Student Resources

Below are links to a variety of resources available to students at UW–Madison.

Still not finding what you need? Try your program handbook or contact the Undergraduate Coordinator, Debi Griffin.

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Vital Student Information, Dates, Deadlines, Registering for Classes

My UW portal – Use MyUW to access your email, view your grades, register for classes, check your tuition, see your class schedule, and many other useful things.

UW Academic Calendar – Making plans for spring break, but don’t remember when it is? Find out those dates and when semesters begin on this page.

Academic Dates & Deadlines – Want to add or drop a class? Check these dates to make sure you meet important deadlines.

Registration – Students enroll for courses in the UW-Madison Course Search & Enroll portal through their MyUW. Students may also view the public Course Search & Enroll here.

Graduate School Degree Deadlines – Use these dates to keep track of degree completion deadlines.

MS URPL Professional Project Archive

Explore the work of DPLA’s MS URPL students here.

Tuition & Fees

Wondering how much your cost of attendance will be?

View updated Cost of Attendance breakdowns here.

Student Jobs

All students may find information on student employment on this page.

To search for available jobs, students must go to the webpage listed above and click ‘Browse Jobs.’

For Graduate Students:

Graduate students looking for assistantships that offer tuition remission should search for jobs under the ‘UW Student Assistant’ job type.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT Only Graduate assistantships appointed at 33.33% (13.33 hours per week) or higher qualify for 100% tuition remission!

Find out more, including pay rates, types of assistanships, and other benefits here.

Funding

Unless offered as a condition of program admittance, funding is not guaranteed for students. Unless otherwise indicated, students applying for fellowships and assistantships administered by the Graduate School or the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture should indicate this on their application form.

The Graduate School provides a list of funding types and options. Many student hourly employment opportunities are also available on campus, including within the Department, with students typically working 10-20 hours per week. International students should confirm their eligibility for funding opportunities with International Student Services.

UW Offices

Division of Information Technology – DoIT provides over 100 services for faculty, staff, and students including operating a tech store and offering free access to software needed for your academic work.

Division of Student Life – This division has nine departments dedicated to helping you navigate your way. If you want to get involved with student government for a student organization; want to learn more about leadership opportunities; seeking identity-based spaces and resources; face a conduct violation; or just need to talk, this is a good place to start.

Dean of Students – A department within the Division of Student Life, the Dean of Students handles topics such as hazing, undocumented student support, sexual assault, domestic violence, and more.

College of Letters & Science – The Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture is housed within the College of Letters & Science. This college is also home to the natural, physical and biological sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities at UW–Madison.

Graduate School – All graduate programs are connected to the Graduate School. Explore their website to learn about policies, tips, and options related to your graduate journey.

Office of Financial Aid – Not sure how much it’ll cost to attend UW–Madison? Confused on how to apply for financial aid? They got your back.

Office of the Registrar – The Registrar holds your student records and will help you with enrolling in classes and ordering transcripts.

Libraries and Study Spots

Libraries at UW–Madison – We have over 30 libraries at UW–Madison. Use this site to check library hours, reserve study rooms, find the next workshop or event, and search for articles, books, movies, music, and more through online databases.

Wisconsin Historical Society – Right across the plaza from Memorial Library, the Wisconsin Historical Society is home to great study spots and an invaluable wealth of information. The Library includes United States and Canadian history and genealogy, Wisconsin history, and a newspaper collection second only to the Library of Congress. Some books, agency reports, statistical abstracts and legislative journals date back to the 1790s. The Archives has original historical records from schools and school districts, towns, counties, state government and agencies, the governor’s office and the court system. Some records date back to 1821 when Wisconsin was still part of the Michigan Territory.

Graduate Student Lounge – Located on the 4th floor of Memorial Library, this area is only accessible to graduate students and has a reservable conference room perfect for group meetings. To get access to the Grad Lounge, you’ll need to register your Wiscard at the Circulation Desk.

Department Buildings and Studios

The Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture is spread across campus. We are located primarily in two buildings:

Music Hall – Located on the east end of campus, Music Hall is home to the Planning faculty offices, a DPLA administrative office, a computer lab, and a student lounge in the lower level.

Environmental Health and Safety Building – Located at the southern end of East Campus Mall. EHSB is the new home to the Landscape Architecture faculty offices, the main Landscape Architecture studio, a DPLA administrative office, computer labs, and graduate student offices.

Health Services

Your student fees fund clinical medical care, mental health services, environmental-occupational health services for campus, and improvement for the health of the campus through prevention and public health.

University Health Services (UHS) – With two convenient clinic locations, UHS addresses concerns relating to colds, the flu, injuries, stress, and gynecologic care as well as provide health consultations for international travel and trans health care services. UHS also provides occupational medicine services to campus research facilities. Most medical services are free of charge.

Mental Health Services – UHS offers no-cost mental health services including 24-Hour crisis service, campus-based programming, stress management, psychiatry services, and counseling for individuals, couple/partners, and groups.

The Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) provides comprehensive health coverage for UW–Madison students and scholars.

Health & Wellness

Your student fees provide access to campus fitness centers such as the new Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, the Nicholas Recreation Center (Nick), & more! Find info here.

Resource Centers

Campus & Visitor Relations – Want to tour our beautiful campus? Get the most out of your visit by contacting this department.

Center for Leadership & Involvement (CfLI)- Assists students in intentionally connecting with the far ranging opportunities that exist throughout campus, including student organizations, the Greek community, and many others. They also offer leadership programming that supports students in making meaning of these experiences and in developing leadership capacity – the ability to affect positive change.

International Student Services (ISS) – Provides information and programs to international students about the campus and community as well as support and assistance concerning visas and related immigration issues.

Gender and Sexuality Campus Center (GSCC) – A unit within the Division of Student Life, the GSCC provides education, outreach, advocacy, and resources for UW-Madison student communities and their allies to improve campus climate and their daily intersectional experiences.

Multicultural Student Center (MSC) – A unit within the Division of Student Life, the MSC works to collaboratively strengthen and sustain an inclusive campus where all students, particularly students of color and other historically underserved students, can realize an authentic Wisconsin Experience.

McBurney Disability Resource Center – The office for students with disabilities and classroom accommodations on the UW-Madison campus.

Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC) – Offers free statistical software training to all students, faculty, and staff at UW–Madison.

Tenant Resource Center – A nonprofit, membership organization dedicated to promoting positive relations between tenants and landlords throughout Wisconsin. They provide information and referrals, education about rental rights and responsibilities, and access to conflict resolution.

The Writing Center – Helps undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines become more effective, more confident writers

Steps for International Students & Visa Help

How will you get your Visa? What are the steps? UW-Madison has a great website to help with this. Check it out here.

Social & Recreation

Campus Events Calendar – Check out today’s and upcoming events.

Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau – Find events happening all around town as well as opportunities to become better acquainted with Madison.

Lakeshore Nature Preserve – A 300-acre natural area situated on the south shore of Lake Mendota on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. It represents about one-third of the total acreage of the main UW–Madison campus and includes the Lakeshore Path that is 4.3 miles along the Lake Mendota shoreline near the Memorial Union to Wally Bauman Woods via Picnic Point, a peninsula that juts nearly a mile into the lake.

Outdoor UW – Located in the Memorial Union, Outdoor UW is your one-stop-shop to rent outdoor gear, take classes, sign up for trips, and much more.

Recreational Sports – Your home for intramural sports, fitness opportunities, and sport clubs.

UW Arboretum – Widely recognized as the site of historic research in ecological restoration, the 1,200-acre Arboretum includes the oldest and most varied collection of restored ecological communities in the world. The Arboretum maintains more than 17 miles of trails through restored prairies, savannas, woodlands, and wetlands. Arboretum trails and the Visitor Center parking lot are open year-round 7 a.m.–10 p.m.

Wisconsin Union – UW–Madison has two unions that serve as large social hubs on campus. Memorial Union is located on the shore of Lake Mendota, complete with a beautiful terrace that flows into Alumni Park. Union South is located near Camp Randall, our massive football stadium. Special events, film showings, and live music happen regularly at these two locations.

Guides

Graduate Guide – An overview of UW–Madison programs that offer graduate degrees, doctoral minors, graduate/professional certificates, and capstone certificates.

Undergraduate Guide – Contains information about the many academic programs that make the University of Wisconsin–Madison one of the world’s foremost institutions of higher education. Information in the individual school/college sections applies specifically to students who intend to graduate from one of those schools or colleges.

Writer’s Handbook – Offers tips and tricks to improve your writing structure and style, grammar and punctuation, and reference citing.

GIS & Software Help

The Music Hall computer lab and the Agricultural Hall studio computers have ArcGIS software available to students.

The Arthur H. Robinson Map Library – A unit of the Department of Geography, the Map Library holdings include ~280,000 maps and ~260,000 historic aerial photos of Wisconsin. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital geospatial datasets represent most of the library’s digital collections. Data from Wisconsin government agencies, counties, and cities are archived in the library each year and are available for download.

GIS Resources – A page of helpful resources compiled by our faculty affiliate, Associate Professor Aslıgül Göçmen of the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies.

Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC) – Offers free statistical software training to all students, faculty, and staff at UW–Madison.

Software Training for Students – Offers free technology training and project support to registered UW–Madison students and instructors.

Computing Resources

DPLA Computing FAQ

Temporary Remote Access Resources.  During the Spring 2020 coronavirus response, DPLA has implemented temporary remote access for students needing to use the software on our Lab computers.  Details were mailed to our students 3/13/2020, but more information and updates are available at this page.

All IT related questions and support requests should be directed via email to shc@geography.wisc.edu.

Department Student Organizations

Wisconsin American Society of Landscape Architects (WI-ASLA) Student Chapter – A social and professional organization run by and for UW–Madison landscape architecture students. For more information on the WI-ASLA Student Chapter and its events, email them at: wiaslastudentchapter@gmail.com.

Wisconsin Student Planning Association (WSPA) – A social and professional organization run by and for UW–Madison planning students. For more information on WSPA and its events, find them on Facebook or email them at: wspa@dpla.wisc.edu.

Campus Wide Organizations

Wisconsin Involvement Network (WIN) – A platform you can use to search for campus student organizations.

Center for Leadership & Involvement (CfLI)- Assists students in intentionally connecting with the far ranging opportunities that exist throughout campus, including student organizations, the Greek community, and many others.

Associated Students of Madison (ASM) – The campus-wide student governance organization at UW–Madison. Graduate and undergraduate representatives are elected to the 33-member ASM Student Council based on their respective college or school. The student council has regular biweekly meetings open to all students.

Graduate Worker Union (TAA) – Known as the Teaching Assistants’ Association, this labor union represents TAs and PAs at UW–Madison. As a result of decades of organizing and by working together as a union, graduate students at UW–Madison have achieved good health benefits, tuition remission, and many other gains. The TAA is a democratic union run by the members. All key policy decisions are made at monthly membership meetings.

Networking, Outreach & Development

Morgridge Center for Public Service – The Morgridge Center for Public Service connects campus with community through service, active civic engagement, community-based learning and research, and more.

Center for Leadership & Involvement (CfLI)- Offers leadership programming that supports students in making meaning of these experiences and in developing leadership capacity – the ability to affect positive change.

Graduate Student Professional Development – The Graduate School provides students with professional development activities like seminars, workshops, and more. Take the Individual Development Plan to get a personalized recommendation of professional development opportunities.

Handshake – An app and website that lists thousands of internships, jobs, and career fairs.

SuccessWorks – Helps students in the College of Letters & Science discover themselves, find employment opportunities, and develop the skills they need for success after graduation. SuccessWorks offers free professional head shot photos, resume review services, and interview preparation.

Living in Madison

Campus Events Calendar – Check out today’s and upcoming events.

Campus Food Shed – A project thought up by undergraduate student Hannah DePorter. Funded by a grant from the Kemper Knapp Bequest written by Irwin Goldman and Hannah, the Campus Food Shed is designed to collect produce from research farms and from the F.H. King Student Farm and make it freely available to all UW–Madison students, staff, and faculty.

Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau – Find events happening all around town as well as opportunities to become better acquainted with Madison.

Off-campus Housing – A University page with list of available units near campus. Also check local property management websites. Students may also check out this list of off campus housing resources compiled by DPLA students.

The Open Seat Food Pantry – A food pantry located on the UW–Madison campus run by students, for students. Any student with a valid Wiscard is welcome to come and take part in the pantry weekly. There are no financial or background checks of any kind.

Tenant Resource Center – A nonprofit, membership organization dedicated to promoting positive relations between tenants and landlords throughout Wisconsin. They provide information and referrals, education about rental rights and responsibilities, and access to conflict resolution.

University Housing – Operates nineteen residence halls across the UW–Madison campus, providing a home to over 7,400 undergraduate students and three apartment communities serving about 3,000 graduate students, students with families, postdoctoral researchers, academic staff, and faculty.

Getting Around in Madison

Student fees provide a free bus pass for each student on all Madison Metro Transit System bus routes, including paratransit service.