General News

Congratulations to the Graduate Class of 2025 who received their degrees from UC Davis Graduate Studies on June 12 at the University Credit Union Center on campus. In order to honor graduates more personally, two distinct ceremonies were organized by degree type with the Master's Ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. and the MFA and Doctoral Ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. We celebrated not only the hard work and dedication of our graduates, but also the support of family, friends, and mentors who have been part of this journey. 

Claire Murphy, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Population Biology Graduate Group, wants everyone to feel like they belong in research. Based at the Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML), Murphy studies how tiny seagrass crustaceans avoid being eaten by fish, crabs, and other predators. Since coming to UC Davis in 2020, she’s mentored 11 UC Davis undergraduates, including five independent summer research projects.

The School of Veterinary Medicine brought home the campus’s top placement in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent rankings of professional and graduate programs, published Monday (April 7).

UC Davis again ranked first in the nation for veterinary medicine, consistent with its placement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, released in March.

Grad Slam is almost here! (Register to attend in-person Friday, April 11, 2025).

We asked 2024 UC Davis Grad Slam champion Sasha Neil Pimento to share her experiences throughout the competition.

The University of California, Davis, has launched a website and video series titled, “From Labs to Lives,” to highlight federally funded research, describe how the research benefits the public, and share the consequences to the public if funding is reduced or eliminated.

Victoria Watson-Zink, Ph.D. ’22, a postdoctoral evolutionary marine biologist, received the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Hanna H. Gray Fellowship last month. This year’s fellowship supports the transition of 25 early-career scientists to leading labs and becoming tenured faculty.

The genetics behind the alternating sexes of walnut trees has been revealed by biologists at the University of California, Davis. The research, published Jan. 3 in Science, reveals a mechanism that has been stable in walnuts and their ancestors going back 40 million years — and which has some parallels to sex determination in humans and other animals.

During the months of November, December, and January, Graduate Studies and the Graduate Center will have modified hours to account for holidays, events, and limited staff coverage. Please note the changes to our schedules and dates that we will need to close the building to the public.

Sam Arcement—Director of Graduate Academic Programs for the College of Biological Sciences, and the program coordinator for the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology (MCIP) Graduate Group—has been honored with the 2024 Outstanding Graduate Program Coordinator Award from the Office of Graduate Studies. This year saw a record number of nominations. “Sam tirelessly ensures that our needs and concerns are heard and addressed,” said one MCIP student, who praised Arcement’s dedication to student advocacy.

In many ways, Jessi Jarrin’s story at UC Davis is just beginning to be written. A first-year MFA in poetry student, Jarrin was awarded a prestigious Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, providing her with full tuition and fees plus a stipend for two years to support her graduate education.

Graduate Studies is pleased to announce and celebrate the dedicated and talented individuals who have earned awards and recognition for their exceptional achievement in the 2021-2022 academic year.

The following graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and professors are recognized for outstanding contributions in research, teaching, and mentorship.

Alumna and communication researcher Laura Lindenfeld Ph.D. ’03 will return to UC Davis as the keynote speaker for the 2022 Graduate Studies Commencement on Thursday, June 9, at the University Credit Union Center.

Lindenfeld is the Dean of the School of Communication and Journalism and a professor of journalism at Stony Brook University, where she oversees a team of dedicated faculty and staff, including Pulitzer Prize winners, to educate and train the next generation of multimedia journalists and communication professionals.

In a nod to the crucial role of science and testing during the pandemic, Nam Tran, a professor of clinical pathology, has been named parade marshal for UC Davis’ 108th Picnic Day, being held in person on the Davis campus this Saturday, April 23.

Growing up as the oldest of five children in a single-parent home, Britt Loofbourrow, Ph.D. ’22 remembers a difficult decision her family had to make every month. 

“There were questions of, OK, what’s going to be the most important thing? Hot water, electricity, or food?” she recalls.

Her personal experience with food insecurity has not only inspired her doctoral research and degree in nutritional biology, but also her volunteerism with the Graduate Student Association Pantry and her future career.