Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Information for Incoming Students 2024

Tree with brightly colored leaves in front of Sherman Hall

Welcome New GSAS Students!

The staff at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS) are excited to welcome you to campus this fall! Please see the information below regarding orientations and welcome events, as well as other important campus resources. Be sure to check this page frequently, as it will be updated as more information becomes available.

Don’t forget to check out our Admitted Students Checklist for important information about registering for classes, obtaining your Student ID Card, completing required documents, and other pre-arrival tasks!


Orientations, Trainings and Welcome Events

Office of Graduate Affairs (OGA) Orientation (Optional)

The Office of Graduate Affairs (OGA) provides support services, resources, and programming for all graduate students (including students from the Brandeis International Business School, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and Rabb School of Graduate Professional Studies) at Brandeis. As part of their programming, the OGA hosts the Graduate Student Orientation. This comprehensive in-person orientation is optional but strongly recommended as it will prepare students for their first day of classes.

Date: Friday, August 23, 2024
Time: 12:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: TBD
Registration: Register by August 5, 2024 (a link to register will be sent to your Brandeis email account in mid-July 2024)
Contact: graduateaffairs@brandeis.edu 

 

Department Orientation (Most department orientations are required. Check with your Department Administrator for more information.)

Many departments will hold their own orientations in addition to the OGA Orientation. You will meet faculty and fellow students in these orientations and learn the departmental academic policies. Members of the GSAS staff will also attend these orientations to give you a brief overview of our services, programming, and professional development opportunities.

Information about Departmental Orientations will be sent directly by your program. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your department's Director of Graduate Study.

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS) Library Research Session – Taking Control of Your Scholarship (Optional)

The GSAS is hosting discipline-specific sessions to introduce students to the Brandeis Library and its many resources for research. Students will also have a chance to learn about the services offered through the University Writing Center.

How visible is your work, and how do you track that? This workshop will teach you how to protect your current and future work, whether it be scholarly research, creative writing, or digital data by signing up for an Open Researcher and Contributor IDs (ORCID). An ORCID provides a digital identifier you own and control, distinguishing you as a researcher.

During this session, you will also discover a wide range of resources available at Brandeis and discuss services available to support your research and writing. The schedule for the library session is as follows:

Division of Science Session (Biochemistry & Biophysics, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Computational Linguistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Molecular and Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Physics, Psychology)

Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Time: 12:30 – 1:30 PM

Location: TBD

Contact Person: Becky Prigge, rebeccaprigge@brandeis.edu

Humanities, Social Sciences, and Creative Arts Divisions Session (Anthropology, Chinese Language and Culture, Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies, Education, English, History, Hornstein, Music, Near Eastern & Judaic Studies, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, Studio Art, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies)

Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM

Location: TBD

Contact Person: Becky Prigge, rebeccaprigge@brandeis.edu

Please submit your library orientation registration form by August 23rd.

Teaching Assistant (TA) and Course Assistant (CA) Trainings (Mandatory for new TAs/CAs)

If you are a Teaching Assistant or Course Assistant, you must complete a series of asynchronous training sessions through a LATTE course at the beginning of your first semester in the role, as well as an additional synchronous training if you are an international student and have not received a previous degree in the United States. If you have any questions, please contact the OGA at gradstudentaffairs@brandeis.edu.

GSAS Ice Cream Social (Optional)

The GSAS is hosting an ice cream social to welcome new students to campus and give you a chance to meet GSAS faculty and returning students.

Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Time: 2:30 – 4:00 pm
Location: Feldberg Lounge and Patio, Hassenfeld Conference Center
Contact: Becky Prigge, rebeccaprigge@brandeis.edu 

Onboarding Resources

GSAS Staff Directory by Subject

Get to know the GSAS staff and learn how we can assist you by visiting the Staff Directory by Subject. If we can't answer your question, we are happy to direct you to the person or office that can!

Graduate Student Housing

Brandeis does not offer on-campus housing for graduate students. To view an interactive database of available local rentals and a robust library of housing resources, please visit the Office of Graduate Affairs' Off-Campus Living website.

Social Media

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for more information about upcoming GSAS events, professional development opportunities, important deadlines and more! Don't forget to use the #BrandeisGSAS hashtag!

Academic Accommodations Webinar

Brandeis’s Student Accessibility Support has recorded an informational webinar to introduce graduate students with disabilities to the process of requesting academic accommodations. This webinar outlines the various aspects of accommodations, documentation needed, and other campus supports available for students as they start on their Brandeis journey.  

Note: please set the CC (Closed caption) button to Audio Transcript to view the correct captions for the webinar.

Newsletters

You will automatically be signed up for a monthly newsletter from GSAS, as well as some other campus partners. These newsletters will share important information about student events, University/GSAS policies, and other timely news.

Want to know even more about what’s going on around campus? Sign up for newsletters from these Brandeis partners:

Additional Resources