Advancing greater diversity in graduate education is an important topic in academia and one that UC Davis Graduate Studies is consistently pursuing, which is why Grad Studies recently hosted a virtual event, “Centering Equity in Graduate Education,” featuring newly appointed Education Commissioner for the State of California, Michal Kurlaender.
It’s often been said that the journey is more important than the destination—which is why for the 2023 UC Grad Slam season, UC Davis Graduate Studies is offering a more robust training schedule to help graduate students make the most out of this UC-wide competition.
When doctoral student Mahya Saffarpour accepted the invitation to speak on a UC Davis panel about the current uprising in Iran, she knew it was one more step in her activism that would prevent her from returning to her home country of Iran for the foreseeable future. However, it was something she and other members of the panel were motivated to do to help bring light to the uprising in the country.
From everyone at UC Davis Graduate Studies, we wish you a restful and restorative Winter Break. Things will look a little different around campus during the break, but resources are still available for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.
Walker Hall Closure and Graduate Studies Staff Availability
The Graduate Center at Walker Hall will be closed to the public from Monday, December 12, 2022 – January 6, 2023. We will reopen on the first day of the Winter Instruction, Monday, January 9.
It’s not often that administrators are described as guardian angels.
But that’s how students in the integrative pathobiology graduate group view the program’s popular coordinator, Erin Kent ’05, Ph.D.’10.
Their effusive nomination letters earned Kent the 2022 Outstanding Graduate Program Coordinator Award for her work during the past four years. Kent is the graduate program coordinator of the integrative pathobiology graduate group, as well as the veterinary scientist training program at UC Davis.
UC Davis postdoctoral scholar Marina LaForgia, Ph.D. '19 was recently (Nov. 3) named a 2022 For Women in Science (FWIS) Fellowship from L'Oréal USA, making her one of only five postdoctoral scholars in the United States to receive this grant.
LaForgia's research focuses on seed dispersal of plants to help determine which species will be most vulnerable to environmental change.
Climate anxiety is a valid, natural response to a changing, warming world. In 2020, more than half of Americans reported feeling anxious about climate change’s impact on their mental health, and most of us (67%) are anxious about its impact on the planet.
So what do you do when it’s your job to witness and document climate change?
Sentiments of gratitude for commitment and personalized attention to graduate students were among the testimonials spoken about this year’s winners of Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award winners.
“[This professor]’s passion for research really shines through with their hands-on involvement in student projects,” said one nomination letter.
“[This professor] has an impeccable ability to identify students’ strengths and set them up to succeed,” said another.
UC Davis wasn’t even on Daniel Castaneda’s radar when he was an undergraduate at UC Riverside; but it is where he ended up. And, because of the Envision UC Davis program, he discovered it was exactly where he was meant to be.
“The Envision program was the first time that I thought, I’m actually qualified to be in a program like this and people want me to come to their university,” Castaneda said. “It was nice to feel like I have a future opportunity here and there are people at UC Davis who want to help me do it.”
The following statement was issued Sept. 28 by Chancellor Gary S. May; Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan; Jean-Pierre Delplanque, vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies; David Lubarsky, vice chancellor for Human Health Sciences and chief executive officer of UC Davis Health; John Marx, interim vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Education; Pablo G. Reguerín, vice chancellor of Student Affairs; Joanna Regulska, vice provost and dean of Global Affairs; and Renetta Garrison Tull, vice chancellor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
The Graduate Studies community is pleased to welcome Marcela Radtke '18 as the 2022-23 president of the Graduate Student Association–the student leadership organization that represents the graduate student community to university leadership. Radtke is a Ph.D. candidate in nutritional biology who also received her bachelor’s degree from UC Davis. We had a chance to sit down with Radtke and ask her a few questions about herself and her plans for the 2022-23 academic year.
Welcome to the start of the 2022-23 academic year!
There is always a buzz of excitement associated with the start of a new school year. This year, I’m especially mindful and appreciative of our UC Davis community.
The community at UC Davis is often the determining factor as to why people choose to pursue their master’s or doctor’s degrees or postdoctoral experience here. It is welcoming, friendly, collaborative, and supportive.
After Javier Garcia, Ph.D. ’21 obtained his doctorate, walking into a room was different.
Having grown up in a farm-working community, Garcia said he was accustomed to being with people who had little more than a second or third-grade education, including his own parents.
“I would walk into spaces, knowing I’m the only person in this entire community who has a Ph.D. and being in that space made me think, ‘if I can do it, other people can also succeed on this education path.’” He said. “I felt hope.”
Let’s face it - writing is hard! Writing your thesis/dissertation is a lot like long-distance running; it requires isolation, endurance, time, and motivation. Most doctoral students are running a long-distance marathon for about three years. Here are seven quick tips to help you organize things well before your final deadline.
