New and returning students alike are invited to attend the Graduate School’s Welcome Week events, happening August 30 through September 3. Welcome Week events focus on skills that students can use to be more effective in their academic and professional careers such as communications, time management, stress reduction, productivity tools, and strategies to minimize the role of implicit bias in microaggressions.
Most Welcome Week events are planned to happen in person. Students should bring their Wiscards to check in and a mask to wear while inside campus buildings. As of now, in-person Welcome Week events are going ahead as planned, with the understanding that whether and how the event takes place will be dependent on public health guidance and campus requirements in place at the time. You’ll receive information via email if plans change for events for which you are registered.
Welcome Week 2021 Events
Click on each event’s title for more information and to register. Registration is required.
Communicating Effectively for Grad School Success (Waitlisted)
Monday, Aug 30 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm | 1310 Sterling Hall
95% of alumni report that the ability to communicate effectively is amongst their most valuable skills not only in graduate school but beyond as they progress through their professional careers. Whether you’re just starting your graduate program or continuing it, this talk by Dr. Shalini Nag will give you practical tips you can begin to apply from Day 1. We will discuss the 5 types of professional relationships you need for grad school success and share in-person and virtual communication tips that will enable you to initiate, nurture, and manage those relationships effectively.
Enhancing your Graduate Degree with a Certificate
Monday, Aug. 30 | 2 pm | Online
What are graduate certificates, and how can they add value to your graduate degree? In this virtual session, faculty and staff representing several graduate certificate programs (and their equivalent doctoral minors) discuss the multiple benefits that these programs provide to graduate students across campus—including fulfilling breadth requirements, expanding interdisciplinary knowledge, mastering new skills, creating community and networking opportunities, and building cultural competence. Attendees will also have the opportunity to speak with each certificate representative in smaller groups.
Flourishing in Graduate School: How to Manage Stress and Maintain Your Mental Health (Waitlisted)
Tuesday, Aug 31 | 1 – 2:30 pm | Union South (Check TITU)
Want to make graduate school a time to thrive and not just survive? This workshop will focus on promotion of psychological well-being in graduate school. Topics covered will arm graduate students with strategies to thrive through the challenges of graduate school, including managing the transition/adjustment process, coping with stress, promoting work/life balance, and establishing habits to maintain or improve mental health.
Time Management for Graduate Students
Tuesday, Aug 31 | 3 – 4:30 pm | 1310 Sterling Hall
In this interactive workshop, you will learn tips and techniques for staying on track and managing your time. We’ll cover goal-setting, minimizing distractions and staying focused, and overcoming some of the most common challenges to staying on task. Participants will leave with strategies that they can apply immediately. The strategies we’ll cover are appropriate for students in any discipline.
Understanding and Minimizing the Role of Implicit Bias in Microaggressions
Thursday, Sept 2 | noon – 1:15 pm | Union South (TITU)
As we strive to foster a welcoming and inclusive campus, it is critically important for graduate students and professionals across all disciplines to understand how implicit or unconscious bias can influence our interactions with a diverse array of people. More importantly, it is essential that we develop and consciously practice evidence-based strategies for reducing the application of these biases as we cultivate relationships with people from different backgrounds, experiences, and cultures. This interactive talk introduces graduate students to the underlying concepts and language used in the psychological and social psychological literature to describe implicit or unconscious biases, describes how these processes function as habits of mind, and focuses on how they influence our interactions and can lead to microaggressions. Students will learn effective strategies for minimizing the application of implicit bias and for addressing microaggressions when they commit, witness, or experience them.
Cool Tools: Apps and More to Increase Productivity
Thursday, Sept 2 | 3 – 4:30 pm | 1310 Sterling Hall
Prepare to maximize your time and energy this semester by taking advantage of software available to UW–Madison graduate students that can help streamline your workflow. This workshop, presented by Pete Valeo from Software Training for Students (STS), will introduce you to both basic and advanced software tools, including cloud storage services, notetaking apps, mobile scanners, research tools, tasks managers, password managers, lifestyle apps, and more.
Financial Aid Session for Graduate Students
Friday, Sept 3 | 11 am – noon| Union South (TITU) *New location: Online via Zoom
This session will include information on financial aid application process and available funding sources for graduate students.
Successful Online Learning
Self-paced | Enroll at any time
Explore strategies to prepare to learn remotely, engage in your courses, and maximize your time. This module, from the Graduate School, is for grad students taking their first online course or those looking for some new resources on online learning. Enroll in the Successful Online Learning Canvas course at any time.