History - School of Graduate Studies

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport (LSUHSC-S) includes the School of Graduate Studies, School of Medicine and the School of Allied Health Professions. All are part of the statewide Louisiana State University System.

The School of Graduate Studies at LSUHSC-Shreveport was originally part of the LSU A&M Graduate School in Baton Rouge. When the School of Medicine in Shreveport was authorized by an act of the Louisiana Legislature in 1965 as part of the Louisiana State University Medical Center, the School of Graduate Studies continued in the LSU Medical Center campuses in Shreveport and New Orleans. The first class of graduate students on the Shreveport campus was accepted in 1974. In 1978, the first Ph.D. degree was awarded from the Shreveport campus. The LSU Medical Center was renamed the LSU Health Sciences Center in 1999, and the first Chancellor for the Shreveport campus was appointed on November 3, 2000, Dr. John McDonald. One March 25, 2004, the Louisiana Board of Regents approved administrative separation of the School of Graduate Studies in Shreveport from the School of Graduate Studies in New Orleans. The School of Graduate Studies in Shreveport was placed under the leadership of the Shreveport Chancellor. The first Dean of the School of Graduate Studies in Shreveport was appointed on April 1, 2004. The Louisiana Legislature approved the official separation of the Schools in June 2005 and Governor Blanco signed the bill in July 2005. This, the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport is now a separate, independent institution. In June 2009, LSUHSC-S achieved independent accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Reaccreditation for 10 years was achieved in December 2014.

The School of Graduate Studies is comprised of five Basic Science Departments; the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience. Each department offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in its discipline.

From the beginning of the School, the Masters of Science (M.S.) degree was also offered from each department. Beginning on July 1, 2011, the Louisiana Board of Regents approved combining these five degree programs into a single M.S. degree program in Biomedical Sciences. Students in this program are recruited into one department and complete the requirements in that department. They are awarded the M.S. degree in Biomedical Sciences. Within the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, a M.S. clinical track for training students as instructors of human anatomy is also available.

Offices and laboratories of the Graduate Faculty were originally established at the VA Medical Center and later moved to the new Medical School building (Building B) in 1976. The Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) building, dedicated in February 1994, currently houses many Graduate Faculty offices and laboratories as well as the Research Core Facility. The BRI also houses some staff of the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana (BRF), who operate its Positron Emission Tomography (PET) facility.