Graduate College

The University of Iowa has been a leading center of advanced study for more than a century. Presently, the Graduate College accounts for nearly one-fifth of the university's total enrollment. This high ratio reflects the breadth of the university's graduate programs and resources, the strength of a graduate faculty with a long tradition of personal and professional concern for students, and the opportunities afforded graduate students for involvement, recognition, and support.

The Graduate College is responsible for the review and approval of proposals for new graduate programs and for the periodic survey and evaluation of existing programs. Through its administration of scholarship, fellowship, and research assistantship funds, the college encourages research and strengthening of departments. Additionally, the college works with the other colleges and departments of the university to formulate policies concerning the selection, supervision, and support of graduate students.

The faculty of the Graduate College is made up of all university tenure-track faculty members at the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. The Graduate Council, elected from and by the graduate faculty, is the executive committee of the graduate faculty and is advisory to the dean of the Graduate College.

Manual of Rules and Regulations

The current edition of the Manual of Rules and Regulations is available on the college's website.

Academic Affairs Office

The Academic Affairs Office (AAO) is responsible for supporting graduate student academic progress and success. Have a question? AAO can help. AAO oversees graduate student degree progress and completion, assists with student academic concerns, and provides support for graduate students' completion of their thesis or dissertation. AAO works broadly across campus by coordinating with graduate programs and campus partners to manage and uphold the rules and standards of graduate education with a focus on academic excellence, student success, and evidence-based initiatives to shape and improve students' experiences.

Office of Graduate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Office of Graduate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is dedicated to providing academic assistance to graduate students from underrepresented populations across graduate programs, building a sustainable practice of inclusion that nourishes and attracts underrepresented graduate students campuswide, and fostering community-building through individual and group activities focused on successful academic progress.

Graduate Student Success

The Graduate College takes a holistic approach to graduate student and postdoctoral scholar preparation. Whether a student's goal is a career in academe, industry, government, or elsewhere, professional development can expand one's options and make a student more marketable to employers. The Graduate Student Success Office can help graduate students in the realms of:

  • communication;
  • research and publication;
  • diversity;
  • funding;
  • teaching;
  • leadership;
  • careers; and
  • wellness.

Research Resources

Many of the university's diverse research activities are centrally administered by the Office of the Vice President for Research, which has a cooperative relationship with the Graduate College.

Graduate Student Senate

The Graduate Student Senate is the university's graduate student body representative organization. Representatives are elected annually from each university department that has a graduate degree program. The senate's primary purpose is to serve the interests of the graduate student body in matters affecting its welfare. The senate advises the dean of the Graduate College on matters pertaining to the college.