Graduate Faculty Program Nominations

Whether you're helping administer a Graduate Program or Group, you’ll periodically be asked to partner with Graduate Studies to appoint your Graduate Faculty Advisors, Admissions Chairs and Fellowship Chairs. This process typically begins in the early Summer, with an ideal target of appointing these individuals by July 30. 

In this guide, you'll learn about the nomination process, what your Program or Group needs to do, and the role Graduate Studies plays in facilitating the process. For clarity, we use "you" throughout this guide to refer to the person responsible for each action. In most cases, the Program or Group Chair leads this process in partnership with their Graduate Program Coordinator. 

Graduate Faculty Advisors (GFAs)

The success of your students depends on a dedicated network of mentors and advisors. Graduate Faculty Advisors (GFAs) play a critical role in this support system, guiding students through their academic journeys and empowering them to translate their academic experiences into meaningful progress toward their personal and professional goals. 

GFA Nomination Process

Follow the steps below to nominate Graduate Faculty Advisors for your program or group.

• Step 1: Review Current Advisors in People and Role Manager (PRM)

• Start by reviewing your current list of GFAs in People and Role Manager (PRM) and determine if you need to nominate (or re-nominate) Advisors. If you're unsure how to check Advisor roles, follow these instructions. 
  
  GFAs are typically appointed for a two-year term beginning in September and ending in August. Advisors whose terms expire in August must be re-nominated if they plan to continue serving. Advisors with existing appointments (e.g. those in the middle of a 2-year term) do not need to be re-nominated. 

  You can also review your list of current GFAs on your program page; however, this view does not show appointment terms or end dates.

• Step 2: Identify Graduate Faculty Advisor Nominees

• Identify nominees from a mix of both experienced and first-time Advisors to ensure continuity, consistency and effective advising support for your students. Aim for a student-to-Advisor ratio of approximately 15 to 1.

  Nominees must:

  • Hold a Senate or Federation title 
  • Complete UC's brief FERPA: Student Privacy, Confidentiality and Data Security eCourse before being appointed and granted access to protected student information 

  Graduate Studies will verify each nominee's eligibility and training completion status. Nominees who have not completed the UC's FERPA eCourse will receive an email from Graduate Studies with a link to do so. Completion of this training is required to protect both students and Advisors by ensuring all GFAs understand the federal law governing student privacy, confidentiality and data security. 

  Nominating Your Graduate Program/Group Chair

  Your Graduate Program or Group Chair is not required to serve as a GFA. However, if your program would like them to serve in this role, please include them on the Advisor Nomination Form alongside all other willing nominees. Graduate Studies will add their GFA role in PRM without routing them through the standard approval process, provided they have completed UC's FERPA eCourse.

• Step 3: Complete the Advisor Nomination Form and Submit to Graduate Studies by July 30, 2025

• After reviewing your list of current Advisors and identifying nominees, you'll want to complete the Graduate Faculty Advisor Nomination Form by July 30, 2025. Note: this document also includes the Slate Admissions and Fellowship Chair Nomination Form, for which additional information is available here.

  Nomination Term

  Advisors are typically nominated for a two-year term beginning September and running through August. However, you also have the option to nominate an Advisor for a one-year term. Please select the most appropriate term for each Advisor using the drop-down menu on the form. 

  Advisor Type

  There are two designations available for Graduate Faculty Advisors: General and Primary. You are not required to designate a Primary Advisor unless preferred by your program. While students are typically assigned to one Advisor, they are welcome to seek guidance with any member of your GFA team. 
  
  Use the information below to select the appropriate advisor type from the drop-down menu on the form: 
  • General: This is the most commonly selected title for Graduate Faculty Advisors.
  • General & Admissions: Select this title if the faculty member will serve as both the Admissions Chair and Graduate Faculty Advisor. This individual will be listed as "Advisor: Admissions and General" on your program page, providing a clear point of contact for prospective students.
  • Primary: Select this title if you need to designate a primary advisor for the program. 
  • Primary & Admissions: Select this title if the faculty member will serve as both the Admissions Chair and Primary Graduate Faculty Advisor. This individual will be listed as "Advisor: Admissions and Primary Contact" on your program page, providing a clear point for contact for both prospective and current students.

  Signatures

  While we continue developing smart forms with digital approvals in GradSphere, signatures remain required for forms not yet integrated. Therefore, we collect signatures from all Graduate Faculty Advisors during the nomination process to ensure proper verification of student-submitted forms, prevent discrepancies and maintain academic integrity. 

  Accepted Signature Types
  • If your program uses wet signatures on any student forms, please submit wet signatures on your nomination form. Wet signatures submitted electronically (e.g., scanned or inserted as an image) will be accepted. 
  • If your program uses digital or electronic signatures (e.g. DocuSign) for all students forms, you may submit those instead.
  
  Waiting on Faculty Signatures? Here's What You Can Do: 
  We understand that the timing of these nominations may make it challenging to obtain all required faculty signatures. If you're experiencing delays due to signatures, you may submit the form in one of the following ways:

  • 1) With as many signatures as you have been able to collect, or
  • 2) Without signatures

  
  This allows your GFAs to enter the approval queue while you continue routing the form for signatures. Once you've collected the remaining signatures, you can submit an updated version of the form. 
   

  Submit Form

• Step 4: Graduate Studies Reviews Nominations and Announces Appointments 

• Once Graduate Studies receives your completed form, we will: 

  1. Review Nominee Eligibility 

  • • Verify Senate or Federation title
  • • Confirm completion of UC's FERPA eCourse* 
    • Ensure the student-to-Advisor ratio is approximately 15:1
     

  *Nominees who have not completed the UC's FERPA eCourse will receive an email from Graduate Studies with a link to do so. 

  2. Forward Nominations for Final Approval 

  After the initial review, nominations will be sent to Graduate Studies leadership for final approval. 

  3. Issue Appointment Letter

  Appointment letters will be sent to newly appointed and re-appointed Graduate Faculty Advisors by September 1. The Program/Group Chair and Program Coordinator will also be copied on this appointment letter. 

  4. Invite Advisors to Orientation and Provide Information about Advisor Workshops

  An invitation to attend Graduate Faculty Advisor Orientation in the fall is extended to all new Advisors and their Chair in the appointment letter. Attendance for new Advisors is mandatory. 

  5. Update Graduate Information Systems and Email Listserv

  After the appointments are finalized, we will add or update each nominee's role in People and Role Manager (PRM), which will also provide access to all other relevant Graduate Information Systems and email listservs, including:
  
  • Programs Manager 
  • GradSphere
  • GradHub 
  • Student Progress Assessment (SPA)
  • eDocs 
  • gradadvisers email listserv

GFA Early Departure Process     

If your Graduate Faculty Advisor is stepping down before the end of their appointment term, you can submit changes to their faculty program membership and role changes directly to Graduate Studies using the Membership Survey.

Admissions & Fellowship Chair Nominations

These faculty have specific authority in the Slate system, which is used to process Graduate Admissions and new or continuing student fellowships.

Admissions & Fellowship Chair Nomination Process

All programs that receive the Annual Verification Form notification in the summer must submit the names of their Admissions and Fellowship Chairs. Follow the steps below to nominate Admissions and Fellowship Chairs for your program or group. These roles must be nominated (or re-nominated) every year. 

• Step 1: Review Bylaws 

• Consult your bylaws for details on the program's standing committees. Some programs have a dedicated Admissions Committee, while others entrust the admissions and fellowship processes to the Executive (or Graduate Program) Committee.

  You can access your program's bylaws via your program page. 

• Step 2: Review Admissions and Fellowship Chair Roles in People and Role Manager (PRM)

• Review your program's Admissions and Fellowship Chair roles in People and Role Manager (PRM) using the Slate Roles by Group. 

  Admissions Chairs are typically appointed annually for a one-year period beginning September 1 and ending August 31. Chairs whose terms expire in August must be re-nominated if they plant to continue serving.

  Fellowship Chairs are typically appointed annually for a six-month period beginning September 1 and ending February 5. Chairs whose terms expire in February must be re-nominated if they plant to continue serving.

• Step 3: Identify Nominees

• Connect with your program membership to identify faculty interested in leading the admissions and fellowship processes. These individuals are usually current members of the Executive or Admissions Committees, though they don't have to be.

  Nominees must: 
  • Hold a Senate or Federation title 
  
  You'll need to identify a total of four nominees: a primary and back-up Admissions Chair, and a primary and back-up Fellowship Chair. However, if the same individuals will serve in both roles (e.g. your primary and back-up Admissions Chairs are also your primary and back-up Fellowship Chairs), you only need to submit two nominees instead of four. 

• Step 4: Complete the Admissions and Fellowship Chair Nomination Form and Submit to Graduate Studies by July 30, 2025

• After identifying nominees, complete the Admissions and Fellowship Chair Nomination Form by July 30, 2025. Note: this document also includes the Graduate Faculty Advisor Nomination Form, for which additional information is available here. 

  Please note that these nominations grant access to the Slate system, but do not confer the authority to serve in the Graduate Faculty Advisor role. If you want your Admissions and Fellowship Chairs to serve as Advisors, you must submit a separate nomination using the Graduate Faculty Advisor Nomination Form. 

  Admissions Chair

  Identify both a primary and back-up Admissions Chair. Ensure the faculty are willing and able to fulfill the key responsibilities required for this role. 

  Roles are activated on an annual basis on September 1 and remain active through August 31 of the following year.

  Fellowship Chair

  Identify both a primary and back-up Fellowship Chair. Ensure the faculty are willing and able to fulfill the key responsibilities required for this role.

  Roles are activated on an annual basis on September 1 and remain active through February 5 at 11:59PM. 

  Primary vs. Back-Up Chairs

  • Primary Chairs serve as the main point of contact for Admissions and Fellowships matters and are responsible for fulfilling the key responsibilities outlined above. 
  • Back-Up Chairs should be prepared to step in if the Primary Chairs are unavailable or unable to carry out their duties. Having designated back-ups provides essential flexibility for your program and helps avoid the need to contact Graduate Studies to add faculty during the Admissions cycle and/or fellowship application process. 
  
  If both your appointed primary and back-up Admissions Chairs are unable to perform their roles at any point during the Admissions cycle, contact gradadmit@ucdavis.edu. 

  If both your appointed primary and back-up Fellowship Chairs are unable to perform their roles at any point during the fellowship application process, please contact internalfellowships@ucdavis.edu. 

  Note: Granting Slate access for Admissions and Fellowship Chairs requires an overnight system sync. 

  Signatures 

  As Admissions and Fellowship Chairs primarily fulfill their responsibilities through the Slate system using their UC Davis CAS login, eliminating the need to caputre wet signatures for these roles. 

• Step 5: Graduate Studies Reviews Nominations and Issues Slate Access

• Once Graduate Studies receives your completed form, we will: 

  1. Review Nominee Eligibility 

  •  • Verify Senate or Federation title

  2. Update Graduate Information Systems

  After the appointments are finalized, we will add or update each nominee's role in People and Role Manager (PRM) and Slate. 

  3. Follow-up with Admissions and Fellowship Role Information

  • • Admissions Chairs will receive an email outlining their role and responsibilities in early fall.
  • • Fellowship Chairs will be invited to attend a training session with the Student Financial Support Team in mid-December and/or mid-January, in preparation for the February 5 fellowship deadline. While attendance is not mandatory, it is highly encouraged as an opportunity to refresh your knowledge and receive important updates.