Since fall 2023, the Office of Graduate Education (OGE) has proudly hosted its annual Graduate Summer Step program - an immersive, two-and-a-half-day experience designed to support newly admitted master’s and doctoral students as they begin their graduate journey at Oregon State University. While designed with students from historically marginalized communities in mind, the program is open and welcoming to all new graduate students.
Each year, approximately 50 incoming students from across all academic colleges participate in Graduate Summer Step in early September. Attendees most commonly identify as first-generation college students, individuals from low-income households, students with one or more disabilities, and/or as persons of color or members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Concerns related to financing their education, navigating the rigor of graduate-level coursework, and relocating to Corvallis have been top of mind for many participants. Graduate Summer Step addresses these challenges by fostering early community-building, connecting students with key campus resources, and developing skills essential for academic and personal success. Through engaging seminars, peer learning, and interactions with experienced faculty and staff, students leave Graduate Summer Step better prepared and more confident as they begin their graduate studies.
Now entering its fourth year, Graduate Summer Step has become a signature OGE program and plays a critical role in launching OGE’s broader Grad Welcome Week activities the following week. We are grateful to our partners in the Valley Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning, whose collaboration helps make Grad Welcome Week - and the transition into graduate life - so successful.
Awareness of OGE’s comprehensive orientation offerings - including Graduate Summer Step - can serve as a powerful recruitment tool and a meaningful complement to academic units’ onboarding and orientation efforts. Graduate Summer Step 2026 will take place Tuesday, September 8 through Thursday, September 10. Beginning in early spring, the Office of Graduate Education will invite all newly admitted summer and fall graduate students to apply to participate. OGE encourages colleagues across the institution to share information about Graduate Summer Step with prospective and admitted students.
