Welcome to the UAB Graduate School

The UAB Graduate School seeks to nurture skills that transcend disciplinary boundaries, preparing graduate students to participate successfully in professional and academic arenas. With coordinated and interdisciplinary degree programs available, the UAB Graduate School offers students an opportunity to tailor their educational experience to their own career objective. The Graduate School administers doctoral programs, post-masters education specialist programs, and master’s level programs, with additional programs planned for the future.

Graduate students should expect many challenges as they build upon previous educational experiences in new and exciting ways. Graduate education has a distinctly different character from that of undergraduate education. Students explore their chosen area of study in greater depth and are also challenged to reach across boundaries and address larger intellectual issues. There will be greater emphasis on originality and the creation of new knowledge.

The Graduate Catalog outlines all of the policies and procedures pertaining to academic performance, degree progress, academic and non-academic conduct, and student responsibilities. UAB graduate students are expected to be familiar with these policies and to abide by them. Failure to do so may impede a student’s progress or may result in disciplinary action and, in some cases, dismissal. In addition to Graduate School policies, students are responsible for knowing and abiding by all UAB Policies and Procedures which can be located in the UAB Policies and Procedures Library here. 

The Graduate Council

The Graduate Council is comprised of all graduate program directors. The Graduate Council Advisory Committee is a subset of these program directors who have been designated by their school deans to serve in an advisory capacity to the Graduate School Dean. The Advisory Committee reviews academic requirements, policies, procedures, and Graduate School activities. The committee recommends and approves appropriate changes. Changes in academic requirements and related policies require a majority vote of the Advisory Committee.

The Graduate Council Advisory Committee, through consultation with the Dean, is responsible for developing academic requirements and describing these requirements through appropriate policies. The Dean, through consultation with the Graduate Council, is responsible for developing procedures that effectively enforce academic requirements and implement policies. The Graduate Council Advisory Committee has developed policies and procedures to ensure that high standards for graduate study are maintained at UAB. These policies and procedures are available at the Graduate School’s Web site (https://www.uab.edu/graduate/academic-p-and-p).

The Graduate Faculty

Graduate faculty membership may be granted by the Dean of the Graduate School to faculty members who demonstrate a high level of competence in teaching and scholarship. Graduate faculty are nominated by the faculty member's department chair and/or graduate program director, and membership is required of all individuals teaching courses for graduate credit and of members of graduate study committees. A complete listing of the graduate faculty can be found on the Graduate School Web site (https://www.uab.edu/graduate/faculty-staff/graduate-faculty/graduate-faculty-listing).

Graduate School Professional Development Program

Through its Professional Development Program, the Graduate School offers courses, workshops, and seminars designed to help graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and other academic professionals develop communication and other career-enhancing skills. Current offerings include credit-bearing courses and workshops, as well as free seminars, in writing, funding, presentations, and teaching at the college level. More information and schedules are available at the Professional Development Program’s Web site (www.uab.edu/pdp).

Graduate School Deadlines

All Graduate School deadlines, as indicated on the calendar or in explanation of policies and procedures, unless otherwise stated, are final by 5:00 p.m. on the date specified, by which time all transactions must be completed and documents received in the Graduate School. Transactions and documents requiring the action or approval of graduate advisors, committee members, instructors, department chairs, academic deans, or others prior to receipt by the Graduate School should be initiated by the appropriate person (student, instructor, graduate advisor, or other) sufficiently in advance of the Graduate School deadline for the required actions to be taken and approvals made or declined before the deadline.