Provost's Newsletter September 2023 cont...

Spotlight: Graduate Students and Amy Levin, AVP Graduate Studies

How long have you been the AVP of Graduate Studies and what do you enjoy most about it?

I have been AVP of Grad Studies since January 2017, so nearly 7 years. Time sure has flown and I have learned so much about so many different disciplines outside of my own over these past several years. What I most enjoy about my position is getting outside of my comfort zone and learning a bit about Engineering and something about Recreation and Tourism Management, Chicano Studies, Special Education and more. I love that I have met so many incredible staff and faculty across the campus, something that I was not able to do as well in my first 13 years on campus in the Social Work department.  

Are there any new programs you’d like to highlight?

We have just launched a Business Analytics program, last year we started a graduate program in Athletic Training, and we are just about to accept students into the MS in Construction Management and Entertainment Industry Management for Fall 2024.

What are the most popular graduate programs? Why?

I think some of the more popular graduate programs are the Doctorate in Physical Therapy and the Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and Social Work. They are applied degrees that have an internship component so students are able to work in the field and apply what they are learning in the classroom while still in their graduate program. Other popular graduate degrees are in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Engineering Management where we have seen more than double the number of students from recent years.

What is the role of graduate admissions coordinators and how do they help you promote the success of graduate students?

The graduate coordinators play a crucial role in the recruitment and retention of our grad students, and they have been working hard to bring more incredible students to our CSUN campus. Once an applicant has converted to a student, the Grad Coordinator typically helps them with scheduling of classes, connecting to a mentor/thesis advisor and generally supports them throughout their time in the graduate program. We have some pretty spectacular faculty serving in the role of graduate coordinator across all grad programs.

Quick Facts - Graduate Studies

• There is currently 4166 new and continuing graduate students enrolled at CSUN.
• 1568 new graduate students have been admitted for Fall 2023 and the application process is going strong for those programs that admit in the Spring semester. 
• Graduate student profile: 496 international students, which is almost double the number of international students in 2021; 2595 of our graduate students identify as female compared to only 1557 identifying as male grad students.
• Approximately 47% acceptance rate overall, but some programs are very exclusive, Communication Disorders had a 25% acceptance rate for Fall 2023, Social Work had a 17% acceptance rate and Screenwriting had a 31% acceptance rate, Educational Psychology and Counseling had a 28% acceptance rate.