Letter from the Dean Dear GPAs and GPCs, Welcome to a new academic year! I hope the summer months brought you time for rest and renewal. Here in the Graduate School, we have been busy preparing for the year ahead, and I’m excited to share some important updates in this newsletter. Over the summer, we launched several significant initiatives designed to strengthen graduate education at the University of Washington. Among them, a new task force is taking a fresh look at the future of Ph.D. education, and…
Graduate School News
UW Graduate School launches new handbook
The Graduate School is pleased to release the inaugural Graduate Student Handbook. This comprehensive resource brings together key policies, procedures, academic expectations and support services relevant to graduate education at the University of Washington. Created with student success at its core, the handbook is designed as a central reference for students, faculty and staff. It supports a shared understanding of institutional standards and resources, while underscoring the Graduate School’s ongoing commitment to fostering an informed, inclusive and supportive academic environment….
International Graduate Student Guidance
In response to recent incidents of international students having their immigration records terminated, we have developed new guidance to support our international student community. This resource is designed to help graduate students and their advisors navigate federal education policy, manage uncertainty around visa status, and access timely assistance when challenges arise. International graduate students holding F1 or J1 visas should stay in close contact with International Student Services (ISS). Information and resources, including links to services on all three campuses,…
Hannah Wiley receives 2025 Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award
University of Washington Professor Hannah C. Wiley, a longtime faculty member in the Department of Dance within the College of Arts & Sciences, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award. Professor Wiley has been a cornerstone of the UW dance community since joining the faculty in 1987. In 1991, she founded the Chamber Dance Company, a vital initiative dedicated to producing, preserving, and sharing modern and contemporary dance repertoire with audiences across the region. The Landolt Award is one…
OAA News June 2025
News from the Office of Academic Affairs The Office of Academic Affairs has initiated important changes in each of its three major areas of work, Policy led by Jeremy Davis (jerdavis@uw.edu), Curriculum led by Katie Hollenbach (progprop@uw.edu) and Academic Unit Review led by Chris Partridge and Ann Busche (unitrev@uw.edu). Graduate School Policy Updates We’re developing policy that is more universally usable and relevant to the missions and conditions of our diverse graduate programs. Feedback from across the university has been…
Ph.D. Task Force launching Fall 2025
The University of Washington taskforce on the Future of Ph.D. Education will launch this fall. This strategic initiative, jointly spearheaded by the Office of the Provost and the Graduate School, aims to chart bold, forward-thinking directions for UW’s Ph.D. programs and the students they serve. As a leading R1 research institution with over 4,000 Ph.D. students, the UW is uniquely positioned to shape national conversations around doctoral education. The task force will explore innovative approaches to preparing the next generation of scholars, researchers, and public…
Graduate School associate dean transitions
This summer, the UW Graduate School is entering a new chapter—saying goodbye to two extraordinary associate deans and welcoming two new leaders who will help shape the future of graduate education. A heartfelt goodbye to Drs. Joseph and Cargill Dr. Ralina Joseph, Associate Dean for Equity and Justice, will depart the Graduate School on August 15, 2025, to become Vice Provost of Inclusive Excellence at the University of California, Los Angeles. During her five years at the Graduate School, Dr….
The new Office of Graduate Student Success
On July 1, 2025, the University of Washington Graduate School’s offices of Graduate Student Equity and Excellence (GSEE), Graduate Student Affairs and Equity and Justice (OEJ) have come together to form the new Office of Graduate Student Success. This unification reflects our commitment to strengthening organizational efficiency and better aligning our efforts in support of student belonging, engagement and achievement. The Office of Graduate Student Success, led by incoming Associate Dean Kalei Kanuha, focuses on improving the quality of the…
Graduate Student Bulletin – March 6, 2025
Coping with Current Events Our world is facing multiple changes and challenges – on global, national, and local levels. These shifts have various, disproportionate impacts depending on our identities and communities. With this said, we acknowledge that you are not only navigating life as a graduate student, you are also dealing with the stress of ever-evolving, current events. While it’s impossible to control what happens around us, we do have agency to cope with uncomfortable feelings. Check in with yourself….
Integrating Career Readiness into Graduate Education
As faculty, we play a pivotal role in equipping graduate students for diverse career paths. Beyond academic rigor, students benefit from guidance on essential career skills such as networking, communication, and adaptability. By integrating career readiness into mentorship, we help students thrive in academia, industry and beyond. This brief provides valuable perspectives from graduate students who lacked this exposure in graduate school.