South Sound Graduate School Fair to gather 40 institutions next week at The Evergreen State College

In partnership with the South Sound Graduate Fair Coalition, Evergreen State College will host the first annual South Sound Graduate School Fair on October 8.

The fair will be held at The Evergreen State College’s Evans Hall, 2nd Floor Lobby, from 3 to 6 p.m.

The University of Puget Sound (UPS) ’s Grad Fair, an additional fair on October 7, will be held from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. in Tacoma.

Over 40 institutions from around the country and globe will attend, offering degrees in everything from Information Technology, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Law, Tribal Governance, Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Public Administration, and the Environment.

“Graduate school provides opportunities for significant career advancement, and grad fairs are a way to provide equal opportunity and access to our communities. This event will bring representatives from a variety of disciplines and fields from schools across the US and internationally to support career exploration and professional growth for students and community members in South Puget Sound,” Averi Azar, Assistant Director of TESC's Master of Environmental Studies Program and event lead coordinator stated in an email to The JOLT.

Carri LeRoy, Director of the Master of Environmental Studies Program at The Evergreen State College, told The JOLT that grad fairs are concentrated events with multiple programs present so that students can learn about a range of offerings and come away with information from many programs and schools.

LeRoy added that graduate fairs in our region had fallen by the wayside until recently, when, in 2023, UPS held a graduate school fair attended by several schools but with few students.

“It was during the 2023 Graduate School fair at UPS that individuals from colleges and universities in the South Puget Sound region started talking to one another about how to support each other, and students, in accessing graduate educational opportunities,” LeRoy wrote.

The South Sound Graduate Coalition was forged through conversations between the University of Puget Sound, Saint Martin’s University, Pacific Lutheran University, and The Evergreen State College.

The coalition aims to host a collaborative Graduate Fair this year, one that would create wider access and awareness to graduate programs in the South Puget Sound region without the need to travel further.

Graduate school is so tailored to individual students’ needs and career goals that students must find the program that suits their needs.

As a result, the coalition prioritizes exploration support by providing program information and referring students to schools with the program.

The South Sound Graduate School Fair is planned to rotate locations yearly among South Sound Graduate Coalition members. Next year, Pacific Lutheran University will host the fair.