Hidden in the twists and turns of the halls of the Exley Science Center lies the Office of Graduate Student Services. Just as the office is out of sight, graduate students remain out of mind for many undergraduates on campus.

According to Director of Graduate Student Services Marina Melendez, there are about 200 students enrolled in graduate programs on campus. With the exception of the Music and Ethnomusicology Program, all other graduate programs center around the sciences.

Since the graduate programs here are quite small in comparison to many other universities, Wesleyan’s intimate setting is a draw for many students.

“Wesleyan is really geared towards being an undergraduate institution, which actually makes for a great grad program because there are so few of us that we get a lot of personal attention,” said Tanya Harrison, a student in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department. “It’s wonderful to be in a place where you know everyone and everyone knows you.”

In addition to the small-campus atmosphere, many graduate students come to the University because of its renowned programs.

“Wesleyan’s Ethnomusicology program is quite well-known,” said Emily Ferrigno, a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology. “I believe it’s the oldest program in the country. I did my B.A. at Grinnell College, so I like the small, liberal arts college atmosphere.”

Ferrigno, who has finished her course work and is currently working on her dissertation on “drum ‘n’ bass,” has been a TA for numerous undergraduate music courses.

“I’ve been a TA for music courses and I found Wesleyan students to be friendly, inquisitive, and thoughtful,” she said.

Many other graduate students in the sciences have enjoyed TAing.

“I TA labs, so there I have a lot of undergrad friends,” said Pennan Chinnasamy, a graduate student in the Physics Department Ph.D. program. “The undergrads are a joyful bunch.”

In addition to working academically with undergraduates, many graduate students also interact socially with the larger student body.

“E&ES grad students are in the same classes with undergrads, so at least in this department you get to interact with undergrads quite a bit,” said Tanya Harrison, who is in the Master’s program in the Earth and Environmental Sciences. “Most of my friends are undergrads.”

Harrison, whose academic focus is in the planetary sciences, said that she appreciates undergraduate students not only for their intelligence but for their awareness and open-minde-ness as well.

“The undergrads make me think of Wesleyan as the ‘Harvard for Hippies,’” she said. “[They are] very bright students who are environmentally conscious and wonderfully eccentric.”

Though some graduate students like Harrison spend a lot of time with their undergraduate friends, Chinnasamy notes that there is some social separation between the two student bodies.

“They sometimes keep [their] distance from grads at the parties,” he said.

Though undergraduates may not see graduate students at many parties, graduate students maintain an active social life. The Graduate Student Association (GSA), the graduate community’s version of the Wesleyan Student Assembly, organizes many social activities.

“Most grad students are workaholics, but we do have a Graduate Student Association that organizes parties and outings,” Ferrigno said. “Most grads hang out with other grads from their respective departments.”

Since the Earth and Environmental Science Department is so small—there are only four graduate students—students have formed a tight-knit group.

“Everyone gets to know everyone else,” Harrison said. “Most of the social outings I’ve been on with other grad students have involved food.”

Many graduate students also take advantage of on-campus facilities and events.

“We play a lot of sports at Freeman center, [like] squash and soccer,” Chinnasamy said. “I love to go to the…Wesleyan cinemas which show some awesome pictures.”

In order to facilitate graduate student social life, Graduate Student Services tries to concentrate graduate students in certain areas of on-campus housing. According to Melendez, Brainard Street, Lawn Avenue, and the Park Washington Apartment Building are common graduate housing areas.

Graduate students live off campus, as well. However, living in Middletown can be difficult for students used to living in bigger cities, a frustration that many undergraduate students share.

“Middletown has a nice small-town atmosphere, at least to me, since I came here from Seattle,” Harrison said. “The people are very friendly. The only downside though is that everything closes so early and not many places deliver. I’m used to being able to decide at 2 a.m., ‘Hey, I am really craving sushi,’ and something will be open and will deliver to you.”

Off-campus students do, however, appreciate the wide variety of restaurants that Middletown has to offer.

“We have a nice time dining at Middletown,” Chinnasamy said. “There is a collage of cuisines here and the prices are good. I am an Indian, so I love Indian food. The Udupi Bhavan and Haveli have the best food.”

Although graduate students are often forgotten, many students say that a closer undergraduate and graduate connection would enrich the campus, both socially and academically.

“Take advantage of the grad student presence,” Harrison said. “Grads are good resources for research projects [or] papers or for advice on beginning an academic career. We generally have large networks of colleagues.”