Liberal Arts Services

Welcome to the Asian Studies Graduate Programs

Dear New Graduate Students,

Congratulations on your acceptance to our graduate program! We are looking forward to you joining us in August. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at dasgrads@austin.utexas.edu. You may also contact Dr. Selby, our graduate advisor, at ms@uts.cc.utexas.edu.

Below you will find information on Austin and UT. Please read it carefully and let me know if you have any questions.

Orientations

Departmental: We will have a mandatory departmental orientation session on Monday, August 17, from 2-4 PM, in WC Hogg 4.118 - the Meyerson conference room. Please plan to attend. WC Hogg is located east of the Tower next to the Gebauer building; there is a map located at http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/wch.html.

The Office of Graduate Studies (OGS): has a wonderful Graduate Student Guide online at http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/publications/gradguide/. OGS also has a web-based orientation program and a web-based program on ethical conduct for all new graduate students. The URL for the on-line orientation is http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/orientation/index.html, and the URL for the on-line ethics training is http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/ethics/index.html.

International Office: If you are an international student, please consult the International Office as soon as possible to find out their requirements. Their new student webpage is located at http://www.utexas.edu/international/isss/students/new/.

Housing

Housing Websites and Resources

General apartment rental information

You can also find listings in our local newspapers

The Shuttle Bus and Capital Metro route maps may assist you in the selection of areas to consider for apartments. You can view all of the shuttle bus routes at the Capital Metro web site at http://www.capmetro.org/riding/schedulesandmaps.asp.

Advising and Registration

Advising: Dr. Selby will advise new South Asia students on Tuesday, August 18, from 1-5 PM, and Dr. Stalker will advise new East Asia students on Friday, August 21, from 9-11 AM. You must set up a 30 minute appointment in order to be advised; please email me two times you are available and I will email you the time and date of your appointment - appointments times will be given to the first person making the request.

Following your advising session, I will lift your advising bar and you will be cleared to register on Thursday, August 20, or Friday, August 21. There is not an earlier registration date for new students. You can register late, however, there is a late registration fee.

Courses: UT has an unusual course numbering system. The first number indicates the number of credit hours. The middle number indicates whether it is graduate or undergraduate; 8 and 9 are graduate and 0-7 are undergraduate. The last number doesn't mean much.

The Fall 2009 course schedule is located at http://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules/099/index.html; you may access it with your EID and password. The Department of Asian Studies has its course descriptions posted on the Asian Studies Course Descriptions webpage. Please look at the course listings prior to your advising appointment and pick out several courses that interest you. Courses in other departments, such as History, Religious Studies, and Comparative Literature, may be counted towards your degree if your advisor approves. When you meet with Dr. Selby or Dr. Stalker, she will let you know which courses will count towards your degree. Please be aware that all new South Asia graduate students are required to take ANS 384C Core Studies in South Asia and all new East Asia graduate students are required to take ANS 390 Readings in Modern East Asia.

Registration: UT has a convenient online registration that you access with your EID and password; the website is https://utdirect.utexas.edu/registrar/reg/Pregistration.WBX. Please let me know if you would like assistance with registration. In the future, advising and registration periods will occur two months before the beginning of the next semester with payment due a couple days after each semester's start. This first semester is the only time you must pay so quickly after you register.

Classes begin on Wednesday, August 26, with no classes on Labor Day, Monday, September 7.

Estimate of Costs and Payment of Fee Bill

Tuition and required fees for Fall 2009 will be approximately $3,547 for a full-time course load of nine (9) hours for Texas residents, and $7,096 for non-residents.

Payment of all tuition and fees must be made by 5 PM on Monday, August 31, or your registration will be cancelled and you will be dropped from all of your courses. After you register for courses, you may view your tuition bill and make a payment at https://utdirect.utexas.edu/acct/fb/my_tuition/my_tuition_home.WBX. You can pay by:

cash, check or money order
credit card (Mastercard or Discover with a convenience charge)
electronic funds transfer from your bank account
financial aid (approved federal student loans only - not fellowships)
tuition loan - an option available for every student every semester

You should be able to pay your tuition and fees in three installments; the first payment will be half the total amount due and the other half will be divided into two installments.

If you have been given a TA appointment, you will receive a tuition benefit to cover the cost of tuition. Information about the tuition benefit can be found at http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/employment/tuition/faqs.html.

If you apply and get approved for a guaranteed federal student loan (Stafford, for example), you can defer your tuition payment to your student loan. Also, students may take out a UT Tuition Loan to pay their fee bill. Repayment is due in 30 - 90 days.

Additional payment information is available at http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/sar/forms.html.

You will need to have some financial resources when you come to Austin for the tuition payment, the expenses associated with leasing an apartment and getting settled in it, the costs of books, etc.

Fellowship and TA-ship Payments

Fellowships: If you have been awarded a fellowship, it will be released after you have registered and paid. Most fellowships are divided into two sums: half paid now and half in the spring semester. It will be sent either by Direct Deposit to your bank or to your local address - as you've updated it. You may update your address at https://utdirect.utexas.edu/utdirect/bio/address_change.WBX.

TAships: Most new students will not have a TAship their first year. However, if you are awarded a Teaching Assistantship, your TA salary will be paid to you once a month on the first of the month beginning with your first paycheck on October 1. You will need to complete an I-9 form with the office manager in our main office, WCH 4.134. Plan to do this shortly after you arrive in Austin. For this, you need either a current or expired passport; or a current or expired driver's license with photo; and either an official social security card (original or replacement) or a certified birth certificate.

Photograph and research interests

Each year we publish a Graduate Student Directory that contains each student's photograph, research interests, email address, and telephone number. Please send me your photograph and research interests before the departmental orientation on August 17. You may email these items to dasgrads@austin.utexas.edu. If you don't send these to me before orientation, expect to have your photo taken during the orientation meeting. I will collect your email addresses and phone numbers just before classes begin.

Employment

Some graduate students choose to take a part-time job to supplement their income. Many graduate students enjoy working for one of the libraries on campus, particularly the Physics and Math Library. You can find out more about working at a campus library at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/admin/employment/. Other sources of employment are:

OFS Student Employment - Please note that work-study positions are only available to US citizens
UT Job Search
Access UT - for UT students and alumni
Austin-American Statesman classifieds
Work in Texas

Transportation in Austin and Parking on campus

There is an extensive shuttle bus network between the student apartment areas and the campus. The shuttle busses are free (paid for by a required student fee) and convenient; they run every 15 minutes or so on most routes. Students also drive from their apartments to a shuttle bus route, park at a shuttle bus lot or on a street near the route, and take the bus to campus. You can get a permit to park on campus, but the demand for the student lots far exceeds the spaces and the lots are on the fringes of the campus. You can purchase a permit on the Parking and Transportation Services web site at http://www.utexas.edu/parking/index.html.

Official ID Card

You can get your UT ID card anytime during the summer and avoid the lines during the first week of classes.

To claim your ID card, go to the Flawn Academic Center (FAC), which is located between the Student Union Building and the Main building (aka the Tower); a map to that building is located at http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/fac.html. The ID center is on the ground floor. Office hours are 8:30 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday.

Request an ID card with High Assurance EID. With this High Assurance EID you'll be able to register, pay online, get a Tuition Loan, check out library books, see your grades online, etc. You must show a photo ID - either a driver's license or passport. The cost of the ID card is $10.00. Plan to go to the Main Building (the Tower) and pay by cash or credit card, or pay online on the What I Owe webpage.

You can find more information about the ID Center at http://www.utexas.edu/its/idcenter/.

Immunizations

UT no longer requires vaccinations for US citizens or permanent residents, however it recommends several immunizations for all students. UT does require certain immunizations and medical tests for international students. You should visit the University Health Services web page for more information about immunizations http://www.healthyhorns.utexas.edu/incomingstudents.html.

IT

Blackboard: Our graduate program has a Blackboard site that is used for storing documents such as successful fellowship and grant applications, departmental forms, and notes from workshops. You have all been added as users and should be able to log in at http://courses.utexas.edu. This site should be your first reference point when looking for departmental forms. If you have suggestions for documents or links to be added, please let me know.

Email: You may want to sign up for a free UT email account at http://www.utexas.edu/its/umbs/answers/steps.html. The @mail.utexas.edu email address is free for students.

Web storage space (Webspace): UT also provides 1 GB of free storage space to students. You may log in with your UT EID and claim your free web space at https://webspace.utexas.edu/xythoswfs/webui.

Have a wonderful and relaxing summer, and please let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Michelle Belisle
Graduate Coordinator