Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week
April 6 - 10, 2026
We're celebrating the UO's graduate and law students with events, activities, and giveaways during Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week.
Our Programs of Study
Explore over 150 degree and certificate programs and find the perfect graduate program for you.
Have questions about grad school at the UO? Our admissions team is available to help you find the right path. Email gradadmit@uoregon.edu
Graduate Employment
Graduate Employee (GE) is the term used at the UO for teaching, research, and administrative graduate assistantships.
GEs receive a competitive compensation package that includes a monthly salary, full-time tuition waiver, mandatory fees subsidy, health insurance premium coverage, and subsidized health insurance premium coverage for dependents. All GEs at the UO receive labor union representation.
What can you do with a graduate degree from the UO?
Our alumni take their graduate education in inspiring, community-centered directions. Their stories show what's possible at the UO.
Shannon Oliver, MBA '13, works as the director of operations at the Oregon Food Bank. Read Feeding Oregon: UO Alumni Work to End Hunger.
Kelly Clendenon, MA '25 (multimedia storytelling), directed the documentary "Helpers" with J.J. Kirby. Read How Recovery Inspired an Award-Winning Student Documentary.
Naomi Evans, MNM '23, works as a community relations coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. Read Becoming a Leader in Career Preparation.
Events
8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Visit the McMillan Gallery for an exhibition featuring work from our talented Printmaking students at the University of Oregon. Anywhere from relief to screen print, this annual show features a variety of works from student artists. Join us for refreshments and meet the artists on April 21 5:30-6:30 p.m. On view in the McMillan Gallery March 17, 2026 to May 3, 2026.
9:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Existentialism. You probably have a vague idea that it has something to do with big philosophical questions like, do I lead an authentic life? Is there human nature? Am I free? That’s a good start. But it’s also a literary act, evident via film, short story, and myth. And that’s how I will guide our exploration. Mostly using Friedrich Nietzsche, but including others like Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ernest Hemingway, and Kate Chopin, we will read existentialism, one of the most revolutionary philosophical movements of the past 150 years, as a philosophic poetic story.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Lou Caton is Professor Emeritus at Westfield State University. He has taught a variety of literature courses at the University of Oregon, Auburn University, and Westfield State University. Along with articles that have been published in newspapers and journals, he has two books: an edited collection (with Emory Elliott), Aesthetics in a Multicultural Age, 2002, (available from Oxford University Press), and Reading American Novels and Multicultural Aesthetics: Romancing the Postmodern Novel, 2008, (available through Palgrave-McMillan).
ABOUT CONTINUING EDUCATION SEMINARS
These courses, hosted by OLLI-UO, are for people eager to engage in a studious seminar format. Each in-person only seminar meets weekly, over four sessions. The seminars are led by current and retired professors who provide formal study guides and lead college-level discussions, with participants actively contributing to each session. Seminars are noncredit and ungraded but include challenging homework.
Participation is open to all adults; no previous affiliation with UO is required. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) membership is not required, however, active OLLI members may register at a reduced fee.
2:00–5:00 p.m.
Bay Area Ducks, come through for an afternoon of fine wine and a great time at Vinyl Wine Bar and Shop in Alemeda, CA. The venue is Black-owned and the vibes are included. We’ll also have a caricature artist on hand to capture the fun moments that turn into great memories.
Drink tickets will be provided, and additional tickets will be available for purchase. If wine isn’t your thing, that’s okay. Nonalcoholic beverages and light appetizers will also be provided. A live DJ will set the vibe, and the rest is up to you. We’re looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful melanated faces. Prize drawing tickets will be available for purchase for a chance to win some fun UO swag! Funds raised will go toward the UO Black Alumni Network Student Support Fund.
This event is free, but space is limited.
Register by February 28 and receive two extra drawing tickets! Guests are welcome.