Twelve new students joined the UCSB Geography Graduate Program this fall quarter, bringing our current total enrollment to 71. Our affiliated Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science inducted two new grads, and we also have one new student from the UCSB-SDSU Joint Doctoral Program. All 15 of the new grads were given a formal welcome and orientation on 24 September, they have since settled into their new offices, and they provided a great excuse for the department to hold its annual fall barbecue on October 5!
In terms of demographics, six of the new Geography grads are domestic and six are international–the latter including two from China and one each from South Korea, Brazil, Peru, and Kenya–and five are female and seven are male. There is an even split between those entering the PhD program and those entering the MA or MA/PhD program.
Check out the Graduate Student bulletin board to put a face to the following names: Jorge (George) Chen, Mingquan Chen, Song Gao, Haline Heidinger, Ted Isbell, Jae-Hyun (Jay) Lee, Jessica Marter-Kenyon, Susan Meerdink, Kevin Mwenda, Taylor Smith, Erin Wetherley, and Marcia Zilli in the Geography Program; Daniel Ellis (no photo to date) and Karly Miller in the Marine Science Program; and Elizabeth Kennedy in the SDSU Joint Doctoral Program. The Department extends a warm welcome to all of you.
