Graduate Employee Organization (GEO)

If you are a Teaching Assistant (TA), Teaching Associate (TO), Research Assistant (RA), Project Assistant (PA), Assistant Resident Director (ARD), Intern, Trainee, or Working Fellow then you can become a member of the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), a union ensuring competitive and equitable pay with benefits. GEO is a unit of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2322, which is based in Holyoke, MA. We are not the only graduate students affiliated with the UAW – UMass Boston, UMass Lowell, the University of Washington, and the entire University of California system are too. UMass Amherst graduate students have been unionized since 1990.

Plant and Soil Sciences Graduate Program Student Guide
WELCOME TO THE PLANT AND SOIL SCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM
Getting Started
Administration of the Program
PRACTICAL CONCERNS
Student ID Card: you need this to do just about anything!
Contacts you need to know
Office (desk) space
Keys
Phones and mail
Information Technologies
Information technology services on campus, including computer and telephone services, are provided by the UMass Amherst Information Technology (IT)
What if I did not receive a NetID and password?
What services are provided by IT?
Library information
Graduate Employee Organization (GEO)
What does GEO do?
What benefits and assistance does GEO provide?
How do you become a member?
How many hours a week do I need to work to receive a tuition waiver?
How many hours a week do I need to work to receive health insurance?
How do I sign up for the Dental and Vision Plans?
If I elect to pay the Continuation Fee (formerly known as the Program Fee) for a semester in which I am not enrolled in classes, am I still eligible for benefits?
Does GEO membership give me a discount on parking?
What should I do if I have a problem in my workplace or with my insurance provider?
How can I get involved in GEO?
Graduate student fees
Important considerations
Fee Minimization Strategies
Seminar Series offered in Stockbridge School of Agriculture, and College of Natural Sciences
Graduate Program Meetings
Animal and Human Use Protocol / Research Permits
When should I pursue this?
Travel Grants
THE PROGRAM
General Policies and Administrative Requirements
Academic Honesty
Title IX
Publishing
Statute of Limitations
Stipends and Tuition Waiver
Full-time Status
Continuation (Program) Fees
Examination/Advisory Committee
MS Degree (thesis and professional degree concentrations)
Ph.D. Degree
Changing advisors and committee members
SSA Program Requirements
Course Credit Requirement
MS Degree (thesis option) Course Requirement
MS Degree (non-thesis On-campus option) Course Requirement 
Accelerated M.S. Degree
M.S. Degree (non-thesis, Off-campus Soils Option)
Ph.D. Degree
Thesis/Dissertation Proposal
Thesis/Dissertation Defense/General Exam
Before the Defense
Content of the Defense
After the Defense
MS Professional General Exam
Checkoff Lists
LIST OF CURRENT AVAILABLE GRADUATE COURSES

Actions

Stockbridge School of Agriculture

University of Massachusetts Amherst
208 Paige Laboratory
161 Holdsworth Way
Amherst, MA, 01003-9286

Contact Us
Phone: 413-545-2222

Seal of The University of Massachusetts Amherst - 1863
©2024 University of Massachusetts Amherst · Site Policies · Accessibility