The Director of Graduate Study serves as the official departmental or program administrator of a graduate program. Together with department/college leadership and faculty, the DGS shares responsibility for overseeing and guiding the program.
Because of the differences in graduate programs and structures of departments, each DGS role is unique. The DGS and Graduate Program Contact often work collaboratively on many of these areas. However, some of the common responsibilities for DGSs including graduate admissions, departmental graduate handbook and policies, advising on policies, assisting with mentoring and problem-solving, and annual review.
The Graduate College team is here to help support you in your role, answer questions, and provide resources to you, your faculty, and students.
Getting Started
First steps
- Roles and Access Manager: The first thing to do is to let the Graduate College know you are new in your role. Your unit does this by updating their Authorized Signatories in the GC Roles and Access Manager. This also adds you on our email lists to help keep you informed of future announcements.
- Banner Access: Banner is the university’s database, and contains all the student, HR, and financial records information for the university. If you have any roles in student records, human resources, or business/accounting, you will need access to Banner. Access is requested by your Unit Security Contact to the needed Enterprise Applications. Ideally, your Unit Security Contact will be able to set you up with the same access as the previous Graduate Contact.
- FERPA Training: As a Graduate Contact you will be viewing student records, and so you are required to complete Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) training, which is available online.
- Canvas Toolkits and Training Resources: Enroll in our Canvas Toolkits and Training Resources site for faculty and staff. This site is tailored to the needs of graduate program staff and faculty and is available whenever you need it.
Managing Graduate Admissions
Many Directors of Graduate Study coordinate the graduate admissions process for their programs. The Graduate Admissions Review Toolkit offers guidance and best practices for admissions committees, holistic review strategies, admissions and funding offers, and admissions review systems.
Graduate program admissions chairs (often the DGS) are expected to complete the Holistic Admissions Training, and we encourage others involved in graduate application reviews to complete this training as well.
The DGS usually coordinates nominations to Graduate College fellowships competitions. Learn more about these competitions and deadlines.
Overseeing Departmental Graduate Handbook and Policies
Graduate programs typically have a departmental handbook that outlines policies and procedures in more detail for students. The material in the departmental handbook cannot conflict with policies applicable to all graduate students in the Student Code, the Graduate College Handbook, and the program’s course catalog entry.
As DGS, it is helpful to review your handbook annually to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. Any changes to the departmental handbook will be managed by the processes within your department. Changes to the course catalog will go through the program review process.
Think about ways to share information about the program’s policies in your new student orientation as well as reminders for returning students.
Advising on Policy and Responding to Academic Requests
The DGS is often a resource for students and faculty with questions about departmental academic policies and options. Additionally, exception requests and petitions are often reviewed by the DGS. The Graduate College petition process is used for requests for exceptions to Graduate College policies and deadlines as well as academic record updates such as adding minors/concentrations, transferring credit, changing programs, etc. Departments will have internal processes to consider exceptions requests for departmental policies.
When considering exception requests, it is helpful to focus on the academic justification for the request. Consider how to develop a consistent process in reviewing these requests, while being open to the unique nature of each request. When adding departmental comments in Graduate College petitions, it is helpful to provide any additional information you have about the academic justification and programmatic context around this request.
We have additional resources around what to include in petition requests and guides for using the Slate system for petitions.
Assisting with Mentoring and Problem-solving
The Director of Graduate Studies can be a resource for students and their advisers if needing to navigate communication or mentoring challenges. A third party can help people identify a path to resolution or help connect individuals with other campus resources. The Graduate College is available to consult with DGSs on individual situations. These mentoring resources can help identify strategies and additional resources.
Coordinating Graduate Student Annual Review
Each year, continuing graduate students are expected to receive an annual review of their academic progress. The formats vary by department, but the Graduate College encourages programs to develop a system to provide a meaningful review and discussion with the student about their progress.
Often the Director of Graduate Study coordinates the annual review process, including communicating with faculty and students about the process and timelines. Information on our website and in this Canvas site about annual reviews can be a helpful resource in developing and implementing departmental annual review processes.
Additional Resources for Directors of Graduate Study
- Online: This Canvas site provides in-depth information and training on many of the administrative aspects of graduate education. We have attempted to highlight some key areas for DGSs but encourage you to use this as a reference as questions arise.
- Live: The Graduate College organizes programs throughout the year to support the work of faculty and staff in graduate programs, including the Annual Workshop, DGS Coffees, mentoring workshops, and training on specific topics. Upcoming programs are listed on the event calendar.
- Consultations: We are always happy to speak with you individually to consult on an individual question or situation. We recognize that each situation is unique and can provide options to consider. Consult our staff guide for the best people to contact around a specific issue, or you are welcome to contact our main inbox at grad@illinois.edu or phone 217-333-0035, and we will direct your question to the more knowledgeable person.
Key Student Systems
We offer a comprehensive list of student information systems that support graduate education, but to get started, here are the top few that Directors of Graduate Study use most often:
- Slate: This system managed by the Graduate College is used for the application and admissions process as well as processing of current student requests, including petitions and registration forms. Directors of graduate study often provide departmental comments on student petitions.
- UAcheive: The degree audit system allows students to view their degree audit and identify remaining requirements. DGSs can request access to help review a student’s progress toward the degree.