Student Handbook, 2007-2008 — Page 3
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6. Administrative Information
1. Graduate Student Registration
Registration problems concerning classes should be taken either to the Graduate Assistant in one’s academic department or directly to 120 Sproul Hall. Billing problems should be addressed with the Cashier’s Office in University Hall. Incoming students receive information at their departmental orientation meeting.
2. Financial Aid through the Graduate Departments
Financial aid advising and information is located in 201 Sproul Hall, where different offices on the second floor deal with work-study, financial aid counseling, GSL (Stafford) and NDSL loans, and emergency loans. Applications for University loans are at the Loans and Receivables Office in 192 University Hall. Questions about disbursement of BPS checks may be referred to Kalynn Yastro (bsp@berkeley.edu or 643-6737) at BPS.
3. Fellowship Information
Fellowship information is available year-round at the Graduate Division Fellowship Office in 318 Sproul Hall. The office distributes lists that describe numerous scholarship opportunities and provides application forms for most major fellowships. Various newsletters supply regular information about fellowships, including the ISEEES newsletter. In addition, the BPS Executive Director convenes a meeting in the fall to discuss BPS grants and to give advice on applying for outside funding.
Due to early deadlines for many fellowships, students are urged to begin planning their fellowship applications early in the fall semester. Please note that fellowships are considered taxable income. Because fellowship checks are sent through the mail, we encourage students to sign up for electronic funds transfer (EFT). Applications for EFT are available at Student Accounting, through graduate departments, or at BPS.
4. Research and Teaching Assistantships
Research assistantships are available on a limited basis to students at all levels of graduate study. The best way to find out about them is to speak to a faculty member whose research interests you. The current hourly rate for research assistants is about $15, and few students work more than quarter time (ten hours a week) during the academic year.
Teaching assistantships, administered by departments, are available to those students who have successfully completed their first year of study. Typically, students are sent an application form in the spring of their first year that allows them to name their top three fields of preference. Assignments are then made by the departmental graduate advisor. First preference is given to those students who have not previously held a teaching assistantship and to those not receiving fellowship support.
5. Newspapers and Journals
The BPS reading/conference room, 270 Stephens Hall, carries a variety of area-related academic journals and publications. Graduate students are welcome to borrow the materials for copying after signing them out with the program assistant. Numerous Russian and other FSU and Eastern European language newspapers and journals are carried by the Rosberg Reading Room in Doe Library and by other libraries on campus.
6. The BPS Website
The address of the BPS website is http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~bsp/.
Our website provides a program description, the student handbook, and
BPS working papers. It also provides links to
(1) our graduate student webpages. See page 10 for more information.
(2) our Caucasus program web page which includes a program description, issues of the Caucasus newsletter, a bibliography of works on the Caucasus, and links to other web sites on the Caucasus (http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~bsp/caucasus/index.html)
(3) the ISEEES web page with general program information as well as outreach activities, providing links to past conferences (http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~iseees)
(4) the UC Berkeley Library’s Slavic and East European Collections
web page which describes the Slavic Collections, gives information on
conducting research on campus, and provides links to Slavic and East European
resources worldwide (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/slavic/)
7. Libraries
The Slavic Collections at UC Berkeley are housed primarily in Doe, the main library. Doe stacks are open to faculty and graduate students with library cards. FBIS reports are kept on CD-ROM in the government documents room. Current periodicals may be found in the first floor periodical room, while back issues are kept in the fourth floor newspaper and microfilm room. The newspaper and microfilm room also houses the Letopis’ gazetnykh statei and has a listing of newspapers which is indexed by country. Dr. Allan Urbanic is in charge of development of the Slavic collection at UC Berkeley and is of great help in locating Russian source material.
BPS students may also be interested in taking advantage of the libraries at Stanford University. The Hoover Institution Library and Archives has a large and unique collection of Russian and Soviet documents (including the hand-written abdication of Tsar Nicholas II). Hoover is a closed stack library, but the people at the circulation desk are very helpful in locating materials. The main graduate library at Stanford, Green Library, is quiet, well-designed, and comfortable for studying. It duplicates the more standard items of Hoover's Soviet collection. The UC and Stanford library catalogs are now computerized and may be accessed at either campus through the MELVYL system. Classes on how to use the computer catalogs are offered at the library. To use libraries at Stanford, you must first get a special card from the reference desk at Doe.
8. Graduate Student Website
A set of webpages are available for BPS-affiliated graduate students at http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~bsp/forgrads/. They contain notes on field research locations by students, notes on off-campus language programs by students, and the names of scholars from the FSU and ECE who had visiting appointments at Berkeley. These pages are password protected; contact Kalynn Yastro at BPS for access.
For these pages to remain relevant, it is important for students to contribute regularly. Please give updates and/or corrections to BPS and specify that the information is for the website.
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Students may pick up print copies of the Student Handbook at the BPS main office, 262 Stephens Hall.
