Our Story

The Plant Sciences Graduate Student Council (PSGSC) was founded in 2000 to foster enhanced communication and promote more social interaction among graduate students from Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics. Since then, additional plant science-related graduate programs have been incorporated into the council, including Agroecology, Botany, Integrative Biology, Plant Pathology, and Soil Science. The current council is composed of twelve elected positions: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Journal Club Chair, and Representatives from each department. Council officers are plant sciences graduate students nominated and elected by their peers every December. Those elected serve a one year term.

The council works with the faculty, staff, and students to promote educational and social outreach and to welcome new graduate students in the vast world of plant sciences at UW-Madison. We currently hold a number of regularly-scheduled events, including weekly journal clubs and happy hours, monthly informal weekend outings, once-per-semester professional development opportunities, and an annual plant sciences symposium. We also facilitate a number of student identity groups to foster community and provide advocacy and coordinate outreach opportunities with local schools and youth programs.

The Council can be contacted at psgsc@rso.wisc.edu.