Where in the World is Graduate Studies Dean Jeffery Gibeling?

During the weekend of October 19-20, UC Davis Dean of Graduate Studies, Jeffery Gibeling, will be attending the 2012 International Graduate Scholarship Fair hosted by the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) in Beijing, China.

The fair will consist of exhibits headed by different universities from around the globe, including ones from Europe, Asia and North America. Current Chinese undergraduate students will be able to browse the fair while learning about opportunities abroad that will hopefully land them at UC Davis. Earlier this year, UC Davis and the CSC signed an agreement under which CSC will provide two years of full funding for some of the top students in China to enroll in UC Davis Ph.D. programs. 

This is just one of the ways in which UC Davis is trying to ensure that it is able to recruit talented applicants from China.

Dean Gibeling will also be visiting two Chinese universities, Zhejiang University and Sichuan University, to strengthen their ties with UC Davis through the 3 + X program. “The 3 + X program brings students who are finishing their undergraduate degrees from partnering universities to UC Davis for their master’s degree,” said Gibeling. “We’ve had partnership with Zhejiang University in Hangzhou for several years, and I’ll speak with potential graduate students while I’m there.”

Dean Gibeling will also visit Sichuan University for the purpose of establishing a similar 3 + X agreement, which would allow students to seamlessly apply for graduate study at UC Davis after finishing their undergraduate degrees.

China hasn’t been the only destination for the dean this year. Earlier in summer, the dean visited Brazil with the same goal of bringing UC Davis graduate programs to the world stage. While there, he met with administrators of several universities and federal agencies to share with them the opportunities that our programs have to offer. UC Davis was the first U.S. institution to sign agreements with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the agency for Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) in Brazil.

In spring 2013, the dean’s “world tour” will continue when he heads to Chile to further promote graduate education at UC Davis and strengthen existing partnerships. Developing and supporting international partnerships is essential as UC Davis strengthens its presence in the increasingly globalized realm of graduate education.