The Graduate Student Association of Westlake University (GAWU) was established in 2020, after being organized in 2018. As the university's most extensive self-governing mass organization for graduate students, GAWU operates under the leadership of the Office of Student Affairs, with guidance from the university's Party Committee and the Student Affairs Department.

GAWU's mission is to serve graduate students wholeheartedly, which it does by comprehensively and timely reflecting the voice of graduate students, organizing various activities to enrich their spiritual and leisure lives, and actively promoting self-construction. The association currently has five departments, including the General Administration Department, Club Management Department, Rights and Welfare Department, Student Activity Department, and Development Liaison Department.