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It’s probably no coincidence that Tanya Das, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering, is studying nano-optics. She’s been finding success by starting small for a long time. This strategy has allowed her to attempt new things as diverse as hip-hop dancing and science writing, while working her way toward her degree.

On November 7, thousands descended upon the UCSB campus as the university hosted the California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education. About 220 universities across the U.S. joined more than 1,000 undergrad and master's students in an event designed to recruit students from underrepresented backgrounds to doctoral-level study.

Shawn Warner-Garcia, previously the Graduate Student Resource Center’s Professional Development Peer Advisor, has been named Professional Development Program Coordinator for the UCSB Graduate Division.

Michael Darling believes that graduate students should take control of their destinies and “make things happen rather than waiting for an opportunity to fall into their lap.” Throughout his life, this UCSB Art and Architectural History M.A. and Ph.D. alum has adhered to this philosophy, doing what he could to make himself stand out. And stand out he has. Dr. Darling, 47, is the James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

This is the advice that Alex Kulick, a second-year Ph.D. student in UCSB's Sociology Department, says he would give to fellow graduate students. Alex, a native of Michigan, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women's Studies from the University of Michigan and now serves as the graduate assistant at UCSB's Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity.

Stephanie Griffin is proof that graduate school can be a positive, fulfilling, and career-changing experience. A second-year Bren School of Environmental Science & Management student, Stephanie has also recently been hired as the Graduate Division's new Funding Peer.

In a column on the website The Conversation, University of California President Janet Napolitano wrote of the responsibility of the academic community to “ensure that the work and voices of researchers are front and center in the public square.” And she praised the Grad Slam as an excellent way to accomplish that.

Value Colleges ranked UCSB College of Engineering’s graduate programs No. 8 on its list of Top 50 Best Value Graduate Engineering Programs of 2016.The GradPost interviewed several engineering graduate students to get their reactions to this honor.

UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association has named retired NASA astronaut José Hernandez (M.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1986) UCSB’s 2015 Distinguished Alumnus.

The Graduate Division is committed to providing quality programming to graduate students on topics such as professional development, career and job searching, finding funding, and writing support. The 2015-16 academic year will feature our largest ever programming schedule, and we are always looking for new and useful ways to serve graduate students.

At UC Santa Barbara, we pride ourselves on our innovative and entrepreneurial spirit and practices. That innovation was recognized this week, when the global media firm Reuters named the University of California system No. 13 on its list of the Top 100 World’s Most Innovative Universities.

UC Santa Barbara continues its impressive upward trajectory, rising to No. 8 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 list of the “Top 30 Public National Universities” in the country. The distinction represents a jump of two spots from UCSB’s position last year and is UC Santa Barbara’s highest ranking in the history of the magazine’s annual listings

UC Santa Barbara, described as “in the top echelon,” has risen a spot in Washington Monthly magazine’s annual list of Top 100 National Universities. The 2015 list has UCSB at No. 14, up from No. 15 in 2014 and No. 22 in 2013.

What is the secret to second-year Ph.D. student Jessica Perkins’ success? At first, you might think it comes from her growing up in a large, extended family in Rhode Island and learning to appreciate the value of active involvement in a community. Later, you might think it’s her time management skills. She earned a combined B.S./M.S. in Environmental Engineering at Tufts University while playing field hockey. Finally, you might consider her secret is that she only needs six hours of sleep a night.

Only in his second year of UCSB's Linguistics doctoral program, Daniel Hieber already has a Grad Slam win under his belt. His smooth and well-prepared presentation made him an instant standout, and he took first place at UCSB's 2015 competition. Danny then went on to the inaugural UC-wide Grad Slam and scored another win, an impressive second place!