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The Congress of Graduate Students (COGS) is the official representative body of all post-baccalaureate special, masters, specialist, professional, and doctoral students at Florida State.

In accordance to the Student Government Constitution, COGS is a funding board of the Student Government Association and has been granted its own set of administrative rules and procedures. In other words, the COGS assembly is solely responsible for allocating all of the A&S fees it receives from graduate students each year.

During the fall semester of each year, graduate students vote for COGS representatives from all sixteen colleges and schools. Seats in the COGS assembly are allocated based on the amount of enrolled students in each college or school. The term for a COGS representative is one year. Vacant seats can be filled through the petition process. For more information regarding elections and petitions, click on Becoming a Member. To find out who represents you in COGS, click on Contacts and then Members.

COGS is led by an elected Speaker who is supported by an Executive Board comprised of an elected Financial Officer, Judicial Officer, and Information Officer. The Speaker of the House is the official representative of all graduate students to the university and community, and as internal liaison to SGA. The Speaker plans and coordinates all administrative work necessary for the efficient operation of COGS, and with the Financial Officer, authorizes the expenditure of all A&S fee allocations. The Financial Officer is second in line to the Speaker and assumes all of the Speakers responsibilities in the Speaker’s absence. To find out more about the Executive Board, click on Contacts and then Executive Board.

Currently, the largest account that COGS administers is for Presentation Support Grants. These grants help hundreds of graduate students each year travel to academic conferences to present their research. Aside from grants, COGS administers funds to dozens of recognized graduate student organizations (RSOs). Graduate RSOs provide essential activities and services to students of similar interests, goals, and academic backgrounds. If you are looking for more information about grants click on the Resources tab. To learn more about starting your own graduate RSO, click on the Organizations and then Starting a Recognized Student Organization.