The graduate and professional student governance on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota rests with the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA). All currently registered full-time graduate and professional students at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, undergraduate Nursing, and full-time Pharmacy and Medical Students at University of Minnesota-Duluth are members of GAPSA. It was established in 1990 as a non-profit (IRS 501 (c)(3)) confederation of independent college councils representing all graduate and professional students at the University, including to the Board of Regents, the President and Provost, and the University Senate.

GAPSA serves students in the Graduate School, Carlson School of Management, Law School, Medical School, Dental School, School of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, School of Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, and College of Education and Human Development. Our Executive Board meets the first and third Wednesday evenings of September, October, November, February and April. We meet the first Wednesdays of December, March and May and the third Wednesday of January. Sometimes, our Exec Board Meetings or events are also Assembly Meetings, since our larger Assembly meets at least twice each semester. We use emerging civic engagement techniques, including Art of Hosting practice, to guide our governance process to be inclusive and cross-sector. The public is welcome at our meetings, and current students who pay the GAPSA fee (full-time students at the schools listed above) are considered members of our organization.

We identify issues of importance, especially centered in Grand Challenges or Wicked Problems facing our  constituency at the local, state, national and international levels. GAPSA strives to maximize the level of student input in the advocacy process. We attempt to collaborate with the University and related governance (such as MSA and the University Senate).

GAPSA’s President, Vice President, and the GAPSA Student Representative(s) to the Board of Regents act as our primary liaisons to the University Administration. Our Assembly is selected from graduate and professional student representatives on the University Senate and the University Senate Committee system, allowing us to interact with faculty and staff in daily decision-making and to propose changes to policies. College council representatives are also members of the Assembly, ensuring a free flow of information about college trends and obstacles faced in representation at that level.