Biography

Though graduate degrees were offered as early as 1877, the term "Graduate School" was first employed in a prospectus at the opening of the 1925-1926 school year. The school was, according to this prospectus, situated on the Chestnut Hill campus and restricted to the education of men.

The first Dean of the Graduate School was Father Mellyn, S.J. In September of 1926, however, a major reorganization of the Graduate School took place: classes would now be open to women and taught in the afternoon and evening at the James Street location. The new Dean of this program was Father John Creeden, S.J., former president of Georgetown University. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was being expanded to extend the educational resources of the college.

In 1929, the Extension School was created through a program administered by the Graduate School, with the cooperation of the Law School, to offer a "variety of major fields of concentration" leading to an A.B. degree. In 1934, the combined Graduate School and Extension School were moved to the Chestnut Hill location; in January, 1935 movement was begun to separate the two, and by September of that year, the separation was complete.

In 1952, plans to further growth were initiated with a report by the President's Academic Council which in turn voted to begin three doctoral programs. In 1983, the Graduate Educational Policy Committee was established, whose purpose was "defining graduate education and its part in the identity of the university." In 1986, the committee submitted a report to President Monan outlining what it saw to be the priorities of the university's program of graduate education.

Although Boston College continues to offer graduate-level programs, the Graduate School as an independent entity ceased operations in 2007. The university announced a planned reorganization which saw the closure of the school and the redistribution of curricular programs offered through it to other campus programs; the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences assumed the bulk of this responsibility. Administrative oversight over graduate programs was reallocated to a position reporting to the Provost and Dean of Faculties.

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