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| GradConnections is a weekly newsletter that goes out to all grad students each Tuesday during the academic year. It is prepared by the Graduate School Office of Professional Development and Communications and includes tips, events, deadlines, announcements, professional development opportunities, and funding opportunities – all targeted to graduate students – as well as the PhD Comic "Piled Higher and Deeper".
This Special Edition is designed with new students in mind, with helpful tips to get you settled and ready for graduate school at UW–Madison! You'll begin receiving regular editions of GradConnections in September.
For students enrolled in online programs: Online students receive GradConnections bi-Weekly for Online Students. You will receive the first edition in September.
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| You will need to activate your NetID to access services and applications such as My UW–Madison, the Course Search & Enroll app, and Office 365 email and calendar services. For future logins, you will also need to set up multi-factor authentication for your NetID account.
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| As early as Monday, June 24, new grad students can begin to enroll for fall semester courses using the Course Search & Enroll app. You should have received an email from the Registrar’s Office with the specific date and time after which you can enroll. To access the Course Search & Enroll app, log in to MyUW and select the Academic Navigator widget.
Notice: You will not be able to enroll in classes from June 28 at 4 pm to July 8 at 8 am due to a planned outage of the campus Student Information System. During this time, the Course Search & Enroll app will be unavailable. Plan ahead to avoid trying to access the enrollment app during the outage.
For help selecting courses, talk to your graduate program or faculty advisor. Please note that the Graduate School has enrollment requirements for minimum and maximum credits, often depending on whether you have funding.
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| | What to do when you arrive
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| You'll have a lot to do when you get to Madison. To make sure you don't miss anything, the Graduate School has put together a checklist for new graduate students coming to campus. At the top of the list of things to do in August when you arrive are:
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| An essential read! Graduate Student Life is an essential resource for new grad students, by current and former grad students. It includes everything you need to know to get settled in to campus: housing and transportation, campus life, what to do in Madison, and more.
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| The Graduate School invites all newly admitted graduate students to attend
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
11:00 am - 4:30 pm CST
Union South, 2nd Floor
Look out for a personal email invitation inviting you to register for this event.
Don't miss this opportunity to mingle with Graduate School deans, staff and campus leaders, hear 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.
In addition to New Graduate Student Welcome, the Graduate School hosts a variety of Welcome Week events for new and current graduate student alike, addressing topics including productivity tools, time management, and well-being. Check out the events lineup and plan to attend a few!
For students enrolled in online programs: New Graduate Student Welcome and Welcome Week events are on campus and best for students who enroll in on-campus programs.
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| | Mandatory orientation for international students
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| The New Graduate Student Welcome on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 is for all newly admitted graduate students at UW–Madison. International graduate students have an additional mandatory orientation hosted by International Student Services (ISS).
Save the dates for fall International Graduate Student Orientation! Visit the ISS website for more information on locations and registration. Plan to attend one of the sessions available:
- Thursday, August 22, 3 - 5 pm CST
- Monday, August 26, 3 - 5 pm CST
- Wednesday, August 28, 9 am - 11 am CST (before New Graduate Student Welcome)
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| | Getting the most out of your graduate career
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| You're about to begin a new graduate program. Now is the perfect time to look at your professional skills and how you want to develop them during your time as a graduate student.
The Office of Professional Development is the central hub of graduate student skill and career development on campus. With nearly 400 professional development events each year, there's something for every facet of development and every stage of graduate studies.
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Your first step: Create a plan.
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) helps you assess your current skills, interests, and strengths, and make a plan to meet your academic and professional goals. An IDP also helps you develop strategies to communicate effectively with your advisors and mentors.
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| DiscoverPD is an innovative tool for UW–Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. Learn more by watching the video below.
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| | Statement on diversity and respect
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| Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW–Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinions enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
UW–Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who, as students, faculty, and staff, serve Wisconsin and the world. Learn more about diversity at UW–Madison.
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| | Required training on preventing sexual assault and dating violence
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| An online violence prevention program is required for incoming graduate students at UW–Madison. The 45-minute online training is designed to promote the health and safety of the campus community.
In August you will receive additional information via email about this requirement and instructions for completing the online course. Contact violenceprevention@uhs.wisc.edu with any questions.
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| Thinking about finances? Here are some important tips to consider:
- If you are looking for funding, start early and be proactive about possible gaps in your funding support. Check out the resources and key suggestions on the Graduate School Office of Fellowships and Funding Resources website. The UW–Madison Student Jobs Center also lists graduate assistantships for which students may directly apply.
- Understand your funding package. A funding package may include a combination of different types of appointments, such as teaching assistant positions, program assistantships, or fellowships.
- If you have a grad assistantship, fellowship, or traineeship, make sure you understand the terms and conditions of your appointment: start/end dates, stipend, date of first paycheck (usually October 1), whether you need to pay tuition or program or segregated fees, tax information, enrollment requirements, and whether the appointment includes any health benefits. Appointments may have different, or no, work requirements, and may differ in the benefits they offer, so it is important to understand exactly what types of support each appointment offers.
- The cost of attendance webpage provides an estimate of your expenses.
- GradSense.org's Budget Calculator will help you figure out where you stand financially and how to make smart decisions about your future.
- Graduate Student Life has a robust section on finances and employment at the university.
For more information, contact the Graduate School Office of Fellowships and Funding Resources at offr@grad.wisc.edu, or in person at 231 Bascom Hall between 10 am and 4 pm CST, Monday through Friday.
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