rdsull89

I think the ones on the website are from last year? What's the date on them? We don't have an open search at the moment--there are two targeted positions that might be cooperative or part time with English (one in queer chicano and one in LGBS/Trans studies) but those are still up in the air. The department is putting together proposals for new hires. UCR has a goal of hiring 300 professors in the next 3 years with some magic money from somewhere, so there is an expectation to get a few more soon, but the actual positions/fields are still a ways off from being determined. That said, for the past 3 years, we've had 2 hires a year, so it's a pretty healthy growth.

Yes, they are working out travel funds right now, so you should get logistical/budget information soon about open house. The language requirements have a couple of options--you can take a translation exam in French or Spanish (possibly German too, but I'm not positive). You can also take an upper division class in any language, and that will fulfill a requirement. Or, you can take French or German for reading knowledge, which are 2-quarter classes designed for grad students to gain reading knowledge quickly. For the second language requirement, you may do any of those options, or you can also substitute 3 upper division undergrad classes in another/other field(s).

Just a note--I talked to Prof. Brayman Hackel. She's in the process of calling everyone, which is pretty time consuming, but if you received the letter and haven't gotten more info/a call yet, you should in the next few days.

Yes--Emma is new this year, and she is beyond fantastic. I'm in her seminar right now, and honestly it's the best I've been in. You'd be hard pressed to find someone as smart, generous, and enthusiastic as her. She also does a lot with queer studies--not sure if that's clear from her bio. Jennifer Doyle does 19th C American too--I don't know if that's as clear in her bio or work either, because she does a lot more with performance art and contemporary art, but she began as a 19th c Am scholar and still works with it a lot. She's my advisor, and also a fantastic person to work with. Yep--that's my problem right now, too many choices!

Very excited to see this array of interests--I can easily see so many connections with our department and how you all could fit right in! @allpaid - Funding is guaranteed for 4 years for students with the MA or 5 years for students with the BA. The goal is that students will supplement with a fellowship in the final year, but to my knowledge no student has ever not gotten funding (whether TAship or Fellowship) for the 5th/6th year. @allpaid and 1Q84 - you are certainly right. Especially with the addition of some of our newer faculty -- Fred Moten, David Lloyd, Emma Stapely, Stephen Sohn -- our department is very interested in cultural studies and all of those methodologies you mentioned. @radcafe - it will be great to have another poetry person! My chair is Jennifer Doyle, and I work with Virginia Jackson at UC Irvine. I'm currently working out whether I'll be working with Steve Axelrod, Fred Moten, or Emma Stapely, depending upon where my project goes. All are great. GSEA does a lot--we help with new admit orientation, the open house, new student mentoring, but also put on social events, give travel grants, and generally advocate grad student concerns to the faculty/administration. The grad community here is very social. Our department tends to not have the hyper focus on competition that you might find some places. There tends to be a general interest in each other's work and support for each other personally and professionally. Let me know if there are more specific questions or feel free to PM me.

No! We're still working on these things, so I'm sure you'll hear about it very soon. I'm sure Prof. Brayman Hackel will be in touch as soon as a few more details get worked out.

Yes, open house should be paid for, so no money shouldn't be an issue for that. We're still working out the final details though, so I'm sure you'll hear more soon!

I think there may be an automatic thing that Grad Division sends out upon approval. I know Heidi Brayman Hackel is working on notifications, so you should receive a call soon! (And, side note, excited to see someone working in queer studies! I just started a queer theory reading group this year.)

Hi all, Just wanted to open a post for those accepted to UC Riverside. If you have any questions feel free to post or PM me!

UC Riverside should definitely be a consideration--we're pretty well ranked, but less talked about than other UCs. That said, we've had some huge hires in the past few years--Fred Moten, David Lloyd, Sherryl Vint--and an increasingly competitive applicant pool. One thing to keep in mind is that UC students can take a limited number of grad seminars for degree credit at other local UCs for free--so it does encourage cross-campus work and can really help diversify committees and experience.

UC Riverside tries to notify by mid-February

I don't to to UCI but I work with Virginia Jackson and have taken a few classes there. My impression is it's doing fine--nothing to keep you from applying. And, Virginia is an amazing person to work with. Highest recommendation.

A huge yes! I was in a similar situation, and I've taken classes with/still work a ton with that professor, even though I don't go to that school. It's always a fantastic resource to have.

I think that's a decent area, but I'm not positive. I would suggest e-mailing Brittany, she knows a lot about neighborhoods and places to avoid. PM me if you need details, but she should be on Tina's email list.

@Minda, I know several students who don't have a car. It's completely doable, but can be difficult if you like going places beyond the everyday. @ Nords, Unfortunately, campus is probably pretty dead right now, since it's finals week...

I hope everything went well for you all--it was a lot of fun getting to meet you all. (Aspire--sorry I didn't get to meet you in person!) Feel free to post here or message me if you have any questions--I know it's the difficult decision time and there's lots of decompressing to do.

Haha, no problem. I honestly haven't felt any of earthquakes in the past couple years for various reasons (driving, washing the car, etc.). Typically, they are very mild--you might hear the windows shake a bit etc, and feel a little something. There are bigger ones, but there haven't been any serious ones in quite a while (I don't recall anything major in the last 10 years...) but, of course they do happen. They aren't as regular as hurricanes and tornados, but most aren't a big deal or that noticeable.

I can't say much in terms of safeness--I think it's probably on par with Riverside, although I've never had a great impression of it (again, it's important to remember that Riverside is very large, so it's really impractical to think of a "general" safeness), but one deterrent might be that the commute to/from Corona is the 91, which is very much the least desirable of the freeways in and out of Riverside.

As for parking, it's actually shockingly reasonable compared to other UC campuses. It's about $37 per month or $99 per quarter for the general pass, and the blue pass (which is much closer and without the bass , but has a waiting list of about 3-6 months) is about $40 per month more, so $120 per quarter. I believe it's around $300 per year, then for parking, or about $360 for better parking. There is an option, once on TAship to have it taken out of your salary monthly as well. There is free transpiration from a number of local areas, particularly around canyon crest if you wanted to do that, or I believe they offer a special program for students who walk/ride bicycles to school that gives you a number of free "rainy day" passes too. I don't know much about the campus family housing, but the little I've heard is that it is nice, but not in a good area. I would definitely look into it more, but I don't actually know any grad students who live in campus housing, if that says something. In terms of finding a house to rent, I wouldn't get too attached to finding one right away. A friend of mine joined the program last year and bought a house, but the housing market is strong right now, and both houses for sale and for rent have been turning around in a matter of days, so that would probably need to be something closer to the time--but complexes of condos or townhouses would probably be good to look at sooner. I think there is a part of one of the days that explores some nearby areas, but I'm sure a couple of other grads would be happy to help guide you to areas a bit better (since I don't live in Riverside, I'm not the best authority). But, if you want to e-mail me I can put you in touch with somebody, or Prof. Brayman Hackel probably can as well, or at open house I'm sure there will be a good amount of discussion on this. I am surprised about the lack of responsiveness there too, I wonder if it could be an e-mail thing...perhaps calling might be more affective?

@perpetual - public transportation isn't bad--but there are many shopping centers with a variety of stores and restaurants close by. @arober - Yes, the first 1/3 of the stipend comes the first official day of the quarter (which is usually the last week of September). It can be a painful wait.

Looking forward to seeing everyone next week!

Hm. There isn't a mall near campus... There is a shopping center at Canyon Crest, but it has a grocery store, half a dozen restaurants (a very popular/hip sandwich shop, a tapas restaurant, a taco shop, etc) and things like that. There are bars, restaurants, and some more night-life things "downtown" which is about 2-3 miles from campus/canyon crest. Realistically, you can live there without a car, but it could get a bit frustrating. There are a decent number of things that are biking distance though. I do know grad students who don't have cars, the usual work around is getting close to people who do have cars.

Yep! I will definitely be at open house in some capacity--and for sure at the grad student dinner on night 2.

Feel free!

I have to take some issue with certain things that have been said here. First, in relation to Riverside being dangerous: it's a huge place, there are some horrible parts, and there are some beautiful parts. It's impossible to make blanket statements, and different areas are practically different cities. The area around the university (canyon crest) is generally very safe and would be a good place to live. I can't speak to schools, but we can certainly get you in touch with a grad student with children if you would like to ask questions. Though, if you are willing to commute 15 minutes, Redlands has some very well ranked schools and a very, very good private school. In terms of commuting: I've commuted in the area for 6 years. I've been late to a class once. It's not an issue. Traffic can be bad at peak rush hour if you're commuting to/from LA, and is generally pretty bad on the 91 after 3, but other than that it's very manageable and never that bad. I come from a similar direction as Lake Elsinore, and you won't have much problem at all.