The Graduate Board is a subcommittee of the Academic Council of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. The first Ph.D.s and M.A.s were awarded in the School of Arts & Sciences. The Graduate Board expanded its membership to include members from other University divisions as these divisions developed programs and began to offer the Ph.D. and M.A.. It is responsible for the administration of University-wide policies and procedures for the award of Master of Arts, M.A., and Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D..

It is the responsibility of the Graduate Board to:

• Administer University-approved procedures related to the awarding of M.A. and Ph.D. degrees
• Make recommendations to the Academic Council of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering on University-wide requirements for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees
• Make recommendations to the Academic Council concerning changes in existing programs or approval of new programs for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees.
• Provide an information system concerning graduate education in the University
• Use an information database to review general trends of graduate education in the University.

Composition of the Graduate Board
The Dean of Arts and Sciences nominates the Graduate Board and forwards the nominations to the Academic Council for final approval. To be eligible for appointment, a faculty member must hold a regular full-time appointment as a professor, associate professor, or assistant professor in a Ph.D. granting department/program of the University. Faculty members serve for three-year terms; graduate student representatives are appointed for one year. The Chair of the Board is the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean’s designee and the Associate Chair is a member of and appointed by the Academic Council. The Board itself comprises 14 members:

• The Chair of the Graduate Board
• The Associate Chair of the Graduate Board
• One faculty member from each of the four disciplines in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities
• One faculty member from the Whiting School of Engineering
• One faculty member from the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
• One faculty member from each of the two disciplines in the School of Hygiene and Public Health: Laboratory Sciences and Social/Quantitative Sciences
• One faculty member from the School of Medicine
• One faculty member from the School of Nursing
• Two graduate students – one representing the Homewood Graduate Representative Organization (GRO) and one representing the East Baltimore Graduate Student Association (GSA).
• The Chair, Associate Chair and graduate students are ex-officio members and, as such, have no voting rights.

Subcommittees
The Graduate Board is empowered to establish subcommittees as needed. The Chair can appoint faculty other than Board members to serve on these subcommittees.

Reporting
The Graduate Board shall submit its minutes to the Academic Council. Recommendations regarding establishment of new programs, changes to existing programs, and changes to requirements, policies, and procedures will be made to the Academic Council in a timely manner.