DESIGNATED EMPHASIS
The Global Metropolitan Studies Initiative is pleased to launch a new Designated Emphasis for doctoral students. The Designated Emphasis will function as an adjunct to existing PhD programs and will be administered by the GMS core faculty organized as a Graduate Group.
The objective of the Designated Emphasis is to encourage and support multidisciplinary doctoral-level education and research on global metropolitan issues. Multidisciplinary training will be provided through three core courses and a wide range of course offerings by affiliated faculty, as well as through participation in seminars and conferences organized by GMS.
The Designated Emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies is for selected UC Berkeley Ph.D. students with interest in metropolitan and regional issues. Students may come from any discipline across campus.
The "Designated Emphasis" is a campus-wide system that provides students with certification in specialties outside their home discipline, to be added to their doctorates.
The Designated Emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies offers two concentrations:
- Comparative Urban Studies
- Infrastructure and Environment
Students in the Designated Emphasis program must complete two required courses and three electives for the track they have chosen.
In addition, a core faculty member of the Global Metropolitan Studies graduate group must serve on the Qualifying Examination committee and on the Dissertation Committee.
Applicants must already be enrolled or accepted into an existing Ph.D. program at Berkeley (master’s students and students at other institutions are not eligible). Students should apply at least two semesters before the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. (This limitation will be waived in 2009-10)
Interested students must apply for the Designated Emphasis. They are selected on the basis of academic qualifications, appropriateness of their interests to the program's teaching resources, and the enrollment capacity of the required courses.
Admission to the GMS Designated Emphasis is determined by the GMS Admissions Committee on a rolling basis throughout the academic year.
Application for the GMS DE (rolling admissions) (PDF | 122 KB)
Retroactive Petition for Admission into the GMS DE (PDF | 187 KB) – Deadline: December 18, 2009
(for students who have advanced to candidacy or plan to take their Orals during spring or fall 2010)
If a student enrolls in a designated emphasis, no adjustments will be made to the Normative Time of the student’s major PhD program.
The student’s Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Committee must include at least one member of the Global Metropolitan Studies Graduate Group core faculty, who will evaluate the student’s knowledge related to the Designated Emphasis.
The student’s dissertation topic must be related to Global Metropolitan Studies and the Dissertation Committee must include at least one member of the GMS Graduate Group core faculty who can evaluate the dissertation from that perspective.
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