The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) is a voluntary student organization within our LLC concentration.  We work together with faculty and administrators to support student passions and advocate for inclusion in education.  This student-driven group is a vital part of all LLC programs and how LLC creates community within the concentration.  Master’s and doctoral students take active roles in SAC, especially when planning the Graduate Student Conference every fall.  

Click here to join our meetings on Wednesdays from 7-8:30 pm over zoom. 

For more information or inquiries as to how to get involved email SAC at llcssac@gmail.com

Graduate Student Conference

Each fall, we welcome presentations that offer ways in which research and practice can help shape new possibilities for education and new futures for students.  This conference is an opportunity to strengthen ties to our wider community; engage in inclusive conversations that enrich our ideas about language, literacy, and culture; and communicate critical perspectives on both research and teaching practice.  It showcases student research and poster presentations from all departments and colleges.  The 24th Annual Graduate Student Conference will take place in hybrid format on December 1, 2021 from 4 - 9 PM.

LLC's Graduate Student Conference Website

Read the 2021 Call for Proposals Here

Community Events

SAC also organizes a few events each semester to welcome new students, build community, and celebrate our accomplishments.  While we focus on the needs and interests of students in our concentration, our community events are open to all.

Upcoming Hybrid Event Wednesday Oct. 27th 7-8:30pm

Past Events:

• Listen to our community meeting from October 28th, 2020: "The Bullets that Missed Her: Healing the Wounds of Racial Trauma" with Dr. Jamila Lyiscott

In this zoom meeting we explored Liberation Literacies in the time of COVID 19 with the social justice scholar and viral TED speaker, Dr. Lyiscott.  The community came together for this invited lecture on Dr. Lyiscott's scholarship and activism around the intersections of language, race, and power in social justice education.

We are committed to helping you complete your program of study.  Please contact your academic advisor and/or the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) with any questions, comments, or concerns that rise up along your academic journey.  Below are two general resources for graduate students in the College of Education:

Resources for College of Education Students

Graduate School Policy and Resources 

List of LLC Affiliated Faculty Members at UMass Amherst

For job opportunities, funding, grants, research projects, and other university-sponsored events be sure to access your UMass email account and link it to whichever email inbox you check regularly.  Watch for incoming messages from:

educnews@umass.edu - College of Education Communications

bem-list@educ.umass.edu - Communications for Masters Students

llc-list@educ.umass.edu - Communication for Doctoral Students 

dual-language@umass.edu - Communications for the Bilingual and Dual Language Endorsement  Graduate Certificate Students

llcssac@gmail.com - Communications from the LLC Student Advisory Committee for all master's, doctoral, endorsement, and graduate certificate students

For more information please email the address above that applies to your program or inquiry or reach out to our Program Assistant: Syonara Tomoum (stomoum@umass.edu).

Graduate Students of LLC

Connect with current LLC students and alumni by joining our Facebook page.

Be sure to stay in contact with your academic advisor for assistance along the way to getting your degree in the Language, Literacy, and Culture (LLC) concentration.  Your advisor will have the most current information to plan your program of study and schedule your courses.  Once you achieve each milestone in your program, be sure to complete the necessary forms (click here to see Milestones) for each stage.

Course Enrollment 

SPIRE: Use SPIRE to find and register for courses.

Moodle: Course management for master's and doctoral students.

Finding a Practicum

Master's and endorsement students are required to complete a practicum.  If you have a site in mind, please communicate this information to your advisor.  Colleagues, faculty, and/or the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) are available to help you find an appropriate placement for your practicum.

L Forms: learn about the initial license L forms

Center for Student Success Research: This research center unites faculty, students, and administrators around research projects aimed at promoting access and success for underrepresented and understudied student populations.

UMass Amherst Libraries: Find resources, borrow from other libraries, manage citations, and browse research databases.  Do not pay for articles, submit your question(s) including the citation information to Dr. Steve McGinty, the librarian for the College of Education.

Academic Search Premier: Database for scholarly resources.

ERIC: Database for scholarly resources related to education.

Google Scholar: Useful for tracking down documents not included in the library search engine.

Radical UMass: Timeline documenting some student activism throughout history of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Special Collections and University Archives: The UMass Amherst archives, a great resource for archival research papers, focuses on social justice and change.

Institutional Review Board (IRB): Use the Institutional Review Board for proposing research involving human subjects.

APA Style Guide: Quick reference for APA formatting, but ALWAYS refer to the latest edition of the APA Publication Manual for best reference!

Regional Professional Networks and Conferences

• MABE Multistate Association for Bilingual Education, Northeast

• MATSOL Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages

• NERA Northeastern Educational Research Association

National/International Professional Networks and Conferences

• AERA American Educational Research Association

• NAME National Association for Multicultural Education

• AAAL American Association for Applied Linguistics

• ACTFL American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

• ILA International Literacy Association

• TESOL International Association: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

• ISLS International Society for Language Studies

College of Education Travel Grants:  This funding source supports graduate students who present at academic conferences. Three waves of applications submissions: November 1 for fall travel, February 1 for winter travel, and April 1 for spring travel.

The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) and LLC Faculty seek collaboration in collecting, organizing, and critically examining resources to help us meet this unprecedented moment in time.  Please join us as we organize events and plan the Graduate Student Conference in response to climate change, COVID-19, remote instruction, and racial trauma.