The Graduate School is open for remote services only while Bascom Hall is closed to the public due to campus cooling issues. To contact us, please email admissions@grad.wisc.edu (for applicants) or gsacserv@grad.wisc.edu (for current students).
New Students
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 for summer and fall receive a series of emails from the Graduate School. Students admitted for a spring term receive a welcome message in December.
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. Students starting their program in summer and fall begin receiving GradConnections Weekly the first week in September. Students starting their program in spring begin receiving the newsletter in late January.
Get started
Find a place to live
In addition to other housing options around Madison, the University Apartments community serves UW–Madison graduate students, students with families, postdocs, academic staff, and faculty. More information on housing in Madison is available in Graduate Student Life.
Explore your new community
Your research and scholarship are the priority while you’re in graduate school, but for a fuller Wisconsin experience, look beyond your department at all the opportunities campus has to offer.
Find funding
Start with the Graduate School’s funding resources 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 our professional and career development resources and mark your calendars for upcoming events.
Graduate Student Life
This guide is a valuable resource throughout your time at UW–Madison and especially as you become familiar with campus.
Find information on housing, transportation, what to do on a day off or a night out, and tips for staying healthy.
New Graduate Student Checklist
Complete these tasks as you prepare to arrive on campus and start your first semester.
- Activate your NetID.
- Submit your final official transcript showing your posted degree and conferral date to transcripts@grad.wisc.edu.
- Your institution needs to directly submit your transcript.
- If your institution does not offer electronic transcripts, mail them to:
Graduate Admissions
University of Wisconsin – Madison
232 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706 USA
- Connect with your program, meet your graduate coordinator and faculty advisor, and plan to participate in program orientation activities.
- Set up multi-factor authentication.
- Use (or forward) your WiscMail account, the university’s official method of correspondence. Once your WiscMail account is ready in mid- to late June, you can access it through the Email tile in MyUW.
- Enroll in classes. You will receive an email about a week before enrollment opens with the date and time on which you can enroll. New graduate student enrollment for fall 2026 begins on Monday, June 22.
- If you have a need related to a disability, contact the McBurney Disability Resource Center.
- Register for and plan to attend New Graduate Student Welcome. New students received an email invitation to register on July 7.
- Complete your Health Forms and Health History in your MyUHS account. This information is required to use University Health Services (UHS).
- Share your vaccination status for certain diseases. All incoming students must meet this requirement by Friday, August 7.
- Pay your tuition and segregated fees. Even if you have tuition remission, you usually still have to pay segregated fees. See tuition and fee rates.
- Complete the online violence prevention program. You will receive an email from University Health Services on Monday, August 10 with instructions on accessing the program. All incoming graduate students must complete the program by Monday, September 14.
- Update your Profile information, such as your preferred name, phone number, and address if you moved.
- Get your Wiscard, UW–Madison’s campus ID card. You must register for classes before you can get your Wiscard.
- Pick up your student bus pass.
- Check out the Becoming a Global Badger page from International Student Services for steps to prepare for your time as a Badger.
- If you received federal or state financial aid, update your mailing address in any systems listed in Profile and contact the Office of Student Financial Aid with questions.
- If you are a TA, PA, RA, Fellow, or Trainee, learn about the benefit plans you are eligible for from the Office of Human Resources. Generally, you must sign up for benefits within 30 days of the start of a new job appointment.
- If you need to add a spouse or dependent to your benefits, you’ll need to provide a copy of a marriage certificate (for a spouse) or a birth certificate or adoption papers (for a dependent) before your spouse/dependent can be enrolled in benefits.
- If you are a TA, PA, RA, or LSA, familiarize yourself with the Graduate Assistant Payment of Segregated Fees Policy, which gives graduate assistants a deferred due date — the first Friday in December for the fall term and the first Friday in April for the spring term — to pay segregated fees and other fees not covered by tuition remission.
- If you have a disability-related need relevant to your role as a graduate student employee, contact the Divisional Disability Representative for the division in which you are employed.
Additional resources
New Graduate Student Welcome
Save the date
New Graduate Student Welcome is Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
Learn about resources
The New Graduate Student Welcome features a resource fair where students can speak with representatives from many organizations.
Flash Talks
Learn how UW–Madison services support your academic success in graduate school during the Flash Talks.
Attend student panels
A panel of seasoned graduate students answers large and small questions at the New Graduate Student Welcome.
Hear from campus leaders
Campus leaders welcome graduate students to UW–Madison and kick off the New Graduate Student Welcome reception.
Event details
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
11 am – 4:30 pm
Varsity Hall, Union South
The Graduate School invites newly admitted graduate students to participate in the New Graduate Student Welcome event each year.
New Graduate Student 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 meet other new graduate students from across campus.
New graduate students received an invitation to register for this event via email on July 7.
Welcome Sessions
Check-in begins at 10:30 am. To avoid long lines, arrive early.
Varsity Hall I & II
Meet representatives from campus and community services that support graduate students to succeed at UW–Madison. Learn about their resources and pick up some swag on your way through the fair.
The Marquee
Note: Both 35-minute sessions have the same content, so plan to attend either session.
Hear directly from staff about the ways their offices can help you find and apply for funding, use databases and other tools to gather information related to your research, write better and smarter, and develop your professional and career-related plans and skills.
Presenters include:
- Graduate School
- Writing Center
- Libraries
- Grants Information Collection
- Office of Student Assistance and Support
- McBurney Disability Resource Center
- University Health Services Mental Health Services
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.
Choose one of the following panels to attend:
- Master’s Student Panel, The Marquee: For students whose final degree goal is a master’s degree
- STEM Doctoral Student Panel, Varsity Hall III: For students in STEM programs whose final degree goal is a doctoral/PhD degree (even if currently enrolled in a master’s plan)
- Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities Doctoral Student Panel, Northwoods Room: For students in social whose final degree goal is a doctoral/PhD degree (even if currently enrolled in a master’s plan)
Varsity Hall III
Campus leadership will welcome graduate students to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
- Dean of the Graduate School William J. Karpus
- Provost John Zumbrunnen
- Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor
The Welcome Remarks will be followed by a “Meet and Greet” Reception at 3 pm in Varsity Halls I & II. Refreshments will be served.
Logistics
By bus:
- Multiple Madison Metro bus lines run through campus.
- Pick up your free student bus pass starting August 17. Bring your Wiscard or another photo ID.
- Bus Route 80 is free and a great option for students coming from Eagle Heights.
By bike:
- There is ample bike parking.
- Union South has a bike sharing (BCycle) station. Students receive a discounted BCycle membership.
By car:
- There is limited ramp and street parking near Union South, and campus will be busy with undergraduates moving into their dorms.
- Check the interactive parking map for visitor parking locations and availability.
Elevators are located in the center of the building and east side of Union South.
Check-in is located at the top of the stairs, near the central elevator, on the second floor.
Single-stall locking restrooms are located on the third floor of Union South (labeled as Commuter Shower).
Lactation space is available on the second floor of Union South behind the Marquee theater. Call 608-219-4967 to ask a staff member to unlock the room. You can lock the space from the inside.
Wellness and prayer space is available on the third floor of Union South. To access the space, call the posted number and a staff member will unlock it for you.
Quiet space will be available for New Graduate Student Welcome attendees.
Land acknowledgement
The University of Wisconsin–Madison occupies the ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk people. This is a place they have cared for and called Teejop (day-JOPE), or Four Lakes, since time immemorial.
Between 1832 and 1874, the U.S. government forced the Ho-Chunk to cede their lands. The government repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to forcibly remove the Ho-Chunk from Wisconsin.
Today, the Ho-Chunk people remain – here in Madison, here in Wisconsin, and around the world. UW–Madison respects the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation, along with the 11 other First Nations of Wisconsin, and is committed to a shared future of collaboration.
We invite you to explore Our Shared Future and learn about Wisconsin’s First Nations.
Graduate Student Welcome Week
August 24 – 28, 2026
Each fall, the Graduate School offers a lineup of events during the week or so before classes begin to welcome and help acclimate new graduate students to campus and to welcome back current graduate students.
Welcome Week 2026
Registration is required for all events. Stay tuned for event details and registration links in July.
Noon – 1:30 pm
DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building (1st Floor)
Join us for this focused session to refine your approach and build high-value, mutually beneficial relationships with your academic mentors. This interactive workshop includes best practices and a discussion of a real-life case scenario for maximizing your role as a mentee. (Lunch will be provided; vegetarian options available.)
2:30 – 4 pm
DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building (1st Floor)
Graduate school is a high-load, high-demand experience that requires more than academic ability—it calls for mental strength and resilience. This keynote introduces practical tools to help graduate students manage stress, maintain focus, and thrive in challenging environments. The session sets the tone for success by equipping students with proactive mental training and front-end support for the journey ahead.
4 – 6 pm
AT&T Lounge, Pyle Center
Join us for an evening of connection as we welcome graduate students to campus and kick off the Bridge and Build community event series. This program fosters peer networks, supports academic and professional growth, and helps students navigate the graduate experience.
Attendees can meet fellow graduate students, connect with campus partners and leadership, and learn about resources that promote success and belonging. Designed to support students from an array of backgrounds and life experiences, this event invites all graduate students to participate. This event is co-sponsored by the Graduate School and Student Affairs.
10 – 11 am
1310 Sterling Hall
In this interactive workshop, you will learn tips and techniques for staying on track and managing your time. We will 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.
Noon – 1:30 pm
Online
This online session will provide deeper understanding of complex ways ableism has been woven into institutions of higher education and the impacts it can have on graduate students with disabilities. Attendees will hear from representatives with McBurney Disability Resource Center about how to navigate support services available to graduate students in their role as student and in instructor or researcher roles.
Panelists will explore avenues for building a supportive community, including resources for students navigating disability themselves or supporting peers, mentees, and those they teach. The conversation will also address strategies for managing mentoring relationships as a graduate student with a disability, as well as actionable steps to advocate for oneself and others to advance inclusion and equity within and beyond our campus community.
Through interactive Q&A, attendees will critically examine able-bodied privilege, share experiences, and leave with practical tools to foster a more accessible and inclusive academic environment.
3 – 4:15 pm
1310 Sterling Hall
Prepare to maximize your time and energy 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 basic and advanced software tools, including cloud storage services, note taking apps, mobile scanners, research tools, tasks managers, password managers, lifestyle apps, and more. The session will also address ethical and responsible use of AI tools to help you navigate emerging technologies with confidence and integrity.
11:45 am – 1 pm
WARF Centennial Seminar Hub (Room 7560), Morgridge Hall
Join us at this dynamic event where you’ll discover why fellowships are crucial funding opportunities. Learn from faculty and peers from various disciplines who will share insights on the importance of applying for fellowships and how to write competitive applications, including crafting compelling research descriptions, demonstrating your impact, and involving your advisor. Leave feeling motivated and equipped to pursue funding opportunities with confidence. A buffet lunch will be served at 11:45 am; the session will begin at 12:00 pm.
3 – 4:15 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.
3 – 4 pm
Online
What does academic research actually look like day-to-day, and how do you know if you’re doing it “right?” This session, jointly sponsored by the Graduate School and the Morgridge Institute for Research, breaks down the hidden curriculum of graduate research, offering a clear, approachable overview of how research environments function, what’s expected of you, and how to navigate uncertainty, feedback, and growing independence. You’ll also gain practical guidance on where to seek support and how to ask questions early in your graduate journey.
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.
The Graduate School
217 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Front Desk Hours:
Fall and Spring Hours
(September – April):
Monday – Friday
10 am – 3 pm
Summer Hours (May – August):
Monday – Friday
10 am – noon
Faculty/Staff Resources
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Prospective students and applicants:
Current students: