Graduate School

Thinking of getting an advanced degree? Graduate, professional students give their best advice. Read More

Discovery Dialogues, a new podcast being launched April 6 by the Vanderbilt Graduate School, brings doctoral research and graduate student voices to the forefront. The podcast series spotlights the scholarship, ideas and academic experiences of Vanderbilt Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars through thoughtful, in-depth conversations with podcast host Nick Hyer, program manager for the Graduate and Postdoc Academic Success program. Read More

The annual Graduate Education Honors Banquet honored doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, excellence in academics, innovation and mentorship. The March 19 banquet recognized the outstanding achievements taking place across more than 50 graduate programs and departments. Read More

Twenty doctoral students have been named recipients of the 2026 Provost Pathbreaking Discovery Award, a prestigious Graduate School honor recognizing exceptional academic achievement and scholarly impact. The award celebrates doctoral students who demonstrate excellence through publications, national and international awards, patents and other significant contributions to their fields. Read More

The Vanderbilt Graduate Student Council has announced the winners of the 2025 Graduate Leadership Anchor Awards, which honor the hard work and leadership of Vanderbilt graduate students schoolwide. Awards were presented at an awards ceremony in April of this year. The awards recognize outstanding service, mentorship, departmental leadership, student advocacy, research and best overall. Read More

Miller Morris, BS’16, MS’17, MPH’19, is the founder and CEO of Comma, a company that aims to improve reproductive health through menstrual care products, sustainability, clinical research and technology. She describes herself as a “women’s health researcher turned social entrepreneur.” Read More

As a research institution, the two “products” Vanderbilt puts into the world are alumni and the research produced. Whether it’s helping to cure cancer, inspire with art, or promote sustainability, Vanderbilt students learn to apply the combination of practical skills and confidence that can only be gained from experience to a broad range of fields—positioning them to be much more effective in translating their education to results outside the classroom. Read More

In 2024, eleven teams of graduate students received Lacy-Fischer Interdisciplinary Research Grants to support projects ranging from advanced optical technologies and gravitational wave detection to medical innovations and autonomous vehicle safety. Read More

After concluding her term as associate dean for academic affairs for the Graduate School, Terrah Akard will return to her role as professor of nursing in the School of Nursing. Julián Hillyer, Centennial Professor of Biological Sciences, and Andrea Page-McCaw, Stevenson Chair and professor of cell and developmental biology, have been named associate deans for academic affairs. Read More

Registration is open for the 19th annual Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association Symposium on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Student Life Center, starting at 9 a.m. Faculty members from all disciplines are invited to participate as judges for the poster presentations. Read More

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, in partnership with the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association, announced the 2025 award winners at the Spring Postdoc Awards Ceremony on May 21. The event highlighted the vital contributions that postdocs make across various disciplines at the university.   Read More

The third annual Honors Banquet commemorated excellence in academics, leadership and innovation among Graduate School students and faculty. On March 20, the banquet was held to honor and reflect on remarkable achievements in research and creative expression from the more than 50 graduate programs and departments represented in the Graduate School. Read More

Right now, these native “flowers” are blooming in Nashville—at least, until they melt, which is typically right after they form. Frost flowers are winter ephemerals. They happen when air temperature drops below freezing and warm groundwater rises to extrude itself through the conduit of a real flower stem, especially if that stem is a white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica). “Ice segregation” is the process at work. Water and vapor freeze on contact with air, and waves from within push older crystals forward and out. Read More

See highlights from the 2024 Graduate School Convocation, where Vanderbilt University Graduate School faculty and staff welcomed more than 590 students to campus. Read More

The Vanderbilt Graduate Student Council has announced the winners of the 2024 Graduate Leadership Anchor Awards, honoring the hard work and leadership of Vanderbilt graduate students schoolwide. This year’s awards recognize outstanding service, mentorship, departmental leadership, research and best overall. Read More

The award, funded by the Enhanced Funding and Support Model for Doctoral Education, recognizes doctoral students who exhibit exceptional academic excellence in areas such as publications, awards, patents and other forms of national/international distinction. Read More

The Women's Center presents awards in three categories each year: the Margaret Cuninggim Women's Center Leadership Award, the Mentoring Award and the Mary Jane Werthan Award. This spring, the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center named five people from the Vanderbilt community as recipients of its annual awards. Read More

The second annual Honors Banquet commemorated excellence in academics, leadership and innovation among Graduate School students and faculty. The banquet on March 18 honored and reflected on the remarkable achievements in research and creative expression from the more than 50 graduate programs and departments represented in the Graduate School. Read More

The diverse contributions of graduate students at Vanderbilt greatly enhance the academic and research excellence of our university, and we celebrate their remarkable achievements, especially during this special week of recognition. The weeklong festivities include a variety of events and activities to celebrate students. Read More

Graduate students are encouraged to apply for the Lacy-Fischer Interdisciplinary Research Grants by March 31. Grant funds are intended for creative advancement of collaborative research that makes an impact on the community and the world. Read More