Graduate Group Chairs

The Graduate Group Chair is responsible for supervising graduate study in his/her Graduate Group, including planning and carrying out graduate student recruitment, ensuring that each graduate student is assigned an individual Faculty Advisor and mentor, ensuring the progress of graduate students through the program, determining resource needs and administration of the group’s budget, determining both graduate course offerings each semester and curriculum changes. 

AY 2025-26 Graduate Group Chairs 

• Applied Mathematics: Chrysoula Tsogka
• Bioengineering: Anand Bala Subramaniam
• Chemistry and Biochemistry: Patricia Liwang
• Cognitive & Information Sciences: Kristina Backer
• Economics: Rowena Gray 
• Electrical Engineering & Computer Science: Ming-Hsuan Yang
• Environmental Systems: Michael Beman
• Interdisciplinary Humanities: Susan Amussen
• Materials and Biomaterials Science and Engineering: Elizabeth Nowadnick
• Management of Innovation, Sustainability & Technology, Management of Complex Systems: Alexander Petersen
• Mechanical Engineering: Ashlie Martini
• Physics: David Strubbe
• Political Science: Christopher Ojeda
• Psychological Sciences: Eric Walle
• Public Health: Maria-Elena Young
• Quantitative & Systems Biology: Katrina Hoyer
• Sociology: Paul Almeida

Fall 2025 Meeting Schedule

Click here to view past meeting agendas and minutes 

(SSO access required)

Admissions Resources

• Admissions Requirements
• Admissions Review Tool - Pending
• Admissions Review Tool Guide - Pending
• CGS An Essential Guide to Graduate Admissions
• CGS Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion
• CGS Holistic Review
• National Academies Press - To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in Science & Engineering

Graduate Council

• Course Request Form
• Course Approval and CRF Process
• Graduate Policies and Procedures (AY 2023-24) - Approved by GC on May 19, 2023
• Graduate Policies & Procedures Handbook (AY 22-23)
• Graduate Policies & Procedures Handbook (AY 21-22)
• Graduate Policies & Procedures Handbook (AY 20-21)
• Website: https://senate.ucmerced.edu/GC 

Graduate Division Information

• Graduate Division Events & Deadlines Calendar (Fall 2023) - Last Updated 09/06/23
• Graduate Division Student Forms
• Graduate Group Chairs Manual
• Graduate Chair Responsibilties
• Graduate Group Chairs FAQ
• Master's Degree Completion Checklist
• Doctoral Degree Completion Checklist
• UC Merced Thesis & Dissertation Formatting Guide

Mentoring

• Mentoring Guidelines
• Mentoring Resources
• Nature Guide for Mentors