UCSB GradPost

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.

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.

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.

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.

Levi Maaia, a seventh-year doctoral student in Education, wants to "make" things happen. Levi grew up in East Providence, Rhode Island. He earned a B.S. in Film and Television from Boston University and an M.A. in Journalism from Emerson College.

In a landmark 5-4 decision on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in all 50 states. Reactions ranged from anger to pride. The GradPost interviewed a few graduate students to get their reactions to this historic ruling.

Empowerment, discovery, achievement, and humanitarianism were the predominant themes during UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division’s 2015 Commencement celebration.

Of the 423 students participating in this Sunday’s Graduate Division Commencement ceremony, nearly half will have the privilege of wearing the doctoral hood. To avoid a hooding horror story, the UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division has produced a how-to video.

The UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division is pleased to announce the publication of the inaugural Graduate Education magazine. The magazine showcases the “spirited and creative thinkers” who make up UC Santa Barbara’s graduate student body.

When Ph.D. candidate Mario Galicia Jr. steps up to the podium at the Graduate Division’s 2015 Commencement ceremony to deliver his address as this year’s student speaker, it will be “a coming full circle moment.”

UC Santa Barbara is on top of the world – again. In Leiden University’s annual rankings of the 750 best major universities in the world in terms of impact in the sciences, UCSB was listed at No. 7. The university rose one spot from last year.

Doctoral candidate in microbiology Selvi Ersoy is many things to many people and most of these things are awesome.

Four UCSB graduate student teaching assistants who are passionate about what they do were honored on April 23 for their efforts in the classroom and beyond.

Find out which of the 10 finalists won the 2015 UCSB Grad Slam!

Being in graduate school is hard. Being a parent in graduate school is even harder. In this Spotlight article, we talk to four graduate students about being a student parent.

Whether she’s in a field, a zoo, or an operating room, Dr. Véronique LaCapra – a 1992 Towbes fellow who earned her Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology from UCSB in 2000 – gets to tell compelling stories in her “never boring” career as a science, environment, and health reporter for a local NPR affiliate station in St. Louis.

The 2014 Grad Slam Final round featured 10 finalists looking to earn the title of Champion. Find out who took home the grand prize of $5,000!

The 2013 Grad Slam Final round featured 9 finalists looking to earn the title of Champion. Find out who was the winner and who were the runners-up!

Find out which four presenters advanced from our ​second semifinal round to the Final Round on Friday!

The Grad Slam excitement continues! Our first semifinal round featured all of the People's Choice winners from the preliminary rounds. Find out which two presenters will advance to the Finals.

Find out who the winners are from Preliminary Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2016 Grad Slam!

Find out who the winners are from Preliminary Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2016 Grad Slam!

The Graduate Division welcomes Ryan Sims into the new role of Graduate Academic Counselor. Ryan will be developing, organizing, and evaluating a range of case-management services and programming for graduate students experiencing academic or personal difficulties.

California lawmakers are getting their own education about why graduate research matters. Helping to enlighten them are two UC Santa Barbara Ph.D. students: Deborah Barany and Christopher Heckman.

Jacob Barrett, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, shares a little bit about his upbringing, his research, and lessons we can all learn from his mentor, Batman.

"Non-traditional" doesn’t begin to describe Ph.D. Education student Rick Bacon. While most of us are getting a Ph.D. to get a better job, Rick Bacon already has a job he loves as CEO of Aqua Metrology Systems, a start-up with Goleta as a client. Instead, he’s earning his Ph.D. to help understand how to widen access of underserved populations to learning and employment opportunities.

Our Graduate Student in the Spotlight is on Brian J. Griffith, husband and father of two and a fourth-year Ph.D. student in History. He is studying Modern Italy and Italian Fascism, and has received a GSA Excellence in Teaching Award.

Each year, the GradPost reports on various lists and rankings for UC Santa Barbara. We examined the analytics for the GradPost from January 1 to December 15, 2015, to find out what clicked with our readers. Once again, such articles as graduate student profiles; student awards and achievements; the Grad Slam; and prestigious annual rankings reports, topped our list.

A week ago tragedy struck my hometown of San Bernardino. I wish to first send out my condolences to the families, loved ones, and all affected by the disaster out of San Bernardino. Losing someone we know and love is never easy. Having lost several family members and friends to gun violence, I am sensitive to what those who are grieving are going through.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

Graduate Division Assistant Dean Christian Villasenor was presented with the 2014-15 Margaret T. Getman Service to Students Award at the Student Affairs divisional meeting in Corwin Pavilion.

UC Santa Barbara Ph.D. students and mentors Stacy Copp and William Ryan have been named recipients of the Fiona Goodchild Award for Excellence as Graduate Student Mentors of Undergraduate Research.