Admitted Graduate Students

Welcome to Georgia Tech!  We’re glad you’ve decided to join the graduate student family. Follow the checklist below to help you prepare for your time at Tech.

Checklist for Newly Admitted Graduate Students
  • Check your status. Check your admission portal to see if you have any outstanding required documentation and to let us know you are coming. Note that although you may have uploaded unofficial transcripts and degree documents to apply, you must now submit the original, official documents prior to enrollment. Scanned or emailed documents won’t be accepted, but they can be mailed or hand-delivered to the following address:
    Office of Graduate Studies
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    631 Cherry Street, Room 318
    Atlanta, GA 30332-0321
  • Verify Lawful Presence. In accordance with University System of Georgia policy, all students must verify their lawful presence in the United States prior to enrollment. For more information, click here.
  • Complete your I-20 request (for international students).  I-20s and DS-2019s are issued by the Office of International Education after you have been officially admitted to Georgia Tech. You will receive emails from info@oie.gatech.edu asking you to complete information needed for the I-20/DS-2019. You will also upload a copy of your passport and any required financial documents in these electronic forms. (Click here for financial document requirements.) After an I-20/DS-2019 is issued, OIE will send it to you directly. 
  • Read over the Graduate Student Handbook, which is a document that will fill you in on all of the policies and resources you need to know about as a new graduate student at Tech. Click here for the PDF.
  • Submit health and immunization information. All students are required to meet immunization and health requirements specified by the Board of Regents. Visit Health Services to complete the required forms. (You won’t be able to register until this is finished.)
  • Activate your Georgia Tech account. Visit https://passport.gatech.edu to start the process.
  • Learn about RCR training requirement. Some master’s and all doctoral students will need to complete online and/or in-person Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. For more information, click here.
  • Complete any GRA or GTA paperwork. If you were offered a graduate research assistantship (GRA) or graduate teaching assistantship (GTA) by your admitting department, you’ll need to complete any new hire paperwork and visit Georgia Tech Human Resources to complete the process.
  • Attend orientation(s). The Office of Graduate Studies hosts several orientation sessions for new students that provide an overview of resources available to you at Georgia Tech. For more information, visit orientation sessions to sign up for a session. Your program may also offer its own orientation that you should plan to attend.   
  • Attend GradExpo. In August, the Office of Graduate Studies hosts the GradExpo event to help new graduate students learn about campus services, student organizations, and local businesses in the surrounding community. For more information, click here.
  • Register for classes. New graduate students will not be able to register for classes until August 16 during College of Computing Orientation events.  
  • Pay all fees and tuition. Tuition and fees will be assessed to your account after you register for classes. You will receive information about the status of your account from the Office of the Bursar via your Georgia Tech email account. The payment deadlines are provided on the Bursar's website.
  • Get your BuzzCard. Your BuzzCard student ID is your campus passport, library card, facilities access key, and can even be loaded with money to use at restaurants/dining halls across campus. The BuzzCard office is located on the second floor of the Barnes and Noble Bookstore at the corner of Spring Street and Fifth Street in Technology Square.
  • Purchase your parking permit. You’ll need a permit to park on campus. For more information, visit the Office of Parking and Transportation Services website.
  • Review all of the resources. We've compiled a list of resources ranging from information about child care to the Language Institute.
  • Look over the graduate sections of the Catalog. This contains useful information about Georgia Tech, degree programs, and graduate policies and procedures. Click here for the catalog.
  • On campus housing. You can find out more about on-campus housing here
  • Technology support. Technology support can be found in the College of Computing through the Technology Services Organization (TSO) and from the Georgia Tech campus-wide Technology Support Centers (TSC).
  • Mail list and social media. There is a wide variety of mail list that you may want to subscribe to such as the Slush list and the Happy Hour list. They can be found here. There are also a number of social media accounts that might be of interest such as Facebook accounts for the College of Computing, the GT Thrift Shop, or find others at the GT groups page. Twitter has a set of good resources for information such as the MS of HCI account and the College of Computing account.
  • Students groups. There are a number of campus-wide student groups that are campus wide that you might be interested in here. In addition, the College of Computing has a number of student groups that might be of interest here.
  • Library. There will be a short orientation offered from the College of Computing Librarian and you can also find web localizers for the Georgia Tech Library here.