COGS Storefront
The following link can be used to purchase all COGS tickets and service items available to Graduate and Professional Students at MSU. These include Wharton Center tickets and other special events throughout the year. Items will be added as they become available.
COGS Updates Email List
COGS sends regular email updates of news & events during Fall and Spring to the departments and colleges for sharing out to graduate & professional students. If you would like to receive these emails directly to your inbox, please fill out this form. https://bit.ly/COGS-EVENTS
COGS Full Council Meetings
COGS Full Council Meetings:
We look forward to an exciting year ahead for 2024-25! The public is always welcome to attend COGS full council meetings. If you need a zoom link please email us at office@cogs.msu.edu. Minutes and future meeting dates can be found here: https://cogs.msu.edu/governance/
Forest Bathing: Spring Guided Walk Series
A Series of Forest Bathing Walks with Guide, Ly Duong:
A Practice in Slowing Down, Nourishing Calm, and Reconnection
Meeting Point: Beal Botanical Garden – Pergola – entrance near W. Circle Dr.
Forest bathing is a nature connection experience inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku. Simply by slowing down and spending time in nature, we offer ourselves the chance to stop, feel, and reconnect with our bodies, senses, and surroundings. We become calmer, and our minds become clearer.
Offered through a series of guided invitations for 1.5 hours, forest bathing invites us not so much with our thinking brains but with our bodies and hearts to tune into our senses and to notice what’s around us and inside us with curiosity, wonder, and compassion. Doing this practice intentionally supports long-term healing, wellness, and resilient engagement for both humans and the Earth, especially in this period of dramatic change. Research has proven that forest bathing boosts immune strength, improves cognitive functioning, and reduces stress, anger, anxiety, and depression.
Our series continues this SPRING with two more walks. Thursday mornings from 9:30AM to 11:00AM.
Join us as we dive into a different them and also open to wherever the experience takes us:
On every walk, you will:
We will send details on what to bring/wear after you Register Here.
· Offered rain or shine with a minimum sign-up of 3 people. Enrollment is limited to 15 people.
About the Guide: Ly Duong (she/her) is the founder of Tune in the Meadows, a PhD student from CITE program at MSU, and a certified guide with The Association for Nature and Forest Therapy. Ly has been practicing, supporting, and co-creating spaces with other living beings, including humans and non-humans. In these spaces, all beings could listen to each other’s stories, then connect more deeply to themselves, their community, and the surrounding communities. She believes that the more we practice slowing down, the more we can see and feel the gifts, beauties, and connections within ourselves and with the natural world
Optional Reading: “Your Guide to Forest Bathing” by M. Amos Clifford
Learn more about: “What is forest bathing?”
Contact for more info and/or Q&A: duongly@msu.edu
Trivia Night with COGS! *DATE CHANGE TO THURSDAY, APRIL 10th
When: DATE CHANGE
THURSDAY, APRIL 10TH
(*No longer on 4/7 – due to addition of March Madness event at the venue)
Where: Harrison Roadhouse Pub
122 N. Harrison Rd. (*Pub building is behind the restaurant)
Try your hand at trivia while hanging out with COGS and your graduate/professional student peers! Seating/Teams is groups of 4. (Larger/smaller groups will get to make new friends!)
Appetizers & soft drinks provided.
MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND. Space is limited. Check-in onsite.
TRIVIA NIGHT REGISTRATION HERE
COGS Coffee & Connection
We hope to see you at our next Coffee & Connection!
Details: Wednesday, April 9th – from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
Location: MSU College of Law Bldg, Rm 343-Castle Board Room
648 N. Shaw Lane
Grad students – come check out the law school bldg! Law students – come hang out with COGS and enjoy some morning treats!
We look forward to connecting with you!
Grad Student Social At Hooked
Stop by and say hello to COGS at the Hooked Grad Student Social! Representatives from COGS will be there with some giveaways (while they last).
When: April 11th from 5PM to 10PM
Hooked Lansing: 3142 E. Michigan Ave.
Complete Your Grad Student Tax Return (and Understand It, Too!) Webinar
A tax workshop for graduate & professional students receiving stipends
Taxes are confusing! Especially when you are a funded grad/professional student! This workshop breaks down how to calculate your taxable income from your salary, stipend, fellowship, grant, and/or scholarships; minimize your tax liability using education tax benefits; and report your income, qualified education expenses, and estimated tax paid on your tax return.
This workshop, presented by Dr. Emily Roberts, personal finance educator specializing in early-career PhDs, is appropriate for US citizens, permanent residents, and residents for tax purposes (International students), and comprises pre-recorded videos, worksheets, and live Q&A calls. **This is targeted to grad & professional students who are funding – receiving stipends.
Workshop is $5.00 with the remaining cost subsidized by the Council of Graduate Students (COGS) and The Graduate Office of Well-Being (GROW) for the first 100 MSU graduate & professional students to register.
Register Here: https://bit.ly/GROWCOGS Must sign up with valid MSU Email. Once successfully registered, you will be directed to a login page to access the workshop materials and can get started right away. Notifications for live QA sessions are sent to the registrant’s email.
Dr. Emily Roberts is a personal finance educator specializing in early-career PhDs and has led several popular personal finance workshops for graduate students at MSU.
Workshop is co-sponsored by the Council of Graduate Students (COGS) and the Graduate Office of Well-Being (GROW).
Bowling Night with COGS! April 4, 2025
Date: Friday, April 4th
Time: 7PM to 9PM
Location: Spare Time Entertainment 3101 E. Grand River, Lansing *Meet us in the Capital Room
Free event for all graduate/professional students and their accompanied guests. Includes bowling, shoes, snacks/appetizers and soft drinks. Join us for a few rounds of ten-pin fun! Space is limited so must Register to attend.*All attendees must be on registration list. If bringing a guest, you must register them separately.
REGISTER HERE https://bit.ly/48SOE7C
COGS Craft & Connection: Pressed Flowers @ MSU Herbarium!
Join us for a special craft session where we will decorate cards/bookmarks with pressed flowers. At the MSU Herbarium! Relax and enjoy the creative process while chatting with fellow graduate & professional students. We provide all the supplies as well as some snacks to keep you going (while they last). This session also includes a staff-led tour of the amazing MSU Herbarium!
When: Friday, April 25 – from 12:00 to 2:00 PM
Where: MSU Herbarium – Plant Biology Labs, 612 Wilson Road, Room 40
NOTE: The MSU Herbarium can be difficult to find if you have never visited. Feel free to stop and ask for an escort or directions at the office of the Department of Plant Biology, located in room 166 close to the main entrance (off Wilson Road) of the Plant Biology Laboratories Building. Visit: How to find the Herbarium
COGS Graduate Resource Series
The COGS Graduate Resource Series, a virtual workshop series presented by the Graduate Welfare Committee, connects graduate & professional students with vital campus resources through informal, expert discussions, providing insights, Q&A opportunities, and practical guidance for student success and well-being. Sessions took place on Tuesdays, during February and March. Recordings of the sessions can be viewed below. Need more information? Please feel free to reach out to the COGS office any time!
MEET THE RESOURCE:
Lance Sharp discusses all things student organizations and Involve@State. The INVOLVE platform is your one-stop resource at MSU for all Registered Student Organizations on campus. If you belong to a GSO/student group on campus or in your dept. or are interested in forming/joining one, this is for you!
John Garcia works with departments, including the Graduate School, on fellowships, presentations, and individual student concerns and issues related to loans, cost of attendance requests and financial planning. John is an expert in graduate/professional student financial aid and an invaluable resource here at MSU! Don’t miss this one!
Dr. Burton discusses the role of the office of the Ombudsperson, which is a confidential, safe space to discuss both academic and nonacademic concerns. She’ll explain how you can utilize their services and answer your questions.
Get help navigating the often-confusing world of health insurance and learn where you can go to find answers when you have questions.
In this session, you can learn about the Graduate Employees Union! Join us!
We hope you find this series informative! If you have questions, please contact us via email at office@cogs.msu.edu. Be sure to keep up to date on these and all COGS events on our website here: cogs.msu.edu/upcoming-events/