CDS GRADUATE PROGRAM ADVISOR, Office of the Provost

Position Overview

The Graduate Program Advisor plays a central role in supporting graduate student success and wellbeing throughout their academic journey at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS). This position is responsible for coordinating and delivering comprehensive academic advising and student support services, with a primary focus on master’s students and additional support for doctoral students. The role also contributes to curricular and co-curricular initiatives that foster a strong sense of belonging, shared community, and pride in CDS.

The Graduate Program Advisor advises master’s students on all aspects of their academic experience and supports PhD students with registration-related matters, including cross-registration outside of CDS and tracking academic milestones. In addition to advising, the position supports graduate admissions and yield efforts and performs other duties as assigned.

The Graduate Program Advisor is a member of the CDS Graduate Programs team and reports to the Associate Director of Graduate Affairs. Graduate Programs staff work collaboratively with faculty and campus partners and participate in school-wide meetings and events.

Key Responsibilities

Academic Advising (50%)

The Graduate Program Advisor develops and implements a holistic academic advising program that supports master’s students’ academic, personal, and professional growth. This includes organizing advising for all master’s students and ensuring regular engagement with advisors to review degree requirements, course registration, academic progress, career planning, and other relevant concerns. The role provides individualized, one-on-one advising and interprets, upholds, and coordinates academic and student life policies and procedures.

The position serves as the primary point of contact for student records and graduation processes, working closely with the Registrar and other administrative offices to ensure accuracy and compliance. The advisor also supports course planning and contributes to updates to the BU Bulletin (Student Handbook) to maintain accurate and current academic information. Strong collaboration with campus partners is essential to ensure cohesive and effective student support across the University.

Community Building and Communications (20%)

The Graduate Program Advisor plays a leadership role in fostering student belonging and community through programs and communications. This includes conceptualizing and organizing new student orientation to ensure incoming students feel welcomed, prepared, and connected to CDS from the start.

The role manages graduate communications, including oversight of the general email account, social media channels, the calendar of events and deadlines, and messaging for incoming students. The position also contributes to the planning and execution of signature CDS events and ceremonies, including graduation, to ensure high-quality and meaningful student experiences.

Graduate Affairs Support (15%)

The position supports Graduate Affairs initiatives related to student success, retention, and on-time graduation. Responsibilities include developing and implementing strategies to improve retention and graduation outcomes, managing onboarding communications for incoming students, and collaborating on anti-melt strategies to support engagement and a smooth transition into CDS programs.

PhD Student Support (15%)

The Graduate Program Advisor works closely with the Doctoral Oversight Committee (DOC) to support PhD students through key academic and research milestones. This includes tracking student progress during rotations, collecting and maintaining required documentation, and ensuring accurate records. The position is responsible for updating PhD milestones in MyBU to maintain clear, consistent, and timely records of student progress.

Required Skills

Bachelor's degree required

3-5 years of relevant experience required