Beginning September 2002, the Centre for Media and Culture in Education (CMCE) established a Graduate Student Research Associate (GSRA) Program. With the new program, CMCE intends to recognize students' involvement in the Centre, and to further encourage graduate student participation. This program will be the primary means through which graduate students working in the area of media and culture at OISE/UT can officially participate in the organization of the Centre and in the decisions related to its on going events, programs and research.

The Centre sees the GRSA Program as an important opportunity to mentor and build ongoing and engaged working relationships with students pursuing graduate studies related to culture, communications, and critical education. In addition, a GSRA affiliation will provide students the opportunity to shape the direction of the Centre as it continues to evolve, actively influencing the substance of its activities. As Research Associates graduate students will be listed on the Centre's website (along with their academic interests and profiles) and they will be eligible to publish in the Centre's web-based Occasional Paper series. They will also have formal status in the Centre's official year-end reports.

The Centre expects its Research Associates to make a commitment to one of its working groups. For the 2003-2004 academic year, CMCE has established four groups within which Research Associates may participate. 1. Film and Video Programming 2. Research Seminar and Publications 3. Teacher Education 4.Visiting Artists/Artists-in-residence Program 5. Web-based catalogue project. A Research Associate would make a commitment to working in at least one of these groups, planning and helping to carry out its activities for the year. Each GSRA is expected to volunteer in their working group for one term before the designation can be officially adopted.

Please note that this program does not preclude students from also having less formal associations with CMCE.

Interested graduate students at OISE/UT are invited to apply to become GSRAs of CMCE. The application process includes: a letter of application where students describe their graduate research, the connection of those interests to the Centre's mandate and activities, and the Working Committee/ies they would like to work with and why.

Interested students should contact Rinaldo Walcott at rwalcott@oise.utoronto.ca.