Empowering engagement in an inclusive and collaborative research community
The UCR Graduate Division oversees graduate recruitment, admissions, academic affairs, fellowships, grants, employment, and mentoring. Our team provides a range of services
to support graduate student success from the beginning of their graduate career, through the duration of their program at UCR, and beyond their degree completion.
Meet the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Lidia Kos!
Dr. Lidia Kos is an experienced Professor of Biology, Associate Dean of the University Graduate School and Associate Vice President of the Office of Research and Economic Development from Florida International University (FIU). She received a BS in Biology from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a PhD in Neurobiology from UC Berkeley. She was a Fogarty Fellow at NIH where she did post-doctoral studies. Her research focuses on development and pathogenesis of pigment cells. She uses mouse molecular genetics to understand the molecular basis of neural crest differentiation and melanoma. She has extensive experience teaching undergraduate and graduate students in cell, developmental and molecular biology. She has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral fellows in her laboratory. In the Graduate School she oversaw over 9.000 students in masters, specialists and doctoral programs. She was responsible for all academic and administrative matters related to graduate education at FIU. She has served as the Executive Editor for the journal Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research and is currently in its editorial board. She has served as a member of grant review panels for NSF, NIH, and AHA and is currently on the NIGMS TWD review panel. She has been funded by NIGMS, NIAMS and AHA and is currently the PI of FL-AGEP and co-PI of an NIGMS T32 and NSF BD training grants at FIU.
Click here for a UCR News segment about the new Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Lidia Kos.
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Recent News
May 08, 2025
Mathematizing keloid scars gets UCR 3rd at UC Grad Slam
On April 29, UC Riverside doctoral candidate Angeliz Vargas Casillas placed third in the 2025 UC Grad Slam, an annual competition challenging graduate students from the 10 UC campuses to effectively pitch their years-long Ph.D. research ... within three minutes ... using one single presentation slide. Gulp.
April 16, 2025
Superbugs, Indigenous video games, and tipping dilemmas
On April 11, nine UC Riverside graduate students presented their research at the 11th annual UCR Grad Slam Final for a chance at $5,000. The event was hosted by UCR’s Grad Division and was held on campus at the School of Business.
Grad Slam is a University of California-wide speaking competition in which graduate students get three minutes to describe their research to judges and an audience of peers, faculty, staff, friends, and family.
April 09, 2024
School of Business graduate program surges in top rankings
The UC Riverside School of Business increased 20 positions in a U.S. News & World Report 2024 graduate school ranking released this week. UCR’s business school was the benefactor of a methodology change this year that places greater emphasis on post-graduation earnings and how quickly graduates found jobs.
December 29, 2023
Aunts, aunties, and ‘tías’ offer protection to their LGBTQ youth relatives
Study on youth from the Inland Empire and South Texas points to how these “othermothers” offer emotional safety, housing stability.
