A history of graduate education at UCSF. In 2025, UCSF’s Graduate Division was renamed the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs. Information is from the UCSF history on UCSF.edu and from the UCSF library.
1958
- A new area of recruitment that involved both the School of Dentistry and the future Graduate Division was generated by a grant from the National Institute of Dental Research to support graduate training in the basic sciences called the Research Teacher Training Grant, supporting 11 students a year for work leading to the PhD. Dr. Howard Meyers, graduate advisor for the School of Dentistry, directed the program.
1961
The Graduate Division is established
In 1961, the Regents of the University decentralized graduate education and San Francisco, which had previously been under the jurisdiction of Berkeley’s administration, was organized as an independent Graduate Division with its own dean and graduate council.
The Division was formed to provide leadership for graduate education and to serve as an administrative home for student admissions, degree progression, the appointment and advancement of postdoctoral scholars, and the development of campus policies affecting both students and postdoctoral scholars.
These responsibilities soon grew to include student recruitment, the acquisition and management of fellowship awards, review of graduate academic programs, development of new academic degree programs, and the provision of student and postdoctoral services to enhance campus life.
In the fall of 1961, Dean Harold Harper, UCSF professor of Biochemistry, was appointed and the Graduate Council was established to oversee graduate programs in anatomy, biochemistry, comparative biochemistry, biophysics, dental surgery, dentistry, endocrinology, history of medicine, medical physics, microbiology, nursing, nutrition, pathology, comparative pathology, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, comparative pharmacology and toxicology, physiology, and animal physiology.
1964
- The institution, operating under the name University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, was given full administrative independence, becoming the ninth campus in the UC system and the only one devoted exclusively to the health sciences.
- Doctorate degree in nursing science and in psychology commenced
1968
- Sociology PhD program was established
1969
- The School of Medicine and the Graduate Division sponsored the creation of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). Funded by the U.S. Public Health Service, the program offered a special stipend to students to pursue graduate work along with a medical degree to correct for the “lack of academic programs designed specifically to prepare physicians for faculty careers.” The MSTP curriculum originally consisted of three years of medical school plus three years of formal graduate study, leading to the MD degree and either an MS or PhD degree depending on which requirements were satisfied. Applicants to this program are admitted separately to the medical school and to the graduate program.
1972
- Health Policy Program, supported with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and directed by Philip Lee, established to identify major health policy issues and provide government officials with technical assistance.
- Joint PhD degree program in Speech and Hearing Sciences (UCSF and UC Santa Barbara)
1973
- PhD program in medical anthropology
1975
- PhD program in human development
- Joint PhD degree program in Medical Anthropology (UCSF and UC Berkeley)
1976
- PhD program in neuroscience
- Doctor of Mental Health Degree
1977
- PhD program in genetics
1979
- PhD program in immunology
1981
- UCSF Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Lloyd Kozloff was appointed as dean and served until 1991.
1983
- Doctor of nursing program established
- Joint PhD degree program in Bioengineering (UCSF and UC Berkeley)
1985
- The remarkable advances in graduate education on campus generated enough demand for the creation of a separate graduation ceremony. The first Graduate Division commencement took place on June 7, 1985, in Cole Hall on Parnassus Campus, with a total of 57 graduates participating.
1989
- A partnership was formed between UCSF and the California State University system through the development of the joint M.S. degree in Physical Therapy with San Francisco State University.
1991
- C. Clifford Attkisson, PhD, named interim dean; then becomes Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs (1992-2005)
- School of Nursing introduces the Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN).
1996
- Graduate Division combines PhD programs in Anatomy, Endocrinology, Experimental Pathology, and Physiology to form a new Graduate Group and PhD program in Biomedical Sciences.
1998
- PhD program in Chemistry and Chemical Biology established
1999
- UCSF breaks ground on new Mission Bay campus
2001
- PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics established
2002
- The master’s of advanced studies degree in Clinical Research established
2003
- Genentech Hall is the first building to open at the new Mission Bay campus. With more than 400,000 gross square feet, it houses programs in structural and chemical biology and molecular cell and developmental biology, the Molecular Design Institute, the Center for Advanced Technology, a library, an auditorium, and commercial space.
2004
- Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Hall opens at the Mission Bay campus. It houses programs in human genetics, developmental biology, developmental neuroscience, and the Center for Brain Development.
- Graduate Division establishes joint UCSF/San Francisco State University Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT)
2005
- Byers Hall, The California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) opens as the home for the California Institute of Science and Innovation (Cal ISI) at the Mission Bay campus. This is the headquarters for the Institute, which is a partnership with UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. QB3 is one of the four California Institutes for Science and Innovation, developed at the initiative of Governor Grey Davis, and the only one focused on biomedical research to advance human health.
- Patricia Calarco, PhD, named interim dean
2006
- PhD program in Developmental Biology established
2006
- UCSF Certificate Program in Global Health Sciences is approved by Graduate Council
- The schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Medicine and the Graduate Division offer the first interdisciplinary class for all enrolled students
2007
- Patricia Calarco, PhD, named dean (2007-11)
2008
- Master's of Science in Global Health Sciences established
2009
- The Graduate Division moves from Parnassus to its new home in the William J. Rutter Center at the Mission Bay campus.
2011
- Joseph Castro, PhD, named interim dean
2012
- Elizabeth Watkins, PhD named Dean and Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs (2012-2021)
2013
- The Discovery Fellows Program is established with a gift of $30 million from Sir Michael Moritz and his wife, Harriet Heyman, creating an endowment to support graduate education in the basic sciences. With additional contributions from UCSF and over 500 donors, it is the largest endowed program for PhD students in the history of the University of California, totaling over $150 million as of 2026.
- UCSF celebrates groundbreaking for the new Global Health & Clinical Sciences building, or Mission Hall at Mission Bay, which will bring together all the faculty, staff, and students involved in the University’s global health programs.
2014
- Master's in Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership — one of UCSF's first online degree programs — officially launches
2016
- The Global Health Sciences PhD program is launched
2017
- The PhD program in Rehabiliation Science — a successor to the DPTSc program — welcomes its first cohort
2018
- Doctor of Nursing Practice program is established, the first of its kind in the UC system
2021
- Elizabeth Silva, PhD, named interim dean
- Nicquet Blake, PhD, named dean of the Graduate Division and Vice Provost of Student Academic Affairs
- Master's in Genetic Counseling admits its first cohort of students
- Joint UCSF/UC Berkeley PhD program in Computational Precision Health is launched
2024
- Master's in Artificial Intelligence and Computational Drug Discovery and Development (AICD3) welcomes its inaugural cohort
2025
- Graduate Division and Student Academic Affairs become separate units with different leadership. Nicquet Blake, PhD, named Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (2025-present)