New Grads: As Soon As You Arrive
Cal 1 Card Photo ID
Your Cal 1 Card Photo ID is also your proximity card and card key for Cory and Soda Hall. To obtain your Cal 1 Card, go to the Cal 1 Card Office at 212 Sproul Hall. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:30pm. You will need to bring your Student ID number and a valid picture ID, such as a passport or driver’s license.
EECS Computer & Email Accounts
Your EECS computer and email account can be activated after August 15. It cannot be activated prior to this and cannot be activated remotely. After August 15, please go to the EECS Helpdesk in 395 Cory Hall to activate your EECS account. Your EECS account will be the primary method of communication for Department business. UC Berkeley policy states that students are responsible for keeping their address current and for regularly monitoring their email for official communications from the University (see email policy).
The EECS Department will hold a mandatory IT orientation as a part of the EECS Graduate Student Orientation in August. You must attend this orientation if you are receiving a Department laptop. During the orientation we will present pertinent information about EECS and UC Berkeley computing services as well guidelines and policies. Successful completion of this orientation is mandatory to obtain your laptop and activate it on our network. Please make every effort to attend. If you cannot attend please inform the EECS Help Desk at help@eecs.berkeley.edu.
International Students
Berkeley International Office (BIO) provides a series of online courses that are designed to inform international students of essential resources and responsibilities at UC Berkeley. All new international students receive an email invitation through their campus email to the iStart 101 Course. After receiving the invitation, you can access the iStart 101 Course through your CalCentral dashboard under “My Classes” or by logging into bCourses. If you are having issues with this or have questions, please contact the Berkeley International Office (BIO). This is a required part of arrival document check.
New international students must also submit an arrival confirmation and should plan to attend the New International Student Orientation for graduate students.
WarnMe
Create a WarnMeaccount. WarnMe is UC Berkeley’s alerting and warning service for students, staff, and faculty. The service will alert you through either phone, text message, or email if there is an immediate threat to safety or health affecting the campus community. By default WarnMe will send a message to your official email address in the CalNet directory (typically your @berkeley.edu address). To receive emergency warnings via any other method, such as by text or phone, you must click the “Update your contact information” on the right side of the WarnMe page. Please visit warnme.berkeley.edu for more information.
WarnMe is part of the campus’s emergency communications system. In all emergencies, natural disasters and other crises, information will be posted on Berkeley’s home page and on the backup off-site emergency website at emergency.berkeley.edu. It will also be recorded on the off-site, toll-free emergency number (1-800-705-9998) and the campus radio station KALX 90.7 FM (kalx.berkeley.edu), and it will be posted to Twitter @UCBerkeley and to UC Berkeley’s Facebook.
Advising
You should arrange to meet your assigned faculty advisor(s) soon after you arrive. See the Faculty contact information. Before you see your advisor, plan a tentative course schedule for fall by consulting either the Class Schedule in the Berkeley Academic Guide or the EE and CS Class Schedules. For additional advising resources, you may also consult the appropriate staff advisor:
- EE MS/PhD and PhD advising: grad-assts@eecs.berkeley.edu
- CS MS/PhD and PhD advising: Jean Nguyen
- EE and CS MS, MEng, MAS-IC, & 5th-Year MS advising: Michael Sun
Lab Safety Training
All EE graduate students, including Master of Engineering students, must take Lab Safety Training. To take the online training please follow the instructions below:
- Log in with your CalNet ID and passphrase to the UC Learning Center. (You can also access the link through the EH&S Training page by selecting “UC Learning Center” under “Other Resources.”)
- Using the search feature, look up the following courses: EHS 101 UC Fundamentals of Laboratory Safety, EHS 201 Biosafety in Laboratories, EHS 301 Laser Safety, EHS 401 Radiation Safety Training for Users of Radioactive Materials, etc.
- Register for the courses and take the training. Remove any pop-up blockers.
- If you are having technical difficulties, you can contact the UC Learning Center at learningcenter@berkeley.edu.
- For questions regarding the training, contact the EH&S Training at ehs@berkeley.edu.