UCSD Sucks!

The last university I really attended was the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). It was the third graduate school I had attended. In short, they were jerks. Because of my bipolar disorder, my grades suffered terribly in graduate school. At UCSD, I was hospitalized twice for psychiatric reasons. The first time was so long that I had to take a medical leave of absence.

The Department of Physics, my department, knew about my condition. Yet, for the most part they refused to grant me any accomodations for my illness. On 9/11, I took the written Ph.D. qualifying examination. I'll give the department credit for granting me special testing conditions: my own testing room and unlimited time. In the end, they would prove useless.

I passed the Ph.D. qualifying examination at the level of Master of Science. In addition, I passed all the core M.S. coursework in addition to passing the qualifying exam at the M.S. level. I qualified therefore for a Master of Science degree in physics.

However, I had a 2.76 grade point average, below the 3.0 GPA required by the Graduate Division of UCSD. UCSD informed me that they denied me the master's degree because my GPA was too low. I appealed the decision to the dean of the Graduate Division on the basis that a grade point average measures one's competence in his field, namely physics in my case. Further, my grades did not reflect my eventual competence I demonstrated by passing the compehensive written Ph.D. qualifying examination that September 2001.

By the rules of the Department of Physics, I had to leave the university with no degree since it was the second time I had not passed the Ph.D. qualifying examination at the level of Doctor of Philosophy. Although I had passed at the M.S. level, I could not take additional coursework to raise my GPA according to the Department of Physics's rules.

I had no recourse except to file a complaint against UCSD with the U.S. Department of Education for violations of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990. My reasoning with the Dept. of Education was that UCSD's refusal to waive the grade point average requirement in light of my passing the extremely difficult qualifying examination constituted discrimination on the basis of disability. The university knew well that my disability contributed to my low GPA and that by passing the qualifying exam, I demonstrated competence in graduate level physics.

The dean of the Graduate Division sent me an acrimonious letter denying me still the master's degree in physics. I did not contest his decision because by then, 2003, I was attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for a master's degree in mathematics (which I never completed either). The Department of Education sent me a letter stating my case had been settled by "internal procedures", namely my not contesting UCSD's decision.

Looking back at it, I should have contested UCSD's decision with the Department of Education. I was in no condition to do so, though. Shortly after entering UNLV, I was hospitalized at Las Vegas Mental Health Center. In the end, I had no master's degree from UCSD nor from UNLV.

Still, UCSD's decision to deny me a master's degree had several consequences for me. I cannot hold a job as a community college instructor. My lack of a master's degree also made me less competitive or outright unqualified for many many other jobs. Also, it will lower my salary for any future jobs I might get, if I can ever get a job in the first place. I did not take UCSD's decision to deny me a master's degree lightly. There are consequences that I feel even today.

UCSD SUCKS!