Academic Services
Advice and Assistance
Graduate school is a unique educational experience. Unlike the undergraduate curriculum, graduate degree programs are defined by milestones - constitution of a master's or doctoral committee, preliminary or screening exams, comprehensive exams, advancing to candidacy, the development of a research topic, thesis and dissertation proposals and defenses, in addition to course, language or other requirements. To the uninitiated, graduate school can appear to be a long-term project that is too loosely structured.
Fortunately, there are faculty, staff and student groups on campus who are prepared to help graduate students achieve their academic goals in a timely fashion. These include the department chair, faculty graduate advisor, faculty mentor, master's or doctoral committee, graduate program assistant, Graduate Students Association, and Graduate Peer Advisors. Peer Advisors are UCSB graduate students who provide one-on-one consultation and plan workshops and other events that assist students with their academic and personal development, career preparation, and search and application for extramural funding.