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Graduate Students (CPAGS)
What is CPAGS?
CPAGS is the graduate student arm of the California Psychological Association. We are dedicated to supporting fellow students in our collective development as leaders in and advocates for the field of psychology. CPAGS officers work hard to enhance the professional development of all California Psychology students by providing opportunities in leadership, networking, research presentations, and scholarships.
Who is CPAGS?
If you are a student member of CPA, then you are a member of CPAGS! If not, joining CPAGS is easy, and costs only $37 per year. Get a membership application here. With a CPAGS membership, you receive all the benefits of a CPA membership, plus special opportunities that are available to students. Benefits of membership include:
1) The CPAGS Listserv
2) The California Psychologist: CPA’s monthly magazine carries news, articles of interest and perspectives on the future of psychology.
3) Access to CPA staff resources
4) Special interest division memberships at a reduced-rate
5) Scholarship Opportunities
6) Discounted/Free admission to CPA Convention and Workshops
7) The satisfaction of supporting student advocacy: Even if you don't have time to take advantage of all of the opportunities available to CPAGS members, your membership fee will help support other students' involvement, which will lead to better professional lives for all of us!
Your CPAGS Officers...
CPAGS is run by a group of officers who are newly elected each year. (For more information on officer positions, see below). We are dedicated to helping student voices be heard, so if you have any concerns, questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact us! Click here to see your officers for the 2009-2010 year.
How do we communicate with you?
The CPAGS Listserve
This online community connects graduate students and professional psychologists, provides professional mentoring, offers important information about legislative and industry changes that affect psychologists, includes postings of internship opportunities, fellowships and post-doctoral training, and is an invaluable resource to graduate students in the state. All CPAGS members are eligible to join. To do so, send an email to LISTSERV@LISTS.APAPRACTICE.ORG with no subject line. Put SUBSCRIBE CPAGS your name in the body of the email.
The Campus Representative Network
The CPAGS Campus Representative (CR) program is the medium through which CPAGS communicates with students across the state. Campus representatives are instrumental in: 1) informing students in their department about issues relevant to the field of psychology and graduate students in particular, including job/internship opportunities, scholarships, grants, and conference opportunities; 2) ensuring reciprocal communication between graduate students and CPAGS/CPA; 3) providing a resource for information about legislative issues and processes affecting the field of psychology. The CR position carries many important and exciting responsibilities as well as opportunities to connect with CPA and CPAGS governance and leadership. The time commitment is minimal, but campus reps provide an invaluable service to their fellow students. If you are interested in serving as a campus rep, or would like to find out who the campus rep is at your school, please contact the CPAGS Chair or Chair-Elect.
ANNUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS
CPA Convention
The CPA Convention, usually held in April of each year, offers several opportunities for students. On Friday, students gather for "Sundaes on Fridays," an annual mixer where students mingle with other students, CPA Board members, and your CPAGS officers. Students can present their research at the Student Poster Session, usually held on Saturday afternoon of the Convention. (Submissions are usually due in December or January of each year). Scholarships and work exchanges are available to help defray the cost of attendance. For more information about any of these opportunities, contact the CPAGS Convention Chair.
State Leadership and Advocacy Conference
At this annual conference (usually held in February), attendees spend the morning learning about current bills, advocacy work, and the legislative process. After lunch, attendees break up by county to meet with their local legislators and staff members to discuss current bills and issues related to mental health care. Scholarships are available to help defray the cost of attendance. This conference is by invitation only, so students interested in attending and/or interested in a scholarship should contact the CPAGS Advocacy Chair.
CPAGS' ANNUAL ELECTIONS
Each year, CPAGS holds elections for a new group of officers. Serving as an officer presents a wonderful opportunity to expand your career path by participating in your professional association. No experience is necessary to run for a position. The term of office runs July 1 - June 30 of the following year. To be eligible to run for an elected position, you must be a current graduate student in good academic standing and have at least one year remaining before graduation (at least two years if running for the Chair-elect position). Brief descriptions of the CPAGS officer positions are listed below. For further information or how to nominate yourself for a position, contact the CPAGS Chair or Chair-Elect. Nominations are usually due on or before April 20th of each year. CPAGS is committed to continuing to recruit leadership for our association that is diverse with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, geographic location, and type of academic program.
Elected position descriptions
Chair-Elect (two-year term):
- serves a one-year term as member of the CPAGS Steering Committee, and serves as Chair in the subsequent year;
- functions as treasurer of the student association;
- attends both spring and fall CPA Board of Directors meetings, the annual Leadership and Advocacy Conference, and the CPA Convention.
Communications Coordinator:
- edits the student membership newsletter;
- maintains and updates the CPAGS listserv
- coordinates submissions for the student column of the California Psychologist;
- coordinates the submission of division representative updates for dissemination;
Advocacy Chair:
- serves on the CPA Governmental Affairs Committee
- coordinates state and federal legislative advocacy efforts with the Association’s campus representatives, and thus with the membership.
- coordinates student attendance at CPA's State Leadership & Advocacy Conference.
Convention Chair:
- serves on the CPA Convention Committee and coordinates all aspects of student participation in the annual CPA convention, including but not limited to:
- distributing the call for proposals for the student track of programming;
- coordinating the selection of proposals and the scheduling of programs;
- runs the student track in coordination with CPA central office on the day of convention (must be able to attend convention in its entirety)
- disseminates all necessary information to convention presenters.
Division Representatives
CPAGS division reps are essentially the student voice on each division. In addition to adding a student perspective, they identify student opportunities within each division. Each division rep has the responsibility of maintaining a relationship between the CPAGS leadership and each division, and writing articles each year for the CP updating student members of happenings in their division. Generally, Divisions meet 2-3 times per year, and have occasional conference calls. CPA's current Divisions are:
Division I - Clinical and Professional Practice
Division II - Education and Training
Division III - Industrial/Organization Psychology
Division IV - Public Service
Division V - Clinical Psychopharmacology
Division VI - Media Technology and Communication
Division VII - Public Service
Click here for more information about the CPA Divisions.
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