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3.1 Graduate Program Authorization.

ÀÇÓÑÊÓƵ (University) is authorized to offer graduate degrees and to have a Graduate School under provisions of

3.2 Graduate School Administration.

The Graduate School will be supervised by a Dean reporting to the Provost and appointed by the President of the University after consultation with an appropriate faculty committee. This person will be a member of the Graduate Faculty (“Graduate Faculty”). Final authority in all matters rests with the President of the University. The Dean of the Graduate School will advise the President of the University, through the Provost, on all matters of planning, policy, development, and administration relating to graduate studies and research. The Dean of the Graduate School has the authority and responsibility to submit matters of major policy to the Graduate Council of the University.

3.3 Graduate Faculty of the University.

The University will have a Graduate Faculty composed of persons qualified by their scholarly or creative works and effectiveness in the teaching of graduate students. The Graduate Faculty originates the graduate curriculum.

3.3.1 Graduate Faculty. All tenured and tenure-track faculty are part of the Graduate Faculty.

Graduate Faculty have the following privileges and responsibilities:

3.3.2 Temporary Graduate Faculty. Non-tenure-track faculty, visiting scholars, University professional staff, or outside researchers may take on various graduate responsibilities depending on the membership type (as described below) and approval by relevant stakeholders. Temporary Graduate Faculty members do not have voting privileges in the Graduate Faculty. Temporary Graduate Faculty must demonstrate that they hold a terminal degree consistent with the program to which they are assigned. The application for Temporary Graduate Faculty membership requires  an application form, a curriculum vitae, and any other relevant supporting material. Annually, the Graduate School will provide to the Graduate Council a report of Temporary Graduate Faculty memberships, their types, and the program to which they were assigned.

3.3.2.1 Type I Temporary Graduate Faculty may be assigned to serve as members, but not chair or co-chair, of master’s thesis or dissertation committees, for a duration relevant to the committee service’s duration or until the end of their University employment (whichever comes last), provided that the faculty remains in good standing. Type I membership requires department chair or graduate program director approval, as well as approval from the Dean overseeing the graduate program to which the temporary faculty was assigned.

3.3.2.2 Type II Temporary Graduate Faculty may be assigned to serve as members, co-chair, but not chair, of master’s thesis and dissertation committees, for a duration relevant to the committee service’s duration or until the end of their University employment (whichever comes last), provided that the faculty remains in good standing. In the case that a Type II Graduate Faculty co-chairs a master’s thesis or dissertation committee, the other co-chair must be a non-temporary member of the Graduate Faculty. Type II membership requires department chair or graduate program director approval, as well as approval from the Dean overseeing the graduate program to which the temporary faculty was assigned and the Dean of the Graduate School.

3.3.2.3 Type III Temporary Graduate Faculty may be assigned to chair master’s thesis and dissertation committees, for a duration relevant to the committee service’s duration or until the end of their University employment (whichever comes last), provided that the faculty remains in good standing. This category also allows for University faculty who are not Graduate Faculty members to serve as program directors, at the discretion of the appropriate Dean, Chair, and Graduate Faculty within the program, on an annual basis. Type III membership requires department chair or graduate program director approval, as well as approval from the Dean overseeing the graduate program to which the temporary faculty was assigned, the Dean of the Graduate School, and the Graduate Council.

3.3.3 Emeritus Graduate Faculty. Faculty who were Graduate Faculty members and are approved by the University to emeritus/emerita status will continue to enjoy the following privileges:

3.4 Graduate Council

The Graduate Council will be elected to serve as the administrative arm of the Graduate Faculty and will oversee the creation and revision of graduate academic programs and courses, as well as policies concerning graduate studies. It is each Graduate Council member’s duty to deliberate on graduate studies proposals and to communicate to the faculty of their respective colleges all actions and information presented to the Graduate Council.

3.4.1 Graduate Council Composition 

3.4.1.1 Voting Members. The Graduate Council will consist of the following voting members: chair, two faculty members from each participating college, four at-large members, and the President of the Faculty Senate. The chair and the four at-large members of the Council will be elected by the Graduate Faculty. The Council members serving as their college representatives will be elected by the Graduate Faculty of their respective colleges.

3.4.1.2 Ex-officio Members. There will be two ex-officio members with no vote: the Dean of the Graduate School and one graduate student who may serve for a two-year term as a non-voting student representative to the Graduate Council.

3.4.1.3 Terms. Members of the Graduate Council, excluding its chair and the President of the Faculty Senate, will serve three-year terms. The chair of the Graduate Council will serve a two-year term. Members of the Graduate Council will not serve consecutively for more than two terms. The terms will be staggered so that approximately 1/3` of the Graduate Council will be elected each year.

3.4.1.4 Elections. The Dean of the Graduate School will be responsible for conducting the elections, held annually in the Spring for terms starting in the Fall. Only graduate faculty of a given college may vote for the representative of that college. Consistent with the limitations stated in these by-laws, candidates obtaining the largest pluralities will be elected to the Graduate Council.

3.4.1.5 Eligibility. To be eligible to serve on the Graduate Council, a faculty member will preferably be a tenured member of the Graduate Faculty. To appear on a ballot, a member must be nominated by five members of the Graduate Faculty. Self-nominations are permissible for all positions.

3.4.2 Graduate Council Operations

3.4.2.1 A quorum of simple majority is required of voting Graduate Council members for business to be conducted, and meetings will be run using Robert’s Rules of Order.

3.4.2.2 Graduate Council Meetings. The Graduate Council will hold regularly scheduled open meetings each semester. Agendas for all meetings will be distributed to all members of the Graduate Council one week prior to any meeting. Additional meetings of the Graduate Council may be called by the Dean of the Graduate School or by the Chair of the Graduate Council.

3.4.2.3 The Graduate Council will elect a Vice-Chair and a Secretary from its voting membership. The Graduate Council will create and vote to approve standing and ad-hoc committees as necessary. The Graduate Council will establish such procedures as are necessary to fulfill its functions.

3.4.2.4 Graduate Council Reporting. The Graduate Council will annually review the data on exceptions to degree plans provided by the Dean of the Graduate School. This information will be shared with the Academic Deans, Department Chairs/Program Directors, and Program Committees on Graduate Studies.

3.4.2.5 To better coordinate faculty governance of graduate education, the Chair of the Graduate Council will automatically serve as a voting member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. The Chair of the Graduate Council will represent the Graduate Faculty at all appropriate academic functions.

3.4.2.6 Member Replacement. The position of Graduate Council members with more than two absences per year will be declared vacant and replaced.

3.5 Program Committees on Graduate Studies

A Program Committee on Graduate Studies must exist in all academic areas in which an approved graduate program is offered. The Program Committee will consist of all or a subset of the Graduate Faculty in the program, with a minimum of three members, as assigned by the Chair of the department in which the program is hosted, or by the Program Director if the graduate program does not reside in a single department/college. A Program Committee may include members from related disciplines, members of the Graduate Faculty who are temporary members may serve as members of this committee. The Program Committees on Graduate Studies will be charged with the overall responsibility for the operation of graduate programs.

3.6 Graduate Program Directors

Each Graduate Program must have a Program Director. Program Directors should preferably be tenured faculty (or, in the absence of tenured faculty, a Type III Temporary Graduate Faculty in good standing, upon approval by the Graduate Council).

3.7 Graduate Program Modifications

All graduate program modifications should be brought to the Graduate Council for approval, after being first approved by the relevant Program Committee for Graduate Studies and College Graduate Curriculum Committee(s), and by the relevant Academic Dean(s).

3.7.1 Undergraduate Courses for Graduate Credit. The Program Committee for Graduate Studies will submit for Graduate Council review and approval any undergraduate courses that may be used for credit toward its graduate program(s). In situations where a program does not own the courses included in its program, which is often the case for multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary degrees, the Program Director will approach these other programs for permission to list their courses for graduate credit.

3.7.2 Graduate Courses for Undergraduate Credit. The Program Committee for Graduate Studies will submit for Graduate Council review and approval those graduate courses suitable for upper division undergraduate credit substitution. These proposals also require approval by the Faculty Senate.

3.8 New Graduate Degrees and Certificates

Proposals for new graduate degree programs and certificates will be forwarded through the relevant Academic Dean(s) and the Dean of the Graduate School to the Graduate Council. The Graduate Council will consider all relevant criteria and may recommend revisions to strengthen the proposal as necessary before making a recommendation to the University administration.

3.9 Review of Existing Graduate Programs

The Graduate Council may be consulted by the Dean of the Graduate School for feedback on program reviews. The Dean of the Graduate School will annually provide a report on program reviews to the Graduate Council.

3.10 Operating Procedures

Documentation related to the Graduate Council flows in two directions. Proposals discussed in Sub-Sections 3.7 and 3.8 move to the Graduate Council. However, documentation also moves from the Graduate Council to academic Colleges and Programs when Graduate Council members share information with their Deans and Program Directors.

3.10.1 Flow of Documentation. The flow of information between a program and the Graduate Council will be from the Program Committee on Graduate Studies, through the Department Chair or Program Director, the relevant Academic Dean(s), the Dean of the Graduate School, and then to the Graduate Council. Recommendations from the Graduate Council will be submitted through the Dean of the Graduate School to the President of the University and such other persons or bodies as required by the Regents’ Rules. The above channels will be utilized for new courses, degree requirements, options, and new degree programs. It is understood that the word “through” in the above statement means that all documents will be forwarded successively with recommendations made by the person(s) at each level.

3.10.2 Council Initiated Policies. The Graduate Council may initiate proposals, such as changes in Graduate Council by-laws or other policy-related proposals. In these cases, action starts at the Graduate Council and Graduate Council members then consult their Deans and the Faculty of the College or School they represent. The Chair of the Graduate Council should also consult with the Provost and Deans of participating Colleges and Schools.

3.11 By-Laws Revisions 

Revisions and changes to the by-laws will be initiated by the Graduate Council. Voting will be permitted by email ballot, and decisions will be by two thirds of those voting. Changes will take effect upon the approval by the necessary majority of the voting Graduate Faculty and any additional approval required by the UT System Board of Regents.

3.12 References

3.13 Dates Approved or Amended

August 26, 2025

June 8, 2015

3.14 Contact Information