2. Graduate School Organization

Chapter 2

Graduate School Organization

Academic Affairs

The Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is responsible for general oversight of all academic regulations of the Graduate School. The Associate Dean acts on student academic matters that cannot be appropriately or satisfactorily resolved at the department or program level. The Associate Dean works with the Admissions staff to set admissions standards and review borderline or unusual applications. The Associate Dean works with the Finance unit and the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty (ECGF) to select and award Graduate School student fellowships. This office acts as a resource in the development of proposals for new graduate academic programs, and coordinates, as delegated by the Provost and the Dean in the Vice Provost position, the periodic external review of existing academic units. The office maintains records of the Graduate Faculty and provides support to the ECGF. In addition, this office maintains all in-school and historical student records, certifies completion of all degree requirements, including format approval for all theses and dissertations, and supports students and faculty in resolving enrollment and registration issues. Academic Affairs also coordinates and provides academic support programs, including training in Responsible Conduct of Research, the English for International Students Program, and academic career development programs.

Finance & Administration

The Office of the Associate Dean for Finance & Administration is responsible for all aspects of Graduate School budgeting and financial support, data management, and other administrative functions such as payroll, human resource policy setting and procedure implementation, and facilities operations. The Office of Budgets and Finance manages financial operations and reporting for the Graduate School, prepares and monitors Graduate School administrative and financial aid budgets and actual expenditures, and oversees institutional fellowship awards, federal financial aid and national fellowship award programs.

Admissions

The Graduate School Admissions Office develops the policies and procedures by which applications to all graduate departments are processed. This office communicates with students and departments regarding requirements, application status, and final admissions decisions and also handles issues related to the preparation of visa documents for incoming international students.

Graduate Student Affairs

The central mission of Graduate Student Affairs (GSA) is to enhance the quality of graduate student life by working closely with individual students, student organizations, faculty, and other campus offices. The aim is to provide a broad array of programs on such issues as health, safety, housing, mentoring, and professional development. This office is committed to helping students become active participants in their personal growth and in the achievement of their educational objectives.
 

Graduate Faculty

The Graduate School consists of members of the Graduate Faculty, the training and research programs that they offer, and a small central staff to administer school-wide policies and procedures. Departments and programs authorized to offer graduate degrees are responsible for nominating members of their faculties to the Graduate Faculty. There are two categories of Graduate Faculty: full graduate faculty members and term graduate faculty members.

Full Graduate Faculty Members

Nominal prerequisites for admission to the graduate faculty as a full member include possession of the Ph.D. degree and research activity appropriate for one engaged in graduate training. Academic units (departments and programs) may set additional requirements if they choose or, in special cases, request that the Dean waive one of these prerequisites. Waiver of any prerequisites is considered in cases where the nominated faculty member has the experience and distinction of tenure track faculty members currently being appointed at Duke and will contribute demonstrably and substantially to the educational, training, and mentoring mission of the nominating department or degree program. Only full members of the Graduate Faculty may chair examination committees and direct dissertations. Full members of the Graduate Faculty generally participate in setting graduate degree requirements and in teaching and mentoring in their programs.

1. Decisions on admission to full membership in the Graduate Faculty must be voted on by all full graduate faculty members of the department or program. Nominations subsequently forwarded to the Associate Dean must include:
    
   1. an official nomination form from the Director of Graduate Studies and the Department Chair;
   2. confirmation that there has been a majority vote cast by members of the graduate faculty in the academic unit; and
   3. current curriculum vitae. The Dean reserves the right of effective review of each request and has the obligation to submit to the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty any nomination deemed to be questionable.
       
2. With Graduate School oversight, academic units are also responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of their graduate faculty and are expected to recommend removal from the graduate faculty of any of their faculty members who fail to maintain an appropriate level of scholarship or other essential participation in their graduate programs.

Term Graduate Faculty Members

Departments and programs authorized to offer graduate degrees, and those offering graduate certificates but not degrees, may request that members of their faculty who are not full members of the graduate faculty, or appropriate expert researchers outside Duke University, be approved by the Associate Dean for temporary and limited service in their graduate programs – teaching graduate courses or serving on student examination committees, for example. Such individuals are appointed for a limited term of up to five years and are nominated by the Directors of Graduate Studies of departments, degree programs, or certificate programs upon advice of their faculties. All nominations of term graduate faculty members must then be reviewed by the Associate Dean of the Graduate School for potential approval.

Nomination forms are available on the Policies and Forms page. The Dean reserves the right of effective review of each request and has the obligation to submit to the Executive Committee any nomination deemed to be questionable.
 

Minutes of each meeting of the Executive Committee are published on Canvas: ECGF members can access meeting minutes on Canvas. Go to Canvas, open ECGF site, click on "Files" then click on "Resources" to browse/open files.

It is important that you routinely review these minutes, as they frequently contain discussions of matters directly relevant to your program. You are also encouraged to be in frequent contact with members of the Executive Committee from your academic division, so that they might represent your interests and concerns on issues that come before the Committee. Any matter of concern to individual faculty members or departments can be brought before the Executive Committee. 

A brief note to the Dean or the Associate Dean will be sufficient to begin the process, or you may contact any current member of the ECGF or the faculty chair.

For a full list of members, visit the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty page.