Computer Accounts and Resources

You can set these up about a week after admission:

• You will get a PID (Personal IDentification number) in the format A12345678. Please check the application portal for it about 3-7 days after you accept admission. After you have your PID, set up a password for it here.
• Set up your UCSD email and Active Directory (AD) accounts. Many campus websites and services (WiFi, VPN, WebReg course registration, etc.) use a "Single Sign On" (SSO) login screen with your AD credentials.
• Set up DUO (two-step login). When logging into a UCSD system with a username + password, you will periodically need to authenticate with a second method, such as the DUO app on your phone (or other options DUO provides).
• More info on campus-wide student accounts.
   

Campus computer and network access:

• Student Account Lookup: Shows ITS-managed accounts, servers, and computer labs you can access.
• On-campus wireless overview: Set up your devices to access campus WiFi.
• UCSD VPN: Off-campus access to the UCSD network. Changes are expected Summer 2025.
• For more information, see Network Services and Network Connections.
   

Some campus-wide tools you'll need:

• My TritonLink: Tools: List of campus-wide online tools
• UCSD Zoom account: Video conferencing. User guide.
• Canvas (canvas.ucsd.edu) for many course websites
• UC Library Search / OpenAthens: Access journals and other content requiring the UCSD Library subscription. (OpenAthens is now preferred over the VPN for accessing library content.)
• Course planning and registration (campus-wide page, BISB page): Schedule of classes, WebReg (for course registration), EASy (for add/drop petitions).

Your official UCSD email address on @ucsd.edu:

• You are responsible for checking your @ucsd.edu email on a timely basis. Most emails from UCSD administrative offices, course instructors and TAs, etc. are sent to your @ucsd.edu address.
• BISB students' @ucsd.edu accounts are Google Workspace accounts with Gmail, Google Docs, etc. See UCSD's Google Workspace FAQ for a comparison with regular Gmail accounts.
• While much of campus is on @ucsd.edu Google accounts, it varies by department and by when someone joined UCSD. The School of Medicine uses another system, and their @ucsd.edu addresses may not be Google accounts.
   

Spam folder on UCSD accounts:

• If you need to look for messages mistakenly marked as spam, there are two separate spam systems to check.
• UCSD uses ProofPoint to screen messages before they even reach your Gmail account! You'll receive alerts about them as emails from "UCSD Spam Quarantine" with a subject line like "End User Digest: 2 New Messages".
• Gmail has a separate Spam folder. In the list of folders/labels (Inbox, Starred, Snoozed,...): scroll to the bottom, select "More", and then "Spam".

• Labs: You may be issued additional computer accounts for the lab or department in which you do your rotations and thesis research.
• Campus licensed software: See here.
• Calendar: Please regularly check the UCSD Graduate Bioinformatics Program calendar for seminar schedules and other items concerning the program. You can add it to your Google account by clicking on the "+ Google Calendar" link in the lower left corner.
• Facebook: UCSD Bioinformatics and Systems Biology.