About The Graduate College

Graduate Studies at The University of Arizona

The University of Arizona (UA) is the flagship institution in the State of Arizona and is widely recognized as one of the top twenty academic institutions in the country.  It offers extensive opportunities to pursue graduate degrees in more than one hundred different fields. Located in the breathtaking Sonoran desert of southern Arizona and within an international border region, UA attracts first rate faculty members and the highest quality graduate students and is widely recognized for its contributions to cutting edge research in numerous fields.

Mission Statement

The Graduate College provides central support and leadership to serve, oversee, and advance all aspects of the graduate enterprise at the University of Arizona.

In providing central support and leadership, the Graduate College has a threefold mission:

  • Service to People, Processes and Programs – Our mission is built upon a foundation of service to prospective and current graduate students, faculty/staff, academic programs and colleges, and central administrative units. Principal activities include essential central administrative and IT services for program admissions, degree progress and certification, fellowship awarding, assistantship contracting, financial services and human resources;
  • Oversight of Policies and Performance – We provide a core layer of oversight to ensure quality and consistency in graduate program function concerning academic policies, administrative procedures and curriculum, as well as institutional research, assessment and Academic Program Review support for management of graduate program performance;
  • Promotion and Advancement – Our highest commitment is advancement of the overall graduate enterprise that includes advocating for graduate education and research, furthering diversity, interdisciplinarity and integrity, and helping to provide and facilitate student financial support from a range of sources.

A Message from Our Dean

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Kirsten Limesand, PhD, Dean of the UA Graduate College

Welcome to the Graduate College at the University of Arizona. Over 130 individual colleges, departments and programs offer world class graduate degrees and maintain outstanding facilities and opportunities for research and creative scholarly activity. The University of Arizona is one of the nation's top 20 public research institutions, enabling graduate students to work with leading researchers and providing an ideal environment for graduate scholarly learning. We place high priority on interdisciplinary studies, we strongly promote intellectual and cultural diversity, and we encourage international exchange. All of these add important value to graduate degrees from our institution.

Graduate students contribute to and benefit from the University's excellence in research, teaching, and outreach. Further, graduate students are engaged in their programs and take advantage of the many opportunities for professionalization beyond classes and research. Many programs involve graduate students in decision-making; at the campus level, the Graduate and Professional Student Council represents the interests of the graduate student body via the shared governance process.

I urge prospective graduate students to explore the wide range of degree programs available. In addition to accessing websites of the programs in your area of interest, do not hesitate to contact a program by email or telephone requesting more information. This website contains comprehensive information on graduate studies at the University of Arizona; should you need help with any aspect, please contact us.

Many thanks for your interest in the Graduate College.

If you have chosen to focus on excellence, you will be rewarded with a graduate education of the highest caliber at the University of Arizona.

Kirsten Limesand
Dean of the Graduate College