Welcome to Incoming Students

July 6, 2007

Dear Incoming Graduate Student,

The UCSB Graduate Division extends a warm welcome to you. The Graduate Division works collaboratively with students, departments, faculty and staff, to facilitate academic pursuits and professional development, and support diverse student needs throughout the completion of your degree program.

We look forward to getting to know you during your stay at UCSB. Our goal is to ensure that you benefit from the stellar graduate educational opportunities that are available on our campus.

We provide, in this letter, some information that will help you begin your educational journey at UCSB.

Orientation

To facilitate a smooth transition, we highly recommend attending the New Graduate Student Orientation and Campus Services Faire on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 in Campbell Hall from 9:00am - 12:30pm. This orientation will introduce all incoming graduate students to the many resources that are available at UCSB. In addition, all new and potential Teaching Assistants (TAs) and other instructional appointees (Readers and Tutors) are required to attend the TA Orientation, held on Tuesday, Sept 25, 2007 from 9am-1pm in Campbell Hall. Instruction for Fall Quarter 2007 begins on September 27 th . Finally, all international students will receive information on International Student Orientation scheduled for Thursday, September 20, 2007 under separate cover.

Housing

If you have not secured housing, you may view off-campus listings on-line via the Community Housing Office at http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/cho_community.htm and/or sign up to receive information from the Graduate Students Association electronic mailing list about housing opportunities specifically for graduates at http://www.gsa.ucsb.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/housing. Local newspaper listings are available via http://class.newspress.com/sect/rentals/all. In addition to these on-line resources, you may want to email current graduate students in your department who may be looking for roommates.

Temporary lodging will be available on campus in Santa Rosa Hall from September 1st through the 22nd, for approximately $46.00 per night, per person (double occupancy). Check-in hours will be from 7am to 1am daily and NO RESERVATIONS ARE NECESSARY. For directions, call 805-893-2189 or visit http://www.oiss.ucsb.edu/new_students/arrival_at_ucsb.htm.

Transportation

The UCSB general student handbook, http://kiosk.ucsb.edu/index.asp, provides transportation information. City and county bus information can be found at http://www.sbmtd.gov. The official visitor guide to Santa Barbara, http://www.santabarbarca.com may also prove helpful.

Your Academic Program

Student Handbook. For complete information on academic programs, policies and student services, visit the Graduate Division website at http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu. The Graduate Handbook http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/academic/handbook/ provides good introductory information and will serve as a resource throughout your tenure at UCSB.

Registration. For information on fall quarter registration and enrollment procedures, visit the Registrar's website at http://www.registrar.ucsb.edu. Note that the Fall deadline for Graduate Fee Payment and Regular Registration is Thursday, September 27th. If you are a domestic student, but are not yet a California resident, we strongly advise you to start the process of California residency as soon as you enter California. Find out how to do so at http://www.registrar.ucsb.edu/residenc.htm.

Summer School. Incoming graduate students are welcome to attend UCSB 2007 Summer Sessions' classes. Courses taken may be applied to requirements of you program. Students may take prerequisites, methodology courses, or begin work on language requirements; please consult with your department to determine if you can transfer credit from Summer Sessions. Explore the instructional options by visiting http://www.summer.ucsb.edu/preview.html.

Skills Workshops. The Graduate Student Peer Advisors (peers@graddiv.ucsb.edu) provide advice and assistance to graduate students and develop workshops to address student concerns (funding, writing theses/dissertations, career). New student peers be posting the fall schedule of workshops in September on the Grad Division calendar http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/calendar/.

Financial Support. The Graduate Division website provides a wealth of information relating to campus and extramural funding opportunities. We encourage you to subscribe to one of the mailing lists to receive automatic updates for fellowships and extramural funding at http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/source/.

Services

Internet. Graduate Students have email and internet access through a campus Umail account. Many campus units communicate with graduate students via their Umail accounts. You should activate your required Umail account and, if needed, set up a forward to your primary email account at http://www.umail.ucsb.edu.

Healthcare. For information regarding healthcare at UCSB visit http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/studenthealth/. For graduate student insurance information, visit http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/studenthealth/insurance/index.asp.

Disability Services. The Disabled Students Program works to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities and to foster student independence. Visit them on-line at http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/dsp/ to learn about the services they offer.

Student Organizations

There are also many student organizations that you may find of interest (e.g., American Indian Graduate Student Alliance, International Students Association, Women in Science and Engineering, etc.). Visit http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/orgs/ for a complete listing.

The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is the elected representative government for UCSB graduate students. GSA works to: (1) ensure that graduate student concerns are addressed in campus and decision making, (2) provide graduate students with information on issues relevant to student life and (3) foster a social network conducive to graduate student success. Visit the GSA website at http://www.gsa.ucsb.edu or email them at gsa@gsa.ucsb.edu.

We look forward to welcoming you to campus at the fall orientation on September 26th. Please feel free to contact the Graduate Division at 805-893-2277 or visit http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/contact/ with any questions you may have prior to your arrival at UCSB.

With best regards,