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.
Phase 1 Paper
Phase one of the program will culminate with the acceptance of a paper. The paper is to help students in
narrowing down their research area and preparing students for their general exam and to help them focus on
the literature of interest. The paper is an opportunity for students to review in a critical fashion the key
literature on specific subjects or domains that are likely to form the basis of their future research.
The length of the paper is about 6000 words, excluding references, tables, and figures, and students will submit an abstract for their first year paper to their first year advisor at the end of the first year winter quarter. Students will work with their advisor to develop a plan for completing the paper through the first two weeks of Spring quarter. A first draft of the paper will be presented to the advisor by the end of the spring quarter. Students will revise their paper based on the advisor's comments and submit the final paper by the end of summer. For a full description of the Phase 1 Paper and further requirements to move to phase 2 please see "Phase 1: the core curriculum."
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 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 every other 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 and to take the lead at other functions.
- 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 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.