University Committee on Graduate Studies
The University Committee on Graduate Studies (UCGS) is the faculty governance body responsible for providing cross-university oversight of all graduate programs, except for those awarding the Medical Doctorate (MD) and the Juris Doctorate (JD).
It is charged by the President and advises the Vice President for Graduate Studies, the Executive Vice President for the Main Campus and Provost, the Executive Vice President for Health Sciences
and Executive Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Dean and Executive Vice President of the Law Center.
The UCGS:
- 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 University Bulletin;
- Evaluates proposals for new, credit-bearing graduate programs and standalone graduate certificate programs;
- Reviews existing programs upon the request of the Executive Vice
Presidents; - Makes recommendations to the Vice President for Graduate Studies or the Executive Vice Presidents on other matters related to graduate education;
- Pursues other activities related to graduate studies, as requested by the
President.
2026-27 Membership
Chair
- Alison Mackey, Vice President for Graduate Studies
Vice Chair
- Thomas Sherman, Pharmacology and Physiology (pending)
Committee Members
- Katherine Benton-Cohen, College of Arts & Sciences
- Michael Boyer O’Leary, McDonough School of Business
- Allan Eberhart, McDonough School of Business
- John McNeill, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and College of Arts & Sciences
- Sherally Munshi, Law Center
- Peter Olmsted, College of Arts & Sciences
- Lourdes Ortega, College of Arts & Sciences (on leave, Fall 2026)
- Steven Singer, College of Arts & Sciences
- Josh Teitelbaum, Law Center
- Lewis (Josh) Watson, School of Medicine
- Edilma Yearwood, Berkley School of Nursing
Student Members (Non-Voting)
- Juan Ramirez, representing GradGov
- Lincoln Snyder, representing GAGE-AFT
Ex-Officio (Non-Voting)
- Maria Snyder, Graduate Studies
Bylaws
Bylaws of the University Committee on Graduate Studies
Meetings & Minutes
The University Committee on Graduate Studies convenes monthly to discuss policies, programs and broad topics related to graduate education at Georgetown. The 2026-27 meeting schedule is as follows:
- September 11
- October 2
- November 6
- December 4
- January 15
- February 5
- March 12
- April 2
- May 6
Find minutes from these meetings below.
2025-26 academic year
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026 — No meeting
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
New Graduate Program Proposals
Proposals for new graduate programs, including certificate programs, must be submitted in accordance with the University Office of Graduate Studies’ program approval process . Proposals must be approved at the school and campus level before being submitted to the Vice President for Graduate Studies. They then progress to review by the University Committee on Graduate Studies, the Georgetown University Board of Directors and the appropriate licensing organizations.
Please review the process overview before submitting a program proposal, and contact vpgs@georgetown.edu with any questions.