Change the future with the Graduate College
Shaping the possibilities of tomorrow
PhD candidate Johnathan Lok displays drone swarm technology that could transform search and rescue, helping first responders locate people faster – turning innovative research into life-saving impact.
Around the world, extraordinary opportunities are emerging to improve lives and strengthen communities. Realizing this potential, however, requires addressing complex challenges — from climate change and health care inequity to economic disruption and educational gaps.
Solving these challenges requires new knowledge of policy and institutional change, advanced expertise, cross-disciplinary thinking and collaborative skills. These are the skills that graduate education cultivates.
Arizona State University’s Graduate College prepares students to meet this moment with confidence and agility. With more than 600 opportunities, including certificates, master’s, professional and doctoral programs, ASU is among the nation’s largest and most comprehensive graduate institutions. By fostering innovation, the Graduate College enables scholars at all levels to develop knowledge and translate it into meaningful solutions.
ASU’s decade-long recognition as America’s most innovative university underscores a bold vision for higher education. At the Graduate College, this vision drives us to create positive societal change. We aim to eliminate access barriers, promote discoveries and ensure graduate education benefits the global community.
Graduate students extend their learning beyond the classroom as researchers, mentors and innovators, making breakthroughs in sustainable technologies, personalized medicine, educational reform and resilient communities. Every step forward is not simply progress, but a demonstration of the potential of graduate education.
Supported by fellowships, scholarships for research and travel, professional development and ongoing mentorship, ASU’s graduate students transform ideas into action. The Graduate College prepares emerging leaders to turn research and insight into tangible public value, tackling society’s toughest challenges and creating lasting impact for communities far and wide.
Powering tomorrow’s economy with today’s graduate talent
Arizona stands at a pivotal moment. Significant investments in semiconductors, renewable energy, biotechnology and aerospace are redefining the state’s economy. These industries rely heavily on graduate-level talent in business, engineering, health care and beyond, a resource that, like the state’s abundant sunshine, can fuel greater innovation if harnessed strategically.
Taking a broader view, across the United States and around the world, governments and universities are investing heavily to expand graduate education as a driver of economic growth and innovation. States like Texas, California and New York are pouring resources into graduate fellowships and novel research centers, while countries such as Canada, Germany, Saudi Arabia and China are funding scholarships and cutting-edge labs to attract America’s top scholars.
Without matching these fellowships, research infrastructure and talent development investments, Arizona risks the departure of top scholars and experienced leadership.
As a microcosm of the global economy, Arizona’s ability to attract and keep graduate talent will affect local prosperity to compete in high-growth industries. There is hope: The window for a vibrant future in Arizona and beyond is wide open. Acting now means more than keeping pace; it means taking a leadership role among the top university graduate schools by securing the talent pipeline, accelerating discovery and ensuring that the benefits of a knowledge-driven economy flow into Arizona’s communities.
Through Changing Futures®, the Graduate College will work to ensure top talent is nurtured and supported in Arizona and around the world.
This is our moment to shape the future we want.
Despite having two graduate degrees, Yasmin Afshar chose to come to the U.S. to pursue a PhD at ASU, drawn by the university’s commitment to interdisciplinary work.
“ASU offers the flexibility to take courses across programs and collaborate with faculty from different fields. It encourages students, researchers and scholars to move beyond silos, connect with like-minded people and co-produce knowledge. This aspect has been especially meaningful in my own work on energy and climate.”
Yasmin
Afshar
PhD student, School for the Future Innovation in Society
Community members at Homecoming 2025 share words of inspiration for graduate students who are developing their professional identities, becoming master learners and expanding knowledge for the benefit of society.
Expanding access to graduate education
The Graduate College at ASU believes multiple perspectives and experiences are the mechanism to solving the world’s most complex challenges. By supporting all graduate students who seek access to top faculty and facilities, the Graduate College creates an intellectual ecosystem where bold ideas are born, and collaboration across differences turns innovation into real-world solutions.
With approximately 200 online master’s programs, doctoral degrees and graduate certificates, the Graduate College extends rigorous graduate education globally, equipping students to apply their skills for real-world impact. Flexible delivery models, tailored pathways and comprehensive support systems ensure that talent and ambition – not circumstance – define success.
For non-traditional students who want to advance their careers and for employers seeking qualified talent, microcertificates and stackable credentials provide an accessible, modular path to a master’s degree. These short, graduate-level options let students build expertise incrementally, apply new skills immediately and stack credits toward a full degree, expanding access and removing the traditional barrier that requires committing to a full degree before gaining benefits.
The ASU Personalized Graduate Admissions initiative, launched in 2024, reflects the Graduate College’s commitment to streamlined access. By automatically admitting qualified ASU undergraduates into select master’s programs, the Graduate College eliminates application stress and creates clear pathways to advanced study. This innovation has already enrolled more than 1,400 graduate students as of Fall 2025 and contributed to a 13 percent increase in graduate enrollment.
Shaping the leaders of tomorrow
At ASU, graduate students are preparing to lead in a world where the biggest challenges cannot be solved by one discipline alone. Whether advancing climate resilience or expanding access to health care, these students work across fields and community partners to address issues that affect us all. Support for graduate education empowers the next generation of leaders and problemsolvers to tackle society’s most urgent challenges.
By opening pathways to high-quality graduate education, the Graduate College empowers a wider range of voices to shape the groundbreaking ideas that will define tomorrow. The Graduate College provides onboarding, peer mentoring and professional development programs such as Grad15 — 15-minute webinars on essential skills that reached more than 2,300 participants in Fall 2024. Financial assistance through emergency grants, fellowships and completion awards helps graduate students stay on track when life throws challenges their way.
Notably, 90% of master’s graduates seeking employment receive offers within 90 days. Faculty mentorship and alumni connections span academia, industry and government, creating pathways that do more than advance careers. Graduates launch startups, lead research-driven enterprises and serve as leaders of change. When every student has the tools to succeed, graduate education is no longer a privilege for the elite few; it becomes a strong engine of opportunity for everyone.
Emerging scholars explain their research to a non-specialist audience in the Three Minute Thesis competition, which spotlights participants who are not only advancing research but also developing the clarity, confidence and vision that define tomorrow’s leaders.
Grad15 addresses challenges faced by graduate students.
Topics include:
• Business plans for student entrepreneurs
• Mapping your mentor network
• Overcoming imposter syndrome
• Using AI in your job search
• Managing the writing process
I quickly learned that supportive community ASU, and we are encouraged on them, especially need. Not only was changed, but my fears were alleviated.
that an incredibly community exists at encouraged to rely especially in our times of was my perspective fears were also
—Nutifafa Dey ASU Graduate College doctoral student, development psychology
Holding reclaimed fired ceramics, Kendall Traylor, a Master of Fine Arts student in the School of Art at ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, is helping reduce waste in the ceramics studio.
After entering her idea to reclaim fired ceramic into ASU’s Change the World competition, she used the prize money to purchase an electric crusher that pulverizes fired ceramics so the material can be reused instead of being sent to landfills.
Graduate education: moving innovation and impact forward
Graduate education delivers more than expertise in a single field. It cultivates creativity, adaptability and the ability to solve complex problems. As economies diversify and industries evolve, demand for graduate-level talent spans semiconductors, biotechnology, renewable energy, aerospace and critical areas like AI ethics, climate resilience and health care policy. These challenges require leaders who can integrate knowledge across disciplines and act decisively on a global stage.
The Graduate College plays a pivotal role in creating measurable impact. Support for the Graduate College directly funds graduate student research and travel that turns bold ideas into high-impact results. Graduate students benefit from the interactive Plan of Study (iPOS), which streamlines degree progress, and from targeted career-readiness initiatives and professional development programs that build leadership, communication and policy skills desirable to employers across industries. Writing camps and publishing workshops help scholars translate research into actionable insights for journals read by policymakers and professionals.
These investments yield tangible outcomes: lifesaving treatments, equitable education policies, sustainable technologies and strategies to reduce inequality. Each fellowship funded, each barrier removed and each project advanced accelerates progress that helps society today and for future generations.
Change futures by supporting
Transform global education
The Graduate College expands access to highimpact graduate learning worldwide through ASU Online’s approximately 140 degrees and 60 certificates, while pioneering flexible entry points and stackable credentials.
Students can begin, pause or accelerate their studies without compromising excellence, creating a truly global approach to learning. Additionally, the Graduate College in partnership with the Graduate Student Government offers the Graduate Research Support Program to provide funding for thesis/dissertation and independent research, enabling students to bridge the gap between concept and implementation.
Empower community resilience
The Graduate College partners with local leaders and scholars to co-design innovative solutions, translating research into practical, evidence-based tools that strengthen communities and cultivate civic-minded, socially responsible innovators.
Reshape our relationship with the planet
The Graduate College drives sustainable and resilient innovation that reinforces ASU’s No. 1 U.S. and Top 10 global ranking for impact on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. By funding use-inspired graduate research and catalyzing interdisciplinary collaborations across diverse disciplines and communities, the Graduate College ensures that ideas translate research into actionable solutions, informing policies, practices and technologies that protect and preserve ecosystems, strengthen vulnerable communities and advance worldwide prosperity.
The Graduate College
Inspire tomorrow’s game changers
Through mentorship, fellowships and microlearning like Grad15, the Graduate College cultivates adaptable leaders. Programs such as Preparing Future Faculty provide career development for graduate students, helping them explore academic and non-academic paths, build confidence and engage with interdisciplinary peers.
This culture of guidance, paired with robust careerreadiness support, enables students to translate education into action by launching ventures, shaping public policy and driving impact across industries and communities worldwide.
Build the future of health Advance technology for good
Graduate education advances applied health research moving discoveries from the lab to practice. From lab research such as early-detection diagnostics such as ASU’s saliva-based COVID-19 test to Graduate College professional development programs like the Three Minute Thesis –which equips scholars to communicate their research to the public – ASU nurtures scientists and scholars who integrate technology, policy and care delivery.
The result is a graduate talent pipeline capable of transforming health care systems, shaping evidencebased policy and improving patient outcomes worldwide.
By recruiting and supporting top graduate talent in AI, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and related STEM fields, ASU fosters technological progress aligned with societal needs and ethical principles.
Students and researchers accelerate the development of technologies that enhance security, expand opportunity and improve global quality of life. Through academic structures such as the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, the Graduate College promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, giving students the skills to lead in an evolving technological landscape.
About us
ASU’s Graduate College shapes scholars from over 100 nations into innovators, leaders and lifelong learners. As the backbone of ASU’s research and teaching enterprise, it drives discoveries that address global challenges while fostering inclusive excellence. The Graduate College ensures access, equity and academic rigor across 600+ programs through personalized support, world-class mentoring and professional development. By advancing transdisciplinary knowledge and innovative pathways, the Graduate College strengthens local communities and global economies, while also preparing graduates to lead with purpose.
ASU Charter
ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.