New Students

The information on this page has been updated for the 2008-09 academic year. 

Important Dates, 2008-09
       Orientation: August 27
       Registration: August 28
       Classes start on August 29

Dear new colleagues,

Welcome to Emory!

Whether you are coming here to study neuroscience or sociology, comparative literature or epidemiology, the next few years will be filled with hard work, intellectual growth, and personal transformation.  We are proud that you chose Emory as the place to join a community of engaged scholars.  We are dedicated to extending the reach of scholarship, creative expression, and scientific discovery.

Just as we know that we will make a difference in your life, we hope you will make a difference in ours, that your energy and dedication will challenge us to deepen our knowledge and to move in new and unanticipated directions.  And we hope that together, we will carry forward Emory’s tradition of bold thinking to address the most pressing problems of our time.

Your first days on campus will be filled with new and unfamiliar things as you get to know your professors, your fellow students, the campus and the city.  Many of you will be invited to program orientation sessions, and I encourage you to attend.  These sessions are essential for grounding yourself in academic life at Emory.

Please also plan on attending the August 27 Graduate School new student orientation and welcome picnic.  It is an occasion to meet the Graduate School staff, to receive important information about many aspects of graduate student life, and to meet students from other programs across campus.

This page contains helpful and important information, and there is more on our website and Emory's website.  If you need assistance as you settle into life at Emory and the Atlanta area, please contact the Graduate School.  We are happy to help in whatever way we can to make your transition easy. 

The Graduate School staff and I look forward to meeting you and we wish you much success at Emory.

Warm regards,

Lisa A. Tedesco, PhD
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs – Graduate Studies
Dean, Graduate School

Helpful Information for New Students

• Registration and Email Instructions
• New Student Calendar
• New Student Money Matters (this information is also below)
• English as a Second Language Information (all students whose native language is not English must read this information)
• Housing information
• Parking Information
• Campus Map

Graduate School Orientation
New students are required to attend the Graduate School orientation. Orientation will be held on Wednesday, August 27, on the third floor of Cox Hall, from 12:00-2:30 pm. Lunch will be served, and there will be presentations by the Graduate School dean and other university offices and organizations.  Graduate School staff will provide information on registration for the fall semester.
 
Graduate School Welcome Picnic
The Graduate School welcome picnic will be held on Wednesday, August 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, on the quad behind the Administration Building.  All new and continuing graduate students, faculty, and staff are welcome.  The picnic is a great opportunity for you to begin building relationships with other graduate students and with faculty and staff with whom you will work during your graduate studies at Emory.

Student Support Services
For information about various offices across campus that provide student support services, such as counseling and health services, career services, information technology, parking, transportation, and many others, please see our Student Support web page or the Emory students page.  

IT Graduate Student Mixer
Staff from University Technology Services welcomes new graduate students to an informative mixer -- meet fellow new students, enjoy wine and cheese, and get answers to your technology questions!  Monday, August 25, 5-7 pm, at the Cox Hall Computing Center.  Read more on this flier -- and please RSVP to gradmixer@learnlink.emory.edu.

Tuition and Fees
In mid-July you will receive an electronic bill from Emory’s Financial Services office. The statement will show charges for fall semester tuition ($16,320) and fees ($288). If you have been awarded a tuition scholarship, your statement should indicate a credit of $16,320*.   

              Charges
              Tuition                                $15,900
              Activity fee                                 $86
              Athletic fee                              $102
              Computing fee                         $50
              Mental Health fee                  $102
              Enrollment fee                       $420
              Total                                   $16,608
              Credit
              GS scholarship              ($16,320)* 
              Balance due from student  $288

*Diversity and Woodruff scholarships cover fees, for a total credit of $16,608.

Click here for more information on tuition and fees.

Health Insurance
By July 1, you should log onto OPUS and either enroll in the University Health Services Aetna/Chickering plan or waive out of the plan by demonstrating comparable coverage.  If you enroll in the plan or if you do not take action before July 1, your student account will be charged the fall installment of the premium (annual premium is $1,998; ½ charged fall, ½ charged spring).  The electronic statement you receive in July will include a charge for health insurance.  If your Graduate School award includes a health insurance subsidy, your statement should indicate a credit in the amount of the subsidy ($750 for most students, leaving a balance of $249 for health insurance; GDBBS and business PhD students receive 100% subsidies).  Click here for more information on health insurance.

Stipends
If you have been awarded a stipend, your letter of admission indicated the amount and the term of your stipend.  Stipends are paid monthly on the last business day of the month; the first payment will be September 30, 2008.

Students in the following programs receive nine monthly payments, September – May:  Art History, Behavioral Science and Health Education, Comparative Literature, Economics, Educational Studies, English, Epidemiology, French, Health Services Research and Health Policy, History, ILA, Jewish Studies, Mathematics & Computer Science, Music, Nursing, Philosophy, Political Science, Graduate Division of Religion, Sociology, Spanish, and Women’s Studies.

Students in the following programs receive twelve monthly payments, September – August:  Anthropology, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Biostatistics, Business, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology.

Recipients of special Graduate School fellowships (Arts and Sciences, Diversity, and Woodruff) receive 12 monthly payments, September – August.

Hiring Paperwork.
The staff in your program will “hire” you.  You will need to complete state and federal tax forms, an I-9 Eligibility to Work Form and a direct deposit authorization form. Forms will be available in your program, but you may review the forms in advance at the following websites:

• Federal W4 www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf
• State G4 http://www.etax.dor.ga.gov/inctax/withholding_tax_forms.aspx
• INS I9 http://www.uscis.gov/i-9
• Direct Deposit www.emory.edu/FINANCE/external/forms/ddeposit.pdf

The IRS website is an essential first stop for all students with questions about taxes. IRS Publication 520, which deals with scholarships and fellowships, will be of special interest to graduate students.

Non-resident Aliens
Non-resident Aliens. International students must meet with Mary Chenault, the university’s non-resident alien tax advisor, before completing paperwork and being hired into the Emory system.  Contact Ms. Chenault at mchenau@emory.edu as soon as you arrive at Emory.

Electronic Pay Advice
Each month, a few days before funds are deposited into your bank account, the payroll department will notify you by email that payment has been processed.  The email will state: “Your Pay Advice is now ready for online review at the following website: http://leo.cc.emory.edu/.”  Please note: the funds are not deposited on the day you receive the pay advice; they are deposited on the last working day of the month.

Graduate School Emergency Loans
The Graduate School administers an emergency loan fund to help students meet unexpected financial needs.  Emergency loans are interest-free when repaid within four months of issue.  New students may apply for emergency loans when they have completed registration. Applications are at this link: www.emory.edu/GSOAS/PDF/emergency_loan.pdf. 

Federal and Private Loans
Information about student loans is available through Emory’s Office of Financial Aid at http://www.emory.edu/FINANCIAL_AID/.

English as a Second Language
All new graduate students enrolled in a degree program in the Graduate School, for whom English is not their native language, must participate in an Emory-specific English Language Assessment before they register and enroll.  Go to http://www.emory.edu/GSOAS/departments_programs/esl/1/ for information regarding this English language assessment and course requirement.

Questions about Funding?
Check first on our website and with your program office.  If neither can answer your questions, contact Theresa C. Kenney (404-727-6032) or Rosemary Hynes (rosemary.hynes@emory.edu) in the Graduate School.