Contact the Graduate Studies Team

Office of Graduate Studies

Please use the appropriate email address listed for all email correspondence, including the submission of any required forms or documents.

Columbian College of Arts & Sciences
801 22nd St. NW
Phillips Hall 107
Washington, DC 20052

  202-994-6210
  202-994-6213

 

Melissa Busskohl

Melissa Busskohl

Executive Director, Graduate Studies & Student Services

Illustration of a person's silhouette against a white backdrop

Vacant

Administrative Associate to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies
(202) 994-8397

The Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) has a team of dedicated professionals to assist you in navigating academic policies and processes.

  • Each CCAS graduate program has an assigned program coordinator who is your main point of contact within the Office of Graduate Studies. Your program coordinator administers the enrollment and academic standing policies and procedures that all graduate students must maintain.
  • Your Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) addresses any academic advising questions related to course selection and other degree requirements.

 


Graduate Admissions

Phillips Hall, Suite 107 | [email protected]

Should you wish to contact any team member, please email [email protected]

Lindsey Duble-Dice

Lindsey Duble-Dice

Senior Associate Director, Graduate Admissions & Awards

Madison Brooks

Madison Brooks

Assistant Director, Graduate Admissions

Jessica Caramanica

Jessica Caramanica

Assistant Director, Graduate Admissions

 

Adrienne Douglass

Adrienne Douglass

Assistant Director, Graduate Admissions

Liz Kepferle

Liz Kepferle

Assistant Director, Graduate Admissions

Marie Okamoto

Marie Okamoto

Senior Awards Coordinator

Mallory McGovern

Mallory McGovern

Senior Awards Coordinator

Charita Hammett

Charita Hammett

Advanced Graduate Admissions Evaluator

Illustration of a person's silhouette against a white backdrop

Vacant

Assistant Director, Graduate Admissions

 


Graduate Student Services

Smith Hall, Suite 118 | [email protected] | 202-994-6210

Should you wish to contact any team member, please email [email protected] or make an appointment with us.

Anna Marie Siegel

Anna Marie Siegel

Senior Associate Director

Coordinator for the Professional Psychology (Psy.D.) program and Master’s and Certificate programs in: Anatomical and Translational Sciences, Anthropology, Applied Mathematics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Biochemistry, Biostatistics, Chemistry, Communication Management, Data Science, Environmental and Green Chemistry, Financial Mathematics, Forensic Psychology, All Forensic Science programs, Geographical Information Systems, Geography, LGBT Health Policy and Practice, Mathematics, Organizational Sciences, Physics, Political Science, Statistics

Nicole Davidson

Nicole Davidson

Manager, Doctoral Students

Coordinator for all Ph.D. programs

Amelia Chenet-Smith

Amélie Chenet-Smith

Senior Coordinator

Coordinator for Master’s and Certificate programs in: American Studies; Applied Economics; Biological Sciences; Budget and Public Finance; Contexts of Environmental Resource Policy; Criminology; Environmental Resource Policy; Human Paleobiology; Nonprofit Management; Philosophy and Social Policy; Public Administration; Public Policy; Sociology; Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies - Public Policy

Zack Samara

Zack Samara

Senior Coordinator

Coordinator for Master’s and Certificate programs in: All Corcoran programs, Art Therapy, Chinese Language and Culture, English, History, Islamic Studies, Media and Strategic Communication, Speech-Language Pathology

Megan Rusconi-Warner

Megan Rusconi-Warner

Senior Student Services Assistant

 

 

 

Appointments for Current Students

Graduate Student Services - Career Advising

Smith Hall, Suite 118 | [email protected] | 202-994-6210

CCAS Career Counselors provide career counseling for all CCAS graduate students with the exception of Trachtenberg School and Data Science students.

Should you wish to contact any team member, please email [email protected] or make an appointment with us.

Johnette Ruffner-Ceaser

Johnette Ruffner-Ceaser

Career Counselor

Erin Ahart

Erin Ahart

Career Counselor

 

 

 

Appointments for Career Advising

 


Graduate Recruitment

Phillips Hall, Suite 107 | [email protected]

Should you wish to contact any team member, please email [email protected] or make an appointment with us.

Natalie McCarter

Natalie McCarter

Senior Associate Director, Graduate Recruitment

Sep Dunham

Sepideh Dunham

Assistant Director, Graduate Recruitment

Kate Kumar

Kate Kumar

Assistant Director, Graduate Recruitment


Graduate Program Directors

Each graduate program has a Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) who will be your main point of contact regarding your academic program requirements.

You must meet with your DGS before registering for courses in the first semester to ensure you are informed of exactly which courses you need to take and what is required to complete your graduate program. Your DGS’ contact details can be found in the Graduate Program Director listing below.

You should also discuss the possibility of transferring any graduate credit earned at other institutions with your DGS, and submit the necessary paperwork to the CCAS Office of Graduate Student Services ([email protected]).

Your DGS’ contact details can be found in the alphabetical Graduate Program listing on this page:

Programs A-C

Academy of Classical Acting
Director: Alexander Wild

American Studies
Director: Gayle Wald
Master's Adviser: Dara Orenstein

Anatomical & Translation Sciences
Director: Robert Hawley
Director: Nicole De Vaul

Anthropology
Director: Jeffrey Blomster(PhD program)
Co-Director: Alex Dent (MA program, First-Year Students)
Co-Director: Steve Lubkemann (MA program, Second-Year Students)

Applied Economics
Co-Director: Arun Malik (Admissions)
Co-Director: Michael Moore (Current Students)

Applied Mathematics
Director: Yanxiang Zhao (MS program)
Director: Hao Wu (Certificate program)

Art History
Director: Mika Natif

Art Therapy/Art Therapy Practice
Director: Heidi Bardot

Bioinformatics & Molecular Biochemistry
Director: Manjari Dimri

Biological Sciences
Director: Keryn Gedan

Biomedical Sciences
Director: Alison Hall
Cancer Biology: Norman Lee, Yanfen Hu
Genomics & Bioinformatics: Ljubica Caldovic, Raja Mazumder
Microbiology and Immunology: Alberto Bosque, David Leitenberg
Neuroscience: Matthew Colonnese, Jason Triplett
Pharmacology & Physiology: Colin Young, Nikki Posnack

Biostatistics
Director: Yinglei Lai

Budget & Public Finance
Director: Joseph Cordes

Chemistry
Director: Martin Zysmilich
Admissions Director: Cynthia Dowd

Chinese Language and Literature
Director: Liana Chen

Communication Management
Director: YoungJu Shin

Contexts of Environmental Policy
Director: Peter Linquiti

Criminology
Director: Fran Buntman

Programs D-F

Data Science
Director: Ryan Engstrom
Associate Program Director: Andrew Layman 

Economics
Director: Roberto Samaniego (PhD Admissions and Funding)
Director: Pam Labadie (PhD Pre-Candidacy Advising)
Director: Graciela Kaminsky (PhD Post-Candidacy)

English
Director: Holly Dugan

Environmental and Green Chemistry
Admissions Director: Houston Miller
Program Director: Jakub Kostal
Adviser: Martín Zysmilich

Environmental Resource Policy
Director: Rachel Emas

Exhibition Design
Director: Andrea Dietz

Financial Mathematics
Director: Hao Wu

Fine Arts
Director: Dean Kessmann

Forensic Psychology
Director: Rocio Lopez-Sharifi

Forensic Sciences
Director: Daniele Podini (Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Molecular Biology)
Director: Heidi Eldridge (Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Investigation)

Programs G-I

Geography
Director: Michael Mann

GIS Certificate
Director: Brendan Hurley

History
Director: David Silverman 
Master's Program Advisor: Katrin Schultheiss
Admissions Director: Eric Schluessel (MA program)
Admissions Director: Shira Robinson (PhD program)

Human Paleobiology
Co-Director: Alison Brooks (PhD program)
Co-Director: Chet Sherwood (PhD program)
Co-Director: David Braun (MS program)
Co-Director: Francys Subiaul (MS program)

Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Director: Yisheng Peng

Interaction Design
Director: Kevin Patton

Interior Architecture
Director: Catherine Anderson

Islamic Studies
Director: Mohammad Faghfoory

Programs J-L

Jewish Cultural Arts
Director: Jenna Weissman Joselit

LGBT Health Policy and Practice
Director: Stephen Forssell

Programs M-O

Mathematics
Director: Yanxiang Zhao
Director: Hao Wu (Certificate program)

Media & Strategic Communication
Director: Sean Aday

Museum Collections Management & Care
Director: Mary Coughlin

Museum Studies
Director: Suse Anderson,
Graduate Advisors: Suse Anderson, Max van Balgooy, Laura Schiavo

New Media Photojournalism
Director: Susan Sterner

Non-Profit Management
Director: Michael Worth

Organizational Sciences
Director: Gelaye Debebe
Graduate Studies Advisor: Mary Lee

Programs P-R

Philosophy & Social Policy
Director: Eric Saidel

Physics
Director: Chen Zeng
Graduate Studies Adviser: Weiqun Peng
Admissions Director: Axel Schmidt

Political Science
Director: Ingrid Creppell
Director of PhD Admissions: Chris Warshaw

Professional Psychology
Director: Loring Ingraham

Psychological & Brain Sciences PhD
Director: Michelle Stock (Applied Social program)
Director: Sharon Lambert (Clinical program)
Director: Stephen Mitroff (Cognitive Neuroscience program)

Public Policy and Public Administration
Director: Anil Nathan (MPA and MPP program)
Director: Burt Barnow (PhD program)

Programs S-Z

Social Practice
Director: Dean Kessmann

Sociology
Director: Fran Buntman

Speech-Language Pathology
Director: Jessica Jocelyn
Admissions Chair: Michael Bamdad (New Applicant/Student Contact)

Statistics
Master's Program Director: Tapan Nayak
Doctoral Program Director: Yinglei Lai

Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Director: Ashwini Tambe

Women's, Gender & Sexuality - Public Policy
Director: Eiko Strader

Social Practice
Director: Maria del Carmen Montoya

Sociology
Director: Fran Buntman

Speech-Language Pathology
Director: Adrienne Hancock
Admissions Chair: Michael Bamdad (New Applicant/Student Contact)

Statistics
Director: Feifang Hu (PhD program)
Director: Reza Modarres (MS program)
Adviser: Xiaoke Zhang (MS program)
Adviser: Qing Pan (MS program)

Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Director: Ashwini Tambe

Women's, Gender & Sexuality - Public Policy
Director: Cynthia Deitch

 


Academic Advisors 

Your student services coordinator and your Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) have distinct responsibilities:

 

Student Services Coordinator

  • Processes restricted registration requests
  • Provides guidance on CCAS and GW academic policies
  • Audits academic progress
  • Processes CCAS and GW forms
  • Processes graduation clearances
 

Director of Graduate Studies

  • Serves as Academic advisor
  • Answers questions about program requirements and curriculum
  • Provides guidance on CCAS and GW academic policies
  • Creates your Plan of Study
  • Assists with registration
  • Submits DegreeMAP petitions
  • Evaluates academic progress
  • Consults with Coordinator on academic issues
  • Submits CCAS forms