Newly Admitted Students Guide
Pre-Arrival Checklist
To set up your email you will need your KU student ID #. Your KU student ID can be found in the admission letter you received from the Office of Graduate Studies. If you don’t have that letter handy, you can access it by logging into your graduate application account.
Once you have your student ID, follow the link here to set up your KU Online ID. The system-generated KU Online ID will be your login “username” to all KU systems throughout your time at KU including your email, the KU advising portal (myKU), Canvas, and the online system we use for enrollment and bill pay (aptly named Enroll & Pay). Links to these systems can all be found at the top-right of any University of Kansas webpage.
Once your KU email has been created, please email the Graduate Program Coordinator (aimeadows@ku.edu) from the new account with your KU Online ID to confirm. And be sure to start checking your email regularly for important departmental and university updates!
You should try to secure your housing as early as possible. Being a college town, most apartment listings in Lawrence for August usually post in April/May. There are many options and we encourage incoming students to begin their search with the KU Grad Housing Guide from VeryApt which provides reviews from KU grad students, unit costs, amenities, and tips.
Some of the apartment complexes closest to campus are:
It is also worth mentioning that the bus system runs by most of the apartment complexes. You can use the Trip Planner on the Lawrence Transit website to get an idea of what bus routes you would need to take around.
If you’d like to get a head start on enrollment, you can go ahead and enroll in CHEM 700 and CHEM 701. These are our Lab Safety and Responsible Scholarship courses that are required of all first-year grad students. In addition to those courses, you’ll take two other graduate lecture courses from the list below:
Below you can find a brief guide to choosing your courses based on your research interests:
- Organic Chemistry and Catalysis: CHEM 730, CHEM 740
- Chemical Biology: CHEM 740, CHEM 760
- Bioanalytical Chemistry: CHEM 720, CHEM 760
- Inorganic Structure and Function: CHEM 730, CHEM 750
- Physical Chemistry and Spectroscopy: CHEM 720, CHEM 750
You should receive an email from KUHROnboarding@ku.edu with your GTA hiring paperwork, usually sometime in mid-July. Please complete this paperwork as soon as possible to make sure you are added to the system and payroll in order to receive your first paycheck on time.
International Students:
Please refer to the ISS Office's Newly Admitted Student Checklist for full instructions on all the additional steps you should complete before your arrival. The main steps are summarized below, but you will find a more detailed explanation of all the steps involved on the ISS's website.
All new international students will receive an email from ISS with instructions to access the iHawk website. iHawk is the website where international students complete important immigration forms. All students must complete form #1, which tells us more about your immigration situation. If ISS determines that you need a Form I-20 for an F-1 student visa or a DS-2019 for a J-1 exchange visitor visa, you will be required to complete all forms in the “Get Your I-20/DS-2019” Checklist. Only those who have completed all of the required forms will be reviewed for I-20/DS-2019 processing.
For more information, please visit the ISS's I-20/DS-2019 Instructions page.
A visa is a document issued by the U.S. government, usually at an embassy or consulate outside of the United States. This allows you to present yourself at at United States Port of Entry and request to be let in. You will use the I-20 form to apply for an F-1 visa, or you use a DS-2019 form to apply for a J-1 visa.
First things first, you must pay your SEVIS fee.
Then you can apply for a visa with your country's embassy or consulate. Please refer to the ISS's visa application instructions page for guidance on this process.
All international students are required to complete a health check-in at the Watkins Health Center after their arrival. In advance of this health check-in, please prepare your Immunization History Form before your arrival and bring the completed form with you to KU. It must be completed in English and signed by your doctor.
Immunization History Form (pdf)