Graduate Funding

Town Hall
January 24, 2020

Agenda
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Introductions (Names, pronouns)
Student Presentation (Christoph, Jonah, Joe)
Vis Arts Department Presentation (Chair Amy Adler)
Input from: EVC Simmons, Dean Antony, Dean
Della Coletta
● Q&A (moderators: Fabiola, Jonah)
Executive
Chancellor
Elizabeth Simmons
● ViceNext
steps
Dean of Graduate Division James Antony
Dean of Division of Arts and Humanities Cristina Della Coletta
Chair of Visual Arts Department Amy Adler
Program Heads Anya Gallaccio (MFA), John Welchman (PhD AP), Kuiyi Shen (PhD)

 Graduate Funding Reality vs. EVC Graduate Funding Reform

* Avg. of 30+ Vis Arts Wi2020 employment offers

** MIT’s living wage calculator; all before taxes

 VisArts acceptance offer letter comparisons

Average Research Stipends Post-Qualifying Awards for VisArts Students 2014-2019

8000 I Accepted 2014
I Accepted 2015
I Accepted 2016
I Accepted 2017
6000 I Accepted 2018
I Accepted 2019

4000

2000

Acceptance Award Letter Commitments (USD)

 

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 Post-Quali?cation

...there has been a 30-50% decline in non-teaching funding support for VisArts PhD
students since 2014

 At UCSD:

50 ≠ 50
The 50% tier rate parameters are far exceeded by the demands of TA workloads,
particularly in the colleges’ writing programs.

 An example...
Mo

Tu

We

Th

Fri

Lecture 1

Section 1

Lecture 2

Section 1

Lecture 3

TA Meeting

Section 2

Office Hour 1

Section 2

Office Hour 2

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The above does NOT include: reading, communication (email, Canvas,
in-person), preparing lessons, any additional meetings, GRADING!
Commute to and work at the college 5 days of the week.
Grading: 60 handwritten essay-exams + 90 essays = ~750 pages

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...in Vis Arts: 50% = 96 students per TA = ~2,400 pages of grading

 UCSD Vis Arts
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teaching ALL the time
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beginning in the first term

teaching mostly outside your
own field (e.g. colleges)
no summer funding
no summer jobs
term-to-term employment
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Other programs

very late offers

very limited travel funds

non-teaching years or terms
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usually no teaching in the first
year and the years immediately
preceding qualification and/or
dissertation

teaching within the field
summer funding and/or jobs
year-round employment
travel stipends part of funding
offer

 The Way Forward
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The biggest problem is overall underfunding of the program

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The EVC memo has created a crisis, but it could give us crucial leverage to
attain equitable funding among all Visual Arts grad students

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It won’t work to meet the EVC mandate of 50% funding for only some
students, it would be a big step forward if we meet it for all of us!

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The 50% mandate is only the minimum support, we need more than that!

 Campus Expansion
*

Plan:

Reality:

in 2018-19 **

* UCSD 2018 Long Range Development Plan, p. 2 ** UCSD IR Student Profile 2018-19

 Costs of grad housing
increase significantly more
than TA salaries.
New housing options are
unaffordable, compare
$652/bedroom at One
Miramar vs. $940/bdr at
Nuevo West.
Other costs of attending
UCSD rise, e.g. parking.
In other words, there is a de
facto decrease in available
student income and UCSD
is cashing in the difference.

 Visual Arts Chair
Amy Adler

Executive Vice Chancellor
Elizabeth Simmons

Dean of Graduate Division
James Soto Antony

Dean of
Div. of Arts Humanities
Cristina Della Coletta