Please join us in welcoming our newest Graduate Admissions Coordinators in the Dr. Yvette Kanouff School of Data, Mathematical, and Statistical Sciences: 

Congratulations to Kyrie Ottaviani, Graduate Admissions Coordinator for the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, on receiving the Everyday Excellence Award. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to providing outstanding service to students, faculty, and colleagues. 

Please nominate a deserving graduate staff member for a COS Employee Award. 

Students should review upcoming Fall 2026 deadlines and plan accordingly: 

If you are interested in receiving updates on graduate policies under review and posted for public comment, subscribe to receive Graduate Policy Updates. 

UCF provides a range of resources available to graduate students. We encourage you to leverage the following, as applicable: 

For students working on their thesis or dissertation, we recommend visiting the College of Graduate Studies Thesis and Dissertation Information page. This page includes resources such as the Thesis and Dissertation Webcourse, opportunities to attend workshops to assist with the process, IRB information, and formatting help.  

For questions regarding graduate plans of study, graduation, registration, or other academic-related issues, students should first reach out to their advisor/graduate staff. Questions can also be directed to cosgrad@ucf.edu.

The College of Sciences is excited to celebrate our Fall 2026 master’s and doctoral graduates at our upcoming pre-commencement event. Nearing commencement, graduates will receive an official email invitation, so be on the lookout and be sure to RSVP!

We look forward to honoring your achievements! 

Master's and doctoral graduates at the Spring 2026 Pre-Commencement Ceremony.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is deepening its strategic public safety partnership with UCF by embedding experts at the university’s Academic Health Sciences Campus. Relocating FDLE’s toxicology laboratory to the UCF facility in Lake Nona better connects academic-industry research, workforce development and forensic testing in one of the nation’s fastest-growing medical and technology corridors.

Established in 1997, the National Center for Forensic Science, based in Central Florida Research Park, is made up of UCF faculty and staff whose research touches everything from DNA analysis to chemical analysis of trace evidence. About 500 students are currently enrolled across UCF’s bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral forensic science degree offerings.

Yvette Kanouff wants UCF students to recognize the possibilities within themselves. Now, her name will become part of the place where generations of Knights turn those possibilities into discoveries.

The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees approved renaming the UCF School of Data, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences to the Dr. Yvette Kanouff School of Data, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. The renaming initiative was the in honor of a transformational gift Kanouff made to UCF and establishes the school as one of the very few named mathematical schools in the United States.

Assistant Professor of Physics Han Zhao is developing a new approach that combines superconducting quantum systems with nanomechanical devices to make quantum operations more resistant to noise and errors.

The project is supported through the highly competitive Oak Ridge Associated Universities Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award program, which provides seed funding to early-career faculty conducting research in science and engineering. The funding supports graduate student research and the acquisition of specialized superconducting quantum hardware used in the experiments. 

To build the ultrafast computers of the future, scientists are looking beyond the electrical charge of electrons to another property: their spin. While conventional hardware relies entirely on the movement of charge to process data, the ability to tap into this intrinsic quantum property could enable researchers to completely reinvent how information travels through a circuit.

Now, a team led by UCF Professor of Physics Madhab Neupane has identified a promising candidate. Neupane and his graduate student collaborators found evidence of altermagnetism, an emerging form of magnetism that combines useful characteristics of the two more familiar types of magnetism: ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism.

Hsin-Hsiung “Bill” Huang, professor of statistics and data science, traveled to Al-Khwarazmi University in Uzbekistan as part of the Fulbright Specialist Program, the project created new opportunities for international collaboration, expanded UCF’s visibility in emerging areas of artificial intelligence and data science and strengthened the university’s role in global academic engagement. 

The experience also highlighted how international academic exchange can directly benefit UCF. Huang says these partnerships help position UCF as an internationally connected institution with expanding research opportunities abroad for graduate students. 

Chemistry doctoral student and Graduate Research Assistant Wilfredo Rivera Rodriguez has been selected for the prestigious GEM Fellowship, a nationally recognized graduate fellowship that supports students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM fields and helps develop future leaders in science and engineering. 

“Receiving the GEM Fellowship is both an incredible honor and a huge source of motivation,” he says. “Personally, it represents years of hard work and the support I’ve received from my family, mentors and professors.”

The U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program is among the most distinguished honors for graduate students conducting research with potential impacts across engineering, science and sustainability.

The 2026 UCF recipients of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship are:

Two College of Engineering and Computer Science professors and a three-time UCF alum-turned-courtesy faculty appointee are now being recognized for their achievements that have advanced the quality of life for the state of Florida and the nation.

A fellow at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Clara Rivero Baleine ’01 ’03MS ’05PhD’s gradient refractive index optical materials and metamaterial coatings transformed infrared sensing systems for defense and advanced photonics applications.

Rivero Baleine is a Burnett Honors Scholar and earned a bachelor’s degree in physics, and a master’s and a doctorate in optics.

The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media recently welcomed industry professionals, family members and fellow Knights to its annual Cohort 22 Capstone Presentations, where graduate students unveiled the original video games they spent the past year designing and developing.

“What you will get out of the program will be what you’re willing to put into it,” Kyle Desjarlais, interactive entertainment alumnus says. “It is difficult, and it is demanding, but it can be the single most fruitful and rewarding experience if you put in the work and give it your all.”

For nearly two decades biologist Lauren Deaner has worked with Florida Scrub jays, contributing to population recovery efforts and translocations. Now, as a doctoral researcher in UCF’s integrative biology program, she is using that field experience to investigate how genetics, behavior and population dynamics influence the long-term recovery of imperiled species.

Deaner’s dissertation centers on a first-of-its-kind Florida scrub jay translocation initiative examining genetic rescue, a conservation strategy that introduces individuals from other populations to increase genetic diversity and improve the health and viability of an imperiled population.

Sept. 25 – Nov. 1 | SPSIA Latin American Film Festival

Join the UCF College of Sciences’ UCF School of Politics, Security, & International Affairs for the Latin American Film Festival during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Experience a variety of films that highlight the culture, creativity and perspectives of Latin America and Spain.

Admission is free for all the films and post-film discussions.

Share your (or your student, colleague, or fellow alumni’s) research, achievements and unique stories with our COS Marketing team by filling out the COS Submit News form. We’ll review submissions for potential features.

sciences.ucf.edu | cosmarketing@ucf.edu