First-Year Resources

First-Year Experience Opportunities

To help you engage quickly with the academic and student life expectations at UW–Madison, OSTFE recommends participating in at least one high impact educational practice in your first-year. Students have reported that these experiences are helpful since you will be…

Interacting frequently—and substantively—with instructors and peers
Exploring big questions and ideas in a challenging and supportive way
Experiencing diversity
Receiving frequent feedback on your performance
Integrating, synthesizing, and applying knowledge
Incorporating in- and out-of-classroom learning

In most cases, these classes and opportunities count for credit toward your degree. Checkout the opportunities listed here; and speak to your advisor about which options are best for you.

The Wisconsin Experience Seminar

The Wisconsin Experience Seminar is a one-credit course for new students (both freshman and transfer) to help them make a successful transition to academic and social life at UW–Madison. A UW faculty or staff member and an experienced undergraduate student co-teach the small class (20 students or fewer), which connects students to resources and opportunities that enhance The Wisconsin Experience.

First-Year Interest Groups

A First-Year Interest Group (FIG) consists of a group of 20 freshmen or first-year transfer students who enroll in a cluster of two or three classes together. Each FIG offers courses linked by a central theme. The main seminar course of each FIG enrolls only those 20 students; the other courses, which enroll more students, are selected by relevance to the FIG’s theme.

FIGs provide first-year students with an opportunity to be in a small enrollment seminar with a professor who engages them in an interdisciplinary exploration of the FIG topic. Some FIGs are designed for students interested in specific majors (e.g., business, nursing, engineering, education, art, etc.), while others allow students to explore topics and courses that are applicable to many different potential majors.

FIG options will be available that represent a wide range of topics that integrate materials from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

Go Big Read

The University of Wisconsin–Madison invites you to participate in its common book program, Go Big Read.

The program engages members of the campus community and beyond in a shared, academically focused reading experience. Students, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to participate by reading the book, and taking part in classroom discussions and campus events. First-year students will receive a copy of the text at the Chancellor’s Convocation for New Students. If you still need a copy, swing by our office and we’ll give you one!

Residence Hall Reserved Course Sections

UW–Madison is a big school and can be a little intimidating at first. Taking a class reserved for students in your residence hall can be a great way to meet other students and gain a larger sense of community on campus. Class sections, as well as instructor office hours and/or review sessions, are held in classrooms within the residence halls. Classes are offered in the most common first-year courses, including Chemistry 103/109, English 100, Math 221, and Political Science 104.

Residential Learning Community Seminars

If you live in a residential learning community, be sure to enroll in the seminar that serves as the academic and social anchor of your community.

Undergraduate Research Scholars

The Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URS) is dedicated to helping first- and second-year undergraduates get hands- on experience in research or other creative endeavors by working with UW faculty and research staff. Students earn college credit while working independently with a research mentor in any area of academic interest across campus.

How-to Guides

Your Guide(s) to Life at UW–Madison

Your first year at UW–Madison will be full of new experiences, opportunities, and challenges. That’s why the Center for the First Year Experience created how-to guides to help guide you through these new experiences, and we’re always adding more to better help our first-year students. From moving in to finding study spots, OSTFE has got you covered.

How-to Guides

My UW–Madison

My UW–Madison (MyUW) is your secure gateway to personalized campus information and services. We recommend becoming familiarized with before the semester begins. You will find that your MyUW is pre-populated with apps that will be useful to you as a student. You can add or remove apps based on your personal preferences. If you are looking for something, just search for it. Access MyUW at my.wisc.edu with your NetID and password.

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Pre-Populated Apps

My Courses: Access a list of your current courses and related information in one spot. View a print- and mobile-friendly version of your course schedule. Includes links to contact your instructor(s) and the campus map.

Course Guide: View course and instructor information, create customized course plans, identify favorite courses, link to enrollment, view textbook information, etc. Course Guide should be used in conjunction with Schedule Planner.

Schedule Planner: Import planned courses from Course Guide; set up blocked times for events such as work, practice, or lunch; and select a schedule you want from a variety of options. Then import the schedule to the Student Center and enroll. Access Schedule Planner through Course Guide.

Student Center:
• Academics section: Search for course offerings, add or drop courses, check grades, and review class schedule.
• Finances section:
-My Account: Click “Tuition Account Summary” to view tuition charges, payments/loans/grants/scholarships received, refunds issued (and type of refund), and the address for a mailed check. You can also view and pay tuition eBills online, set up authorized payers, and enroll for eRefund.
-Financial Aid: Check the status of financial aid applications, accept or decline a financial aid award, and search for scholarships.
• Personal Information: Update your emergency and personal information.
• Learn@UW: Access UW–Madison’s centralized educational tool, which your professors may use to help teach or supplement your classes. Learn@UW includes course management for online quizzes and tests, class discussion groups, document sharing, course events calendars, and grade postings.

Email/Calendar: Access your campus email/calendar, which includes unlimited storage, as well as spam- and virus-filtering.

Preparing for SOAR in Your First Year:
View a summary of your advising session that took place during SOAR, including your enrolled courses, advisor, and follow-up instructions.

Search for Other Apps

Scholarships@UW–Madison: The university’s one-stop shop for scholarships, allowing students to match to, apply for, and accept campus scholarships.

WiscAlerts: Sign up for UW–Madison’s text messaging emergency notification system. You will receive a text message in the event of an urgent situation.

Campus Chat Connections: Chat with services including Ask Bucky, UW Libraries, DoIT Help Desk, GUTS, the Writing Center, the Transfer Transition Program, and more.

UW Libraries Services: Access your UW Libraries account to view items checked out, renew items, and check library requests.
Visit it.wisc.edu/guides/get-started-with- tech for details.

Additional Resources

SCHOOLS & COLLEGES

Some undergraduate schools and colleges have specific resources and application processes. Please use the following links to ensure you are aware of all relevant information for your intended school or college.