Dear New Howard Graduate Student,

Congratulations on your acceptance to the Graduate School at Howard University.  On behalf of the students, administrators, graduate faculty and staff, we welcome you to this important and exciting phase of your academic journey.  We are pleased you decided to pursue graduate studies at Howard and we will do our part to ensure your time in residence is resourceful and productive.

The first few days and weeks of your graduate student experience will be busy and potentially overwhelming.   In an effort to expedite this transition, the Dean of the Graduate School, Orlando L. Taylor requires you to attend a mandatory Orientation Workshop for all New Graduate Students on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 from 9:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the College of Medicine Auditorium.  During the workshop, you will meet the leadership of the Graduate School and interact with currently enrolled graduate students.  Moreover, you will receive important information concerning registration; the Graduate School’s Expository Writing, Program of Study and RCR requirements; financial support as well as the policy’s governing the pursuit of master’s and Ph.D. degrees.  Participants will meet representatives from campus units which are essential to graduate student life at Howard.    

For your convenience, visit the Graduate School’s website at www.gs.howard.edu and click on Orientation to view resources designed to assist with pre-arrival planning as well as view the mandatory policy and register to attend the Orientation Workshop. In addition to the Orientation overview, we alert you to prevent registration holds by completing the following requirements:

We recommend completing steps 1 - 4 before August 8, 2008 to avoid unnecessary delays

  1) If you are enrolling at Howard University for the first time, you must pay the one-time enrollment fee of $300 payable via money order to the Office of Graduate Admissions, Howard University, 4^th & College Streets, N.W., Annex III Building, Washington, DC 20059.

 2) All new students are required to submit their immunization record to the Student Health Center preferably by fax at 202.806.7416;

 3) Contact the Director of Graduate Studies in your new academic department to schedule time to plan your fall 2008 courses totaling 9 credit hours if registering as a full-time student;  

 4) Pay your student fee of $402.50 due each semester!   This fee can be paid via credit card on Bison web before or during the course identification session described in step 5;   

 5) Once your courses are identified with the Director of Graduate Studies, go to Bison web at  http://www.howard.edu/bisonweb and register during the New Student Registration period. To date, all new students may register for classes on-line August 18 - 20, 2008.   Please check the Bison web schedule to determine if additional registration dates for new students are added.

Please retain the fax confirmation and receipts for all above transactions!

6) The final step in the registration process is Validation.  Your student account in Bison web will automate your status to validated once the above steps are completed.   

Please note the following registration dates for all new graduate students:

• Monday, August 18, 2008 through Wednesday August 20, 2008 (general registration for new students )
• Thursday, August 21, 2008 through Friday, August 29, 2008 (late registration for all students – fees apply)
• Monday, August 25, 2008 through Friday, August 29, 2008 (add/drop period)
• Monday, August 25, 2008 through Friday, September 5, 2008 (consortium registration)