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Department of Geography
Geography is an inquiry into the patterns and processes that make up the surface of the Earth. It is a broad field of inquiry that, in our department, includes glaciers and climate change, the origins of agriculture and the evolution of plant life, the culture of cities and the dynamics of the global economy. Such a wide range of themes gives each student great freedom to choose a research topic, develop an intellectual style, and select approaches to gathering evidence and making persuasive arguments. That freedom also includes opportunities to go outside of the department and make use of the tremendous resources of the campus as a whole. Our goal is to help each student find his or her own combination of intellectual rigor, creativity, and independence.
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The PhD Program
All students take GEOG 200A/B in their first year. This course is designed to help each student to see, think, and write geographically; to learn how to make and to judge arguments; and to prepare a thesis proposal. All students in the doctoral program must take at least 8 units every semester (primarily in the form of appropriate graduate seminars) before taking the Qualifying Exam and advancing to candidacy. In addition, students must enroll in the Geography Colloquium (GEOG 295). This is a weekly colloquium (known as the “Tea Talk”) which features invited speakers.
By the end of the third year, students entering with a B.A. or B.S. only must hand in a paper that would be suitable—in length and in quality—for submission to an academic or scientific journal. The paper may be an investigation of an intellectual problem in the form of an original synthesis of secondary literature; it may advance a new idea, or question an existing theory or notion, by assembling information that already exists in the literature; or it may use original information gathered from archives or in the field. The student should have a proposal for the paper by the end of the first year, and must be in constant and close consultation with his or her main advisor. The advisor will determine the appropriate format and length of the paper. The paper must be handed in, and approved by the main advisor, no later than a month before the Qualifying Exam.* A copy of the paper with the advisor’s approval should be turned in to the Student Affairs Officer.
Prior to taking the Qualifying Exam, all students must prepare a preliminary dissertation prospectus of between five and ten pages for their exam committee.
The Qualifying Exam (the “orals”) must be taken by the end of the third year, although it is recommended that students entering with a Master’s degree take it by the end of their second year. The exam is based on a discussion of three broad geographic fields built around bibliographies produced in consultation with the examining committee.**
Immediately after passing the orals, a student applies to the Graduate Division for “Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D.” Advancing to candidacy by the end of the third year qualifies a student for the Dean’s Normative Time Fellowship.
As part of their training, all students will be expected to serve as Graduate Student Instructors for at least one semester.
Before starting dissertation research, each student must have a Dissertation Prospectus Meeting—during which the student discusses a written research proposal—with at least two members of the Exam Committee. The Ph.D. dissertation is written under the supervision of a committee of three University faculty members, one of whom must be from outside the Geography Department and a member of the Berkeley Academic Senate. Upon final acceptance of the dissertation, the degree of Ph.D. is awarded. It is expected that the student will complete the Ph.D. by the end of the sixth year in the program.
All students are expected to give an “exit talk” the semester they are filing their dissertation.
All students must give the department a copy of their thesis before their Final Report to the Graduate Division will be signed.
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Admission to Graduate School
Students are admitted to the University by the Graduate Division, on the recommendation of the Department. To aid the department in making its recommendation, the prospective graduate students must provide the following:
• Graduate Application for Admission and Fellowship, available online in September at:
http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/before_begin.shtml
Applicants are required to list the faculty they have contacted or expect to contact concerning their application, as well as the faculty in the department whose research is of particular interest. Students should also self-report their GRE and TOEFL scores, and calculate and report their undergraduate grade point average for all coursework after the first two years.
Please note that we do not admit students for a Master’s degree. If applicants are admitted without one, they proceed straight to the Ph.D. degree.
• Statement of purpose of approximately 500 words outlining the applicant’s intellectual objectives in her or his graduate career.
• Official transcripts of all previous academic work, with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least a B (3.0) in the last two years of college work.
• Scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test.
• Scores from an official TOEFL report (required of international applicants from countries whose official language is not English).
• Three letters of academic appraisal, preferably from former instructors.
Mail all of the above to Carol Page, Graduate Assistant, Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-4740.
Transcripts: All students are required to submit official transcripts issued by college level academic institutions. Official transcripts must bear the signature of the Registrar or another academic official in a raised or ink stamp or seal of the issuing institution. For international applicants, transcripts must be issued in the original language and accompanied by official, complete word-for-word translations either prepared by the issuing institution or a governmental or other official translator.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE): The GRE is required of all applicants. Current scores are preferred and reports older than 5 years old will not be accepted. For Fall 2008 applications, it is recommended that the GRE exam be taken before the end of October 2007. Test reporting can take 6 to 8 weeks processing and mailing. Later results may not be received in time to be included in the admission review process.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to take the TOEFL, and have the results sent directly to the Graduate Admission Office. This requirements applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, Israel, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and non-English-speaking countires in Africa. The TOEFL should be taken early enough for scores to arrive at Berkeley by mid-December. This department does not offer admission in the Spring (January). You must achieve a minimum score of 570 on the paper-and-pencil test or 230 on the computer-based test or at least 68 on the Internet-based test (iBT). Scores older than two years will not be accepted.
Description of Interests: Upon receipt of their application by the department, applicants will be asked for a brief description of their research interests (maximum 3 lines or 300 characters or 60 words).
Timetable: Applications for admission are accepted for the Fall Semester only. The deadline for Fall Semester applications is December 14, 2007, for admissions only and admission/fellowship applicants. The number of new graduate students that can be accepted in any given year is limited and early applications are advised.
Successful applicants will be contacted by the Department in late February, but must await official notification of acceptance by the Graduate Division (around March 1). Offers of acceptance should be answered by April 15th. The Department does not maintain a waiting list or make subsequent offers beyond the Department’s annual quota.
Student Access to Graduate Applicant Files:
As a means of incorporating student advice into the admissions process, a committee of graduate students has been established to help review applications to the Department of Geography's graduate program. Applicants who wish to restrict access to their application to the faculty members who will vote on admission, should indicate their preference by responding to the “Waiver Form” e-mail message which will be sent to all applicants shortly after the application deadline has passed. Declination of access by the graduate student committee to your file will not adversely affect your application. Failure to return the waiver form will presume that you give permission for graduate student access to your admission file.
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