Skip to main content
Checklist of steps to get started before your first semester @ UW-Madison
- Receive and retain your official acceptance letter from the Graduate School.
- Activate your UW NetID
- Receive and retain an “Invitation to Enroll” email from the Office of the Registrar containing your enrollment appointment details for the upcoming semester. You will be unable to enroll before this time.
- Enroll in courses through your MyUW Student Center
- Courses offered through our online programs often have multiple sections, which are associated with defined groups of students. Please use the class number provided to ensure you enroll in the correct section for your program.
- Enrollment Instructions:
- Navigate to your MyUW Student Center
- Launch the Course Search & Enroll widget
- Select the Term, enter the class number in the Keyword, instructor, number section, click the search icon
- Click See Sections and select the desired section
- Review the detailed course information, associated class notes, and prerequisites
- Click Save Course
- The class will be added to the Shopping Cart within My Courses
- Once all classes are added, click Enroll
- The system will return a message whether the enrollment action was successful or not.
- Failure messages will tell you what went wrong and how to find more information about a particular problem (if any). If met with a failure message, attempt to push through anyway.
- Navigate here to access the enrollment tutorial
- The Graduate School has a minimum enrollment requirement of 2 credits during the fall and spring semesters. Graduate students must be enrolled in the minimum requirement in order to maintain active student status. Graduate students must be enrolled in the minimum requirement at UW-Madison during the semester in which they graduate. Minimum requirements must be fulfilled by courses taken for a grade (not pass/fail or audit) and with courses numbered 300 or above.
- Once you’ve successfully enrolled in your courses, read the Student Services page on how and when students get “Access to Online Course Sites in Canvas LMS“
- Begin regularly checking your UW Email account
- Students are required to use a campus (@wisc.edu) email address to receive official University correspondence.
- Ensure that you regularly check this email account (or forward it to another account) to ensure you receive important communications.
- If a new student is having problems logging into UW Email/Office365, then first try the UW NetID Modify Services tool to make sure all of your eligible services have been activated.
- Attend your program’s New Student Welcome and Orientation Webinar
- You will receive an email invitation to an orientation event closer to the date. These webinars are typically held several weeks before the start of the semester. Attendance is strongly recommended.
- Complete the Violence Prevention Program: https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/prevention/violence-prevention/grad-students/
- Newly admitted graduate or professional students are required to complete this program through Canvas. Students will receive an email from UHS with instructions on accessing the program.
- MEM and MEES Students: Plan to attend your program’s summer residency
- You will receive information about this via email. Attendance is strongly recommended but optional.
- Pay your tuition and fees
- Please see the bursar’s website (linked above) for tuition deadlines.