Dec 12, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

The University of Tennessee


University Governance and Administration

The University of Tennessee System has oversight for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and other UT campuses and institutes. The following links are for the System and the System President webpages.

UT System website
Office of the President

UT Board Of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the University of Tennessee System of which, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is the flagship campus. The Board is comprised of five ex-officio members (the Governor, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Education, Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, and President of the University) and 21 members appointed by the Governor.

The University Of Tennessee System Administration

Randy Boyd, BS, MS - President
Steve Angle, BA, MS, PhD - Chancellor, UT Chattanooga
Joan Bienvenue, BS, MS, MBA, PhD - Vice Provost and Executive Director of Oak Ridge Institute
Herb Byrd, III - Vice President, Institute for Public Service
Tiffany Carpenter - Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing
Keith Carver - Chancellor, UT Martin
Brian Dickens, BS, MA, PhD - Chief Human Resources Officer
Dennis Hengstler - Associate Vice President and Director of Institutional Research
Tonja Johnson, BS, MS, PhD - Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Linda C. Martin, BS, MS, PhD - Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success
Ramon Padilla, Jr., BA, MBA - Chief Financial Officer
Stacey Patterson - Vice President for Research, Outreach and Economic Development
Donde Plowman, BA, MEd, PhD - Chancellor, UT Knoxville
Steve Schwab, MD - Chancellor, UT Health Science Center
John Schmisseur, BS, MS, PhD - Director, UT Space Institute
Carey Whitworth, BS, MPA - Vice President for Government Relations and Advocacy
Kerry Witcher, BS - Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs and Programs

Knoxville Campus Administration

Donde Plowman, BA, MEd, PhD - Chancellor, UT Knoxville
John Zomchick, BA, MA, PhD - Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor
Tisha Benton, BA, MBA - Vice Chancellor for Communications
Brian Browning, BS - Associate Vice Chancellor for Operations
Brian Broyles, - Senior Vice Chancellor for Advancement
Paul Byrnes, - Senior Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
Keith Carver, BA, MS, PhD - Senior Vice Chancellor/Senior Vice President for the UT Institute of Agriculture
Brian Coldren, BA, MS - Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives and University Registrar
Deborah Crawford, BS, PhD - Vice Chancellor for Research
Frank Cuevas, BS, MS, PhD - Vice Chancellor for Student Life
Tarah Keeler – Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
Veerle Keppens, PhD - Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Gretchen Neisler, BS, MS, PhD - Vice Provost for International Affairs, and Director, Center for Global Engagement
Ramon Padilla Jr., BA, MBA – Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Digital Innovation
Tyvi Small, BS, MEd - Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement
Daniel White, PhD - Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics
Duane Wiles, BA - Associate Vice Chancellor of Alumni Affairs

Deans

David G. White, BS, MS, PhD - Interim Dean, Herbert College of Agriculture
Jason Young, BS, MArch - Dean, College of Architecture and Design
R.J. Hinde, BS, PhD - Interim Executive Dean, College of Arts and Science
Stephen L. Mangum, BS, MBA, PhD - Dean, Haslam College of Business
Joseph Mazer, BS, MS, PhD - Dean, College of Communication and Information
Ellen McIntyre, BA, MA, PhD - Dean, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Ozlem Kilic, BS, MS, DSc - Dean, College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies
Matthew Mench, BS, MS, PhD - Dean, Tickle College of Engineering
Lonnie T. Brown, Jr., BS, JD - Dean, College of Law
Jeffrey Pappas, BM, MM, DMA - Dean, Natalie L. Haslam College of Music
Victoria Niederhauser, BSN, MSN, DrPH - Dean, College of Nursing
Lori Messinger, BA, MA, MSSW, PhD - Dean, College of Social Work
Paul J. Plummer, BS, DVM, PhD - Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
Marianne Wanamaker, BA, MA, PhD – Dean, Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs
Dixie L. Thompson, BA, MA, PhD - Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
Byron Hughes, BS, MS, PhD - Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Dean of Students
Robert Burns, BS, MS, PhD - Dean, UT Extension and University Outreach and Continuing Education
Hongwei Xin, BS, MS, PhD - Dean, UT AgResearch
Steven E. Smith, BA, MA, ML, PhD - Dean of University Libraries

Accreditation

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, educational specialist, and doctorate degrees. Degree-granting institutions also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of University of Tennessee, Knoxville may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website.

The University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is the land-grant institution of the State of Tennessee with its main campus in Knoxville. UT is the state’s largest and most comprehensive institution and is a Carnegie One Research Extensive Institution. The University of Tennessee is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; telephone 404-679-4500) to award the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

As the state’s flagship institution, UT ranks in the top tier of public research universities and attracts more than $250 million in research awards annually. Nationally ranked programs include supply chain management, nuclear engineering, printmaking, accounting, the master of business administration, law, and social work. The library also ranks as one of the nation’s best.

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education. In addition to the flagship campus at Knoxville, the UT system includes campuses in Chattanooga, Martin, the Health Science Center in Memphis, UT Southern in Pulaski, the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in each of the state’s 95 counties; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT system manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership. The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees governs the statewide institution.

The University of Tennessee counts among its faculty and alumni a Nobel laureate, six Rhodes scholars, seven Pulitzer Prize winners, and eleven NASA astronauts. The UT system enrolls about 58,000 students statewide, produces about 13,000 new graduates every year, and represents more than 445,000 alumni around the world.

A wide range of graduate programs leading to master’s and doctoral degrees is available. UT Knoxville offers 59 doctoral degrees, 81 master’s degrees, 2 educational specialists degrees, two professional programs, and several graduate certificate programs. Over 7,000 graduate and professional students are enrolled on and off campus under the tutelage of 1,500 faculty members.

Graduate programs bring together faculty and graduate students as a community of scholars with a common interest in creative work and advanced study. Programs are available to individuals desiring work toward the master’s and doctoral degrees or professional certification, those interested in continuing education for updating and broadening their knowledge, and those pursuing postdoctoral research. Serving the needs of students engaged full-time in intensive study and pursuit of a degree continues to be a major emphasis of the UT’s graduate effort. Increasingly the university employs a variety of modes, traditional and nontraditional, in offering quality programs designed to serve a diverse student clientele.

Graduate programs are administered by the Graduate Council; the Graduate School; administrators of the various graduate programs; the faculty; and the graduate student body.

The Graduate Council is composed of elected faculty representatives from each college, the Space Institute, and the Graduate Student Association. Ex-officio members include the Dean of the Graduate School, the Chair of the Research Council, the Dean of Libraries, the Dean of Continuing Education, the Director of the Center for Global Engagement, and the administrative officer having primary responsibility for the graduate curriculum in each college or school.

The Graduate Council is responsible for standards of admission, retention and graduation, and for curricular matters in graduate programs; the development of interdisciplinary programs; approval of new graduate programs; approval of individuals to direct doctoral dissertation research; financial support of graduate students; and all other matters of educational policy pertaining to graduate programs. Standing committees include academic policy, appeals, credentials, curriculum, professional development, and the Graduate Dean’s Group.

The Graduate School develops procedures to implement policies formulated by the council. Much of the day-to-day administration of graduate study is conducted by department heads or faculty advisors and committees responsible for particular programs. In addition to departmental units, numerous interdisciplinary programs, institutes and centers have been developed on campus and in locations throughout the state.

The graduate student body is composed of those persons admitted to graduate study upon recommendation of the academic unit, and who are currently enrolled in graduate programs. Graduate education has been conducted at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, since 1821. The first master’s degree was awarded in 1827. Although a PhD degree was awarded in 1886 and in 1887, formal doctoral programs were not instituted until 1929 for biological sciences at Memphis and 1943 for chemistry on the Knoxville campus. A Committee on Graduate Study was appointed in 1904 and coordinated the graduate program until the Graduate Council was formed in 1949.