiatives aimed at enhancing student support and well-being. Among these were efforts to make food pantry use more accessible, create a Basic Needs Coalition to build new partnerships across campus to meet basic needs, highlight and refine existing training opportunities for the university community, and reduce barriers that make it difficult for students to find time to support their own well-being.

Students now have the opportunity to participate in HealthyU 2025, which launched on Monday, October 27. All students who complete the survey will be entered into a lottery to win prizes such as CMU hoodies, scarves, tote bags, Tartan athletic gear, and more. During Tartan Tuesday on November 11 at the Alumni House, students can show their “Thank you for completing the survey” email to earn five additional points toward their total on the prize wheel!

Take the survey using this link or click here to learn more! The last day to complete the survey is Wednesday, November 26.

To explore findings and trends from HealthyU 2023, visit the HealthyU Campus Community Dashboard. Please note that access is available only while connected on campus or via the Carnegie Mellon VPN.

Save the Date for the Scholar to Scholar: Graduate Project Showcase

The second annual Scholar to Scholar: Graduate Project Showcase will take place on Friday, March 20, 2026. Presented by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs and the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA), the Scholar to Scholar: Graduate Project Showcase is an annual event that gives master’s and doctoral students from across the university the opportunity to share their research and creative projects through poster presentations, talks, and performances. Featuring scholarly work from all of CMU’s schools and colleges, this event promotes interdisciplinary connections, facilitates networking, and offers participants valuable experience in communicating their work to non-expert audiences.

More information will be shared soon on our website. In the meantime, enjoy these photos from the first Scholar to Scholar: Graduate Project Showcase, held in April 2025.

Mark Your Calendars

Explore these calendars to stay up to date on upcoming and ongoing events on campus!



• CMU Events Calendar
• University Lecture Series
• Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) Event Calendar
• University Libraries Workshop Calendar

For a full list of student organizations and events of all kinds, be sure to explore TartanConnect, CMU's official campus engagement platform.

TimelyCare: A Virtual Mental Health Platform

As an addition to the wide range of mental health services that Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) provides, TimelyCare expands the availability of mental health services to students. TimelyCare is a confidential service offered free for students when they register with their Andrew ID. You can find more information about TimelyCare online and on the TimelyCare Fact Sheet, or by calling CaPS (412-268-2922) or TimelyCare's direct line (833-4-TIMELY).

Graduate Student Handbook Suite

All programs at Carnegie Mellon are required to provide handbooks to their students. The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs is pleased to offer the Graduate Student Handbook Suite, which encompasses the following:

--Your program and/or college handbook (distributed by your department)

--The University-Wide Graduate Student Handbook

--The Word Student Handbook

Each of these handbooks provides important information about policies, procedures, expectations, and resources that are available to holistically support your graduate experience. Be sure to take some time to read through them and familiarize yourself with the content. They will be an important resource throughout your time at Carnegie Mellon.

Individual Development Plan (IDP) for Doctoral Students

Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are meant to promote academic, professional, and personal growth by formally documenting goals and facilitating dialogue, collaboration, and accountability between advisors and advisees. You can access the doctoral IDP template here.

Need More Resources?

Visit the website for the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs to learn more about career resources, family care resources, and more.

Visit the Archives!

You can find all issues of The Graduate Student News from this academic year on our website.

The Leonard Gelfand Center

Location: Cyert Hall A64

Contact: Check out the CMU Student Portal or email k12@cmu.edu

Briefly describe what your office does.

The Leonard Gelfand Center (LGC) works with faculty, students, and staff to engage with the regional K-12 educational community through consulting, cross-campus collaborative initiatives, internal programming, and a variety of processes that support building intentional, reciprocal connections leading to educational growth.

What services and opportunities do you offer to graduate students?

The Gelfand Center offers one-on-one consultations for students interested in K-12 engagement opportunities such as community volunteering, developing and teaching relevant curriculum to K-12 populations, research connections, on-campus connections, and more. If K-12 engagement is of interest to you, we encourage scheduling to meet with a staff member who can provide customized support based on your needs.

What tips would you give graduate students seeking to engage with the K-12 community? Are there any relevant resources beyond your office that would be helpful?

Students who are interested in K-12 engagement should familiarize themselves with the Act 153 process that is required in order to work with minors. Most of the colleges have offices doing K-12 engaged work, so we also recommend asking your advisor to point you toward individuals in your college doing relevant work. Finally, we encourage you to look into the community-engaged work happening through the Office of Community Engagement and Leadership Development out of Student Affairs. They can help you find student organizations doing relevant K-12 engaged work as well as other opportunities to get involved in other campus initiatives. 

Are you offering any upcoming events or programs of interest to graduate students?

We are hosting our first “Coffee with Collaborators” event in a new series from the Gelfand Center on December 19 from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. in the Danforth Conference Room. This new series is designed to increase awareness and spark campus-wide conversation about the meaningful K-12 partnerships, connections, and collaborations happening across Carnegie Mellon University. We also aim to celebrate and amplify the work of our community partners across our CMU community.

If you are interested in attending, please email k12@cmu.edu and we will add you to the calendar invite.

Is there anything else graduate students should know about your office?

The Gelfand Center’s goal in supporting graduate students is to help create a meaningful and intentional plan for individuals interested in K-12 engagement during their often limited time here at CMU. We encourage you to review the resources in the student portal, and use the embedded intake form to schedule a consultation with one of our staff if you are interested in talking more.