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Research at the University of Kentucky
The Graduate School
The Graduate Faculty
Teaching at the Graduate Level
The Dean of the Graduate School
The Graduate Council
Directors of Graduate Studies
Establishment and Modification of Graduate Programs
Graduate Student Professional Enhancement
Graduate Centers
Research at the University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky is the major graduate and research institution of the Commonwealth, and the major land-grant university in the state. As such, it offers substantial programs in both basic and applied research. These research efforts are the life blood of graduate education programs that prepare new researchers who will continue to expand the boundaries of human knowledge and to seek answers to pressing problems of our complex society. Applied research programs in areas such as agricultural sciences, arts and sciences, business and economics, engineering sciences, mathematical sciences and physics, medicine, and mining and minerals serve the Commonwealth and the nation by addressing critical issues influencing the quality of life and economic well-being of our citizenry.
University faculty and research staff have expertise in many areas including the basic biological, medical, physical, and social sciences; the creative arts and the humanities; and engineering. These individuals conduct research that ranges from the investigation of philosophical and ethical dilemmas raised by advances in science and technology to the practical application of basic knowledge in agriculture, energy, rehabilitation, and information retrieval, as well as in the economic development of the Appalachian region.
A significant aspect of research conducted at the University is the concern for its practical application for the betterment of society. Many of the techniques developed and ideas conceived in the laboratory and in advanced study evolve into technological developments of major significance.
Most research programs at the University are supported through federal, state and private sources. Application for such support and the fiscal administration of the monies received are overseen by the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA). Programmatic organization and administration of research is provided by the various research institutes and multi-disciplinary centers and, in the case of individual faculty projects, by the regular departmental, school, and college structures.
The Graduate School
The University of Kentucky began offering graduate work in 1870 and awarded its first graduate degrees in 1876. The Graduate School became a distinct unit in the University organization in 1912. The mission of the Graduate School is to promote advanced study, graduate instruction, and research by the faculty and students of all colleges and departments. The total graduate resources of the University are merged under the Graduate School for the purpose of promoting graduate student and postdoctoral success and the acquisition of knowledge in an atmosphere of free and lively inquiry. Graduate work is offered in most colleges in the University, with the overall goal of developing impactful researchers, scholars, and professionals. A general description and tabulation of courses for each of the various programs is given in the Graduate Degree Programs section of this catalog.
The Graduate Faculty
The Graduate Faculty consists of the Dean of the Graduate School, Associate Deans of the Graduate School, and Full and Associate Graduate Faculty Members. As the chief University agency for the promotion of the ideals of graduate study, it determines the policies of the Graduate School and makes recommendations to the University Senate and to the President, or to other administrative officials as appropriate. All rules affecting graduate work and the inauguration of new graduate programs must be approved by the Graduate Faculty. Any proposed change in the rules of the Graduate Faculty must be included in the agenda of its meeting and circulated to the Graduate Faculty at least 10 days prior to the meeting at which it is to be considered.
Any faculty member, regardless of specific title series of appointment, is eligible for consideration for membership on the Graduate Faculty. New Graduate Faculty members may be proposed to the Dean of the Graduate School at any time by the college deans and department chairs concerned, or in the case of persons not attached to a college faculty, by the Provost of the University. Eligibility qualifications are as follows:
- The doctor’s degree or its equivalent in scholarly reputation.
- The rank of assistant professor (or equivalent) or higher.
- Scholarly maturity and professional productivity as demonstrated by publications, editorial services, research surveys, creative work or patents, and research in progress at the time of appointment.
- Demonstrated participation in graduate teaching and research in the program.
The Dean of the Graduate School is responsible for appointing and monitoring the progress of Associate Members of the Graduate Faculty. Associate members are authorized to teach graduate courses, direct master’s theses, and serve on and co-chair doctoral committees. Associate membership is limited to a term of three years with reappointment possible after departmental review. There is no category for at-large graduate faculty membership.
Appointment to Full Graduate Faculty membership is made by the Provost and/or the Dean of the Graduate School after consultation with the Graduate Council when appropriate. Full members of the Graduate Faculty are particularly responsible for:
- Guidance of graduate student research and study to its completion. The finished work should meet or exceed accepted standards for publication, dissemination or performance within the particular discipline.
- Participation in the formulation of graduate curricula and policy.
In unique instances, an advanced assistant professor may be nominated by his or her chairperson for full membership in the Graduate Faculty. To be considered for this status by Graduate Council, a nominee must meet the following criteria:
- An associate member of Graduate Faculty who is an assistant professor may be put forward for full membership by the individual’s department chairperson or Director of Graduate Studies (as appropriate) after a minimum of 2 years of employment at UK.
- The individual must show the appropriate level of scholarly research and productivity and important contributions to the department’s graduate program, including graduate teaching.
After review by the Dean of the Graduate School, appropriate cases will be placed on the Consent Agenda of the Graduate Council for approval. Atypical cases may either be turned down by the Dean or brought to the Graduate Council for full discussion. Once Full Graduate Faculty status is attained, membership is continuous unless a change in status is recommended by a graduate program to the Dean of the Graduate School, who will present the recommendation to the Graduate Council.
On recommendation of the Director of Graduate Studies and with the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School, persons who normally do not hold academic appointment in the University, but who have demonstrated an interest in collaborative participation in its graduate programs, may be appointed as Auxiliary Graduate Faculty Members. They should hold the terminal academic degree in the field and possess a record of research or creative experience that would warrant their inclusion on advisory committees to assist graduate students in conducting research. Auxiliary Graduate Faculty may serve only as nonvoting members of the advisory committee.
Administrative officers assigning teaching and other duties to members of the Graduate Faculty who are taking an active part in the graduate program (i.e., are heavily engaged in directing theses and dissertations, carrying on productive research, etc.) should make appropriate reduction in the duties required of such faculty members.
Teaching at the Graduate Level
Courses intended for graduate studies at the University must be taught by faculty members who have the terminal degree in the discipline or a closely related discipline. These courses are designated by the numbers 400G - 799. The terminal degree in most cases is the doctorate. Ideally, these courses should be taught by Graduate Faculty members. If a program needs to assign a person without a terminal degree to teach a graduate level course, they must first petition the Dean of the Graduate School, explaining the unique circumstances and qualifications supporting this assignment. A copy of the diploma or transcript of each faculty member must be kept in the personnel file.
Courses that have both undergraduate and graduates in the courses are usually designated as 400G or 500 level courses. In all courses with a mixed student population, there must be a clear differentiation in the syllabus of course requirements and grading criteria for graduate students and undergraduates. Copies of these syllabi must be retained by the College.
The Dean of the Graduate School
The Dean of the Graduate School is charged with administering the policies adopted by the Graduate Faculty and the University Senate relating to graduate studies. The dean presides over all meetings of the Graduate Faculty and calls meetings of this faculty whenever it is advisable or whenever requested to do so by one-fourth of the membership. Recommendations are made by the dean to the Graduate Faculty regarding the requirements for advanced degrees, the regulations necessary to insure a high standard of graduate work and all other aspects of the graduate program. The graduate programs are administered in the interest of efficient instruction and the highest attainment possible on the part of each graduate student. The dean is responsible for determining and certifying to the Registrar candidates who have fulfilled requirements for advanced degrees. The President, the Executive Vice President for Research, the Provost, and the Dean of the Graduate School shall be ex officio members of all committees of the Graduate School.
The Graduate Council
The Graduate Council approves or disapproves proposals concerning courses offered for graduate credit, and advises and lends assistance to the Dean in executing the policies and regulations determined by the Graduate Faculty. Specifically, the Council:
- Evaluates department requests relating to proposed graduate programs.
- Reviews existing programs and curricula.
- In cooperation with the Dean, initiates recommendations to the Graduate Faculty (this procedure is not intended to prevent a faculty member from bringing any recommendation or request directly before the Graduate Faculty).
The Graduate Council is composed of elected graduate faculty members, two student representatives and the Dean of the Graduate School, who serves as chair. A formula that incorporates graduate student enrollment and graduate faculty size determines the number of elected faculty representatives from each college; all colleges that have a graduate program have at least one elected faculty representative (detailed in Senate Rule 1.3.3.3). Associate deans serve in a non-voting, ex officio capacity. Members representing a college are elected by the Graduate Faculty in the respective colleges. The term of office of the elected members is three years and that of the graduate students is one year. Members may not succeed themselves until three years have elapsed following the completion of their last term. A majority of the Graduate Council constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.
The membership of Graduate Council for 2023-2024 is as follows:
- Martha Peterson, Chair of the Graduate Council, Acting Dean of the Graduate School (until September 30, 2023)
- Padraic Kenney, Chair of the Graduate Council, Dean of the Graduate School (beginning October 1, 2023)
CAFE (2)
- Bryan Hains, Community Leadership Development, 2025
- John Grove, Plant and Soil Sciences, 2024
A&S (5)
- Lisa Cliggett, Anthropology, 2025
- Christopher Crawford, Physics and Astronomy, 2024
- Jennifer Rice, Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies, 2026
- Jessica Santollo, Biology, 2026
- Michael Zilis, Political Science, 2026
Business and Economics (1)
- Mark Liu, Business Administration, 2024
Communication and Information (2)
- Kimberly Parker, Integrated Strategic Communication, 2025
- Jennifer Scarduzio, Communication, 2025
Dentistry (1)
Design (1)
- Julie Riesenweber, Historic Preservation, 2026
Education (2)
- Mark Abel, Kinesiology - Health Promotion, 2026
- Neal Hutchens, Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, 2026
Engineering (2)
- Martha Grady, Mechanical Engineering, 2026
- Kelly Pennell, Civil Engineering, 2026
Fine Arts (1)
- Jonathan McFadden, Visual Art, 2024
Graduate School (1)
- Kathleen Montgomery, Patterson School, 2026
Health Sciences (1)
- Julie Lowman, Rehabilitation Sciences, 2025
Medicine (2)
- Melinda Wilson, Physiology, 2025
- Pavel Ortinski, Neuroscience, 2026
Nursing (1)
- Tyrone (Ty) Borders, Nursing, 2026
Pharmacy (1)
- Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova, Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2025
Public Health (1)
- Amanda Ellis, Biostatistics, 2026
Social Work (1)
Graduate Students (2, invited in fall of each year)
Directors of Graduate Studies
The Dean of the Graduate School, with the advice of the college dean(s) and the approval of the President, may recommend to the Graduate Faculty the areas of graduate study and research into which the University may be divided. The logical unit for an area is a department or center. By common consent, however, certain departments may be grouped into a single area to offer a graduate program and in exceptional cases a department may be divided into two or more areas to offer programs in the respective areas. Directors of Graduate Studies (DGSs) are the local representatives of each graduate program. They provide for the program’s administration and act as the official liaison with the Graduate School. Directors of Graduate Studies are responsible to the Graduate Faculty of their program and to the Dean of the Graduate School for the recruitment, admission, advising, and examination of students in their program. In addition to Directors of Graduate Studies for specific programs, some colleges have designated individual faculty members as Associate Deans for Graduate Studies to serve as the local extension of the Graduate School at the college level.
Directors of Graduate Studies are appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School after consultation with the respective Graduate Faculty and administration in a program. The DGS is normally a tenured faculty member, holding the rank of Associate Professor or above, and is a full member of the Graduate Faculty. Upon the appointment of each Director of Graduate Studies, the Dean of the Graduate School shall draw the attention of the appointee to the existence and location of the official University policies and guidelines that affect graduate faculty, graduate students, and student applicants.
The Director of Graduate Studies reports directly to the Dean of the Graduate School or to the Dean’s designee on all matters relating to graduate education in the program. The DGS is responsible to the Dean of the Graduate School for the administration of the specific graduate program, including maintenance of records, administration of graduate program funds, admission of graduate students, any affiliated University Scholars Program, fellowships, program requirement changes and new programs, advising and registration, appointment of advisory and examination committees, and other degree requirements related to the graduate program. Additionally, the DGS serves as the focal point for dissemination of information from the Graduate School.
The Director of Graduate Studies serves as program advisor to each student until the student has a thesis or dissertation director. The DGS then recommends that the thesis or dissertation director be appointed the student’s advisor or committee chair. In areas where these are not required, the DGS is the advisor of all students not writing theses. All student schedules should be endorsed by the student’s advisor. If it is desirable, a DGS may recommend that additional advisors in the program be appointed. A DGS who is to be absent from the University for as long as a semester must inform the Dean so that a substitute may be appointed. A complete list of current Directors of Graduate Studies can be found at https://gradschool.uky.edu/dgs
Establishment and Modification of Graduate Programs
Proposals to establish a new graduate program or modify an existing program must be submitted via Curriculog. A complete description of the workflow involve is available here https://www.uky.edu/universitysenate/how-create-proposal-new-degree-program.
Graduate Student Professional Enhancement
The Graduate School’s Office of Graduate Student Professional Enhancement (GSPE) provides programs and activities across three main foci: teaching assistant (TA) development, professional development and PhD-level career exploration and preparation. The resources listed below and other campus resources are all part of Graduate Student Success Pathways, a UK-specific online tool to assist graduate students in navigating their graduate experience and taking the steps to optimize their success across research, teaching, career development, and wellness.
Examples of teaching assistant development activities:
- University-wide TA and International TA orientations and microteaching sessions
- Special-topics workshops and events throughout the academic year (often in partnership with CELT)
- Pedagogy Track of GradDegree+ (in partnership with CELT
- GradTeach Live, a teaching counterpart to the research-based 3-Minute Thesis, requiring TAs to engage a general audience in a component of a teaching philosophy and demonstrating how that philosophy is enacted in the classroom or lab
- Multidisciplinary teaching-related courses (e.g., GS 610, GS 620, GS 630)
- Institutional subscription to 20-Minute Mentor Commons and Magna Digital Library with more than 400 short videos on a wide array of pedagogical topics
- ESL courses for TAs whose primary language is not English (in partnership with the Center for English as a Second Language)
- Consultations on teaching-related issues (in partnership with CELT)
- Classroom feedback (in partnership with CELT)
- Coordination of mandatory SACS-related documentation on TA development and credentialing (e.g. verification of required graduate credit hours for teaching, orientation attendance, classroom and lab observations and feedback, and semester performance evaluations)
These efforts occur in conjunction with departmental TA orientations, in-service activities, and supervision. Some departments require TA participation in workshops and/or departmental or centralized teaching courses.
Examples of graduate student professional development efforts:
- Workshops, consultations and e-resources
- GradDegree+, a partnership with UK HR Training and Development, offering various tracks of transferable skills workshops
- Coordination with departmental graduate student development efforts and national efforts (AAC&U, Council of Graduate Schools, Graduate Career Consortium)
- Partnership with the Graduate Student Congress, which offers organizational and leadership development opportunities, a series of annual programs (such as a conference on Life After Grad School) and other ongoing activities
- Research communication initiatives, including a campus-wide 3-Minute Thesis competition (GradResearch Live), which focuses on the skills of communicating research effectively to public audiences.
- ESL courses for students seeking to improve in speaking and academic writing (in partnership with the Center for English as a Second Language)
- New Graduate Student Orientation, a series of modules in Canvas introducing key campus resources and providing advice from faculty and graduate students on successfully transitioning to graduate studies
Examples of graduate student career development:
- Access to a PhD-level graduate career developer for career exploration and preparation (in partnership with the Stuckert Career Center)
- Preparing Future Faculty for-credit courses (GS 600, 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, 695 and 699). Courses may be taken as stand-alones or as a set leading to a Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Learning.
- Partnerships with colleges and universities in the region to provide professional development and adjunct employment opportunities for UK graduate students
- Access to Beyond the Professoriate, an on-demand tool for exploring and learning about PhD-levels careers through video interviews with PhD holders inside and outside academia. Also includes online workshops and career development conferences.
- Access to ImaginePhD (UK is a founding sponsor), an on-demand career exploration tool specifically for graduate students and post-docs in the humanities and social sciences
More information on the above programs and resources is available on the Graduate School’s website here.
The Graduate School also maintains an Office of Postdoctoral Affairs aimed at enhancing the postdoctoral experience at UK. Information on programming and resources available through this office is available here.
Graduate Centers
The Graduate School administers two multidisciplinary Graduate Centers.
The Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce
The Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce offers an interdisciplinary master’s degree which can be tailored to meet the career needs of individual students. The program is especially useful for students desiring careers in any of the non-academic fields in foreign affairs such as international banking, commerce and journalism, or service with governmental agencies or international organizations. To assure the interdisciplinary character of the degree, students may concentrate their work in a specific geographical area or focus on certain aspects of international affairs. In addition, the Patterson School serves in an advisory capacity to Ph.D. programs in departments offering internationally-oriented doctoral degrees in various colleges on campus. For more information see the Patterson School web-site at: https://www.uky.edu/pattersonschool/
Martin School of Public Policy & Administration
The Martin School offers an undergraduate major in public policy, four multidisciplinary graduate degree programs-the Master of Public Administration, the Master of Public Policy, the Master of Public Financial Management, and the Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration-and engages in research and public service activities. The disciplines represented by the School’s faculty are management, finance, economics, political science, and higher education. The research and public service components of the Martin School offer the School’s faculty, staff, and graduate students the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary research on public policy issues. For more information see the Martin School web-site at: https://martin.uky.edu/
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