Department of Geography Admissions Information Session

Wednesday, November 8th at 9:00 AM PST on Zoom

  • Find out more about our doctoral program In Geography!
  • Bring your questions about the application process
  • Meet several faculty from our program
  • Meet our GAMA program team!

How to Apply

Academic Preparation

Undergraduate preparation in mathematics, statistics, and computer programming is strongly recommended. An undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.25 or higher is required. A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is required for admission to any graduate program at UCSB. A Master's degree is required to enter the Ph.D. program. All applicants must fulfill the general requirements for admission to graduate status at UCSB. Applicants should specify their general areas of interests and faculty member interest within their application. 

GRE scores are not required.

Degree Offerings

Master of Arts (MA), Master of Arts/Doctor of Philosophy (MA/PhD), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Review Faculty Profiles and Research

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact individual faculty members whose research interests align with their own early in the application process and to list potential advisors on their applications. It is very important to indicate in your Statement of Purpose which faculty member(s) you are interested in working with and to be specific about which research areas you are interested in.

 Application Deadline

December 1st

 Contact

Student Programs Manager
Graduate Program Advisor

Graduate Application Materials Assistance (GAMA) Program

The Graduate Application Materials Assistance (GAMA) Program aims to provide
prospective students assistance with the application materials required to apply to the
UCSB Geography graduate program. GAMA is an entirely student-led program and is
specifically designed to provide feedback on the Statement of Purpose and the
Personal Achievements / Contributions Statement. GAMA intends to provide feedback
to students from historically underrepresented groups in higher education. We strongly
encourage students from diverse backgrounds to apply to the program. This includes
but is not limited to individuals who identify as first-generation college students, BIPOC,
LGBTQ+, international students, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from
low-income backgrounds.

Participating in GAMA is an entirely voluntary process and is separate from the official
admissions process. GAMA does not guarantee or increase the applicant’s chances of
being admitted to the UCSB Geography graduate program. Due to the high volume of
application materials to review, we can guarantee only one round of meaningful
feedback.

Before sending your application materials

We strongly recommend reviewing the guidelines for the Statement of Purpose and
Personal Achievements/ Contributions Statement
to maximize the benefits of this
program. Applicants are advised to read all the fields in the Google form carefully.

If you have any questions regarding the program or application process, please contact
contact the GAMA team:

Pratyush Tripathy (ptripathy@ucsb.edu)
Brianna Chan (briannachan@ucsb.edu)
Esau Casimiro Vieyra (ecasimirovieyra@ucsb.edu)
Zhongqi Zheng (zhongqizheng@ucsb.edu)