Our Stories
![GSAS students, in robes, sit listening to a convocation speaker.](../../news/images/aniversary-images/gsas-convocation-2.jpg)
September 19, 2023
Welcome back to the first day of school in 1953! Classes officially started for the first class of Brandeis GSAS students on Wednesday, September 30th. Read on to learn more about their experience.![Discover the diverse and exciting career paths GSAS alumni have pursued over the past 70 years.](../../news/images/alum-careres-resized.jpeg)
May 17, 2023
Discover the diverse and exciting career paths GSAS alumni have pursued over the past 70 years.![Tong Lin](../../news/images/tong-lin.jpeg)
June 5, 2023
When Tong Lin was applying to graduate school for psychology, advisers at her alma mater of Centre College in Kentucky suggested she consider Brandeis. Why? Because even with its high level of research activity and status as an R1 University, Brandeis’ smaller classes and accessible faculty ensure that its students benefit from an extensive support system.
Tong made the decision to attend Brandeis. Today, she holds a master’s degree in Psychology and has just completed her third year as a doctoral student in the department.
April 17, 2023
We celebrate 70 years of GSAS students engaging in social justice action on and off campus.![Wakako Hironaka stands with John F. Kennedy and a group of other men](images/wakako-hironaka.jpg)
March 20, 2023
In honor of Women's History Month, we highlight the accomplishments of GSAS's women alums.![Liz Mahon](../../news/images/liz-mahon.jpg)
March 31, 2023
Liz Mahon was an undergraduate at Harvard College when an Introduction to Psychology Class taught by Dr. Dan Gilbert changed the trajectory of her future. While she had originally planned to major in government, her newfound passion led her in a different direction.![Black students gather at Ford Hall, with a student playing a drum in the center.](images/ford-hall-occupation-2.jpeg)
Photo Credit: Ralph Norman
February 15, 2023
In honor of Black History Month, we highlight Black scholars, alums, and faculty who played important roles in the history of GSAS.![Michael Fingerman](../../news/images/michael-fingerman.jpg)
March 15, 2023
When it came to considering graduate school options, Michael Fingerman MA/MBA '22 was advising to choose between pivoting and propelling his career. "Hornstein," Michael explains of his former graduate program, "is more of a propelling career move."![Michela Zaffagni](../../news/images/michela-zaffagni.jpg)
February 23, 2023
Michela Zaffagni, PhD '23 in Molecular and Cell Biology, shares her experience as a international student in the program.![gsas convocation](../../news/images/aniversary-images/gsas-convocation-2.jpg)
January 19, 2023
Established in 1953 with only 38 students, 5 programs, 4 departments and $1,400 PhD stipends, the Brandeis Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences had uncertain, humble beginnings.
![science lab](images/early-lab-photo.jpg)
January 19, 2023
Read about some of the earliest distinguished GSAS alumni, including: Lawrence V. Berman, David Epstein, Halim El-Dabh, Norbett Lawrence Mintz, and Adaire Klein.
![Tyler Hill](../../news/images/tyler-hill-960-640.jpeg)
February 3, 2023
Doctoral candidate Tyler Hill first considered attending Brandeis while researching C. elegans. Read about Tyler's journey to the Neuroscience program at Brandeis and his experience in the Sengupta lab.![frankie zhao](../../news/images/frankie-zhao.jpg)
October 26, 2022
Zhao enrolled at Brandeis “because of the uniqueness of the MS in Biotech program,” which gave them the opportunity to study both the research and business sides of the industry.
![Vivekanand Pandey Vimal PhD'17](../../news/images/vivek-chair.jpeg)
January 10, 2022
With a grant from NASA, researcher Vivekanand Pandey Vimal PhD'17 is exploring how to train people to trust technology in space.
![Deborah Lipstadt, MA’72, PhD’76](../../news/news-multimedia/2021-lipstadt-degree-960.jpg)
August 3, 2021
A leading expert on Holocaust denial, Lipstadt's new appointment aims to combat antisemitism in all forms.
![David Dominique PhD’16](../../news/images/dave-dominique.jpeg)
June 8, 2021
David Dominique PhD’16 discusses his upcoming Radcliffe fellowship project "Steam," a multimedia opera integrating his music, his journalism, and his political voice.
![Al Schmidt PhD'00](../../news/images/al-schmidt.jpg)
December 16, 2020
The New York Times Magazine profiles Al Schmidt PhD'00, one of three Philadelphia city commissioners on the County Board of Elections.
![carol fierke phd'81](../../images/homepage/carol-fierke.jpg)
November 30, 2020
Fierke, who earned her doctoral degree in biochemistry from Brandeis in 1984, will begin her tenure on January 1, 2021.
![Mohammad Seyedsayamdost ’01, MS’01](../../news/images/macarthur-fellow.jpg)
October 9, 2020
Mohammad Seyedsayamdost ’01, MS’01, a biological chemist who explores how bacteria communicate and interact with other organisms, has received a MacArthur Fellowship, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors.
![Karen Uhlenbeck MA’66, PhD’68, H’08](../../news/images/uhlenbeck-small.jpeg)
May 15, 2019
In March, mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck MA’66, PhD’68, H’08 became the first woman to win the Abel Prize, awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters for outstanding work in the field of mathematics.
![ha jin MA’89, PhD’93, H’05](../../news/images/ha-jin-small.jpg)
May 15, 2019
Exiled by political events in his native China, novelist Ha Jin MA’89, PhD’93, H’05 discovered freedom writing in the English language.
![jack davis Phd'94](../../news/images/jack-davis.jpg)
March 21, 2019
Jack E. Davis PhD'94 returned to campus on March 19, 2019 to give a talk about his Pulitzer Prize winning book, "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea."
![chimpanzees](../../news/images/little-larry-small.jpg)
November 15, 2018
Anthropology candidate Amy Hanes, MA'11, investigates the meaning of care. Her dissertation research has taken her deep into the forests of Cameroon, where she has spent months caring for orphaned chimpanzees.
![kristine-mackin](../../news/images/kristine-mackin.jpg)
February 8, 2018
Kristine Mackin PhD'14, a graduate of the Biochemistry department, was elected to the Waltham City Council last year. We caught up with Kristine recently and asked her about her motivation for joining the City Council.
![pbs newshour](../../news/images/newshour-small.jpg)
February 5, 2018
Theresa Rebeck MA’83, MFA’86, PhD’89 discussed the Women’s Voices Theater Festival, the #MeToo movement, and working as a female playwright on PBS Newshour on February 5, 2018.
![ana ward](../../news/images/ana-ward.jpg)
January 18, 2018
Ana Ward combines various research interests to investigate the impacts of outer space on terrestrial life and help pave the way for long-term space exploration.
![vipin suri phd'01](images/vipin-website.jpg)
October 17, 2017
What is it like to work with a future Nobel Laureate? Vipin Suri, PhD’01, shares his experience of working in the Rosbash lab.
![leslie lamport](../../programs/images/leslie-lamport.jpg)
October 12, 2017
Brandeis Magazine profiles Leslie Lamport, MA’63, PhD’72, H’17, the 2014 recipient of the A.M. Turing Award, viewed as the Nobel Prize for computer science.
![stephen whitfield](../../news/images/whitfield.jpg)
December 13, 2016
American Studies professor looks back at his time on campus.
![deborah lipstatdt and rachel weiz](../../news/images/lipstadt-weisz.jpg)
September 15, 2016
Deborah Lipstadt MA’72, PhD’76 is a authority on the Holocaust.
![adaire klein](../../news/news-multimedia/adaire-klein.jpg)
July 29, 2016
Adaire Klein '53, MA'57 was a member of the first GSAS class.
![illustration of a graduate student](images/only_a_girl265.jpeg)
April 15, 2015
Merrill Joan Gerber MA’81 writes about her experiences as a graduate student and how it led to her career as a successful author. "In truth, I didn’t want a PhD. I wanted to write fiction."