Joint Committee on Graduate Studies
The Joint Committee on Graduate Studies (JCGS) is the faculty governance body responsible for providing cross-university oversight of all graduate programs, except for those awarding the Medical Doctorate (MD), the Juris Doctorate (JD), the Master of Laws (LLM), and the Doctorate of Juridical Science. It is charged by the President and advises the Vice President for Graduate Studies, the Provost, and the Executive Vice President for Health Sciences.
The JCGS:

- Establishes and reviews policies that apply to all graduate programs with the
exception of those enumerated above; - Ensures that those policies are correctly articulated in the Graduate Bulletin;
- Evaluates proposals for new, credit-bearing graduate programs;
- Reviews existing programs upon the request of the Provost or the Executive Vice
President for Health Sciences; - Makes recommendations to the Vice President for Graduate Studies, the Provost
and the Executive Vice President for Health Sciences on other matters related to
graduate education; - Pursues other activities related to graduate studies, as requested by the
President.
2025-26 Membership
Chair
- Alexander Sens, Interim Vice President for Graduate Studies
Vice Chair
- Thomas Sherman, Pharmacology and Physiology
Committee Members
- Kathryn Temple, English (on leave, 2025–6) / Interim substitute: Michael Boyer O’Leary, McDonough School of Business
- Edilma Yearwood, Berkley School of Nursing
- Mark Murphy, Philosophy
- Peter Olmsted, Physics
- Katherine Benton-Cohen (on leave, 2025–6)
- Lewis (Josh) Watson, Pharmacology and Physiology
- Allan Eberhart, McDonough School of Business
- Lourdes Ortega, Linguistics
- Steven Singer, Biology
Student Members (Non-Voting)
- Anthony Mitchell, representing GradGov
- Rachel Milito, representing GAGE
Bylaws
Bylaws of the Joint Committee on Graduate Studies
Meeting Minutes
The Joint Committee on Graduate Studies convenes monthly to discuss policies, programs and broad topics related to graduate education at Georgetown. Find minutes from these meetings below.