Welcome to Florida State! 

 

A little bit about the HGSA:

The History Graduate Student Association at FSU is made up of graduate students in the history department. The organization acts as a liaison between faculty and graduate students, provides opportunities for graduate student professional development, and supports graduate students through social events. The HGSA is also an official participant in the governance of the department, as outlined by Department of History bylaws. The organization is able to send representatives to faculty and graduate committee meetings, as well as participate on the New Faculty Search Committee, when applicable. All students enrolled at the graduate level in the History Department of Florida State University are welcome to become members of the HGSA. There are no dues or activities required of members. 

The HGSA bylaws require the organization to hold a monthly meeting for all members. At these meetings, members of the executive board typically relay information about what the organization is doing and key updates about the department. These meetings also have an open floor for discussion and for members to raise their own agenda items. If you would like to become a member, please attend the first meeting or reach out to the organization president, Frank Amico (famico@fsu.edu). The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday September 10th, from 12:00 – 1:00 PM in BEL 404.

As an officially registered student organization (RSO), we are eligible to receive some conditional funding from the university to support our events and activities. We also fundraise by selling books donated to the organization. The books are located in the HGSA office (BEL 456). A few times a semester, the organization will reserve a table at the university’s Market Wednesday which takes place every Wednesday from 11:00am – 2:00pm on Legacy Walk (or the pathway right in front of the Bellamy building — the history department is on the 4th floor). For anyone interested in buying books, feel free to stop by the HGSA office or to reach out to one of the executive officers if no one is in there when you are able to stop by.

The HGSA also hosts an annual graduate conference during the spring semester. The call for papers and programs from past conferences can be viewed at our website: https://hgsafsu.org. This year the conference is scheduled for the end of February/early March. If anyone is interested in helping plan the conference by joining the Conference Planning Committee, please reach out to Michael Vernon at mvernon@fsu.edu. He is spearheading this effort and has already begun initial planning stages.

Some First Steps 

  1. Sign-up for the History Grad Student Listserv
  1. Get in contact with your Mentor
    • All incoming students have a mentor. Dr. Mooney should have emailed both mentors and mentees to put them in contact.
    • Mentors are a valuable resource for learning about the department, the university, and Tallahassee. Your mentor should be able to help you get a sense of how courses will go, workload strategies, and department expectations.
  2. Follow the HGSA on social media
  1. Request to join our Nole Central group:https://nolecentral.dsa.fsu.edu/organization/hgsa
    • Our official university funded events will be posted here and Nole Central is a great resource for seeing what events and activities other organizations are doing on campus.
    • The university requires that we have a certain number of members registered to the organization in NoleCentral in order to legitimize the amount of funding we request for events. 

The Department 

The history department is part of the College of Arts and Sciences. The department is located on the 4th floor of the Bellamy building, but the building is mostly occupied by departments of the College of Social Sciences such as geography, sociology, and urban planning. The location is pretty central to campus being right around the corner from Strozier Library, Landis Green, and the new Student Union building that opened in 2022. The Union contains the bookstore, some fast casual food options (Starbucks, Panda Express, Panera, Pollo Tropical and Brooklyn Pizza) as well as a sports bar operated by a local brewery, Proof Brewing, and bowling alley in the basement. There is also a hot dog truck called Mom & Pops right in between our building and Strozier Library, a Chick Fil-a on the opposite side of Landis Green and a “micro-restaurant” food hall called 1851 that has several other options such as sushi, pizza, tacos, mac and cheese. 1851 is located along Jefferson Street, which is south of Bellamy.

Most graduate courses take place in the large seminar room: BEL 404.  All of the graduate student offices are located along the west corridor of the 4th floor. These include all the interior offices and some that are mixed in with faculty offices along the perimeter. There is also a graduate student lounge located in BEL 434 that has a refrigerator, microwave, kettle, and some non-perishable food items. 

As mentioned earlier, the HGSA office is located in BEL 456. Feel free to stop by if you would like to chat about anything about the department or the HGSA, or if you would like to peruse the available books for sale. New this year, the department has renovated two additional seminar/conference rooms: BEL 430 and BEL 419. BEL 430 will have a refrigerator, kitchen sink with hot water and furniture, and should open during most lunch hours for grad students, faculty, and staff to eat and congregate in. 

It is also a good idea to get to know the office staff as they are going to be a big help during your time at FSU. 

Front Office

  • Deb Alexander: Office Hours, Book Orders (when a TA), Reserving Rooms, General Questions
  • Ashley Sadler: General Questions, Paychecks, Travel Grants and Department Fellowships, Reimbursements
  • John Netter: Paychecks, Travel Grants and Department Fellowships, Reimbursements, Office Keys and Building Access

Advising Office

  • Anne Kozar: Course Registration, Program of Study and Annual Reviews, Graduate Handbook Advising, Degree Completion, University Forms
  • Madeline Robertson: Assistantship Letters, Course Offerings, University Forms

Offices

If you are a Graduate Assistant (GA), meaning you are grading for a course, or a Teaching Assistant (TA), meaning you are the instructor of record for your own course, you will receive an office in the department. Information on offices will be emailed to you in August as well as information on how to obtain a key. You can always borrow a key from the main office while waiting for key approval. It is best to put in a key request as soon as you receive your office assignment, because the Key Shop can get inundated with requests at the beginning of every semester.

Mailbox

If you are a GA or TA your mailbox will be in the Main Office’s copier room or in the hall outside the main office. 

Student ID

You need a Student ID card to access many things around campus including entering and exiting the libraries. The sooner you can get your card, the less busy the office will be. Visit http://fsucard.fsu.edu for more information.

Once you get your card, you can email John (jnetter@fsu.edu) to have it activated to give you weekend access to Bellamy.

Copiers/Scanners

Graduate students do not have access to department copiers and scanners unless you are a Teaching Assistant. Scanners are available in Strozier or other university libraries. Each office has several computers and at least one printer for printing materials related to grading/teaching.

Travel Funding

The department offers travel funding for graduate students presenting at conferences or going on research. Typically you can apply for up to $500 for national travel and up to $1000 for international travel. For more information and forms, you reach out to John or Ashley. John usually sends out an update at the beginning of the semester as well.

COGS or the Congress of Graduate Students also offers funding for travel to attend and present at conferences. You can receive up to $500 for travel in one year. For more information, see their website: https://sga.fsu.edu/student-government/congress-graduate-students/funding/individual-conference-presentation-and.

The department also has funding for students doing oral history. For more information, reach out to John or Prof. Koslow.

University and Campus Information

Fees

You are responsible for paying your fees even if you are on University funding. These fees pay for many things, access to sporting events and gyms, access to computers around campus, etc.

If you are on University funding, you can sign-up for a Tuition/Fee payment plan each semester that will deduct those fees in equal payments from your paycheck throughout the semester. You will receive an email in August on how to register for the plan.

[Related to the tuition payment plan, the university offers health insurance plans through United HealthCare Student Resources (UHCSR). Graduate assistants can sign up for a subsidy for this plan that will make the cost about 80% off. For more information, use this link: https://gradschool.fsu.edu/funding-awards/subsidy-benefit.]

Graduate Student Union

The United Faculty of Florida has a chapter at FSU that you are welcome to join. Union dues are 1% of your bi-weekly salary. For more information visit http://www.fsugau.org/ or reach out to Noah Cole, an enthusiastic union member from our department and a former executive officer in the union. He can be reached at nmcole@fsu.edu. 

Libraries

FSU has a number of libraries around campus. Strozier is the primary one and is located right around the corner to the east of Bellamy. There is also the Dirac Science Library which is located near Woodward parking garage, the College of Law Research Center which is on the eastside of campus, as well as the Claude Pepper Library along Call Street which houses the university’s Special Collections. They have a wide variety of materials in their archive, some of which may be of use to graduate students. For more information about the libraries visit the FSU library website: https://www.lib.fsu.edu/visit-and-study.

If the item you are looking for is not available at one of FSU’s libraries, you can request it through UBorrow (other Florida libraries) or Interlibrary Loan (non-Florida libraries). The library also delivers and picks up books from the history department’s main office. You can sign up for that at https://www.lib.fsu.edu/form/led-registration.

Notable Campus Activities

For campus events and activities, Nole Central is the best resource: https://nolecentral.dsa.fsu.edu/.

FSU Athletics — Football games in the fall are the big one, but there have been a lot of excellent athletic teams over the past few years. The women’s soccer team won the national championship in 2023, the volleyball team won the ACC Championship and appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2023, the men’s tennis team were the national doubles runners-up in 2024, the men’s golf team were national runners- up in 2024, the baseball team appeared in the 2024 College World Series, and the softball team appeared in the 2024 Super Regionals. 

Students get in free to sporting events. For most events, all that is necessary is showing your student ID for free entry. For football and men’s basketball, students need to enter a lottery through the university’s ticket program called Spear It Rewards. Football games are more difficult to get tickets to, but graduate students have increased odds of winning compared to undergraduates. More information on that can be found here: https://seminoles.com/sports/2022/8/26/studenttickets.

FSU Flying High Circus — An FSU tradition over 75 years old. Unique aerial and stage circus performances. [The circus tent was destroyed in the spring tornado but performances will continue while it is rebuilt.] Learn more about the circus at https://circus.fsu.edu/.

Theatre — The FSU School of Theatre typically puts on five major shows per year. More information about this season can be found here: https://theatre.fsu.edu/productions/.

One of our HGSA members, Danielle Wirsansky, also has her own theater company called White Mouse Productions. They are a student theatre company dedicated to positive social change. Their performances often have historical topics and are typically held on FSU’s campus. More information can be found on their social media: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteMouseProductions/.

Getting Around 

On Campus 

See transportation.fsu.edu for parking lot information, parking permits, campus bus routes, mobile apps, and more. 

The parking decks with Student (W) White Spaces near Bellamy (Traditions Way, Woodward, and to a lesser extent, Call Street) tend to fill up quickly early in the morning. To make sure you arrive at any scheduled class or appointment on time, you may need to arrive with ample time to find parking. Some of the further out parking lots such as St. Augustine, Spirit Way, or the parking lot of the Tucker Civic Center (East of campus) typically have parking available, but it can be more of a walk to Bellamy or the center of campus. FSU has a mobile app called FSUTranz that has live updates of available spots. It can be useful but is not always accurate, especially as spaces will sometimes be blocked off for events.

[There are a few other university apps that may be helpful as well: https://www.fsu.edu/mobileapps/?myFSUmobile]

After 4:30 PM, students may park in Employee (R) Red Spaces (unless denoted by signage) until 12:00 AM, Monday – Friday, and over the weekend. There is typically a yellow arm-swing gate to get into these lots that will lift up for open access after 4:30 or 5:00 PM on weekdays. There is a parking lot almost directly outside Bellamy at the end of Call Street that will be open after 5:00PM.

Around Town 

StarMetro provides public transportation in Tallahassee. For routes and a live map of bus locations, see https://www.talgov.com/starmetro/starmetroHome. 

Many people in the department drive their own vehicles, though lots of people in town, including a number of history department faculty, use bikes to get around. Please reach out if you have any questions about biking and we would be happy to connect you with a faculty member who can advise on the best local routes, trails, bike shops, etc.

Game Day Traffic

On Saturdays when FSU is hosting a home football game expect there to be significant disruptions to normal traffic patterns. Some streets around the stadium will be completely blocked off due to the game, and other streets will experience heavily congested traffic both before and after the game. It is also important to remember that parking on campus is restricted from Friday/Saturday at midnight until noon the following Sunday, as those spots are reserved for boosters. The university sends out email reminders of this but be sure to move your car out of designated parking decks and lots as it will get towed. If you need to park on campus during a game day, a couple good bets have been either the small faculty lot by Strozier or the Call Street parking deck.

Greater Tallahassee 

Since many incoming graduate students are often coming from outside of Tallahassee, we have included a few points of interest and recommendations. Tallahassee is a small city, but there are a lot of things to do, places to visit, and decent restaurants and bars. It often does not take much time to get across town, though during rush hour there can sometimes be relatively heavy crosstown traffic. 

Local Archives

  • FSU Special Collections and Archives — As mentioned earlier, these are located in the Claude Pepper Library and contain a wide variety of different collections. You need to make an appointment to visit but typically there is good availability. For more information, use this link: https://www.lib.fsu.edu/special-collections.
  • State Archives of Florida — Located on the second floor of the R.A. Gray Building a few blocks east of FSU. They have robust collections related to Florida history, government, as well as manuscript collections and historical photographs. A number of former FSU graduate students work or have worked at the archives and may be able to help advise navigating the collections. For more information, use this link: https://dos.fl.gov/library-archives/archives/.
  • Florida Memory — Select digitized collections from the State Archives of Florida that are available online. Contains historical records, photographs, maps, and audio and visual materials. For more information, use this link: https://www.floridamemory.com/.

Points of Interest

Parks:

  • FSU Lakefront Park & Retreat Center — Free for FSU students (must present student ID). Located on a lake with a beach. Has swimming, beach games, volleyball, kayak, paddleboard and sailboat rentals, rock climbing, and pavilions.
  • Cascades Park — Located in the center of town; a newer park with an amphitheater and lots of community events.
  • Lake Ella Park — Smaller park with a featured walking path around the lake with ducks. Also has cottage shops including ice cream, snowcones, and Black Dog Cafe.
  • Tom Brown Park — Large park located on the east side of town with trails, pavilions, and sports facilities.
  • Southwood GreenSpace and Nature Trail — Public park within Southwood neighborhood. Paved walkway around lake.

Movie Theaters:

  • AMC Tallahassee 20 — Located on North Monroe St. as part of the Centre of Tallahassee complex. Frankly, there isn’t much else in this shopping plaza except AMC, Ross, & Barnes and Noble. 
  • CMX Fallschase — Located on the eastside of town next to Costco. 

Museums:

  • FSU Heritage Museum — Located in Dodd Hall. Has information and artifacts related to the history of FSU. Also functions as a reading room where students can sit at tables and work.
  • FSU Museum of Fine Art — Next to the Call St. parking deck. Permanent art collection with rotating exhibits of historical and contemporary art.
  • Mission San Luis — A living history museum and site of a former Spanish-Franciscan Mission. Also an active archaeological site with tours and events.
  • Florida History Museum – Located in the basement of the R.A. Gray building. Has exhibits showing the history of Florida from prehistoric to present and often a special exhibit section. [Temporarily closed]
  • Tallahassee Museum — Located in southwest Tallahassee. Features historic buildings, nature trails, wildlife and farm animals, and a  zipline and obstacle course.
  • Florida Historic Capitol Museum — The original state capitol building that you can see from the road at the intersection of Monroe and Apalachee. Has exhibits and historic artifacts.
  • The Grove — Located off North Monroe St. Antebellum historic house that was the residence of territorial governor of Florida Richard Keith Call. 
  • Goodwood Museum and Gardens — Former plantation that now serves as a historic house museum and nursery. Free to walk around. Often hosts community events like the annual Tomato Feastival in June. 
  • Riley House Museum — The historic home of local educator and civic leader John G. Riley. One of the last remaining buildings from the historic African-American community, Smokey Hollow, near the capitol.
  • Tallahassee Automobile Museum — Automobile collection museum.

Local Bookstores:

  • Midtown Reader — Independent bookstore located in Midtown. Small but has two floors. Local books, staff recommendations and frequent events including book clubs and invited talks with authors. Also has a pie shop on the second level called the Piebrary, serving homemade pies and coffee. 
  • Common Ground Books — LGBTQ+ and feminist bookshop that often hosts events located a few blocks east of campus off Call St.
  • My Favorite Books — Used bookstore in the market district with a big collection of used books.
  • Fat Cat Books — Used book shop located in Railroad Square that also functions as a cat adoption center. Affiliated with the Fat Cat Cafe adoption center.

Nearby Areas to Explore:

  • College Town — Two blocks  south of FSU campus. Has restaurants, bars, and some shops. Undergraduates often hang out in this area. Gets busy during football games but can be a fun environment.
  • Railroad Square — Cool art district across the railroad tracks south of College Town. Has a lot of interesting boutique shops, local artists and galleries, some food options, and a community theater called Mickee Faust Club. Hosts a First Friday monthly festival every month, often with live music. The district was hit very hard by a tornado this past spring  so some businesses and buildings had closed due to excessive damage. For updates, check on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RailroadSquare.
  • Wakulla Springs — About 30 minutes south of Tallahassee. Natural freshwater springs with riverboat tours, manatees, swimming, biking, and other outdoor activities. Also has a Lodge restaurant on site. 
  • Thomasville, GA — A small town about 40 minutes north of Tallahassee in Georgia with boutique shopping and restaurants downtown. Nice for walking around.
  • Bradfordville — Another small town north of Tallahassee on the way to Thomasville. Has an outdoor shopping center called Bannerman Crossing with shops, restaurants, and events.
  • Carrabelle Beach — Nice nearby beach.
  • St. George Island — About an hour and forty minutes away but a really nice beach. Has a public beach with a lighthouse and St. George Island State Park which also has its own beach. The state park beach was voted the Best Beach in the US in 2023 by Dr. Beach! 
  • St Marks National Wildlife Refuge — One of the oldest wildlife refuges in the country. Great place to see wildlife or go fishing. Has one of the oldest lighthouses in Florida, which has visiting hours. Next to the historic towns of St Marks and Port Leon, as well as San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park which has a historic Spanish fort. There is a 20-mile historic railroad trail that people can walk or bike along from south Tallahassee to the town of St. Marks.

Drinks Galore:

Local Coffee Shops:

  • Red Eye — Two locations; Midtown location is a very popular spot.
  • Lucky Goat — Several locations across town; popular local brand.
  • Black Dog Cafe — Located at Lake Ella Park; popular spot located just off the walking path.
  • Square Mug — Located in Railroad Square. Good coffee drinks with indoor/outdoor seating.
  • Vino Beano — Some chic elements. Coffee, wine, and cocktails. Located in Midtown, it often has weekly events.
  • Tally Cat Cafe — Coffee shop where you book an appointment to play with cats in their Cat Lounge. Serves as a foster home and adoption center for cats.
  • Paper Fox — Good coffee, one location on the east side of Tallahassee.
  • Argonaut Coffee – A couple locations across town.
  • Bubbly Tea Bar — Good boba tea place on the west side of town.

Breweries:

  • Ology —  Brewery and Distillery. Three locations across town. Serves coffee during the day, a wide variety of different beers and unique cocktails. 
  • Proof — One location on campus in the basement of the Student Union, the other is nearby off of South Monroe Street. Nice outdoor area and a large space. Can be good for larger groups or watching sports. Has a lot of beer options and serves food.
  • Deep — A bit out of the way on the east side of town, but beers are often the best. Often has food truck service.
  • Amicus  —A new brewery located near Cascades park. Built in the old City Waterworks building. Often has food truck service.
  • Oyster City — Located in Collegetown next to Gaines Street Pies. Has a shared outdoor space with a few businesses. Decent variety of beers. Brewery is based out of Apalachicola. 

Bars:

  • Bar 1903 — Located in a historic library building. Has historical themed cocktails from every decade starting from the late nineteenth century. A bit expensive but worth visiting.
  • Charley Park — Fancy-ish rooftop bar that overlooks Cascades park. On the expensive side, but food and drinks can be good. 
  • Eve on Adams — Rooftop bar located on the top floor of the DoubleTree hotel in downtown. Great view looking south and west. Not crazy expensive either.
  • STIX Pool and Bar — Good bar on North Monroe St. that serves food. Pool section is separate from the bar area. 
  • Growler Country — On the east side of town. Has around 40 beers on tap and decent food.
  • Brass Tap — Part of a chain. Has a ton of beers, decent food, and a nice outdoor patio.
  • Poor Paul’s Pourhouse — Almost directly across Tennessee Street from Bellamy. A cheap, dirty, dive bar with pool tables and darts. 
  • Fire Betty’s/Duke’s and Dottie’s/Finnegan’s Wake— All located in the Midtown Manor building and under the same ownership. Fire Betty’s has weekly events, Finnegan’s Wake is an Irish pub, and Duke’s and Dottie’s is a country western bar with a mechanical bull. Often hosts events and weekend dance parties.
  • Corner Pocket —Townie sports bar with a few pool tables and darts. Great fried fried food, and large TVs for games.
  • Market Square Liquors and Lounge — In the market district north of Tallahassee. A lounge with an outdoor patio that is attached to a liquor store. Can be expensive but has some of the best cocktails in town with very skilled bartenders. Seating is comfortable.
  • Fermentation Lounge — East of College Town. Good selection of craft beers. Has a small microbrewery attached.

Food, Food, Food

Restaurants:

  • Madison Social — American Restaurant and College Town bar at night. Popular place for watching FSU games.
  • Backwoods Crossings—Southern dining, local farm-to-table. Kind of fancy.
  • Midtown Caboose — Specialty hamburgers with large portions. Popular local staple.
  • Sakura— Japanese restaurant with really good sushi.
  • Liberty Bar and Restaurant — Craft cocktails and food. High quality but often expensive.
  • Hobbit American Grill — Wings, burgers, and bar food. A standard sports bar for watching FSU games. Three locations across town. 
  • Nagoya — Japanese hibachi restaurant with good sushi.
  • Volcano Hot Pot & BBQ — Hot pot and Korean BBQ. All you can eat.
  • Gaines Street Pies—Local pizza chain with a few locations across town, can be expensive but typically good.
  • Masa—Decent Asian fusion.
  • Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille — New Orleans style restaurant located downtown near the capitol. Good Fat Tuesday deals.
  • Chow Won Korean Steakhouse — Cook your own K-BBQ. All you can eat.
  • Canopy Road Café — Several locations across town, great place for brunch.
  • Jeri’s — Two locations, great brunch.
  • Bumpa’s Local — Sports bar with outdoor patio. Good wings, burgers, and bar food.
  • Kool Beanz — A bit on the pricey side, but top tier local food with a rotating menu.
  • Blossom Kitchen — Within walking distance from Bellamy, some of the best Chinese food in the area.
  • El Jalisco — Several locations across town, decent Mexican food.
  • The Lunchbox — Affordable breakfast with good portions.
  • Summers Smokehouse — A bit out of the way but has the best BBQ in town.
  • Echalee — One of the best brick and mortar Mexican restaurants in town, fairly priced. There are also some really good food trucks that sell Mexican food heading west on Tennessee St.
  • Essence of India — Good Indian food.
  • Pho Me Noodle Bar — Not a great pho scene here but this place is probably the best.
  • Hopdoddy — Next to Trader Joe’s, specialty hamburgers and drinks.

Fast Casual:

  • The Bark—Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant with DIY shows and events.
  • Sweet Pea Café—Vegan/Organic and farm to table. Casual counter service.
  • Taco Mora—Mexican cuisine and tacos.
  • Mission BBQ — Chain BBQ, quick service, good portions.
  • Cancun’s — Two locations, wings, tacos, sports bar with cheap beer towers and drink specials.
  • Ur Bowl — Two locations, ramen, pho, and poke.
  • Relish — Regional chain with good build your own burgers. 
  • Paris Banh Mi — Chain based out of Orlando. Bakery with good banh mis, coffee, and boba drinks.
  • Lemon and Thyme — Health bowls, quick service, busy lunch spot.
  • Kairos — Chain Mediterranean bowls and gyros, relatively inexpensive with big portions.
  • Boru Boru — Specials every day of the week, ramen, poke bowls and sushi burritos.
  • Burger Barn Grill — Simple burgers on the cheaper side.
  • Wharf — Regional seafood chain, good fried seafood platters. 
  • Natural Kitchen — Two locations, decent poke and boba teas.
  • Iron Daisy— Described as Fla-Mex. Tacos and Burritos located near College Town.
  • Kami Poke — Poke and other Korean food. Near Burlington.
  • Lofty Pursuits — Locally made ice cream and old time candy. Really good. 
  • Big Easy Snowballs — Located at Lake Ella. Really good shaved ice desserts with tons of flavor options.

These are just a few recommendations, there are many more great places to visit in the area!

For more, you can join the Tallahassee Foodies Facebook group. It has almost 100k members and lots of posts discussing food and drink options in the area going back several years.[https://www.facebook.com/groups/TallahasseeFoodies]