AIMBE
Student Policy Resources
How to Make an Impact as a Graduate Student
Now is a critical time to get involved with science policy as an early career researcher or graduate student. Below are just a few examples of issues that researchers and students lent their voices to and had a major impact on public policy decision-making.
Tuition waivers that come with research assistantships–often the lifeblood of graduate students which provide modest stipends to live off–would have been counted as taxable income under a GOP tax proposal. Advocates argued that this would make graduate school an unaffordable proposition for too many students. The research community stood-up and the Administration backed-down.
A proposal to eliminate the student loan interest deduction that allows students to deduct up to $2,500 of interest payments on student loans was on the chopping block. The research community stood-up and Congress backed-down.
The Lifetime Learning Credit that provides tax benefits up to $2,000 for tuition and enrollment fees was set to be eliminated. The research community stood-up and Congress backed-down.
This is where you come in—as a graduate student, it’s easy to get involved with issues you care about, like the ones listed above, to impact policy at the local, state, & national levels.
Not sure where to start? Get informed about the science policy ecosystem with this guide.
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