Orientation
Depending on your program or student status, you most likely need to attend one or more Orientation sessions. Here’s what to know.
Start here
Which orientation do you need?
Most new KU graduate students attend more than one orientation. Two are required for the students they apply to — international student orientation and GTA orientation. The rest depend on your program, your campus, and how much of the welcome week you want to take part in.
Only two orientations are required, and only for specific students. New international graduate students must complete YOU at KU through International Support Services. Students newly appointed to a graduate teaching assistantship must attend GTA Orientation through the Center for Teaching Excellence. Everything else on this page is recommended or program-specific.
Everyone starts here
Read this first
New Student Guide and Resource Hub
Enrollment steps, important dates, campus support, and living in Lawrence, gathered in one place by Graduate & Postdoctoral Affairs. Open the guide and resource hub.
Watch your email
KU Graduate Student Orientation course
Incoming students for the fall semester receive an invitation in early summer. The online course covers how to enroll in classes, important dates, and campus resources. No sign-up needed — the invitation comes to you.
Orientations by student type
Each card below names who it is for, when it happens, and which office runs it. Select any card to go to that office's orientation page.
Required
International Student Orientation
Complete YOU at KU, the orientation programming for new international students. A week of activities to connect with other new Jayhawks, explore local culture, and enroll in first-semester courses.
Required
Graduate Teaching Assistant Orientation
Introduces new GTAs to teaching at KU and within their own program, covering classroom practice, university expectations, and the support available to you as an instructor.
Varies by program
Departmental Orientation
Many programs host their own session for incoming students — a chance to meet your peers and the faculty you will work with. Whether one is offered, and whether it is required, is set by your program.
Recommended
Edwards Campus Orientation
A new-student session built around the Overland Park campus — the services, spaces, and people you will use if your degree is based at Edwards rather than in Lawrence.
Optional
Hawk Week
University-wide welcome programming open to graduate students. Network with students and faculty, explore KU and Lawrence, and meet the offices that support graduate students specifically.
Before your first bill arrives
Orientation covers where to be. The Paying for KU video series covers what it costs — tuition and fees, financial aid options, and how to pay your bill. Worth twenty minutes before the semester starts.
Still deciding
Graduate orientation questions
The questions new graduate students ask most — starting with the one that decides everything else: which of these do I actually have to attend?
Two orientations are required, and only for the students they apply to. New international graduate students must complete YOU at KU through International Support Services. Students newly appointed to a graduate teaching assistantship must attend GTA Orientation. Everything else is recommended or set by your program.
Most new graduate students attend more than one. A typical domestic student takes the online Graduate Student Orientation course and any session their program offers. An international student who is also a new GTA would add both ISS orientation and GTA orientation to that list.
Timing varies by orientation. The online Graduate Student Orientation course invitation is emailed in early summer to students starting in the fall. Hawk Week runs during the first week of fall classes in August. Confirm exact dates with the office hosting the orientation you need.
You do not need to register. Incoming students for the fall semester receive an invitation by email in early summer. The course covers how to enroll in classes, important dates, campus support resources, and living in Lawrence. See also the New Student Guide and Resource Hub.
Many programs host their own session for incoming students, but not all do, and requirements are set by each program rather than centrally. Contact your program or academic adviser directly to find out whether one is offered and whether attendance is expected.
Graduate students based at KU's Edwards Campus in Overland Park are encouraged to attend the Edwards Campus new-student orientation. The online Graduate Student Orientation course is available to all incoming students regardless of campus or delivery format.
Students newly appointed to a graduate teaching assistantship are required to attend GTA Orientation, hosted by the KU Center for Teaching Excellence. It introduces new GTAs to teaching at KU and within their own program, and takes place before the appointment semester begins.
Yes. Hawk Week is university-wide welcome programming open to graduate students, held during the first week of fall classes in August. It includes offices that support graduate students specifically, alongside the general campus and Lawrence community events.
For questions about a specific orientation, contact the office that hosts it — International Support Services, the Center for Teaching Excellence, Edwards Campus Student Services, or your own academic program. For general graduate enrollment questions, contact KU Graduate Admissions at graduateadm@ku.edu or 785-864-3140.