Programs : Doctoral : Student Handbook : Section Three
What Happens Between the Time I’m Accepted and When I Enroll?
You might want to contact your SDSU faculty sponsors to see if they have any suggestions for readings that you could do during the summer to get up to speed or a head start in specific areas. Many new doctoral students find it helpful to visit San Diego in the spring or summer to see the Department, meet some faculty and other students, and scope-out the housing market. If you want to visit, just call or e-mail the Doctoral Adviser, Douglas Stow and tell us when you're coming so that we can arrange to make folks available to you.
Teaching Opportunities
We try to give doctoral students an opportunity to teach and in most cases, some teaching duties will be required. During their tenure in the program, we encourage all doctoral students to teach at least one course so as to gain valuable teaching experience. Such experience allows the student to assess their interest and aptitude for college-level teaching and is necessary for attaining academic teaching positions after graduation. If you are given a teaching assignment for the Fall Semester, you can use part of the summer to review texts, develop a syllabus, and do the other things you need to do to get a class organized.
All doctoral students are required to complete the Teaching College Geography course that the Department offers each fall semester. We highly recommend that you take this course your first year. The course is informal and no credits are assigned. It only meets once a week for the first six weeks of the fall semester, with the exception of two meetings during the week before classes start.
Official Notices
You should receive a Notice of Admission, signed by the Doctoral Program Advisers and Graduate Deans of both SDSU and UCSB. Be sure to sign and return it as soon as possible.
In August, you will receive an official contract (Statement of Terms and Conditions) from the Dean of the College of
Arts and Letters at SDSU appointing you as a Teaching Associate. It will state your annual salary and duties. You need
to sign this document and return the original to the Dean's Office and a copy to:
Lilia Ortiz
Geography Administrative Assistant
Department of Geography
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-4493
This will make you a real, live Teaching Associate! If that isn’t enough, just remember that without
signing this document you cannot begin to receive your monthly stipends.
Class Registration
SDSU uses a web based registration system. Fall registration begins in mid-July. No hard copies of the class schedule are available; they are only available on line. Be sure to check with the Dr. Stow, Lilia or Patti O’Leary before registering. First semester Ph.D. students usually take 6 units of credit. Your fees (for 6 units) will be paid by the University, so don't send any money! If you don't register early, don't worry too much—you can register when you arrive on campus. One of the courses you should take during the first semester is Geography 701—Seminar in Development of Geographic Thought, unless you already completed it as a MA/MS student at SDSU, or if you completed a similar course during your master's studies at a different university. Either way, you must receive permission from the Doctoral Adviser to waive Geography 701.
Vaccinations
By the way, you'll need to prove that you have had an measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccination prior to the end of your first semester at SDSU. Bring your inoculation records, show proof of immunity or, as an extra added bonus, you can get free vaccinations at Student Health Services on campus.
Assistance from the Geography Community
The Geography graduate program at SDSU is pretty large. We normally support 25 or more doctoral associates and another 25-35 master’s-level graduate assistants. Additionally, there are another 15-25 or so full-time graduate students here. As a result, our grad students come in all shapes and sizes, represent a wide range of ages and both sexes, and are married, single, attached, unattached, with kids and without. They have discovered an array of housing accommodations to meet their varied situations. In short, your new colleagues are a great source of information on housing and other matters of critical interest to you as a newcomer to the Department and, perhaps, the San Diego community. Moreover, many of our current grad students would be glad to share their knowledge with you, having recently experienced just what you'll be going through. Virtually all of them have e-mail access and telephone numbers in the Department where you can communicate with them if you so desire. Just ask and we'll provide you with the names and numbers of individuals willing to talk. There is a graduate student-oriented apartment complex that is near campus and run by the university but no family student housing. Here are a few pertinent web sites pertaining to housing.
- SDSU Housing Office
- SDSU International Students Office
- Web site with source for other web sites for San Diego housing
- San Diego Union Tribune newspaper ads for rental housing
- San Diego Reader newspaper ads for rental housing
Handbook Topics
How did I get Admitted?
What does the Financial Offer I Accepted Mean?
What Happens Between the Time I'm Accepted and When I Enroll?
Okay, I've Arrived at the Department. What do I do?
My First Semester's Started: Now What?
When Should I Plan on Spending My Year at UCSB?
Any Information that might Help Me for My UCSB Residency?
What are the Major Mileposts in My Program?
Epilogue