General News

7 Tips to Help You Successfully Complete Your Dissertation

Let’s face it - writing is hard! Writing your thesis/dissertation is a lot like long-distance running; it requires isolation, endurance, time, and motivation.  Most doctoral students are running a long-distance marathon for about three years.  Here are seven quick tips to help you organize things well before your final deadline.

Graduate Studies Announces 2021-2022 Honors and Awards

Graduate Studies is pleased to announce and celebrate the dedicated and talented individuals who have earned awards and recognition for their exceptional achievement in the 2021-2022 academic year.

The following graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and professors are recognized for outstanding contributions in research, teaching, and mentorship.

Laura Lindenfeld to Deliver 2022 Graduate Studies Commencement Address

Alumna and communication researcher Laura Lindenfeld Ph.D. ’03 will return to UC Davis as the keynote speaker for the 2022 Graduate Studies Commencement on Thursday, June 9, at the University Credit Union Center.

Lindenfeld is the Dean of the School of Communication and Journalism and a professor of journalism at Stony Brook University, where she oversees a team of dedicated faculty and staff, including Pulitzer Prize winners, to educate and train the next generation of multimedia journalists and communication professionals.

Finding a Passion for Community Nutrition

Growing up as the oldest of five children in a single-parent home, Britt Loofbourrow, Ph.D. ’22 remembers a difficult decision her family had to make every month. 

“There were questions of, OK, what’s going to be the most important thing? Hot water, electricity, or food?” she recalls.

Her personal experience with food insecurity has not only inspired her doctoral research and degree in nutritional biology, but also her volunteerism with the Graduate Student Association Pantry and her future career.

Inside Higher Ed: The Pivotal Role of the Graduate Program in Student Mentoring

In graduate education, the faculty mentor plays the primary role in guiding a graduate student from recruitment through graduation—and often on to job placements—for several formative and demanding years. Faculty mentors also play an increasing role in responding to the mental health needs of graduate students, who face the stressors of the pandemic, ongoing racial injustice, climate change and political unrest. While this mentoring relationship is central for graduate students, it is one often fraught with challenges.

Graduate Studies Announces 2022 UC Davis Grad Slam Top 10

Graduate Studies is thrilled to announce the 10 finalists that will compete in the 2022 Semi-Final Grad Slam competition at the University of California, Davis.


In the annual Grad Slam tournament, master’s and doctoral students are challenged to share their research stories, concisely and compellingly, in three minutes or less. The top 10 finalists will present their research to an audience and panel of external judges for a chance to win $2,500.

Ph.D. Student William Turner IV Explores How Weather and Climate Intertwined With Slavery and Conflict

The story was originally published on the UC Davis news site.

El Niño, an oceanic phenomenon that affects worldwide weather patterns, significantly affected the number of enslaved Africans transported from West Africa to the Americas between the mid-1600s and mid-1800s, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. 

A Long Walk to Freedom

Celebrating Black History Month is part of my daily practice of gratitude that honors the freedom fighters in history. That includes those within my family and their long walks to freedom that paved the way for my liberation. Their strength from extraordinary accomplishments empowers my work as a change agent, one that I cherish and preserve. My heritage has a profound legacy fighting for voting rights and calls me to continue working on critical issues today.

Researcher Studying the Microbiome and Chemical Communication of Cats Named a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow

As a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Connie Rojas joined the lab of Professor of Evolution and Ecology Jonathan Eisen, where she’s asking big questions about some of the smallest organisms on the planet: microbes. Specifically, Rojas is interested in understanding the evolution and function of scent gland microbial communities (also termed microbiomes) across the feline family. Felines use such scent glands to mark their territory and communicate with one another.

Graduate Mentoring Initiative Welcomes New Faculty in Winter

Supporting Graduate Student Success Through Mentorship 

Having a strong mentor can be a life-changing experience. Positive mentor-mentee relationships have shown to increase academic persistence, productivity and satisfaction in graduate student mentees. Additionally, mentorship can help increase overall graduate student well-being. Students with mentors report feeling less imposter syndrome, anxiety, and depression.