About the Graduate College

Kent State University, with its eight-campus system in Northeast Ohio, serves the state and nation with excellence by preparing students for scholarly, research and professional careers. Kent State’s extensive offerings include 23 master’s degrees in 114 majors, five doctoral degrees in 50 majors, one post-master’s degree in six majors, 38 certificates and a variety of non-degree options.

For admissions information, go to the Graduate Admissions Website.

Mission of the Graduate College

The Graduate College prepares graduate students for success at Kent State and beyond. The Graduate College, which serves in an advisory role, strives to cultivate an inclusive, innovative and encouraging environment that enhances the Kent State graduate student experience.

The Graduate College supports Kent State’s graduate students from orientation through thesis and dissertation defense, providing holistic services that address professional development, career advising, academic success, research opportunities and health and wellbeing to enhance graduate education beyond degree completion. The Graduate College also fosters a sense of belonging for all individuals within the graduate student community.

View the Strategic Plan for Graduate Studies and Graduate Education at Kent State University.

Graduate College History

Kent State University had a centralized graduate college from 1966 through 1993. In 1993, the Division of Research and Graduate Students (RAGS) took its place. This decentralized structure primarily focused on graduate research. In 2011, RAGS became the Division of Graduate Students, a new decentralized structure with a focus on graduate admissions, student services, orientation, awards/fellowships, managing graduate forms and workflows, and an advisory role to graduate deans and the provost. In Summer 2020, Graduate Admissions moved from this Division of Graduate Studies to Enrollment Management.

Throughout 2019-2021, the Division of Graduate Studies engaged in a strategic planning to review their current practices and identify opportunities to further enhance support for current and future graduate students at Kent State University. During this review process, it became clear that Kent State was out of alignment with the 13 other public institutions in the state of Ohio, all of which offer a centralized graduate structure.

At the recommendation of this strategic plan, the Division of Graduate Studies officially became the Graduate College in August 2022. This centralized structure allows the Graduate College to further support the mission of the university and the needs of graduate students, faculty, and staff. The Graduate College is able to facilitate interdisciplinary programming, provide more wholistic support for graduate students, and offer a centralized space to build a greater graduate community.