The Department maintains a small cache of students to serve as IC PhD Student Ambassadors. These outstanding students are the face of the department and are the first students we reach out to when student input or support is needed. Ambassadors may support the annual IC PhD student visit and other recruitment events. If interested in this position, please send a statement of interest to the Academic Program Manager (Theresa Nash).
IC Neutral 3rd party for 2026–2027:
Student: Raj Shah — [email protected]
Faculty: Sonia Chernova and Sashank Varma
The School of Interactive Computing provides both a faculty ombudsperson/neutral third party as well as a student ombudsperson/neutral third party to support our PhD student cohort. IC PhD students have a choice to seek out support from either of the above people depending on their preference.
The student Ombudsperson / Neutral Third Party is selected by the Associate Chair and Academic Program Manager in the IC Department and serves for a term of 2 years. The primary role of the Student Ombudsperson/Neutral Third Party is to serve as a resource for IC PhD students who have concerns with an IC faculty or staff member, or something within the IC PhD program.
Confidentiality is critical for this position as Georgia Tech students' privacy is guaranteed through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The student filling this position will have direct access to both the Associate Chair (currently Thomas Ploetz) as well as Academic Program Manager (currently Theresaa Nash) in addressing student concerns.
The Student Ombudsperson/Neutral Third Party is also listed as a point of contact when IC PhD students receive their annual review. Similarly, if students have a concern with the review or their faculty advisor providing the review, they are directed to speak with either the faculty or student Ombudsperson/Neutral Third Party. The IC Department does not expect the Ombudsperson to resolve the student issue, but rather to provide an impartial ear to allow the student to discuss their concerns and potentially to suggest resources as appropriate.
The Graduate Student Council positions are selected by the current IC student council members.
Table of Content