Student Guide
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Contents

Information for First Year Students
Information for Students in Phase II
Information for Students in Phase III

Information for First Year Students

First Things First (before Orientation)
- Establish your UW NetID
- Set up your UW Email account
- Contact (or determine) your primary faculty mentor
- Contact the Program Office, Loew 311, to fill out payroll paperwork

Registration for Classes (after Orientation)
Your first year plan of study will be worked out between you and your faculty advisor, taking into consideration the recommendations presented at the orientation.  Nevertheless, you will need to register for the core sequence of courses, URBDP 591 (Autumn), 592 (Winter), and 593 (Spring).  Please see the Core Curriculum for other Phase I requirements. 

For the quarterly list of classes, please see:  UW Time Schedule

Advisory Committee
You are expected to coordinate with your Advisor to ask two additional members to form your Advisory Committee. This needs to be done by the end of the fall quarter to oversee your progress through phase 1 of the program.  The committee membership may be changed at any time in phase 1, based on agreement by the student and faculty advisors.  Committees must consist of at least three members of the Interdisciplinary Group, and represent at least two academic departments.  You establish this committee by letting the program coordinator and program director know who the additional faculty members are.

First and Second Year Milestones
- Evaluation of Phase I.  The procedure for evaluation of Phase I work and the decision to advance a student to Phase II is based on a portfolio of the work completed in required courses in Phase I that includes:  the papers prepared by the student in these courses and the written evaluations by the instructors of these courses. The evaluations should address the potential for the student to successfully complete the requirements for the program.

- A prospectus and plan of study for Phase II is prepared by the student and approved by the student's Advisory Committee that describes the general research area and fields of study the student wishes to pursue and the courses the student intends to take in Phase II.

- After being passed to Phase II, the Supervisory Committee is formally established with the Graduate School.  This committee mentors the student during Phases II and III.

Good to Know About
- The Program may have funding for airfare/trainfare ($300 domestic/$500 international) to travel to a conference at which you are presenting.  To get access to this funding, email the Interim Director, Marina Alberti (malberti@u.washington.edu), with a cc to Jean Rogers (jeanp@u.washington.edu), explaining what conference, when, where, and the title of the paper/presentation.  Students are limited to one travel award per year.

- The Program has a student room with desks, computers, and a phone designated for your use in Gould Hall, room 418.

- The PhD Students have regular gatherings for giving practice presentations, sharing research, and socializing.  There are usually 3-4/quarter.  Students also select 2 representatives to serve on the Steering Committee for the Program.

- The Program has an Annual Symposium with a guest speaker.  This usually lasts half a day, and full participation is encouraged.

- The Program has an Annual Meeting of faculty every Spring.  Students are encouraged to participate.

- Please see the Graduate School web site for university-wide policies and procedures.

- Please do not hesitate to contact the program office (jeanp@u.washington.edu or 543-6398) for any questions or concerns. 

Information for Students in Phase II

Forming the Supervisory Committee
The committee must consist of at least three faculty members in the Interdisciplinary Group representing at least two academic departments; one member must be from the Urban Design and Planning Department.  Students requiring a committee of a different composition should submit a request to the Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee recommends (but does not require) that students have at least four faculty members on their committee and that two of these be from the Urban Design and Planning Department. 

In addition, the Graduate School Representative (GSR) (please see the link for the role of the GSR) is selected by the student in consultation with the committee chair and/or the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC - faculty advisor).  All endorsed Graduate Faculty, with the exception of affiliates, are eligible to serve as GSRs.  The GSR must not have an appointment within the student’s /committee chair’s department(s) or have a conflict of interest (i.e, budgetary, familial, romantic) with the committee chair(s) and student.  The Graduate Faculty Locator is useful in determining faculty affiliations and status.

The committee membership is discussed with the student’s primary advisor; members are asked; and the committee establishment form is submitted to the program office by the student.  (This can be done via email if the student emails all members, asking for confirmation of their willingness to serve on the supervisory committee. The email confirmation then functions as the signature of the faculty member.) Once the graduate school has approved the committee, all members of this supervisory committee are then notified of their participation by the Dean’s Office of the Graduate School .  Please see the grad school web site for more information on the roles of the supervisory committee members.  This committee should be established at least four months before you plan to take the general exam.

General Exam Content
The General exam consists of both a written and an oral exam in which the Supervisory Committee evaluates the preparedness of the student to advance to doctoral candidate status and to begin developing a dissertation proposal.  The committee designs a written exam based on the advanced coursework in the area of study and critical review of the literature that the student has completed. The content, length, and duration of the written exam varies but it typically consists of 3-4 questions over 4-5 days.  The oral exam is two hours in length and requires the formal scheduling process through the graduate school (see below).

To schedule the General Exam (Oral)
At least three weeks before you plan to take the general exam, you submit a Request for General Examination form (available from:  http://www.grad.washington.edu/forms/forms.htm) to your program office ( Jean Rogers , jeanp@u.washington.edu).  You must have signatures (either email or actual) from all members of your supervisory committee indicating their approval of the date and time of the exam.  Since it is required that both the GSR and the Chair attend, it is best to start the scheduling process by finding a time in which both these members are available.  (Jean can help you compile email signatures and find a room for the exam once you have determined the date and time.)  A Warrant is generated  by Graduate Student Services and sent to the Graduate Program Assistant.  The student takes this to the exam, the faculty sign it, and it must be returned to the Graduate School by the end of the quarter .  At least two other members (besides the GSR and the Chair) of the supervisory committee must be present at the general (and final) exam. 

Candidacy is awarded upon receipt of the signed Warrant in the Graduate School .  A Candidate Certificate is sent to the student by the Graduations Office (207 Schmitz) at the end of the quarter (approximately three months after Candidacy is conferred

Information for Students in Phase III

The Dissertation Proposal
After passing the General Exam, you are expected to build on the critical review of literature to develop a dissertation proposal.  The proposal should be formally presented to the Supervisory Committee at a scheduled proposal defense presentation.  (This is not scheduled through the graduate school, however, like the general and final exams.)  The Supervisory Committee then certifies that you are prepared to undertake the proposal research and that it meets the program requirements for scholarship. 

The Dissertation Defense/Final Exam
The final exam/dissertation defense is a two-hour presentation to the Supervisory Committee of the dissertation.  To schedule it, you follow the same graduate school protocol as you did for the general exam.  The following are frequently asked questions:

- Do I need to register in the quarter that I defend?  What if I defend in the summer?
Yes, you need to register for at least 2 credits in the quarter that you defend.  This is true for summer quarter as well.

- Who is my GSR ?
Your GSR is the same person that you had for your GSR at your general exam, and his/her attendance is required at your final exam.  Therefore, in scheduling your final exam, it is important  to choose a time that this person can attend.

- How and when do I establish my Reading Committee?
Usually several months before scheduling your Final Examination, the Dean of the Graduate School is asked to designate a reading committee consisting of at least three voting members of your supervisory committee.  The reading committee is appointed to read and approve the dissertation.  You do this by letting Jean Rogers (jeanp@u.washington.edu) know which three members of your supervisory committee you would like to appoint.

- How far in advance do I need to do my paperwork to schedule my Final Exam?
No later than three weeks before the exam date (just like the general exam).

- How many faculty members need to attend it?
At least four members of the committee (including the Chair and GSR) must be present at both the General and Final Examinations.

- How much time do I have to turn in my dissertation?
You have 60 days after the dissertation defense to turn in your dissertation. The Style manual, formatting issues,  and procedures for submitting your dissertation to the graduate school are addressed on the graduate school web site.

- When do I get my diploma?
It usually takes four months from quarter that you graduate before the diploma is mailed to you.  To have this expedited, contact the Graduation and Academic Records Office (264 Schmitz, 543-1803, ugradoff@u.washington.edu).

For further information about about any of these topics, please don't hesitate to contact:

Modified: 7/2003