About the Graduate College

Kent State University, with its eight-campus system in Northeast Ohio, serves the state and nation with excellence by preparing students for scholarly, research and professional careers. Kent State’s extensive offerings include 23 master’s degrees in 114 majors, five doctoral degrees in 50 majors, one post-master’s degree in six majors, 38 certificates and a variety of non-degree options.

For admissions information, go to the Graduate Admissions Website.

Mission of the Graduate College

The Graduate College is a hub for lifelong learning and a resource center wherein we define, create, and implement graduate education at Kent State.  

We prepare graduate students for success at Kent State and beyond. Our student-centered commitment is demonstrated through ongoing advocacy and praxis to provide inclusive, innovative, and encouraging environments that foster a sense of belonging across identities and disciplines. From orientation through degree completion, we provide Kent State graduate students an infrastructure of support via programming, professional development, scholarships, and awards.  

We serve in an advisory role to partner with academic colleges and programs to expand opportunities and promote advancement in graduate education, teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. We provide oversight of graduate education, policies, and standards advocating for graduate student success and well-being at a local, institutional, and national level. 

View the Strategic Plan for Graduate Studies and Graduate Education at Kent State University.

Graduate College History

Kent State University had a centralized graduate college from 1966 through 1993. In 1993, the Division of Research and Graduate Students (RAGS) took its place. This decentralized structure primarily focused on graduate research. In 2011, RAGS became the Division of Graduate Students, a new decentralized structure with a focus on graduate admissions, student services, orientation, awards/fellowships, managing graduate forms and workflows, and an advisory role to graduate deans and the provost. In Summer 2020, Graduate Admissions moved from this Division of Graduate Studies to Enrollment Management.

Throughout 2019-2021, the Division of Graduate Studies engaged in a strategic planning to review their current practices and identify opportunities to further enhance support for current and future graduate students at Kent State University. During this review process, it became clear that Kent State was out of alignment with the 13 other public institutions in the state of Ohio, all of which offer a centralized graduate structure.

At the recommendation of this strategic plan, the Division of Graduate Studies officially became the Graduate College in August 2022. This centralized structure allows the Graduate College to further support the mission of the university and the needs of graduate students, faculty, and staff. The Graduate College is able to facilitate interdisciplinary programming, provide more holistic support for graduate students, and offer a centralized space to build a greater graduate community.  

To assist with the implementation of the strategic plan, the Graduate College created three councils as an extension of the unit known as the Graduate Dean's Advisory Council (GDAC), the Graduate College Academic Advisory Council (GCAAC), and the Graduate College Student Advisory Council (GCSAC).

The Graduate Dean's Advisory Council serves as the primary academic advisory body to the Dean of the Graduate College on matters involving graduate programs, policies, and procedures. The Graduate College Academic Advisory Council serves as an advisory and reccomendatory committee to the Dean on all academic matters central to the college's academic mission; on other matters on which the Dean seeks its reccomendation; and on other matters of concern to the GCAAC. The Graduate College Student Advisory Council serves as an advisory committee to the Graduate Dean on all matters central to the college’s mission; on other matters on which the Dean seeks its recommendation; and on other matters of concern to the GCSAC.