Along the community volunteer line, were there any national organizations (4-H, Girl Scouts, etc.) that she was involved in when she was younger? Something like that would give her instant access to a community away from her department.
@happymomof1 She was both, but more my instigation than her own. 
I don’t think she’d want to get involved with either of those. She was pretty involved in Robotics, but I also think she’s more likely to meet HS parents and their kids through that, and it isn’t really what is looking for. She was active in Quiz Bowl, and her college has a team, but they appear to be all undergrads. I think her best pool is the other 4,960 grad students who aren’t in her department. She just has to tap into them. Some good ideas so far!
That is exactly what she DOESN’T want to hear more of – pick up lines. But I do think she might be interested in going to lectures on campus in general, and might meet some like minded people there.
My Grad student has been involved with ballroom dance since UG, so I think he’s in it for the enjoyment and not necessarily for dating…
It’s too bad all the guys are mostly interested in dating her. I arrived at my PhD program already married at age 22. My husband was in a different but associated program. We made many close friends who we are still friends with to this day. I had close friendships with 3 guys in particular. While we were friendly the first year, it was during studying for our oral exams late in the second year that I would say we became especially close.
It’s funny, I read this thread for my kid, but a lot of suggestions might be helpful for those of us who are getting on a bit and find ourselves newly living alone! I am going to look up Meetup for my child but also myself 
^I took a look at Meetup out of curiousity; I live in the (almost) exurbs of a large city, and there were a lot of things in my corner of the world; meaning I sure wouldn’t have to go into the city to find some activities. A lot of hiking, outdoors kind of groups. It looks like a great resource!
I see some Meetups in her city. I will suggest it.
Re: Meetup. Someone I was chatting with on a hike said they also use Meetup when traveling. He was down in FL visiting some elderly relatives, but he wanted to do something outdoorsy while he was visiting. So, he joined a local Meetup that was hiking that weekend.
That would have never occurred to me!
If she’s in a Ph.D. program, she might find that professional-degree students are more sociable – especially MBAs and JDs for whom networking is a big deal. During my first year of law school, a graduate council put on a smashing party for grad students from every program in the university and I met some Ph.D. students for the first time. If no one’s planning those kinds of events, maybe she should.
I did choir and theater alongside undergrads when I was a graduate student. I made friends with some undergrads as well as the handful of other grad students involved. I felt perfectly welcome.
Does her schools graduate school have a center for graduate activities? D’s school has a “bar” only for grad students and an organization that sponsors everything from food truck rodeos to tours to discount event tickets. Some functions are more for grad student families with kids, some more for singles. Range of activities from hikes to crafts to tail gates. D mostly hangs with kids from her program but did try some of these her first year. She got involved with kickboxing class off campus (fit her schedule better but does use campus gym/classes some) that she loves and she attends local church that has a lot of grad students.
Not that she can tell, no center for graduate activities.
Typically there is a grad student organization with student representatives from various colleges and they represent the grad students on various university committees but probably host grad student events as well. She could get involved in the organization or just attend their events.
Maybe st some colleges, but she has seem no evidence of any cross dept or cross college events for grad students. There may be some committees or student govt type roles, but she is s bit of an introvert – not her cup of tea. She’d go if something was organized, though.
Perhaps she can organize it. If there are 4960 other grad students, it would seem there might be sufficient interest.
What part of introvert is going over people’s heads? (And please don’t take this thread down the rabbit hole of shy vs introvert). She is not going to organize campus wide grad school activities. She just wants to meet a few people outside her dept.
Yes, I understand introvert. I am one. One of my kids is very deeply one. But even introverts recognize that, as an adult out of college, there will not necessarily be pre-arranged social clubs and playdates for her. Her employer is unlikely to provide them, and universities don’t necessarily provide them past the UG level. So if she wants to meet more people, she will have to either attend pre existing clubs which may not entirely align with her interests but offer a social outlet, or be proactive in initiating her own activities with others if she wants to avoid being alone. Introversion can make it harder but can be overcome sufficiently to make friends. You’ve received lots of good suggestions here and if she is in an environment of 5k grad students, the conditions are highly favorable. I’m sure if she is motivated to do so it will all work out.
Living with roommates can bring new people into one”s life though sometimes people room with peers in the department so it is the same circle. Does she prefer living alone?
She intentionally looked for roommates this year not affiliated with her dept, but isn’t finding that she has much in common with them friendship wise (discussed earlier in thread). She is looking for a new apt for next year, and still trying to stay away from living with people in her dept. She is a PhD student – needs to share for financial reasons.
First of all I suggest she find some activities she enjoys doing whether she meets anyone new or not. If she is enjoying herself she is more likely to find friendship with people who share a common interest. Going to places just to meet people is rarely successful.
That said, I think the suggestions to volunteer are good. I would throw in working backstage on some theatrical production. I’ve found the kids who work in theater to be very welcoming to newcomers and can always use help painting flats or searching for props.
If she doesn’t want to be in a date situation with her peers, she could organize the activities for 5-10 of them. It’s not organizing for the entire grad school population, but controlling her activities. It sounds like they all do that with game nights.
My niece who is 2-3 years out of college moved to a city where she knew a few kids from college but she wanted more of her own life, not just following them around. She joined Junior League and has enjoyed the service activities very much. She volunteers at art museums through JL, has worked in food pantries, done marches and civic activities. She’s attended a few alum events for her college. She has not joined the alum group for her sorority but that is another option. Her employer has a few activities for employees like ball games and volunteer events. She’s now looking at grad schools and will probably have to cut down on activities.