1. resources

Current Students

Fellowships

The most commonly applied-for fellowship is the NSF GRFP, which offers financial support for three years of graduate school and prestige on your CV. You may apply once as an undergraduate senior or once in grad school, either in your first or second year. There can be some strategy in deciding which year to apply, so it is best to consult your advisor about this.

Another popular fellowship is the NDSEG award from the DoD, which offers similar support to the NSF GRFP. It is slightly more competitive, and the proposed research must have connections to DoD efforts, but the application is very similar in structure to the GRFP so it is easy to recycle materials and apply for both. A benefit of the NDSEG is that there are no restrictions on how many times you can apply during grad school.

For any government fellowship, you must be a U.S. Citizen to apply. Applications are typically due in October (GRFP) and November (NDSEG).

The Quantum Foundry also offers three-year fellowships as part of their graduate trainee program. Of course, your research must be very involved with the Foundry's goals, and the decision to apply should be discussed with your advisor.

Once you have drafts of your application essays, make a free appointment to go over your drafts via the Graduate Resource Center and Dr. Robby Nadler. It is likely that a writing consultation will be with Robby himself, or alternatively you will be paired with a trained peer consultant and previous fellowship winner. Group members who have applied for or won fellowships are also great resources for preparing your best application.

Fellowship Financial Information

  • The department supplements income to fellowship students. This supplemental income is paid out as W2 income and therefore has a small amount of tax withholdings.
  • Most of your income, however, which is paid out as fellowship income, will not have tax withholdings. If you are on fellowship, remember to pay estimated quarterly taxes for federal and state income to avoid paying penalty fees! You can add extra witholding on your W2 income through UCPATH as an alternative.
  • Doing taxes on fellowship becomes annoying and tends to run into grey areas in tax law. A good summary of some of the situations and forms you might need are summarized through this website: http://pfforphds.com/weird-tax-situations-fellowship-recipients/
  • NSF GRFP recipients ARE allowed to contribute to Roth-IRA retirement accounts. You might have to check with your specific fellowship if you are allowed to contribute, but generally and recently that answer has changed to yes.

Miscellaneous

Purchasing

Purchasing at UCSB is carried out via Gateway. For large dollar amount purchases (more than $10,000 as of July 2021), you'll need to fill out a Form A to include with the requisition. Microsoft Office, MATLAB, Mathematica, and other similar software can be downloaded for free from UCSB with a student license. OriginPro (plotting software) must be purchased periodically, talk to your advisor or group members to learn how to buy it.

TAships

From the Graduate Student Manual: "All Materials PhD students are required to act as teaching assistants for at least one quarter while in residence at UCSB in either Materials courses or within departments providing courses consistent with the student's undergraduate background. In general, these will be assigned to you. If you would like more experience teaching, talk with your advisor to find courses that will balance well with your research and future goals. The university also offers a Certificate in College and University Teaching for doctoral students who wish to demonstrate their devotion and excellence in teaching at the university level.

Salary Throughout PhD

The income provided on your acceptance letter is prone to change throughout your PhD. If you receive a fellowship, it can be ‘topped off’ to the upper department stipend limit - contact the graduate program coordinator for more details. If you do not have a fellowship, you will receive a raise after successfully completing your qualifying exam and advancing to candidacy.

Grant/Travel Funding Opportunities

Conferences and workshops you'll want to attend are very project-specific. Check with your advisor and groupmates about what conferences they've attended in the past. The GSA offers a travel grant that students are eligible for once per year. There is also a doctoral student grant offered by the Academic Senate that students can apply for after advancing to candidacy. Many entities within UCSB will offer travel grants, often as a one-time thing. Check with the various programs and centers you're associated with (MRL, Quantum Foundry, etc.).

Internships

There are many internships available both during the summer and academic year for grad students. However, companies often prefer longer internships (~6 months) rather than just 3 months during the summer. Talk to your advisor if you are interested in pursuing an internship. 

  • International Students: CPT is required for employment authorization. More information can be found on OISS website:  https://oiss.ucsb.edu/curricular-practical-training
  • For international students interested in internships during the academic year, please contact the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) to determine whether the internship satisfies the requirements for curricular practical training (CPT).

Prelim/Qual Committee Tips and Strategies

Prelims and quals are both in presentation format. Prelims are a 40 minute presentation (+ 10pg paper) on lit review and proposed research idea on a topic tangentially related to your research. Quals are a 40 minute presentation (+ 10pg paper) on the background/current work of your project and proposed thesis research plan. Committees are chosen by you (along with advice from your advisor). The prelim committee is 3 professors including your advisor(s), the qual committee is 4 professors including your advisor(s) and an out-of-department committee member. Practice talks with students in your group are especially instructive towards successful exams. See the handbook for your starting year for more information. Pay attention to deadlines for completing and submitting forms.

Mastering Out

If a doctoral student wishes to leave the program with completion of a Master's degree, they can do so one of two ways. One option involves a thesis (but no defense) approved by a faculty committee of three professors, and the other requires an engineering report approved by a faculty committee of two professors. Specifics are outlined in the Materials GSR Manual.

How to Report Workplace / Sexual Harassment

If you just want to talk to someone confidentially (NOT REPORT)

  • Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) - schedule a 1-time appointment with a counselor
  • Office of the Ombuds - call number and get advice
  • Campus Advocacy, Resources, and Education (CARE) - specifically for violence

If you DO want to report, contact Title IX and Sexual Harassment Policy Compliance Office (webpage found here).

How to Report Bias or Discrimination-Related Harassment

A bias incident is defined as an act of bigotry, harassment, or intimidation that is motivated in whole or in part by bias based on an individual’s or group’s actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status or military affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

If you've experienced such behavior and are unsure if you wish to take action, you may reach out to studentlife@sa.ucsb.edu to have an informal conversation with a member of the Dean of Students Office about the reporting process to determine your best options. Please remember that any UC employee who is not identified as a confidential resource is a ‘Responsible Employee’ required to report sexual violence, sexual harassment or other conduct prohibited by the policy to the Title IX officer or designee.

If you know right away that you want to take action, there are two main avenues for reporting. Your first option is to direct the specific bias incident here. For this form, you can retain as much anonymity as you wish, and can choose how much contact you have with campus officials. This form has the same caveat as above, that it is not considered confidential as the information you provide may be subject to Title IX or Clery Act reporting requirements, but they will do their best to respect your wish for privacy. Your second option, and what will likely be needed if the discriminatory behavior came from a staff or faculty member, is to report it to the Title IX office. This option is not confidential; more information about this and how to report for Title IX can be found here.

How to Switch Advisors

Do not feel bad about switching advisors. PhDs are nonlinear and everyone's path will be different. Be ready to work to get yourself established in your new group. Additionally, your new groupmates can be some of your greatest assets in helping you get up to speed. Do not worry too much about when you take your prelim/qual exams after switching groups. It is understood that you will need some extra time to become acquainted with your new project and thus your timeline may be offset from what is generally prescribed by the department. Take the exams when you are ready, though do be in contact with your advisor and committee about this. There is nothing on the books about a full quarter of funding being guaranteed by the department for someone switching groups; however, it seems most have not had a lapse in funding during this process (please let us know if this wasn't the case for you).

Other UCSB Resources

The Graduate Division offers a large number of resources on managing your academic career, from academic services to professional development. The Individualized Professional Skills Program (IPS) provides money for graduate students to attend professional development opportunities that may not otherwise be funded by typical travel grants. The Graduate Resource Center also provides many resources and programs for promoting success in graduate school. Check out the Lunch & Learn events to support your peers and consider giving a talk - it is a great way to practice your skills in a casual setting! The Multi-Cultural Center (MCC) creates an inclusive community for students of color and all students to come together around all kinds of events. Check out their lectures and conversation series when you need less science and more culture in your life. UCSB Arts and Lectures brings many renowned artists, speakers, and musicians to campus, and students often get the benefit of highly discounted ticket prices!

Graduation

Congratulations, you’re almost there!

There is a Graduate Division Central Fellowship intended to support students through their final quarter and thesis writing. Applications to the fellowship are submitted via department nomination, typically due ~March for funding during the following academic year. If you think you may need this support, talk to your advisor and the graduate program coordinator ASAP. You will need to prepare application materials such as a written thesis proposal/timeline and a CV.

After discussing general timelines for graduation with your advisor(s), contact the graduate program coordinator to check on degree progress at least a quarter in advance. Your dissertation draft must be submitted 4 weeks in advance of the defense date to your committee. The draft content is intended to be final (pending comments from your committee) although minor formatting changes are permitted after this deadline. The Graduate Division graduation resources includes a useful checklist for filing. The Graduate Division will also do pre-filing checks on your materials to ensure things go smoothly ahead of time. The Materials Department graduation resources, also includes a useful checklist.

  • Special considerations: 
    • If you are missing Annual Assessments, you will need to “make it up”, typically by sending your committee a list of your publications and progress for each year in question.
    • Committee changes will require a special form through the department

 

Union Membership

As of 2023, student researchers (including GSRs, Fellows, Trainees) are newly unionized and will likely join the ASE union UAW 2865 to form a single unit of graduate student workers (current as of January 2023). This means Materials students would be unit members for their entire time at UCSB!

Our union includes all SRs and ASEs across the entire UC system and codifies many rights that were not standardized previously. Learn more about our contract at Fair UC Now. (current as of January 2023). Our union contract is effective from January 2023 to October 2024 (2.5 years), when we will elect representatives to bargain with the UC again. The best way to keep and improve these rights is to get involved with our union to enforce our contract, keep our colleagues informed, and plan for long term contract bargaining. There is a monthly Materials Organizing Committee and if you’d like to get involved please fill out this form (no obligation to attend any meetings, just communications!)

Another great way to support our union is to sign up to be a member and agree to pay dues! UAW 2865 dues are 1.44% of wages, deducted with your permission from your paycheck. Your dues are used as such: 

  • The majority of your dues go towards the strike fund which is used to support strikers who have had pay withheld (students during Fall 2022 may remember this came in handy for our five week strike). 
  • The rest of your dues go to staff who support the operations of our union, legal teams who support the mission of our union, and to lobbying efforts to enact policy changes across the nation. 
    • One example of successful political lobbying from the UAW is the 2017 amendment of the Higher Education Employer Relations Act (HEERA or SB 201), which allowed GSRs to unionize in California for the first time since the UC successfully lobbied the legislature to disallow it in the 1990s!
  • While our union charges dues, we have also won increases in wages at all income levels that are greater than the amount of dues and far outdo historical pay increases. Studies of unionized versus non-unionized workers find that the weekly earnings of unionized workers outperforms non-unionized workers by more than 20%.
  • (As of January 2023, SRs are not able to pay dues until we complete our merge with UAW2865, but stay tuned for February/March!)

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