Getting Started
PHD CENTRAL
WELCOME.
WE'RE EXCITED TO WORK WITH YOU!
REGISTRATION CHECKLIST
After receiving your acceptance letter, you will pay a commitment deposit to accept your place in the program or on the waiting list if necessary. The due date for your deposit is listed in your acceptance letter. By June 1: submit a Registration Form, which includes information for your student profile, a Creative Research Journal URL, and tuition payment options.
Note: We consolidate all the start up paperwork in one registration form which contains several sub-forms. It will take approximately 1-2 hours to complete. Please take a moment to review the sections ahead of time in case you need to gather information in advance.
STUDENT ID & LIBRARY
You will receive your student card and library credentials at the first residency or by post if attending virtually.
PASSWORD
The universal website password for the year is “TTSF25”. Please note: this universal password changes every year, adding the current year at the end. If you wish to password-protect your Creative Research Journal posts, you will also use this password and update it each new year.
ADVISEMENT
Once you have made your commitment deposit, you will meet with the Director contact to begin the process of selecting your advisors. Once your team is established you will each complete the Advisory Team Agreement here.
PEERS
We’ll send an introductory email so that you can connect with your peers ahead of the fall residency. You will automatically be enrolled in a cluster with your year's class for monthly meetings.
CREATIVE RESEARCH JOURNAL
We ask you to create and maintain a monthly Creative Research Journal to document your ideas, processes, and the progress of your research, and to respond to critique in order to reflect, articulate, and digest each interaction. Find guidelines and more information in PhD Central.
PRE-SESSIONS
Ahead of upcoming Intensive and residency sessions, please be sure to review the syllabi for the workshops and get started on the required reading. You will find course syllabi under Intensives in the menu bar. Reading diaries are mandatory for required readings. Find guides in PhD Central.
SUGGESTED READINGS
As you prepare to begin your studies this fall, have a look at our suggested reading list, another post in PhD Central. You will find various resources to read, watch, and listen to. Make a start on whatever readings feel fruitful, exciting or potentially useful to you.
UPCOMING RESIDENCIES
Our Fall 2025 residencies will take place in San Francisco and optional New York in September and October respectively with the option to participate in a residency in optional Queensland in December. We will hold our July residency hosted by Liverpool John Moores University. You can find more information under Intensives in the menu bar. We hope to see you everywhere!
DIGEST
Each month, you will receive a program Digest via email. Keep a lookout in your inbox for information on upcoming activities, announcements, deadlines, and opportunities. It is essential you read this one email every month as we consolidate all the Institute's communications in this single email. You can always find an archive of past Digests in TT Central. Please add news@tt-sf.org to your address book to ensure you receive these important emails.
TIME ZONES
The Institute uses UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) to coordinate sessions and meetings across our global community. To convert UTC to your local time zone, use a Time Zone Calculator. We also recommend downloading an app such as The Clock.
CONFIDENTIAL ISSUES:
If you have any issue of a personal nature, which does not concern the group and therefore is not relevant to the collegium process, please submit a TT Issues form here or reach out to Chella Leigh or Ren Britton, or ask any staff member you are comfortable with to forward your issue to someone who can help.