Graduate Faculty Status
Graduate Faculty Status is a prestigious position reserved for those who are highly engaged in creative, academic, and research activity as assessed by their department/school, College Dean, and Graduate Dean. It affords qualified individuals the privilege to teach, mentor, and advise graduate students as a member of the UNLV Graduate Faculty. You must obtain Graduate Faculty Status to be eligible to teach graduate courses, mentor/advise students, and serve on Graduate Advisory Committees (GACs).
As a member of the Graduate Faculty, you will receive periodic emails and a monthly newsletter from the Graduate College to keep you abreast of new policies/processes, best practices, upcoming events, and other important information. Graduate faculty members are responsible for reading these messages to stay in the loop on issues impacting the graduate community.
Graduate Faculty Status (GFS) Guidelines
- New tenure-track and tenured faculty in UNLV departments/schools with graduate programs should apply for Graduate Faculty Status as soon as possible after hiring. All others who wish to hold UNLV Graduate Faculty Status, including faculty from the NSHE Desert Research Institute, are welcome to submit an application at any time.
- GFS is requested in, and approved by, the department/school. Graduate Faculty members typically hold this status in their “home” department/school, but may apply to hold GFS in other disciplines if their academic training, professional experiences, and research/scholarship/creative activities qualify them as an expert in another field.
- The Graduate Faculty Status application allows us to determine which levels of graduate students applicants may teach and which Graduate Advisory Committee roles s/he is eligible to hold. Please note that Graduate Faculty status is not related to professorial rank (i.e. Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor).
- No one may teach graduate-level courses unless they hold appropriate level(s) of GFS. See Graduate Teaching requirements here.
- Department/School Chairs review GFS annually as part of the faculty annual review process. At that time, GFS privileges are continued or modified, as appropriate. Changes to GFS are recommended by the Department/School Chair, recommended by the College Dean, and forwarded to the Graduate Dean for final review, determination, and implementation.
We Welcome You to Apply for Graduate Faculty Status
- Submit an application and curriculum vitae for review and approval by your academic department and then your College Dean. The Graduate College will receive applications for final review and approval by the Graduate Dean.
- Applicants not employed by NSHE who do not have an NSHE ID and wish to have an UNLV ACE account must complete the UNLV Volunteer packet with their department and forward it to the Graduate College in order to be assigned an NSHE ID. ACE accounts are not mandatory, and not required for holding Graduate Faculty Status.
- If an ACE is not of interest, no further action needs to be taken except for the completing of the application form (forms found on this webpage).
If you choose to fill a volunteer form, please note:
- Volunteer Agreement Form: Section II: Disregard account information, it is not necessary for Graduate Faculty Status accounts. All other parts of Section II must be completed.
- Personal Data Form: Employee Type: select ‘Volunteer/Adjunct’
After department and college approval, the application and vitae are routed electronically to the Graduate College for final approval and implementation.
We post updated GFS lists on the final section of this website every month for easy reference.
Graduate Faculty Leaving the University
Please note that upon leaving the university, all Graduate Faculty members are required to complete a Leaving Form. This form allows Graduate Faculty to retain some Graduate Faculty responsibilities after their departure from UNLV if their request to do so is supported by their department/school, College Dean, and Graduate Dean. This process also helps ensure that all current Graduate Advisory Committee, research, and mentoring commitments are fulfilled or appropriate replacements are assigned. Faculty must inform graduate students they are advising of their departure and of on alternate mentorship options and plans.
Please note that faculty may retain their sole chair role for one year after departing UNLV. They may be co-chairs or members after the one year period. Faculty must have appropriately approved GFS at UNLV and may be able to co-chair unless they only have instructor or extra member status. The co-chair shares advising responsibilities with the other co-chair. GCR privileges require that the faculty member have a terminal degree in their field, be employed full-time in a tenured/tenure-track faculty position or a multi-year contract at UNLV, knowledgeable about all policies and procedures, and hold GFS in a graduate degree-granting department/school at UNLV.
Invitation to The Graduate Faculty
Join us! At the end of each academic year, the Graduate Dean hosts the Graduate Faculty Club Awards Reception to honor this prestigious group of faculty. We invite our graduate faculty to join us at this annual event to relax with campus friends, network with colleagues from other parts of campus, and mingle with your Graduate College team. For more information about this and other events, check the UNLV Graduate Faculty Calendar.