News

Dear graduate students,

On behalf of UC Davis Graduate Studies, I want to welcome you to a new academic year. 

Some of you are starting a new academic journey this year. Others of you are returning to continue your education and scholarship. Together, all of you contribute to the essential missions of our university through teaching and mentoring; advancing our research, scholarship and creativity; and engaging with our communities to benefit people across California and the world.

Two students from the College of Biological Sciences have been awarded the UC President's Pre-Professoriate Fellowship. The highly competitive fellowship supports professional development in exceptional Ph.D. candidates who are alumni of California-based Hispanic Serving Institutions as part of the UC-Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative. 

The seasons shape our lives. Just like a thunderous downpour provides the perfect background for a foreboding film scene, a sun-dappled spring morning feels like a new beginning. 

Like the weather, our academic year cycles through important changes shaped by the ten-week pace and the requirements and opportunities of fall, winter, spring, and summer quarters.

Doctoral candidate Carla-Cristina “CC” de Melo Edwards of the lab of medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the newly selected recipient of the 2026 Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology (MUVE) Student Recognition Award in Medical Entomology for a PhD Student from the Entomological Society of America (ESA). 

Graduate Studies and Graduate Council are thrilled to honor two extraordinary faculty members with this year's Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentorship Awards. These awards shine a light on the power of mentorship in shaping the academic and professional journeys of UC Davis graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

We are thrilled to announce Anusha Bishop, Erin Huiting, and Jeremy Yeaton, have been selected as three of the 33 early-career postdoctoral researchers from UC Davis for the Life Sciences Research Foundation (LSRF). This record-breaking class is the largest in LSRF’s history, making 2026 a truly historic year for the Foundation. This milestone was made possible through the extraordinary generosity and continued partnership of LSRF’s sponsors, whose investment in exceptional early-career scientists is helping shape the future of biomedical research.

From smartphones to solar panels, today’s technology relies heavily on silicon. The next generation of electronics, like wearable sensors and foldable screens, may depend on an entirely different class of materials: organic semiconductors. 

On June 5, 2026, Walker Hall was transformed into a comprehensive exhibition of graduate student art, research and scholarship to culminate a yearlong celebration of 100 years of graduate education in Davis. 

Congratulations to the UC Davis Graduate Class of 2026! More than 1,000 graduate students were honored at Graduate Studies Commencement on Thursday, June 11 at the University Credit Union Center on campus. In order to celebrate these graduates more personally, two distinct ceremonies were organized by degree type. The Master's Ceremony began at 10 a.m., and the MFA and Doctoral Ceremony began at 3 p.m. 

Here at UC Davis, there are endless opportunities for students to make a global impact. A living testament to this is Judi Eppele, a current graduate student in the Community Development Graduate Group. Most central to Judi’s character and pursuits is her passion for climate and environmental education and community sustainability.