About the Program

What are GROW Grants?

Graduates Optimizing Wellness (GROW) Grants is a program designed to help graduate student communities access existing wellness resources on campus. Graduate student groups and departments may apply for funds to host wellness-focused workshops for their communities at no cost (some limits may apply).

Who can apply?

Any “intact community” which, in broader terms, means a community centered around a shared affiliation or identity may apply for a grant. Priority will be given to academic departments, schools or programs, and Registered Graduate Student Organizations.

How to Apply

Some of our partners have their own intake forms to request workshops. If you are interested in one of these options, please fill out their form directly (links in the descriptions). For all other workshops, use this form to apply. Submissions will be reviewed weekly.

About the Wellness Fee

This program is generously funded by the Wellness Fee, which aims to support wellness services and programming services for students at UC Berkeley. To learn more, visit their site.

2022-2023 Workshops

Art & Wellness Workshops

The Berkeley Art Studio, a unit of the Student Union, offers classes and workshops to UC Berkeley students, faculty, staff, and alumni in a variety of media including ceramics, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, and design. We invite you to take a break from your studies to learn a new skill in a fun and relaxing environment. You’ll have a chance to socialize with other students while channeling your inner-creativity. We look forward to working with you! Request an Art Studio Workshop

  • Learn to build cups or other functional objects by hand and decorate them with textures and color. We’ll fire your work in our kilns and contact you to pick up the finished work 2-3 weeks after the workshop. Instructors will also demonstrate how to make cups and bowls on the potter’s wheel.

    Schedule & Time: Saturdays 10am-12pm or 5-7pm; Fridays 5-7pm; Sundays 5-7pm. Other times may be available upon request. Workshop time: 2 hours

    Maximum number of participants: 12
    Location: Berkeley Art Studio

  • Learn the fun and magical process of screen printing by printing custom designs on t-shirts, tote bags or posters! Provide us with the artwork in advance, or we’ll pick something for you based on your interests.

    Schedule & Time: Saturdays 10am-12pm or 5-7pm; Fridays 5-7pm; Sundays 5-7pm. Other times may be available upon request. Workshop time: 2 hours

    Maximum number of participants: 12
    Location: Berkeley Art Studio

  • Get crafty with the Berkeley Art Studio! We’ll work with you to custom design a Pinterest-worthy project that your group will love. Project ideas include: bookbinding, paper crafts, macrame, watercolor painting, cardmaking, and more. If you would like to accommodate a larger group (larger than 12 students), this is the workshop for you. 

    Schedule & Time: Custom-scheduled; Workshop time: 2 hours

    Maximum number of participants: 50-75
    Location: Campus Location of your choice (depending on availability & capacity)

  • Take a break, spend time with your classmates, and participate in a relaxing drawing workshop. We’ll teach you basic drawing skills in a fun and welcoming environment. No drawing experience necessary!

    Themes include: animals, landscapes, still-life with everyday objects, and more.

    Time: 1 hour
    Maximum number of participants: 40
    Materials: Pencil & Paper

  • Learn the basics of watercolor as you spend time with fellow students. We’ll cover color mixing, paint layering, and composition, as we explore this fun and relaxing medium. No painting experience necessary!

    Themes include: landscapes, succulents, flowers, Berkeley imagery (Campanile, bears, etc.)

    Time: 1 hour
    Maximum number of participants: 40
    Materials*: watercolors (any set, even simple Crayola Kids set), watercolor brush (small, with a point), and watercolor paper (preferred, but you can experiment with other thick papers)

    *Note: The Art Studio can provide materials upon request for an additional fee. At least 3 weeks notice is required.

  • Turn everyday materials from your kitchen into a work of art. As you relax and enjoy the company of your fellow students, make homemade salt dough and learn to sculpt it into a variety of forms. Make everyday objects, mini foods, and more. After baking, add a magnet and remember the workshop by adding your art to your fridge!

    Themes include: mini-baked goods, sushi, animals, and more.

    Time: 1 hour
    Location: Online via Zoom
    Materials and Equipment: Flour, salt, water, baking sheet, oven, spices & paint (optional)

Creating a Culture of Respect Workshop Series

The PATH to Care Center has developed several prevention and healing workshops designed to build healthy professional relationships, create social norms change, and promote healing in your communities. Click below to see the objectives of each workshop and learn more. Workshop times vary from 60-90 mins. If you would like to request one of the healing or prevention workshops for your community, please email [email protected] with the subject “Healing Workshop Request or “Grad Prevention Workshop.

  • Humans are social creatures – we crave relationships and positive interactions, just as we crave essentials like water and food. The better our relationships are at work, the happier and more productive we can be. This workshop uses interactive exercises to foster participation and discussion to help grad students identify healthy and respectful workplace norms and values to prevent harm and harassment. It also offers practical guidance for grad students to explore the characteristics and benefits of respectful relationships, both personally and professionally.

  • Good working relationships positively shape how we engage with colleagues and friends and offer benefits, including more enjoyable work with those around us. The opportunity to set boundaries impacts our wellness and can sometimes mean the difference between a stressful day, job, experience and an empowering one. This workshop helps grad students identify boundary crossings and violations in both our work and personal relationships, with the goal of empowering participants to explore setting healthy and appropriate boundaries. This workshop uses interactive exercises to foster participation and discussion.

  • Offered by the PATH to Care Center. We have a right to experience a workplace free of harm and harassment. This workshop will help participants learn strategies to create workplaces and academic environments that encourage a culture of respect. This workshop is designed for anyone wanting to gain practical skills for uplifting positive social norms in their department, including ways to strengthen communication and engage in active bystander behavior when we recognize harmful behaviors. This 90-minute workshop uses interactive exercises to foster participation and discussion.

  • A Prevention and Healing Workshop for Grad Students: Learn about how to prevent SVSH through education & healing. Participants will learn about practicing affirmative consent and maintaining healthy boundaries. We will end the workshop with a yoga flow that embodies these concepts.

  • The PATH to Care Center recognizes that healing can take a variety of forms for each individual. Established in January 2019, The Healing Space is a series of collaborative workshops where we invite in community healers and facilitators trained in a variety of different healing modalities such as trauma informed yoga, mindful meditation, reiki, herbal medicine, art therapy, drama therapy and more. This program offers unique opportunities to reconnect to the self and explore what self-care as well as community-care are to an individual. If your department, organization, or community can benefit from a virtual healing workshop, please submit your interest.

    Past Workshops: Please visit http://bit.ly/HealingSpaceInfo for more information about our past workshops and learn about some of our instructors.

Transitioning from Self-Criticism to Kindness

Along with being high performers many graduate students are also really hard on themselves.  Self-Criticism is often the harsh voice that can leave us feeling beaten up rather than helping us. And there is research to support this idea. Many people however, fear that giving up their self-criticism will leave them unmotivated or unaccountable.  There is an alternative, however, to help us break our entrenched pattern and develop a clearer more balanced way to help.  In this talk, Dr. Amy Honigman, the Graduate Assembly Wellness Specialist, will be addressing issues related to finding alternatives to self criticism by generating more positive feelings to balance our reactive self criticism and instead enhance our motivation and resilience. Request a workshop