For New Graduate Students
We are excited to welcome you to the University of Arizona's Wyant College of Optical Sciences (OSC)!
We have set up this section of our website to provide you with information to help you make a smooth transition to being a member of our College and University… and the key factor to your smooth transition into graduate school is communication!
In the interest of communication, the first steps you should complete once you accept admission to your Optical Sciences graduate program are to:
- Review the New Graduate Student To Do List and complete those tasks!
- For Fall admission: Attend OSC New Graduate Student Orientation the Thursday and Friday before the first day of classes. For 2025, orientation will be on August 21 & 22. The 2025 agenda will be posted when available. The Fall 2024 even agenda can be reviewed here.
- Update your current address, phone number and email address in UAccess Student Center (under the Personal tab).
- Establish your University of Arizona email address and make sure to check your UA email inbox for all communications from the University of Arizona, including the Graduate College and the Wyant College of Optical Sciences.
- Please review the links below for information about important events, the University of Arizona, the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, class registration and more.
- Review important dates on the Academic Calendars at the link below.
Feel free to contact Graduate Academic Advisor at grad-advising@optics.arizona.edu, or 520-621-8418 if you have questions or concerns – or feel free to stop by and visit! You can find the Optical Sciences Academic Programs Office on the ground floor of the Meinel Optical Sciences Building in Room 403.
If you are joining our program as an on-campus student, one of your first things you will decide is when to travel to Tucson. As you confirm your travel arrangements, we ask that you be aware of the following important dates:
- New International Student Check-In & Orientation (select link to view options)
- OSC Graduate Student Orientation (Fall only). Orientation occurs on the Thursday and Friday immediately before the start of classes for the Fall semester.
- Optional UA Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) Graduate Orientation (August 21st). This orientation session is optional. It conflicts with the OSC Graduate Student Orientation. It is recommended that students attend the OSC Graduate Student Orientation to learn college and program specific information.
There will be a lot of valuable information at the OSC Orientation, and you will have a chance to meet your fellow classmates! Orientation takes place at the Optical Sciences building. All new Fall semester students are sent information about orientation around mid-summer before school starts, so if you haven't heard from us please let us know! (And also please check that your are using your new University of Arizona email address if you have one.)
Many details about funding opportunities are found here:
The following PDF also provides an overview of information about funding for new graduate students that was presented at a recent OSC orientation. While some of the numbers are out of date, the general overview is still relevant.
To start to get to know your new College prior to your arrival here, we encourage you to look throughout our entire website! Perhaps some of the webpages that you are most interested in at the moment are the following:
To start to get to know your new University prior to your arrival here, some of the webpages will be of help:
On-campus and distance learning graduate students register for classes in UAccess Student. Although they need not do so until after they have arrived on campus and attended orientation (for main campus student), distance students are strongly recommended to enroll in classes at least a week or two before the start of classes.
Students attending on-campus must meet University immunization requirements to be able to register.
All international students in the distance learning program must submit a waiver of insurance to avoid automatic charges to their accounts.
Registration fees are due on the first day of classes each semester
UA Bursar's Office Tuition and Fees Calculator
Arizona Proposition 300: Lawful Presence Residency Requirement
Wyant College Full List of Courses
UArizona Handshake (Job Opportunities for Students)
The Optical Sciences Graduate Student Handbook is our complete guide to the requirements and policies of all of our graduate programs.
You may also be interested in viewing the UA Graduate College policies, found here: