Dear CLAS Students, Faculty and Staff,

What an extraordinary year it has been for our graduate community!

As we look back on 2025 and set our sights on an even more ambitious 2026, I want to pause and take a moment to recognize the past year as one of progress and innovation. It’s a year that fills me with great pride, not only for what we accomplished, but for the way in which we accomplished it—through collaboration and respect for our mission and values.

Graduate education is a hallmark of the Villanova experience and it’s central to becoming a more thoughtful, impactful professional. This year, our graduate students continued to advance their scholarship, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, sharing their work on national and international stages and contributing meaningful, interdisciplinary dialogue on important global topics.

To help them succeed, we expanded our commitment to mentorship, strengthened their support systems and invested more than $3.6 million in fellowships, assistantships, scholarships and travel funding so our students' ambitions could come to fruition.

Academically, we introduced new and forward-looking offerings—such as the new Master’s in Interdisciplinary Studies—and our programs launched new concentrations and certificates, creating more pathways aligned with workforce needs.

Most of all, our community of more than 900 graduate students from all over the country and world contributes to a diverse, vibrant and welcoming environment.

I invite you to browse through some of our accomplishments on our website, linked below, after viewing a brief holiday video above.

Wishing you peace, joy and a bright start to the new year. 

Warm Regards,

Emory H. Woodard IV, PhD

Dean of Graduate Studies

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences