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Welcome to your SGPS, your student society at Queen's

Message from the SGPS President, Beth Langdon

Welcome!

The Society of Graduate and Professional Students is your student society and provides services such as the SGPS Health and Dental Plan, Financial Assistance, the Student Advisors Program, and the Sexual Health Resource Centre.

We also have Welcome Back events planned for September which all of our students are invited to.

Please don't hesitate to get in contact with the SGPS Executive or SGPS Commissioners if you have a question or concern.

Keep an eye out in our newsletters for ways to get involved.

Currently, I am happy to announce that later this week we will start accepting nominations for the SGPS Graduate Student Trustee (see more information below).

Your Health and Dental plan

The SGPS is proud to offer a supplemental Health and Dental plan to all of our members.

Our plan includes not only enhanced travel coverage but starting in September 2022, students who are on the SGPS Health and Dental Plan will also have access to Conversation, a prepaid psychology service.

Our provider, StudentCare, will be holding an information session about the plan for students in mid-September. Keep an eye on our social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram: @queenssgps) in the coming days for more information.

Click Here to Learn More about the SGPS Health and Dental Plan
Kingston Transit Pass

Starting September 1, 2022 your Queen’s student card acts as your bus pass. Just make sure you have a 2022 - 2023 sticker on the back of your student card.

IMPORTANT NOTE: the Registrar's Office is no longer mailing out validation stickers for on-campus students. You will need to pick up your validation sticker during the first two weeks of classes.

To learn more about how you can get the 2022 - 2023 sticker, check out the link below.

Click Here to Learn How You Can Get Your Student Card Sticker
Get involved at the SGPS

We are looking for an SGPS member to serve as our representative on the University's Board of Trustees.

The nomination period for the SGPS Graduate Student Trustee position opens this Friday, September 2nd at 12:01 am. This is a 2-year term position and can be held by a Graduate or a Professional student.

Information about the election timeline and nomination process can be found at https://sgps.ca/elections/.

The Graduate Student Trustee represents Graduate and Professional students on the Board of Trustees. This is an important role because we need a voice for Graduate and Professional students to weigh in on high-level university decisions. The Board of Trustees meets quarterly, and other committee work outside of these board meetings may be required.

The Board of Trustees is one of the three governing bodies of the university, along with the Senate and the University Council. They are responsible for decisions that have significant financial impacts at Queen’s University such as approving tuition amounts and campus renovation projects.

As the SGPS Graduate Student Trustee, you would be one of 22 elected members of the Board of Trustees and would have voting power. The elected candidate will need to attend the Friday, September 30 (evening) and Saturday, October 1st board meetings.

Click the button below to learn more about the position and the nomination process.

Click Here to Learn More About the Position and the Nomination Process
financial assistance

The SGPS prides itself on providing financial aid to members in need to help them participate fully in the Queen’s student experience and assist with emergency and unexpected expenses.

We have numerous categories for financial assistance, including a dental subsidy and a mental health subsidy for members who max out their benefits on the SGPS Health and Dental Plan.

To learn more about the financial assistance available, check out the link below.

Click Here for More Information
SGPS events

All events are open to all new and returning SGPS members.

The SGPS Student Advisors are here to help you confidentially navigate many of the issues you may face as a graduate or professional student at Queen’s.

The Student Advisors provide advice, strategies for self-advocacy, referrals for these issues, and more. The Advisors provide services such as helping students find the answers to their questions, attending meetings alongside students, helping draft and edit delicate emails, providing individual advice, coaching and strategic planning, and connecting students to other resources when an issue exceeds their expertise or if there is another service that could better meet your needs.

If you are having a small problem, you don't ​need to wait until it becomes a very large problem. All correspondence with the Program (which is comprised of all the Advisors and the SGPS Executive Director) is entirely confidential. We cannot share your information with anyone unless we receive written permission from you.

The Student Advisors are available free of charge to assist with academic and non-academic concerns. Reach out to them at using the link below.

Click Here to Contact the SGPS Student Advisors

The Sexual Health Resource Centre is an SGPS service that provides confidential, non-judgmental, sex positive, pro-choice, queer positive, non-heterosexist and feminist information and referrals for questions regarding sex, sexuality and sexual health.

They also offer the sale of at-cost safer sex products and toys. The centre is staffed by trained volunteers who are knowledgeable about the products we sell and respond to client inquiries made in person or by telephone.

Click the link below to learn more about the SHRC.

Click Here to Learn More About the SHRC
Click Here for our Organizational Contact List