Will Styler's Homepage
Will Styler

Associate Teaching Professor of Linguistics at UC San Diego

Director of UCSD's Computational Social Science Program

Will’s Student Resource Page

This is just a collection of links which folks might find helpful in navigating the challenges of university life.

Resources Will has written

Student Support Resources

San Diego County Resources

Linked below is an incredible set of resources for support groups, emergency services, patient’s rights, public health, food and housing, employment, pest control, child care, reporting, and much more.

Your Dean of Student Affairs

One of your best options when coping with serious life circumstances, whether personal or familial medical issues, personal or familial trauma, legal issues, or other major issues which are impacting your life, is actually to contact your college’s Dean of Student Affairs for help.

Among other forms of support, they can get documentation from you to establish what’s going on, and then send an email to all of your professors which is very non-specific about the exact nature of what’s going on (which helps maintain your privacy), but details the relevant times and dates, and nature of the accommodations which could help you succeed.

As a professor, when I get one of these emails, it’s really easy because I know I don’t need to ‘validate’ anything or pry at all, and instead can just chat with the student and figure out the best accommodations to help them continue learning and participating in the class, and offer them the best chance to move forward effectively. I highly recommend you go through this process if you’re going through a tough situation, as it makes things easier for everybody involved.

To get in touch with your Dean of Student Affairs for your college, you’ll want to visit the campus page describing this process and email your Dean for your college, listed there, directly. Or, if you prefer, you can visit your college’s Student Affairs site at:

Incomplete Grades and Withdrawal

Many students who are struggling to complete work consider the idea of requesting an “I” incomplete grade for the quarter. This is a good resource for some students, can easily get you in over your head.

To be considered for an incomplete in my classes…

Thus, an incomplete requires considerable work and effort on your part, and requires you to mind the deadlines and complete the work. It’s perfect for students who’ve been doing great, but have some major difficulty which prevents them from taking the final or submitting the project.

If you’re having a rough quarter with serious good-cause issues leaving you unable to perform as you’d like, and you’ve already missed the drop deadline, you should look into retroactive withdrawal with your academic advisors and Dean of Students.

Community Centers

UCSD hosts community centers which offer specialized services, support, and community for many different groups of students.

See this complete listing of Student Support Resources and Centers, as well as the Student Veterans Resource Center which is, oddly, not listed there.

Academic Resources

Technical Resources