The University of Arizona

Getting Started - Domestic Graduate Students

GETTING STARTED
Employees | Getting Started | Dates | Calendar

This page gives step-by-step instructions for domestic graduate students. We have separate instructions for international graduate students and faculty.

 

Questions? You can answer many questions by looking through our department website: use the navigational links at the top of each page or the search box in the upper right corner. If you cannot locate an answer, please contact Sylvia Anderson (sanderson@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-2068)


Things to do right away (before arriving on campus):

  1. Sign and return your offer letter, if you have not already done so.
  2. If you have not yet received your Admissions Packet from the Graduate College, please contact the Math Graduate Coordinator, Sylvia Anderson (sanderson@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-2068).
  3. Provide proof of immunization to Campus Health (as explained in your Admissions Packet). See the Campus Health Immunization Requirements webpage for more information. This step must be completed before you register for classes.
  4. You were assigned a Student Identification Number (SID) when you were accepted to the university. Using your SID, obtain a UA NetID at https://netid.arizona.edu/. Your UA NetID is your personal identifier for all online services at the University of Arizona (University computing accounts, course registration, class rosters and UAccess Student).
  5. Before starting your hiring process, you will receive an automated email from the UA Human Resources Department, sent to your official UA e-mail address. This email will be from uaccess-employee@email.arizona.edu with the Subject: University of Arizona – New Hire Request Pending. The email will provide you with a link to the New Employee Work Center.
  6. Log into the New Employee Work Center and complete the forms in the following order:
    • Complete the "Update Personal Information" form
    • Complete the "Submit I-9" form (should be done immediately but no later than your official start date)
      1. When completing the I-9, some fields are pre-filled by information transferred from the Personal Information Form.
      2. Be sure the address for the I-9 is an actual US street address as PO boxes are not accepted.
      3. If you do not complete and submit your I-9 on or before your official hire date, this will automatically change your hire date to the day you complete the form. This also means that you are not authorized to work until the date the I-9 is completed. Contracts and compensation may also change.
      4. You must submit the required I-9 documents in person to the Business Office prior to your official hire date for final verification of employment eligibility. All documents must be originals and unexpired. Photocopies are not accepted.
    • You can then complete the other required forms in any order you would like. The forms may include: Loyalty Oath Form, Ethnicity form, Updated Emergency Contacts form, and the Veteran Status form.
  7. If you have any questions regarding the hiring process or the forms in the New Employee Work Center please contact Brooke Valmont (brooke@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-6882). In the event that any additional information is required our Business Office will contact you.
  8. Within a couple of weeks you should receive another email asking you to proceed to UAccess to accept your GA contract. If you do not receive anything please log into UAccess and check the system. If at that time it is still not available, please contact Brooke Valmont (brooke@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-6882).
  9. Read the invitation to the Integration Workshop and RSVP by July 1, 2023. You will need your Net ID to access the invitation (step 5 above). Please note while this is not mandatory, it is highly recommended and first year students find it extremely helpful to attend.
  10. Please review the core courses and use UAccess Student Center to register for courses. Selecting your first year classes is gone over during the Integration Workshop, and the information is also found in the Graduate Student Handbook. If you have questions, please contact your Graduate Coordinator Sylvia Anderson (sanderson@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-2068).
  11. After mid-June register for Student Health Insurance. For more information about the options, please visit the Campus Health Service webpages.
  12. Prepare your travel/relocation plans. You will need to appear personally on campus for payroll identification at least two weeks prior to the first day of classes for the semester (August 7, 2023). However, mandatory department meetings and workshops, may begin as early as August 5, 2022(depending on whether you're teaching, are an international student, are participating in the integration workshop, or are taking the qualifying exams early). Consult the department calendar of start-of-semester meetings and workshops to guide your planning. Additional meetings (or changed meeting times due to unavoidable last-minute changes in teaching assignments) might require your availability on campus at any time between August 14, 2023 and the start of classes on August 21, 2023. In general, while preparing your plans, be sure to allow yourself enough time to settle housing and other relocation matters prior to your first commitment on the calendar. (See the bottom of this page for housing-related resources.)
  13. Contact your Graduate Coordinator to provide the following information, if you have not already provided it:
    • Current contact information (address, phone, email)
    • Date of arrival on campus
  14. By August 1 (or, for late hires, within 2 weeks of when we receive your signed offer letter), you should receive an e-mail from our department, sent to the e-mail address you provided, with information on your new math department e-mail address and network account, and instructions on how to access that e-mail or forward it elsewhere. Once you have received this notification, all subsequent math department communications will be sent to your new math department e-mail address. Note that the University will send all official e-mail to your NetID-based address, whereas our Department communicates using your math department e-mail address; we suggest you configure your University NetID-based e-mail to forward to your math department e-mail (or vice versa), unless you prefer keeping two separate addresses and checking both on a regular basis. Please Note: We cannot create a Math Department email address without a UA NetID.  If this is delayed in the UA system due to paperwork or other issues, your Math Department email set-up will also be delayed.
  15. Start to familiarize yourself with the information on the Mathematics Graduate Student Handbook, in particular:
  16. You can begin accessing your Bursar's account balance through UAccess Student on July 18, 2023.
  17. If you are going to be teaching, and you have not already received a teaching assignment, please contact Tina M Deemer (deemer@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-4765).
  18. If you are going to be teaching, you will need to be familiar with the contents of the Math Department Instructor Resource Handbook, which covers departmental and university policies and procedures relating to teaching at the UA.
  19. If you are going to be teaching, go to Mandatory Online Website to register for Teaching Assistant Training Online (TATO) and complete the FERPA, UA Harassment & Discrimination Prevention Training training modules.. Follow the instructions there for logging in to complete all modules. These requirements can affect your hiring eligibility if not completed by stated deadlines.
  20. Since you will need to go to various buildings on campus, it may be helpful to print out a UA campus map or use the Arizona Mobile Map on your mobile device.

Things to do once you arrive on campus:

  1. No later than August 7, 2023 (but preferably as soon as you are settled in Tucson), visit your Graduate Coordinator, Sylvia Anderson (sanderson@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-2068).
  2. Bring your required I-9 acceptable documents with you. Contact Alejandra Gaona (agaona@math.arizona.edu) to submit I-9 documents. Please note: If you fail to provide your I-9 documentation by August 7, 2023, the university might withhold your pay for the in-between days.
  3. Obtain a CatCard (UA Photo Identification Card) by going to the CatCard Office in the Student Union. Be sure to take a government-issued photo I.D. and Student Id number with you.
  4. Share your CatCard number with Alejandra Gaona (headoffice@math.arizona.edu, 520-621-2868) She will initiate an Adobe Sign form for the Key Desk and confirm your office assignment.
  5. After you Adobe Sign your key form make an appointment online with the University Key Desk to obtain office keys. You will need to take your CatCard with you. This office is located at the far north end of campus, so you may want to use the free CatTran shuttle service.
  6. Within 30 days of your start date you must complete the Arizona Public Service Orientation. Arizona state law requires all state employees to complete this orientation that covers policies and laws relating to the proper conduct of business for a public employee. At the conclusion, be sure to print the checklist, verifying that you have completed the session, sign it and deliver it to Ali Gaona in the Head Office, room 109.
  7. If you need a parking permit, go to Parking &Transportation Services in the Parking Office Building with your SID and your CatCard to arrange for one.
  8. If you will be riding a bicycle to campus, you can read about options for bicycle registration and parking.
  9. Attend all relevant Math Department Meetings (for additional start-of-semester activities that might apply to you, check the start-of-semester calendar):
    • For advanced graduate students taking the qualifying exams prior to their first semester here, the Math Qualifying Exams run August 2-4, 2023.
    • For Mathematics graduate students, the Integration Workshop is tentatively scheduled for  August 4-8, 2023.
    • Math Department New Employee Orientation on August 15, 2023 will be online. At this meeting, you will be introduced to key personnel in the department, go on a tour of our offices, and receive information about payroll, mailboxes, textbooks, office supplies, copy requests, teaching assignments, computing, etc.  A light lunch will be provided. Details to follow.
    • Course Meetings on August 14-18, 2023. All lower-level multi-section courses have initial course meetings on one of these days. These meetings are mandatory for those teaching the courses.
    • Other mandatory meetings that might get scheduled between August 14, 2023 and the start of classes on August 21, 2023, which would be announced by math department email.
  10. Although you could begin accessing your Bursar's account balance through UAccess Student on July 18, 2023 the balance due might change a few times in the weeks and days leading up to the start of classes. Depending on your residence status and your level of support from the department and university (e.g., whether you are teaching, receiving out-of-state tuition coverage, receiving health insurance reimbursement, etc.), the balance due will be reduced accordingly, but often not until the third week after the payment deadline on August 21, 2023. If your portion of the balance is not paid in full by this deadline, you will be assessed a $50 late penalty (even if your portion of the balance due was as little as $1). Your Graduate Coordinator can inform you which amounts will be covered for you, so that you can calculate your portion of the balance. You can also consult the Tuition Calculator. After subtracting the amounts that will get covered for you, there will always be some miscellaneous fees remaining for you to pay, and you must pay these by the deadline to avoid the late penalty. You may also view the Mandatory Fees Schedule for those amounts.
  11. If you are going to be teaching, go to UAccess Student (click on Instructor Center under UAccess Student) and log on using your UA NetID to obtain class rosters for the course(s) you are scheduled to teach.
  12. Classes start on August 21, 2023.

Other Important Information/Websites

Contacts in the Math Department