Greetings from Seattle! We are happy that you have decided to attend graduate school at the University of Washington and look forward to your arrival. Because this document contains important information, we suggest you print it out and use it as a guide (pdf version). Most of this information will also be covered during Orientation Week, but this document should give you a head start.

Once you are done reading this information, please e-mail me at simonrp@u.washington.edu

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. See you in a few months!

Simon Reeve-Parker
Graduate Adviser

P.S. Click here to view a campus map

Important Notes
Dates to Remember
Things to Do Before You Arrive at the UW
Things to Do After You Arrive at the UW
Registration
Housing
Health Insurance
GSEAC/UAW
(Printable PDF version of document)

Important Notes

• If you are working as a research assistant this summer, please let me know ASAP because I need to submit a request to the Office of Graduate Admissions to change your admission to summer so you can register for Physics 600 this summer. If you are working as an hourly for a professor, you do not need to register for classes this summer.



• If your contact information (e-mail, phone, mailing address) changes at any time, please e-mail us the changes at grad@phys.washington.edu and update your contact information with the Registration Office at 206-543-8580 (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday). If you have created your UW NetID, you may update your contact information through MyUW instead of calling the Registration Office. Click here for instructions on creating your UW NetID.



• The Physics Department will host an Orientation Week the week before classes begin. During Orientation Week, you will have the opportunity to meet with faculty and students in the department, plan your course schedule with a faculty adviser, register for courses, attend training for teaching assistants, and become acclimated to the Pacific Northwest. Please note that Orientation Week is mandatory.



• The Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR) will host a TA Conference on Teaching and Learning that is funded by the Graduate School. Sessions of the TA Conference will familiarize you with the resources available to you and your students and will discuss pertinent teaching issues. Even if you may not be a teaching assistant in your first year, this orientation will be helpful to you when you eventually do teach. The TA Conference and other CIDR resources are offered at no cost to graduate students at the UW. Please note that the TA Conference is mandatory for all TAs.



• If you arrive early and are working as an hourly employee, you can purchase a U-PASS for the summer. You will need a letter from the Graduate Adviser verifying your employment.



• If you arrive early and want to purchase a summer pass for the Intramural Activities Center (IMA) you should request a letter from the Registration Office, which states the date you can register for Autumn quarter. If you do not obtain this letter, you must register for classes and the staff at the IMA can verify that you will be a full-time student beginning Autumn quarter.

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Dates to Remember:

Friday, September 16, 2005 - Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Physics Department Orientation
For more information, please see the Orientation Schedule (pdf)

Friday, September 16, 2005 - Tuesday, September 27, 2005

FIUTS New Student Orientation (For International Students and Visiting Graduate Students). For more information, please go to The FIUTS website

Monday, September 19, 2005 - Wednesday, September 21, 2005

CIDR and Graduate School TA Conference on Teaching and Learning (Mandatory for all TAs):

TA Conference on Teaching and Learning

Physics Department Recommendations

Conference Program

Wednesday, September 21, 2005, 8:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

2005 Laboratory Safety Seminar (Mandatory)

Friday, September 23, 2005 - Saturday, September 24, 2005

Blair Outing (Overnight camping trip with Physics Department graduate students and faculty.)
Invitation and Registration Form will be posted/emailed at a later date

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Classes Begin

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Things to Do Before You Arrive at the UW:

1. Complete the Physics Questionnaire
   The questionnaire will be emailed/posted at a later date. Please let us know if you would like a hard copy mailed to you.



2. Send in your $100 enrollment deposit.
   This will be credited to your account once you have registered for classes.



3. Send in your measles immunization documentation.
   You will not be allowed to register until you provide proof of measles (rubeola) immunity to Hall Health Primary Care Center (the student health center on campus). You must complete the student health center's Measles Immunity Verification Form and provide either certifications by your health-care providers or copies of original immunization records as proof of (1) two live virus measles (rubeola) vaccinations, both given after January 1, 1968 and after your first birthday; or (2) positive measles (rubeola) titer (blood test for antibodies against measles); or (3) a history from a health-care provider of measles (rubeola) disease. If you do not have records, you can receive a free measles vaccination at Hall Health Primary Care Center.
   
   Measles Immunity Verification Forms may be downloaded from Hall Health Primary Care Center Web site and are also available at the Hall Health Primary Care Center and the Registration Office at 225 Schmitz Hall. For more information, you should contact Hall Health Primary Care Center's Immunization Clinic at 206-616-4672 (measles information line), 206-685-1018 (phone), 206-221-6628 (fax), or hhimmune@u.washington.edu. You may request that the measles immunity requirement be waived for religious, personal, or medical reasons. However, in the event of a measles outbreak on campus, you will be banned from campus.



4. Send us official copies of your transcripts (showing BS and/or MS degrees)
   We need to have official transcripts showing all degrees earned. If you think you have already mailed your final transcripts, please e-mail us and we will check your file.
   
   Graduate Adviser
   Physics Department
   Box 351560
   University of Washington
   Seattle, WA 98915-1560
   

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Things to Do After You Arrive at the UW:

A checklist will be posted/emailed at a later date.

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Registration:

If you are planning to start Autumn quarter, you should receive an enrollment packet from the Registrar's Office a couple months before the beginning of the quarter. If you do not receive this packet by the end of August, please let us know. We will help you select classes and register once you arrive on campus. The registration deadline for Autumn quarter is September 27th.

If you wish, you may go ahead and register after your assigned registration date for the standard courses: PHYS 501 (Tutorials in Teaching Physics), PHYS 505 (Mechanics), 513 (Electromagnetism and Relativity), and 517 (Quantum Mechanics). You can always change your schedule later after meeting with a faculty adviser. You will need to register for classes through MyUW, which is your personal portal to University of Washington information. Before you can use MyUW, you will need to create your UW NetID. Click here for instructions on creating your UW NetID. To register, you will also need the schedule line number (SLN) for each course. You can go to the Autumn Time Schedule to find SLNs.

The SLNs for the standard courses are:

Course     SLN
501           7872
505           7873
513           7874
517           7875

Should you choose the insurance plan provided by the University of Washington on MyUW?

a. Graduate appointees (RAs, TAs, etc.) who are eligible for Graduate Appointee Insurance, please choose the option, "NO INSURANCE" when registering on MyUW.

b. International graduate appointees (TAs, RAs, etc.) MUST choose the quarterly insurance option when registering. The system will automatically make adjustments so that you will not have double coverage.

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Housing:

Off-Campus Housing

Most graduate students live off-campus because plenty of diverse housing (apartments, houses to share, etc.) is available in the nearby residential neighborhoods. It is easiest to find suitable housing before mid-September, when options tend to become limited as students return to school. The UW has a website with more info. If you wish to explore the housing market from afar, the Seattle Times classified ads are on the Web: Click on Classified Ads, cursor down to Browse by Region, click on In-City, and explore the neighborhoods near the University of Washington: University, Wallingford, Ravenna, Wedgwood, Capitol Hill, Green Lake, Ballard or further north.

You could make some initial inquiries prior to your arrival here, but we do not recommend completing a rental agreement before you actually see the place (some unscrupulous landlords masquerade their dumps as dreams).

If you let us know what you're seeking in terms of housing, we can also ask our current students, who sometimes have great leads on places or may even need a housemate themselves.

Once you're in Seattle, the best source for student housing information is the off-campus listing bulletin board outside Room G-20 of the Husky Union Building (HUB).

On-Campus Housing

Stevens Court is a cluster-housing complex (each student has his/her own room and shares living areas with 3-5 other students) located a few blocks from our buildings. Rentals are monthly and space is usually available in summer. However, even with advance reservations, space may not be available for Autumn quarter. Also note that students are unable to select their cluster-mates. More information may be obtained from the the UW Housing & Food Services Web site. Information on UW married student housing can also be found on this website by clicking on Family Housing.

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Health Insurance

The University of Washington provides health insurance (including vision and dental) for Academic Student Employees (ASE). The health insurance pays for half of the coverage for dependents. Coverage begins on October 1st. For more details, please see the Graduate Appointee Insurance Program (GAIP) Web site. The UW Human Resources - Benefits Office will be contacting you with enrollment instructions and deadlines.

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GSEAC/UAW

If you have accepted a Teaching Assistantship, you are classifed as an Acadmic Student Employee (ASE). Your appointment is governed by a contact between the UW an the the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), AFL-CIO and its Local Union 4121 (UAW). If you want review the UW/UAW Contract, please see the UW Labor Relations Web site. You will be contacted by a union representative with information about membership and fees.