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Committees

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Committees

Graduate students serve on the five standing committees of the Graduate School, along with faculty members and administrators. These committees advise the Dean on policies and procedures important to our mission. As with all standing committees, their deliberations are confidential. Student members of these committees are selected by the Graduate Student Assembly.

The Executive Committee

A committee of faculty members and graduate students, chaired by the Dean, advises the Dean on broad matters of policy and procedure and makes recommendations to the faculty of the Graduate School.

Members
2023-2024

Faculty
Claire Bowern (Linguistics)
Francesco Casetti (Film & Media Studies)
Alexandre Debs (Political Science)
Michael Della Rocca (Philosophy)
Anne Eller (History)
Valerie Horsley (MCDB)
Maureen Long (Earth and Planetary Sciences)
Scott Miller (Chemistry)
Giuseppi Moscarini (Economics)
Michael Warner (English)

Students
Christopher Lindsay, Chair GSA (Astronomy)
John Gonzalez, Vice Chair (Experimental Pathology)
Leslie Arrazolo (Physical Sciences & Engineering)
Xinyi Guo (Biological Sciences)
Tauren Nelson (Social Sciences)
Benjamin Schafer (Humanities)

Deans
Lynn Cooley
Pamela Schirmeister

Listing of past committee members

The Degree Committee

The Degree Committee is composed of two senior faculty members from each division (Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences) and chaired by a faculty member appointed by the Dean. It meets twice a year and is responsible to the faculty of the Graduate School for maintaining standards of graduate education in the School and for recommending candidates for degrees. The committee reviews special academic issues of individual students and, when appropriate, the educational programs of the departments.

Members
2023-2024

Faculty
Lauren Benton (Committee Chair in Spring 2024; History; Law)
Alexandre Debs (Fall 2023 only; Committee Chair in Fall 2023; Political Science)
Brian Kane (Music)
Yuichi Kitamura (Spring 2024 only; Economics)
Karin Reinisch (Cell Biology)
Mark Solomon (Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry)
Matthew Spiegel (Management)

Deans
Lynn Cooley
Allegra di Bonaventura

Listing of past committee members

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Climate and Inclusion Committee

Composed of faculty and staff, this committee serves as an advisory capacity to the Dean on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Members
2022-2023

Faculty
Patrick Holland (Chemistry)
Maureen Long (Geology and Geophysics)
Catherine Nicholson (English)

Deans
Jasmina Besirevic
Michelle Nearon
Matthew Tanico

Listing of past committee members

The Committee on Regulations and Discipline

A panel composed of three graduate students, three faculty members, normally one from each division, and an associate dean from the list below, the committee reviews violations of the regulations governing academic and personal conduct. (See Personal Conduct, under Policies and Regulations.)

Members
2023-2024

Faculty
Sarbani Basu (Astronomy)
Cécile Fromont (History of Art)
Dylan Gee (Psychology)
Grace Kao (Sociology)
Noel Lenski (History; Classics)
Walther Mothes (Medicine; Microbial Pathogenesis)

Students
Social Sciences: Tauren Nelson (African American Studies)
Humanities: Allegra Ayida (History)
Biological Sciences: Jake Fontaine (Immunobiology)
Physical Sciences & Engineering: Charles Lomba (Physics)

Deans
Lynn Cooley
Allegra di Bonaventura

Listing of past committee members

GSA Steering Committee   

The Graduate Student Assembly is an elected body of Yale students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Assembly’s goals are to identify the needs and concerns of graduate students, consider possible solutions, and present these to the Dean and other administrators. It also discusses, proposes, and advises on possible changes to Graduate School policy proposed by the administration. The assembly provides a means for communication and deliberation both among graduate students and between graduate students and other members of the Yale community.

Executive Board and Steering Committee 2022-2023