Welcome new grad students!
Congratulations on your admission to the University of Wisconsin–Madison! The Graduate School offers support and resources to help you transition to life as a graduate student.
Welcome Messages
Starting in May, newly admitted graduate students receive a series of emails from the Graduate School. View the May welcome message. | View the June welcome message.
Find a place to live
The University Apartments community serves UW–Madison graduate students, students with families, postdoctoral researchers, academic staff, and faculty. More information on housing in Madison is available in Graduate Student Life’s housing section.
Explore your new community
Find the vibrant student life in Madison!
Find funding
The Office of Fellowships and Funding Resources is the place to start when looking for graduate assistantships or fellowship funding for your graduate education. The Office of Student Financial Aid can also help.
Utilize Professional Development
It’s never too early to start planning your path to success! Check out the Office of Professional Development’s online resources and mark your calendars for workshops.
Watch for GradConnections Weekly
This weekly e-newsletter is a valuable source for information related to fellowships/funding, professional development workshops and events, academic deadlines and other timely information of interest to graduate students. New students for fall begin receiving GradConnections Weekly in September.
Graduate Student Life
Graduate Student Life is a valuable resource throughout your time at UW–Madison. Find information on housing, transportation, what to do on a night out, and tips for staying healthy.
Get the App
Graduate Student Life is also available through our Guidebook mobile app. Download the app to have it handy, plus get access to an interactive checklist for new students.
Fall Update: UW–Madison plans to hold most fall semester courses in-person
UW–Madison plans to begin fall classes as scheduled on Sept. 2 and offer in-person instruction in many courses until the Thanksgiving recess. After Thanksgiving, most undergraduate and course-based master’s classes will switch to a virtual format for courses for the final nine days of instruction plus exams. Research-based master’s and PhD degree students, as well as graduate assistants, should consult their faculty advisors and supervisors for additional guidance.
The course array and the modality of instruction will be determined by departments, working with the deans of their respective school or college. This will include course instruction plans for students not able to return to the U.S. for in-person instruction. While we hope that most students will be in Madison, we recognize that some may not be able to attend in person. We are making plans for those students as well as our on-campus students.
The health and safety of the campus community is a top priority, and many modifications will be in place based on public health guidance. The Smart Restart plan outlines the university’s approach to instruction, health and safety, and more. As more details are available, they will be communicated on a regular basis.
For more information:
- Read the full announcement about fall semester operations.
- See FAQs for admitted graduate students.
- See FAQs for international students.
New Graduate Student Checklist
To add your own items to this checklist and track your completed tasks, download the Graduate Student Life Guidebook app for new graduate students.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
For All New Graduate Students
- Activate your NetID and set up multi-factor authentication.
- Register for and engage with New Graduate Student Welcome. You’ll receive an official email invitation in July to register for this special event for new graduate students.
- Connect with your program, meet your graduate coordinator and faculty advisor, and plan to participate in program orientation activities.
- Submit your final official transcript showing your posted degree and conferral date to transcripts@grad.wisc.edu. Transcripts need to be submitted directly by the institution. If your institution does not offer electronic transcripts please send them to the address listed below.
Graduate Admissions
University of Wisconsin – Madison
232 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706 USA- If your institution is currently closed and you cannot get your official transcript, you can have them sent to the Graduate School Office of Admissions once your institution opens.
- Enroll in classes (New grad student enrollment for fall 2020 opens June 22).
- Use (or forward) your WiscMail account, the university’s official method of correspondence.
- Pay your tuition and segregated fees (even if you have tuition remission, you usually still have to pay segregated fees). Find tuition rates here.
- Students with graduate assistantships (TAs, PAs, RAs, and LSAs) have three months of paychecks each semester to pay segregated fees. See the Bursar’s Office policy for more information.
- If you have a need related to a disability, contact the McBurney Disability Resource Center.
- Fill out the Immunization and Health History Form
- Get your Wiscard (campus ID card). Note: You must register for classes before you can get your Wiscard.
- Update your mailing address and phone number in MyUW.
- Pick up your free Madison Metro bus pass during Welcome Week.
- Complete the online sexual violence prevention program. Newly admitted graduate students will receive an email from University Health Services with instructions on accessing the online program, Violence Prevention for Graduate and Professional Students, closer to the start of the semester. This program is required for all new graduate students.
For International Graduate Students
- Check in with International Student Services (ISS) within 1-2 days of your arrival.
- If you are employed and on a J-1 or F-1 visa, apply for a social security number.
- If you are required to take the English as a Second Language Assessment Test (ESLAT) as a condition of your admission, do so immediately upon arrival.
- If you have questions related to your immigration record as impacted by the pandemic, please review these ISS FAQs for international students.
For Graduate Students with Funding
- If you received federal or state financial aid, update your mailing address in My UW and contact the Office of Student Financial Aid with questions.
- If you are a TA, PA, RA, Fellow, or Trainee learn about benefit plans you are eligible for from the Office of Human Resources.
Additional Resources
New Graduate Student Welcome 2020
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Online
The Graduate School invites all newly admitted graduate students to participate in the fall New Graduate Student Welcome event each year.
This year’s virtual Welcome is an opportunity to hear from the Graduate School and campus leaders, get advice from a panel of current students about grad student life, learn about the many campus and community resources available to you, and connect with other new graduate students from across campus. New students will receive an official invitation to New Graduate Student Welcome in July.
2020 Welcome Sessions (Tentative)
Below are session description for the fall 2020 New Graduate Student Welcome, which include a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activities. Finalized session information will be updated with the final schedule in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Welcome Remarks
Campus leadership will welcome graduate students to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
- Dean of the Graduate School William J. Karpus
- Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs John Karl Scholz
- Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor
- Interim Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer Cheryl Gittens
Resource Fair
Learn about the campus and community services that are available to help graduate students succeed at UW–Madison.
Graduate Student Panels: Question & Answer Session
A panel of seasoned graduate students will answer the large and small questions you have about everything from what can make your graduate student life easier and less stressful to establishing and maintaining relationships with faculty and staff in your program.
Fellows Information Session (Tentative)
This session is specifically designed for new graduate students who have fellowships in the 2020-2021 academic year. Information will be provided about the rights and responsibilities you have as fellows. Topics will include: your pay schedule, tuition and seg fees, health insurance eligibility, full-time study and satisfactory progress, income tax issues, concurrent appointments, and funding beyond the fellowship years, and more.
Graduate Student Welcome Week
Each fall the Graduate School offers a line-up of events during the week before classes begin to welcome and help acclimate new graduate students to campus and to welcome back current graduate students.
Check out the fall 2020 lineup of events, which will be offered online. Event times and registration information will be available closer to Welcome Week.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
How to Develop a Mentor Network for Academic and Career Success
In this live webinar for graduate students, Fatimah Williams, founder and CEO of Beyond the Tenure Track will help graduate students discover how to build meaningful, robust relationships with a diverse network of mentors and how to draw on mentorship to achieve academic and career goals. Attendees will leave the workshop better able to identify potential mentors from the university and beyond, confidently build meaningful relationships with career advocates, and develop a professional presence.
Learning objectives:
- prioritize responsibilities so that productivity is not sacrificed
- understand the presenter’s 7 Domains of Professional Development: Academic, Network, Leadership, Career, Funding, Personal, and Well-Being
- develop strategies to enjoy yourself while working toward goals
Flourishing in Graduate School: How to Manage Stress and Maintain Your Mental Health
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
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.
Cool Tools: Apps and More to Increase Productivity
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 hands-on workshop, presented by 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.
Recognizing and Reducing Implicit Bias
Building cultural competence is critically important for graduate students and professionals across all disciplines. This interactive talk introduces graduate students to the concepts of implicit or unconscious biases and assumptions about diverse groups of people by treating the application of such biases as a habit of mind. Students will learn how to uncover their own biases, discover the underlying concepts and language used in the psychological and social psychological literature to describe such processes, and learn evidence-based strategies for reducing the application of these biases as they cultivate relationships with people from different backgrounds, experiences, and cultures.