The Directors of Graduate Studies (DGS) play a vital role in the administration of the curriculum as well as in student success and assessment in their graduate studies.
DGS resources
Responsibilities, contacts, and mental health resources
- DGS responsibilities are determined by each department and may vary according to program needs. New DGSs should meet with the Graduate Affairs Manager to review their departmental responsibilities and receive an overview of relevant CLAS and university resources.
- CLAS Student Mental Health Handout
Graduate program supervision
- Attend CLAS DGS Meetings (once a semester) or send a delegate from your department
- Attend DGS meetings at the Graduate College
- Circulate information on graduate information, funding and professional development opportunities (publicized through CLAS Business Updates, from DGS Meetings, etc)
- Oversee departmental ranking and submission of applications for internal funding opportunities through the Graduate College and CLAS
- Supervise requests for temporary graduate faculty membership, thesis extensions, certificate completion, courses on the Plan of Study older than 10 years, etc.
- Respond to student and faculty inquiries about Graduate College policies and make appropriate referrals to Graduate College
- Promoting teaching excellence
- Lead in advising and mentoring
- Grad Success Center
- Advise on Independent Study best practice
- Provide departmental support to DEO on miscellaneous graduate student matters
Relevant policies for graduate student appointments
Funding opportunities
- Internal funding
- External funding
TA and RA evaluations and observations
CLAS TA teaching observation framework
This document provides a framework for providing TAs with formative feedback on teaching via observations; it is a mentoring and reflective tool, not an evaluative tool. The goals are (1) to ensure TAs have adequate support in completing their teaching assignments, (2) to provide coaching and a space for reflective dialogue about teaching, and (3) to set growth goals for teaching.
Formative teaching observation guide
This document is a companion to the CLAS TA Teaching Observation Framework and provides additional guidance on best practices for conducting teaching observations, again with the goal of supporting mentoring and reflection.
CLAS TA evaluation
This document is designed to assist departments with evaluating teaching assistants’ performance in accordance with the contractual agreement outlined in the TA offer letter. The schedule and prompts in this document provide TAs and their supervisors space to promote success for teaching assistantships based on their contract. The college encourages TAs and their supervisors to also use the Teaching Assistant Teaching Observation Framework to assist TAs with growing as instructors. This evaluation document focuses solely on contractual requirements whereas the observation framework is a reflective process and is not intended to be used for evaluating a TA’s performance.
CLAS RA evaluation
This document is designed to assist departments with evaluating research assistants’ performance in accordance with the contractual agreement outlined in the RA offer letter. The schedule and prompts below provide RAs and their supervisors space to promote success for research assistantships based on their contract and graduate researcher training expectations.
Contacts by department
| Department or school | Program (if applicable) | Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) |
|---|---|---|
| American Studies | Eric Vázquez | |
| Anthropology | Margaret Beck | |
| Art, Art History, and Design | Art History | Bjorn Anderson |
| Studio Art | Jeremy Swanston | |
| Biology | Jan Fassler | |
| Chemistry | Scott Shaw | |
| Cinematic Arts | Chris Goetz | |
| Classics and Religious Studies | Celsiana Warwick | |
| Communication Sciences and Disorders | Shawn Goodman | |
| Communication Studies | Rita Zajacz | |
| Computer Science | Computer Science | Steve Goddard |
| Informatics | Juan Pablo Hourcade | |
| Dance | Kristin Marrs | |
| Earth, Environment, and Sustainability | Heather Sander | |
| English | Will Rhodes | |
| Health, Sport, and Human Physiology | Health and Human Physiology | Vitor Lira |
| Sport and Recreation Management | Sarah Hardin | |
| Child Life | Emily Mozena | |
| History | Tom Arne Midtrød | |
| Journalism and Mass Communication | Tom Oates | |
| Languages, Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures | Jan Steyn | |
| Mathematics | Colleen Mitchell | |
| Music | Benjamin Coelho | |
| Philosophy | Gregory Landini (Fall 2026) Katarina Perovic (Spring 2027) | |
| Physics and Astronomy | Allison Jaynes | |
| Political Science | Caroline Tolbert | |
| Psychological and Brain Sciences | Ryan LaLumiere | |
| Social Work | PhD | Aislinn Conrad |
| MSW | Stephen Cummings | |
| Sociology and Criminology | Sarah Harkness | |
| Spanish and Portuguese | Brian Gollnick | |
| Statistics and Actuarial Science | Statistics | Boxiang Wang |
| Actuarial Science | Mario Ghossoub | |
| Theatre Arts | Art Borreca | |
| Writers' Workshop (Creative Writing) | Lan S. (Samantha) Chang |
To email the CLAS Directors of Graduate Studies, use CLAS-DGS@iowa.uiowa.edu