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How the Graduate Division Serves Students and Their Supporters

Have you ever wondered what, exactly, the Graduate Division does to serve the 12,000 graduate students in more than 100 graduate degree programs? We have three chief roles:

As a central service center for the entire campus, the Graduate Division works to guide and assist students from the moment of admission, through the various milestones of their progress, to the completion of their degree requirements. We provide academic, personal, diversity, and professional support services that are vital to the everyday well-being and life-long successes of Berkeley master’s, professional, and doctoral students.

As the authoritative resource and chief advocate for graduate education, the Graduate Division ensures the equitable administration of policies governing graduate studies across Berkeley’s 14 schools and colleges. As the administrative arm of the Academic Senate’s Graduate Council, we partner with the faculty and staff of each program and the deans of each school and college to maintain the world-renowned quality of Berkeley’s graduate education.

By fulfilling those responsibilities, the Graduate Division acts as a steward for the generosity of supporters of graduate education at Berkeley.

Our day-to-day activities include: 

Providing Services to Students

  • Track academic progress from admission to candidacy and degree conferral
  • Verify eligibility for academic appointments/campus employment
  • Coordinate with graduate student life and campus wellness resources
  • Administer policies and programs for student parents
  • Consider exceptions to policies, grievances, and appeals

Funding Students and Academic Programs

  • Administer the campus-wide fellowship competition
  • Provide block allocations and other student funds to academic programs
  • Fund student conference travel grants, parent grants, summer fellowships
  • Administer dissertation and doctoral completion fellowships
  • Ensure fairness and equity of funding to students across academic programs

Training and Mentoring Students

  • Conduct language testing and training for Graduate Student Instructors
  • Conduct ethics and responsibility training
  • Administer mentoring programs
  • Conduct writing and publishing workshops
  • Offer student professional development for both academic and non-academic careers

Assuring the Excellence of Academic Programs

  • Administer policies of the Graduate Council and Academic Senate
  • Streamline rules and regulations
  • Consult with Head Graduate Advisors, Chairs, and Deans of the Schools and Colleges
  • Provide professional development to Graduate Student Affairs Officers in academic programs
  • Maintain academic standards for graduate program admissions and continued study
  • Manage enrollment for optimal sizing of graduate programs
  • Help programs prepare new academic and professional degree proposals
  • Provide data on program quality
  • Participate in academic program reviews
  • Survey students (incoming, mid-career, graduating, first placements) and doctoral alumni

Stewarding Communications and Relationships

  • Communicate with alumni, donors, current and prospective students, and the public
  • Sponsor fund- and friend-raising events for alumni and friends of the university
  • Cultivate, solicit, and steward donors to campus-wide fellowships
  • Seek funds to support student life and professional development
  • Organize and administer the endowed public lecture series

 

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