ATLANTA—Nearly two years after its formation, Georgia State University’s Graduate School has confirmed its commitment to graduate education by investing in several programs and initiatives designed to promote graduate student success, provide financial support for graduate students, and expand the impact The Graduate School will have on the university community.
Officially established in 2019 as part of the university’s strategic plan, The Graduate School is responsible for establishing university-level policies regarding graduate education, providing students with professional development opportunities and connecting graduate students with opportunities for financial support throughout their time at Georgia State.
The Fall 2020 semester set a nine-year record for total student enrollment, with more than 7,000 graduate students enrolled in classes at the university. This marks a 6.8 percent increase over the previous year’s total enrollment.
“Our graduate admissions team and the admissions professionals across campus have worked diligently to help provide students with the necessary information and resources to prepare them for graduate education,” said Lisa Armistead, dean of The Graduate School. “Total graduate student enrollment continues to break records, which speaks to the quality of our degree programs and the dedication of our graduate admissions staff across campus.”
Just as the graduate student body has continued to grow, Georgia State has grown its investment in graduate education by expanding The Graduate School’s ability to meet the needs of the graduate student body. Earlier this year, construction was completed on The Graduate School’s new space in 55 Park Place, bringing all central staff devoted to graduate students, along with the Center for the Advancement of Students and Alumni (CASA) together under one roof. Associate professor of geosciences Nadine Kabengi recently joined The Graduate School as an associate dean and will lead faculty development initiatives such as inclusive mentorship of graduate students and holistic approaches to reviewing graduate student applications.
With more college students than ever needing financial assistance to pay for their education, The Graduate School has created new programs and expanded existing programs to provide further financial support for graduate students. After the COVID-19 pandemic began, many doctoral students were forced to pause their dissertation research, delaying their graduation date. To help alleviate this pressure, The Graduate School was able to expand the Provost’s Dissertation Fellowship to provide more than $632,000 in HEERF funds to 55 doctoral candidates whose dissertation progress was slowed by COVID-19.
The Graduate School was also able to partner with Perimeter College to pilot a new fellowship program designed to provide support to Perimeter College faculty members who are enrolled in doctoral programs on Georgia State’s Atlanta campus. The Pathway to Attaining the Doctoral Degree (PADD) at Perimeter College provides fellows with a reduced teaching load and summer support, enabling them to complete their doctoral degrees without leaving their faculty roles. Dean Armistead and Dr. Nancy Kropf, Dean of Perimeter College, have also partnered to bring graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) to Perimeter College. These GTAs will work closely with seasoned Perimeter College faculty and administrators to provide instruction to students enrolled in Georgia State’s two-year college.
Through its partnership with the American Institutes for Research, Georgia State has strengthened its commitment to creating a pipeline of diverse graduate students who can contribute to behavioral and social science research and application. This summer, 10 Georgia State graduate students were selected to participate in mentoring programs and internships with AIR, furthering the partnership’s goals of providing graduate students with an interest in research and implementation science with support for education and training, mentoring and career advancement, and networking and internships.
“Our ultimate goal at The Graduate School is to provide graduate students with all of the tools and resources they need to be successful in the classroom and in their careers,” Armistead said. “We are so grateful to the support we’ve received from the provost and president to provide such exceptional opportunities to current and prospective students.”
For more information on The Graduate School, visit graduate.gsu.edu.