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| As Dean of the Graduate School, I am pleased to be among the first to welcome you to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. You have chosen to continue your education at one of the world’s preeminent research institutions. Our faculty and staff stand ready to help you unleash your creativity and inquisitiveness.
As we deal with the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on universities worldwide, we at UW–Madison remain committed to our current and future students, as well as the faculty and staff who will teach, mentor, and support you as you pursue graduate education. Although the university has not yet determined when our students, faculty, administrators, and staff will be allowed to return to campus, the safety of every member of the campus community is the top priority. UW–Madison will re-open its doors and continue to offer the exceptional education, research experience, and outreach for which we are known. You can learn more about how UW–Madison is responding by visiting covid19.wisc.edu.
Looking forward, I urge you to take full advantage of the graduate school experience. Engage with New Graduate Student Welcome on August 26 to learn about strategies for success and to connect with other students – whether that is in-person or virtually at first. Create an Individual Development Plan to discuss expectations and goals with your mentor(s). Seek communities of support and engage with others from diverse backgrounds, across all the disciplines. Now more than ever, we must recognize the importance of being connected to our communities for support, for opportunities to grow together, and to forge lifelong relationships.
Watch for more email communications from the Graduate School. These will include information about what to do to prepare for your first semester, as well as important updates related to public health as needed.
I look forward to personally welcoming you to our campus community. On, Wisconsin.
William J. Karpus
Dean of the Graduate School
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
University of Wisconsin–Madison
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COVID-19 Update: UW–Madison will be open this fallUW–Madison is planning for a safe return to campus and will be open this fall. In a post last week, UW–Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank looks ahead to how the university will operate to ensure students receive a full educational program while maintaining the safety of the campus community. The coming academic year is likely to be a mix of educational offerings that has elements of virtual delivery of instruction, coupled with other changes to promote the health and safety of our campus community. Campus hopes to offer face-to-face class section meetings for students who can attend. UW–Madison plans to make a final decision on how many in-person classes can run no later than the end of July.
“I want to acknowledge the frustration that this lack of certainty causes students and parents,” Chancellor Blank says in the full blog post. “We’re balancing everyone’s desire to plan for the fall with our need to provide a safe environment for our community.” UW–Madison will continue to provide updates throughout the summer.
FAQs for international studentsIf you have questions related to your immigration record as impacted by the pandemic, please review these FAQs for international students. The most common questions are answered there.
Graduate School services available remotely
The Graduate School front desk is currently closed to in-person visits. Graduate School services are still available by phone and email. Admissions staff are still responding to email, processing your applications, and issuing I20’s for admitted international applicants. See the Graduate School website for more information.
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| Save the date!The Graduate School invites all newly admitted graduate students to participate in the fall 2020 New Graduate Student Welcome, happening online on Wednesday, August 26, 2020.
Don't miss this opportunity to hear from campus leaders, get advice from a panel of current students about graduate student life, learn about the many campus and community resources available to you, and connect with other new graduate students from across campus. Keep an eye out for an official invitation and registration information later this summer.
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Getting StartedActivating your NetIDYou 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.
Enrolling in ClassesAs early as Monday, June 22, new grad students can enroll for fall semester courses using the Course Search & Enroll app. You will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office with the specific date and time you can enroll. To access the Course Search & Enroll app, log in to MyUW and select the Academic Navigator widget.
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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| Get a jump start: Create your IDP
Before you begin your graduate program, take some time to reflect on where you stand and where you want to go during graduate school - and beyond - in terms of skills, interests, and strengths.
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is the perfect tool to help you think about and track these goals throughout your graduate career. Take some time to start your IDP and get a jump start on your personal and career development!
To help you in creating your IDP, use DiscoverPD to assess your skills and learn about on-campus as well as off-campus resources to improve them.
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| UW–Madison statement on diversity and inclusion
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 opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin–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.
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| Online students: Update your preferences to get information relevant to you
If you plan to enroll in a distance learning program where you will complete all of your coursework online, update your email preferences to receive information more relevant to you. In future emails you will receive information about effective online learning, building a network, and more - and skip all the information about moving to Madison that you don't need.
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| 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 acquainted with campus: housing and transportation in Madison, libraries at UW, campus life, what to do both on and off campus, and more. Explore it today!
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Check it out: The new graduate student checklist has all of the things you should do before the start of the semester. This page also has checklists for international graduate students and for graduate students with funding.
To track your progress and add your own to-do items, download the Guidebook app version of the checklist.
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| The beauty and energy of our campus is second to none. While you may not have been able to see it yourself during a visit day, you can catch a glimpse into some of our favorite campus spots with these relaxing videos.
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The Campus Area Housing guide includes apartments, houses, sublets and roommate openings, privately owned residence halls, and more. If you're looking for housing, start here. Campus Area Housing can also help you determine if a listing you find online is legitimate.
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International students, want to brush up on your English skills? UW–Madison offers an intensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program for international students hoping to improve their academic English, written and presentation skills, and adjust to U.S. culture.
The application deadline for the fall 2020 session is July 15.
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Join our social media community for up-to-date information about campus news, professional development opportunities, fellowship competition opportunities and deadlines, and more.
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