How to get started as a new member in our department

This page gives step-by-step instructions for domestic graduate students. We have separate instructions for international graduate students, faculty, staff, and undergraduate students, as well as a list of all dates and deadlines.

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 Christa L King [Math 109 (Dept Head Office), (520) 621-2868, cking@math.arizona.edu] or Denise Ingram [Math 115 (Business Office), (520) 621-2562, dingram@math.arizona.edu], either of whom will direct you to the appropriate person.

Corrections? If you discover mistakes or misleading information in the step-by-step instructions on this page, please take a moment to improve the experience for others by sending your comments/corrections to Tina M Deemer [Math 209, (520) 621-4765, deemer@math.arizona.edu]. Thanks!

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

1. Print out this webpage (the one you're looking at right now) so that you can cross off each step as it is completed.
2. By now you should have received your Admissions Packet in the mail. If you have not yet received it, please contact your Graduate Coordinator:
   • Math Graduate Coordinator: Sandra L Sutton [Math 206 (Grad Office), (520) 621-2068, sutton@math.arizona.edu].
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 should have received a Student Identification Number (SID) when you got accepted to the university. Using your SID, obtain a UA NetID at https://netid.arizona.edu/. Your UA NetID is your personal identifier for a number of online services at the University of Arizona. Some of the services requiring a NetID include University computing accounts (email.arizona.edu, u.arizona.edu, etc.), web applications (StudentLink, WebRoster, etc.), University site-licensed software, and University computer labs.
5. During the graduate student priority registration period 28 Mar 2009 – 3 Apr 2009, or otherwise (if you miss priority registration) after the regular registration period starts on 4 Apr 2009, use StudentLink to register for classes. For Mathematics graduate students, please review Selecting your first-year classes; if you have questions, please contact your Graduate Coordinator Sandra L Sutton [Math 206 (Grad Office), (520) 621-2068, sutton@math.arizona.edu].
6. Again through StudentLink, register for Student Health Insurance or CampusCare. For more information about the options, please visit the Campus Health Service webpages.
7. For Mathematics grad students: By 1 Jul 2009, read the invitation to the Integration Workshop, decide whether you will participate, and follow the instructions on that page to let us know your decision.
8. Prepare your travel/relocation plans. You will need to appear personally on campus for payroll identification no later than 17 Aug 2009 (we encourage you to appear during the prior week, if possible), and mandatory department meetings and workshops might start as early as 5 Aug 2009 (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 17 Aug 2009 and the start of classes on 24 Aug 2009. In general, in 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.)
9. Contact your Graduate Coordinator to provide the following information, if you have not already provided it:
   • Current contact information (address, phone, e-mail)
   • Date of arrival on campus
10. By 15 Jul 2009 (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 in the previous step, 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. 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.
11. For Mathematics grad students: Start to familiarize yourself with the information on the Mathematics Graduate Program website, in particular:
    • What every incoming student is expected to know
    • Components of the PhD program
    • GA duties, salary, and promotion guidelines
    • Satisfactory progress guidelines
    
    You also might want to see the list of incoming students.
12. You can begin accessing your Bursar's account balance through StudentLink on 21 Jul 2009. You probably won't see an accurate balance until a few days before classes start, but this is a good time to go to StudentLink and try to access your balance, and also familiarize yourself with the other things you can access in StudentLink.
13. Print a UA map to bring with you to campus. You will need to go to various buildings on campus other than the Math Building.

Things to do once you arrive on campus:

1. No later than 17 Aug 2009 (but preferably during the prior week, or even as soon as you are settled in Tucson), visit your Graduate Coordinator to introduce yourself:
   • Math Graduate Coordinator: Sandy Sutton, Room 206 in the Math Building.
   
   Your Graduate Coordinator will give you information on your office assignment (you will share an office with other graduate students) and your mailbox assignment, and schedule an appointment to meet with the Associate Head for your program (or another suitable advisor) to confirm your program of study and your selection of first-year courses.
2. 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. with you.
3. Bring your CatCard to the Math Department Head Office, Room 109 in the Math Building, to obtain your office assignment and key card, and to have your photo taken for the department photo directory.
4. Go to the University Key Desk (show location on campus map snippet) to obtain office keys. You will need to take your CatCard and your key card with you. This office is located far from the Math Building, so you may want to use the CatTran shuttle service.
5. 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.
6. If you will be riding a bicycle to campus, you can read about options for bicycle registration and parking.
7. 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 5 Aug 2009 – 7 Aug 2009.
   • For Mathematics graduate students, the Integration Workshop runs 7 Aug 2009 – 11 Aug 2009.
   • Math Department New Employee Orientation on 18 Aug 2009, 9 AM in Math Building, Room 501. 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, etc.
   • Math Department Computing Orientation on 21 Aug 2009, 11 AM in Math Building, Room 101. At this meeting, you will be given information about computing resources, options, and support.
   • Other mandatory meetings that might get scheduled between 17 Aug 2009 and the start of classes on 24 Aug 2009, which would be announced by math department e-mail.
8. Although you could begin accessing your Bursar's account balance through StudentLink on 21 Jul 2009, 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 24 Aug 2009. 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 Bursar Tuition Rates tables. 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.
9. Classes start on 24 Aug 2009.

Other Important Information/Websites:

• UA Math Department Home Page
• Math Department Computing Support Page
• Math Department Calendar of start-of-semester meetings
• The University of Arizona Home Page
• Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC)
• Housing/apartments/rental properties:
  • On-campus graduate student housing (La Aldea)
  • University off-campus housing services
  • Tucson Weekly Classifieds
  • tucson.com
  • craigslist
  • UA's Lo Que Pasa classifieds
  • If you are interested in buying a house, Above & Beyond Relocation Services is the contracted provider of relocation services for the UA.
• Rental cars:
  • Tucson Airport Rental Car Companies
  • Enterprise Car Rental (locations throughout Tucson, good for in-town rentals)
• Purchasing a used or new bicycle:
  • Refurbished used bicycles can be purchased near campus at BICAS (non-profit organization, 1 mile west of campus), Ordinary Bike Shop (1/2 mile west of campus), and Bargain Basement Bikes (walking distance from the Math Building).
  • New bicycles can be purchased near campus at FairWheel Bikes (walking distance from the Math Building), Ordinary Bike Shop (1/2 mile west of campus), and Bargain Basement Bikes (walking distance from the Math Building).

Contacts in the Math Department: