Incoming Students

Yes, we will hold 3 orientation sessions and attendance is required. The first two will occur virtually over Zoom this summer and the third and final session will be in-person. The content will be different for each session. Links will be sent via email and the dates and times for the sessions are below. The first two sessions will be virtual because not all students can be in Madison before leases typically begin in mid-August.

Orientation Dates

• Thursday, June 23 at 12:00-1:00pm Central Time via Zoom
• Monday, July 25 at 12:00-1:00pm Central Time via Zoom
• Thursday, August 25 from 10:30am-3:30pm in the Alumni Lounge at the Pyle Center

If there is anything you are wondering about or want to ensure is covered before you start at the La Follette School in the fall, please let us know by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so that we can ensure your questions are answered. Please read the entirety of this FAQ which may have the answers to questions you have.

Classes will begin on Wednesday, September 7, and you can find the university’s academic calendar here: https://secfac.wisc.edu/academic-calendar/#2022-2023 . This can be helpful in planning purposes. For help getting around campus, here is a link to a campus map.

New graduate students can start registering for classes on June 27, according to their enrollment appointment times assigned by the Office of the Registrar. Some students may have enrollment appointment times on June 27 and some may have later enrollment appointment times. Enrollment appointment times will be assigned in late June before enrollment begins. 

All new students have a space saved in their core courses, so if you cannot register until later in the summer, you will still have a spot. Please note that for a few courses we use the waitlist to save La Follette students spaces in their core courses. When you go to enroll, a La Follette School course may show that there is a waitlist. That is normal and to enroll you should get on the waitlist and we will give La Follette students permission to enroll off the waitlist and into the course.

You will receive enrollment reminders with more information from UW-Madison and from La Follette Student Services staff on how to register for courses. On the Advising section of the La Follette School website you can find our fall 2022 course grid in the sidebar on the right side of the page under “Enrollment Information.” This grid shows when our courses will be offered so you can start planning your class and work schedules. You can contact Mo O’Connor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with advising questions and David Wright-Racette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with technical enrollment questions.

In your first semester, MPA and MIPA students take three courses together as a cohort: PA 800: Professional Development Seminar, PA 818: Introduction to Statistical Methods for Public Policy Analysis, and PA 880: Microeconomic Policy Analysis. Additionally, MPA students take PA 874: Policy Making Process and MIPA students take PA 850: International Governance. You can choose the discussion section that works best for you. Students in their first semester typically enroll in 10 credits, but if you would like to take more you may choose an elective. You can find our fall 2022 graduate course grid at the top of our Courses webpage. The grid includes course numbers, instructors, dates and times for class meetings, and classroom locations. If you are unfamiliar with campus, here is a link to a campus map. That information can also be found in Course Search & Enroll. More information about Course Search & Enroll is in the following FAQ. 

You will enroll in courses through Course Search & Enroll. Tutorials with step-by-step instructions on how to enroll in classes can be found here.

The Graduate Program Manager, Mo O’Connor, serves as the academic advisor to all students.

All students are assigned a faculty advisor according to their policy interests in their first semester. Students are encouraged to meet with La Follette School faculty at any time during their program of study to discuss particular career interests or course options. Faculty advisors may help students make strategic decisions about career specialization, including decisions about course selection in their area of interest. Faculty are not expected to certify whether students are making satisfactory progress toward their degree or to monitor whether courses meet program requirements. The Graduate Program Manager oversees student progress toward degrees.

Students are also welcomed and encouraged to work with the Career Services Coordinator, Marie Koko on their professional development throughout their time at La Follette including internship and job searches, reviewing cover letters and resumes, how to negotiate salary, and more.

If you would like to look at last year’s syllabi, you can find them here. New syllabi for the fall 2022 semester will be available starting the first week of fall 2022 classes.

Similar to academic year 2021-22, UW-Madison will hold primarily in-person classes. We also anticipate that many of our events will be in-person, although some online events are likely, especially if that format provides the opportunity to bring in speakers or reach audiences that we couldn’t otherwise.

The La Follette School will always follow guidance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Graduate School. The most up to date information from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s response to COVID-19 will always be found here: https://covid19.wisc.edu/ We will also share any updates as they are communicated to us from campus leadership. Information specific to travel and visa questions as they relate to COVID-19 for international students can be found here under the newly admitted students FAQ: https://iss.wisc.edu/students/current-students/health/covid-19-updates/

UW-Madison does not require students, staff, or faculty to get the vaccine but it is strongly encouraged and the university will offer free vaccinations to anybody who arrives on campus this fall and wishes to be vaccinated. You can read more about the vaccination information at UW-Madison here: https://covidresponse.wisc.edu/covid-19-vaccine-information/

Yes; however, if you received your degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison or if you are an accelerated student, you do not need to send official transcripts.

International applicant's transcripts or academic documents must include an official English translation done by the bachelor's degree granting institution or an official translator. See this link for country specific information.

If you are graduating in spring or summer 2022, you may wish wait to send your transcript to the UW-Madison Graduate School until you have graduated, and your transcript shows a degree conferral date. The Graduate School can matriculate you if they receive your official transcript before your degree is conferred, but they will eventually need your final official transcript with a degree conferral date. To save yourself the time and money of sending two official transcripts, one before your degree is conferred and one after, we recommend waiting until your degree is conferred. If your degree is not conferred until late May, June, or July, it is possible that you will be matriculated slightly later than other incoming students and therefore enroll slightly later than normal, but that is not an issue. The La Follette School saves spaces in your required courses so you will be able to enroll in the courses you need no matter when you are matriculated and enroll. Reach out to David Wright-Racette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions or clarifications.

Directions to send official transcripts to the University of Wisconsin Madison Graduate School:

1) Order your transcript through your institution.
2) If you cannot choose UW-Madison Graduate School, then transcripts can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
3) For US institutions, the Graduate School prefers electronic transcripts if your institution offers that option.
4) For international institutions, and those domestic institutions that do not have an electronic option, they need the official hard copy sent to: 
The Graduate School Admissions Office University of Wisconsin-Madison
232 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive Madison, WI 53706
5) Please do not send both a paper and electronic copy of the same transcript.

The Graduate School has an incoming student checklist that you should complete as soon as possible. We’ve copied the information from that checklist below and it includes things such as activating your netID, accessing your UW-Madison email account called your wiscmail account, paying tuition, getting your student ID, and more.

For all new graduate students:

• Activate your NetID and set up multi-factor authentication.
• Use (or forward) your WiscMail account, the university’s official method of correspondence. (Your WiscMail account becomes available through MyUW about two weeks before your enrollment time, around June 17 this year.)
• If you are eligible for new services, they will be listed on the final screen, along with details about those services.
• Activate any missing services for your NetID. This section allows you activate any services that you are missing. You may be missing services because you changed your status at UW-Madison (for example, but not limited to from an applicant to a full student, a student to an employee, or from a hospital employee to a TA or teaching position). When this happens, the central services for which you are eligible may change.
  • In some cases, you may not need to activate any missing services.
• Once tuition rates are set and published in early August and you receive your tuition bill, you will need to pay your tuition and segregated fees (even if you have tuition remission, you usually still have to pay segregated fees). Find tuition and fee rates here.
  • Students with graduate assistantships (TAs, PAs, RAs, and LSAs) have until the first Friday in December for the fall term and the first Friday in April for the spring term 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 in your MyUHS account.
• If you received a COVID-19 vaccination off-campus, upload your vaccine record to MyUHS.
  • For vaccination outside the U.S., UHS will recognize vaccines maintained on the World Health Organization’s emergency use listing.
• Request your Wiscard (campus ID card). You must register for classes before you can get your Wiscard.
• Update your mailing address and phone number in MyUW if you moved.
• Starting the week before classes begin, request your free Madison Metro bus pass for the semester.
• 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, Graduate and Professional Students Preventing and Responding to Sexual and Relationship Violence, 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.
• 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 to pay segregated fees and other fees not covered by tuition remission.

La Follette is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and you can find our diversity, equity, and inclusion webpage here which includes links to many resources available on campus including the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, the McBurney Disability Resources Center, the Multicultural Student Center, the Veterans Services and Military Assistance Center, the Office for Equity and Diversity, and more.

Graduate students fund their education in several ways including fellowships, on-campus appointments such as teaching assistantships and project assistantships, off-campus jobs, personal savings, and loans. La Follette’s Funding & Financial Information webpage has several funding resources. If you are interested in applying for an assistantship, this document on finding graduate assistantships may be helpful in guiding your search. The best place to find on-campus positions for graduate students is the Graduate Assistantships openings page. The Office of Student Financial Aid is also a great resource. Tuition and fees information can be found here. Be sure you select the correct term and program to ensure correct information. Finally, all of this information and more can be found in the Admitted Students Canvas page under the module titled “Funding and Financial Support at La Follette and UW-Madison.”

BadgerPay is a payment plan that provides a convenient option for paying the student account balance through regularly scheduled payments. The BadgerPay payment plan is available to all students for Fall and Spring semesters (not available for Summer). A nonrefundable $50 plan enrollment fee will be due at the time of enrollment into BadgerPay. This $50 fee is charged each semester you choose to enroll in the BadgerPay payment plan. Sign-up and enrollment in BadgerPay typically opens in mid to late August.

Most La Follette students live off campus, but you can find more information about on and off campus housing at the UW-Madison Graduate Student Housing and Transportation webpage. The La Follette School Student Association has put together a LSSA Living in Madison Guide that is a good resource for incoming student as well. If you wish to live off-campus, this website can help you find a place that matches your criteria. The La Follette School Students Facebook Group is a good place to post and ask current students about advice on where to live or to find roommates. Finally, the UW-Madison Sublet and Roommate Board is another place to look.

If you need to make plans during breaks the academic calendar for the 2022-2023 school year can be found here.

We ask that you send a short paragraph and photo introducing yourself and your policy interests. The paragraphs and photos will be compiled and sent to all new students, faculty and staff and may also be posted to the La Follette School website in the fall. We will share last year’s incoming class as examples and as an opportunity for you to get to know the second-year students at La Follette. You can email this information to David at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

You can join the La Follette School Students group on Facebook. A Google Sheet was also shared with all incoming students where you can add your contact information if you like. That sheet can be used by incoming students to form your own groups on platforms of your choosing. If you did not receive the link to the Google Sheet or can’t find it email David Wright-Racette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get the link.

Yes, the link to the Canvas course is still live and you are welcome to review the information and recordings shared there.

Access to an online math prep course will be available to you in July after you enroll in courses. It is recommended for all students and most choose to complete it. Your admission may have been conditional upon completing the math review course in which case your admission letter will have noted that and you should plan to complete the course.

The Social Science Computing Cooperative also offers trainings in STATA and R in late summer that are available to incoming students. The Department of Information Technology also offers trainings across several software platforms.

Yes, the UW-Madison Graduate School will hold a new student welcome on Wednesday, August 31. You can find more information about the event as well as other information for new students here. They also have a Graduate Student Life webpage with information on housing, transportation, living in Madison, and more.

If your appointment starts between August 14 and August 27, 2022, you can expect a first payment date of September 8, 2022. This calendar is a good resource: https://uwservice.wisconsin.edu/docs/publications/pay-bw-calendar-2022.pdf

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