[Faculty] Fwd: UCR Graduate Division Faculty Quarterly Newsletter

Wed Apr 1 10:14:11 PDT 2026

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Spring 2026

Faculty Quarterly

Dear Colleagues,

  As we move into Spring Quarter, I find myself feeling genuinely grateful,
for the students who make this work meaningful, and for the faculty and
programs who invest so much in their success. There is a lot to celebrate
this season, and I'm glad to share it with you.

First, mark your calendars for Graduate Student Appreciation Week, April
6–11. This week is dedicated to honoring the hard work and achievements of
our graduate students, and I want to invite all faculty and programs to
take a moment to do something special for your students. You know them
best, whatever gesture feels right, big or small, I know it will mean the
world to them. Whether it's a lab celebration, a coffee, or simply taking a
moment to tell them what their contributions mean to you and your program,
it matters.

Two highlights of the week are not to be missed. Research Day on April 8th
will showcase the remarkable breadth and depth of graduate scholarship at
UCR through poster and oral presentations and artistic performances, a
wonderful reminder of just how talented a group of scholars we get to work
with every day. Then on April 10th, join us for the Grad Slam Final, where
students from across our schools and colleges will distill complex,
years-long research into just a few compelling minutes. If you haven't been
before, this is the year to go. You will leave inspired.

Looking ahead, please save the date for the Graduate Award Ceremony on
April 23rd, where we will come together as a community to recognize
outstanding achievement across our graduate programs. Our prestigious and
highly competitive graduate fellowships will be awarded alongside honors
for postdocs and faculty, a meaningful celebration of the excellence that
defines graduate education at UCR.

This Spring also brings two exciting fellowship developments. We will be
issuing a third round of DCFA awards, so watch for that call coming out
soon. We are also thrilled to introduce a brand new opportunity: the
Graduate Off-campus Fellowship (GO). Designed to support students
conducting research or scholarly work away from campus in situations where
taking on a TAship or GSR is not feasible, the GO Fellowship reflects our
ongoing commitment to meeting students where they are.

Supporting student success also means making sure our mentoring and
evaluation practices are as meaningful as possible. The Annual Mentoring
and Evaluation (AME) form has been revised based on feedback from staff,
faculty, and graduate program advisors, and we're grateful to everyone who
took the time to share their thoughts. At its best, this form is a genuine
conversation tool, a way to align goals, identify challenges early, and
help students stay on track toward completion. The updated form will be
available during the second week of April and due to the Graduate Division
on July 1st. Programs continue to have the option to attach their own form
and complete the overall performance rating.

I also want to take a moment to ask for your help with something important.
We have reached out to programs requesting job placement information for
all graduates going back to 1999. I want to encourage everyone to make this
a priority and share the information with us as completely as possible.
Understanding where our graduates land is not just a data exercise. It is
essential for how we think about curriculum, mentoring, and the kinds of
support we offer our current and future students. The better our picture of
graduate outcomes, the better positioned we are to ensure that every
student who comes through our programs is set up for a meaningful and
successful career.

As always, I want to stay connected with all of you. Please feel free to
email me or stop by my office in UOB 100, my door is genuinely always open.
Come say hello, share what's on your mind, or just chat about how we can
keep making UCR a place where graduate students truly thrive.

Sincerely,
Lidia

*Introducing The Graduate Student Management System (GSMS)  * Supporting
the success of UC Riverside’s graduate students has always been at the
forefront of the Graduate Division’s mission. Yet fulfilling this goal goes
beyond offering master’s and doctoral programs—it also means modernizing
the systems we use to enhance the graduate student experience. In its
pursuit of increasing operational efficiency, enabling data-driven
decisions, and ensuring compliance with regulations and agreements, the
Graduate Division, in partnership with Information Technology Solutions
(ITS), created the Graduate Student Management System
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=aa78a6d794&e=13fcd9fdd4>
(GSMS).

GSMS is a single platform developed to streamline and centralize the
management of graduate student funding and employment at UCR. It is
designed to be a one-stop shop for graduate student management where
fellowships, scholarships, fees, awards, and graduate student employment
can be centrally managed. *Project Progress* The Fall 2026 application
process marked the official launch of the GSMS Admissions Module and
graduate programs on campus began to use it to build their recruitment
packages. GSMS works together with Slate, UCR’s recruitment and admissions
CRM tool, to provide a customized view of relevant student data and give a
full picture of graduate students’ experience at UCR.

Notably, the launch of the Admissions Module also signaled UCR’s transition
away from the legacy system used for admissions processes. *What’s Coming
Next* The project team is focused on launching the GSMS Employment Module
in the coming weeks. With the development of this module comes process
standardization, as well as the automation and centralization of graduate
student employment.

Testing will begin soon for the Employment Module, with the GSMS project
team working in collaboration with representatives from schools and
colleges. Additionally, training plans are being developed for the launch
of the Employment Module.

If you would like to learn more about GSMS, please visit
graduate.ucr.edu/gsms
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=4df772791e&e=13fcd9fdd4>
.

Admissions
  *Graduate Admissions: Upcoming Deadlines*

Please add these dates to your calendar to ensure timely processing. If
your program has set an earlier internal deadline, those take precedence.

Summer 2026 (Domestic - New* & Returning and Continuing Students)
Application Submission Deadline: May 1, 2026
Admission Recommendations: May 8, 2026

* Biomedical Sciences (Ph.D.) and Teacher Education programs only.

Fall 2026
*Applicant Category* *Submission Deadline* *Recommendation Deadline*
*International* June 1, 2026 June 8, 2026
*Domestic** *June 1, 2026* June 8, 2026
* Note on Domestic Extensions: Programs may request to extend the domestic
submission deadline up to August 1, 2026. Please coordinate with your
graduate program staff if an extension is needed.

Academic Preparation,
Recruitment, & Outreach

*Grad Slam Final on April 10 from 4-6 pm*
RSVP here
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=bb6f9cf451&e=13fcd9fdd4>
for our Grad Slam Final on April 10th in the School of Business Bldg.
Graduate students across campus are competing for cash prizes and the
chance to compete systemwide in April. Come vote for your Audience
Favorite! The Grad Slam Final program is on our website:
https://gsrc.ucr.edu/grad-slam-2026.

Funding & Employment

The Graduate Division is pleased to announce the launch of the Graduate
Off-campus Fellowship (the GO fellowship). This award is designed to
provide full financial support to graduate students whose essential
research or scholarly studies must be conducted away from campus,
preventing them from accepting traditional on-campus employment.

GO aims to ensure students remain fully funded - including stipend, tuition
and fees - while conducting necessary site visits or fieldwork. For the
2026-27 academic year, the award will include a $12,000 quarterly stipend
and full tuition/fees. PhD and MFA students who have advanced to candidacy
and are within normative time are eligible to apply.

The application will require a research statement and justification for the
off-campus time. Letters from the student’s thesis mentor and any
applicable visiting institution will be requested.  There will be one call
each Spring for the following academic year and programs will not be
limited in the number of nominations. Please identify eligible candidates
within your departments who would benefit from this dedicated research
support.

Academics

*Academic Affairs Resources*

All regulations and procedures regarding academic requirements for your
graduate students including committees, advancement to candidacy, degree
audtis, and graduation are available on the Graduate Division website.
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You can also email <gaa at ucr.edu> gaa at ucr.edu with specific questions.

*Grad**uate Division Hooding Ceremony*
Please REGISTER
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and
reserve your regalia by April 23rd if you are attending the hooding
ceremony on June 7th at the SRC.

*Graduation Deadlines*
Students need your help! Approving Final Defense and Dissertation/Thesis
Signature Approval pages in a timely manner is crucial for students needing
to complete by the graduation deadline
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=1aa0ac1ce3&e=13fcd9fdd4>.
Reporting grades and other degree requirements is also key. Late approval
or reporting of any item will result in the student moving to a future
quarter graduation.

*Academic Affairs Resources*
All regulations and procedures regarding academic requirements for your
graduate students including committees, advancement to candidacy, degree
audits, and graduation are available on the GAA Regulations and Procedures
website
<https://ucr.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=16b960a15758a2e9f6cc8140d&id=c07e2524a7&e=13fcd9fdd4>
.

Grad Success

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This emai
University of California, Riverside · 900 University Ave. · Riverside,
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