New Graduate Student Information

Orientation is an opportunity for new full-time graduate students to become acquainted with the Homewood campus, services and policies, departments and colleagues. Prior to the start of the fall semester, graduate students are expected to attend both departmental and division-wide orientations which are planned to be held in late August. You will be notified separately.

All incoming WSE graduate students will be sent access and requirement information about the required orientation.

There is a mandatory Academic Ethics module and quiz embedded in the online orientation which is part of every graduate student’s degree requirements and must be completed with a passing grade. You will see the course EN.500.603 added to your SIS enrollments; do not drop this course!

• Review the entire New Graduate Student Information and Graduate Registration for answers to many of your questions and to familiarize yourself with the registration process.
• The Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) mandates a credit minimum for graduate full-time status:
  • Full-time WSE PhD students have to be enrolled in a combination of WSE classes and/or research for a total of 20 WSE credits per semester (fall/spring). It means that if a full-time PhD student is taking a 3-credit course in combination with research, the research credits (EN.560.835/836 Graduate Research with a section related to your advisor) should be 17, etc.  Please keep in mind that the research credits can always be adjusted as courses are dropped/withdrawn.
  • Full-time WSE Masters students will be enrolled in a combination of classes and/or research for a total of 9-10 credits a semester (fall/spring).
• Mandatory Enrollments at the semester of registration:
• Responsible Conduct of Research short course (AS.360.625 or AS.360.624)
  • Academic Ethics short course (EN.500.603)
  • Master’s students (MSE) – EN.560.691 Graduate Seminar. It is recommended to all PhD students to enroll in EN.560.691 Graduate Seminar which would be counted in case you would like to earn a non-terminal degree later (if eligible)
  • Doctoral students (PhD) – EN.560.835 Graduate Research with a section related to your advisor

• Graduate courses offered by our Department – https://sis.jhu.edu/classes/

Please note:

1. EN refers to courses offered in the school of Engineering.
2. The three-digit number after EN is the department number (EN.560 is CaSE).
3. The three-digit number after the department number is the course number (xxx.600-xxx.899 – graduate courses).

You should be enrolling in courses showing as xx.xxx.600-899. Review Department Codes.

Familiarize yourself with case management system (SEAM) which provides information and resources related to financial aid, student accounts, and records & registration.

Please review our requirements to the PhD program and MSE program. Please note that all courses must be at the 600- or 700- level and be approved by the advisor.

The Registrar’s office will provide instructions on how to set up your JHED ID and JHU e-mail account.

Once you get access to SIS (Student Information System) you’ll start to notice Holds on your account. There are various reasons for these holds and some of them can’t be resolved until you arrive.

Advisor Hold: You will not be able to register for any classes until you have met with your advisor upon arrival. He/she will release the Advisor Hold at that time.

Financial Hold: Check to ensure you have paid your tuition and/or health insurance costs. If you know that you’re partially- or fully-covered and there is still a financial hold on your account – don’t panic! They place these holds on the accounts long before we have a chance to upload the budget information into SIS. If you are partially-funded, just pay the portion you know you will owe. Consult your offer letter for details.

Health Clearance Hold: Have you completed the Pre-Entrance Health Requirements and uploaded your medical clearance? If not, go to the Student Health & Wellness Center website and consult the instructions.

Missing Local Address: As soon as you have your new address in Baltimore, it is advisable to update this information in SIS.

Missing Perm Phone Number: As soon as you obtain a local mobile phone number, it is advisable to update this information in SIS.

Visa Check-In: For international students. (more information to come on this)

Complete the Pre-Entrance Health form Pre-Entrance Health form before your registration. The deadline is July 15th (the instruction on how to submit the form and Health Benefits info). Failure to comply with these health requirements/deadlines will block you from adding or dropping classes and may result in a $100 health form completion fee.

If you have difficulties with completing the form:

• Contact the Student Health and Wellness Center at 410-516-8270, explain the reason, and receive their guidance on late submission
• Use the messaging option in the Health WebPortal (Select “Messages” then “New Message”)

All students have access to medical, vision and dental plans. If the department pays full of the portion of the premiums for your medical insurance (check your offer letter), you will see it in SIS after August 23^rd. No actions from you are needed. You may contact [email protected] after 8/23 if there are any questions about your plans. Additional resources on registration and coverage can also be found on the JHU benefits website.

Fill out the Student and Employee Data Form and send it to Elena Shichkova.

Please note that if you do not have, or do not provide, a United States government ID (social security number/SSN) at the time of application, a temporary government ID is assigned by the university. This temporary SSN ID begins with “988” and should be referenced when prompted to provide the last 5-digits of your SSN. Students who are assigned a temporary SSN should receive an email from the university with this information. Please check your personal email account used at the time of application, including spam/junk folders.

After the first day of classes, any change to your government ID (SSN) requires presentation/submission of your social security card to the Office of the Registrar through the contact form under Records and Registration – Update my Info.

• You will be hired at the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering effective the first day of classes in order to receive your stipend
• The stipend is paid semi-monthly (1^st and 15^th)
• Complete the I-9 process by visiting the I-9 Compliance website – https://hr.jhu.edu/i9/

Follow the instructions to complete Section 1 of the Form I-9 electronically. You will then be prompted to make an appointment to have Section 2 of the I-9 completed through an Equifax I-9 Partner Completer. Employees are required to comply with the federal mandate to complete the I-9 process within three (3) days of hire for pay (8/30/2021-9/1/2021). If you have questions regarding I-9 Compliance, please contact [email protected]

International Students: Complete the Foreign National Information Form (FNIF) and upload the required documents at the secure link: https://web.onbase.jh.edu/UnityForms/targetpages/FNIF.html. If you do not have a SSN but have received a temporary ID number that begins with the digits 988, enter that number on the FNIF. Questions related to this form should be directed to [email protected].

• Review Student Handbook to answer many questions related to your hire such as employee self-service portal, direct deposit, policies and many others.

Check in with the Office of International Services.

After arriving in the U.S., complete your online check‐in form and upload copies of your immigration documents as instructed on the form. The check in form is accessed via http://ihopkins.jhu.edu. You will receive specific information on this process in an email from the Office of International Services (OIS). OIS has updated the immigration-related COVID FAQs for new and continuing students. We strongly recommend you review and reach out to OIS with any questions.

• Contact your institution to have your academic transcripts sent directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Admitted students have until the end of their first semester at JHU to submit their official transcript with degree conferral.
• JHU prefers digital transcripts sent via email to [email protected]. Requesting a digital copy is (in most cases) available to applicants who have received their degree from a US institution. If digital copies are not available/offered, we will accept either a mailed copy (sent in their fully sealed, institutional envelopes) or an email from the university’s registrar. Please be aware that any transcripts submitted by the student are considered unofficial – this includes an email from the student, or a mailed copy where the transcript is not in an institutional envelope. The Whiting School requires official copies sent directly from the institution.

If your institution does not offer digital transcripts, you can mail documents to:

Graduate Academic Affairs
Engineering Graduate Admissions
Wyman Park Building, 3rd Floor West
3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218

• Obtain your J-Card which serves as your ID, library card, and your key. If you have any issues with getting your card, please contact the office via email [email protected]. More information is here – https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/jcard/
• Follow COVID-19 guidelines

• Review the department’s Lab Safety Manual
• Schedule an appointment with Nick Logvinovsky, the Lab Manager, in order to complete the mandatory training
• Sign the Lab safety agreement form
• Send the form to Elena Shichkova

• JHU Coronavirus Information website
• Housing Options. The University’s Off-Campus Housing office can help you find a home, give advice on securing a lease, and connect with potential roommates. Off-Campus Housing Listing Database: this normally requires your JHED ID but until that’s issued, you can request access as a “Guest.”  Visit the Guest Registration page for instructions to request access.
• Preparing for Your Move
• Visit Phuture offices which is the Johns Hopkins University professional development and career connections office serving all doctoral students and Postdocs to get ready for your career from the
• PhD Mentoring Policies and Resources
• JHU Mentorship Commitments of Faculty Advisors and PhD Students – outlines mentoring expectations of faculty advisors and of PhD students in support of the mission of excellence in PhD education at Johns Hopkins.