Preparing for Matriculation

You must provide official, final transcripts from each institution from which you have received a degree prior to the start of your first quarter of study. A transcript is considered final only when it specifically states what degree you have received and the date it was conferred. If the transcript from an institution does not specifically state degrees conferred, you will also need to submit a copy of a diploma or other degree certificate. An official transcript is a transcript which has been supplied from a school administrative officer and which bears an institutional seal or stamp. Typically it will be in a sealed envelope from the Registrar of the degree-granting institution. Upon acceptance of an offer of admission to the University of Chicago, students should request transcripts from their Registrar's Offices and submit them in signed-and-sealed envelopes. Official electronic transcripts may be sent to ahd-dos@uchicago.edu.

The Dean of Students Office reserves the right to determine whether a transcript has been tampered with. If a degree-granting institution does not provide additional copies of transcripts or degree certificates, please contact the Arts & Humanities Dean of Students Office at ahd-dos@uchicago.edu for further instructions.

Tuition and Fees are posted by the Office of the Bursar. This is also where you can find information on billing dates and how to pay your bill.

New students can get their UChicago Cards in person at the ID and Privileges Office, located in the lobby of the Regenstein Library. They are usually available at the beginning of the Summer Quarter.

Autumn quarter advising and course registration generally takes place during the week prior to the start of autumn quarter. You may peruse the Registrar's Class Search website to get an idea of what courses are offered. Most departments organize orientation sessions and festivities for incoming students. In addition, the Arts & Humanities Dean of Students Office holds an orientation program in conjunction with the University-wide graduate student orientation presented by UChicagoGRAD.

All divisional programs begin in Autumn Quarter each year. Enrolling students cannot begin their studies in any quarter other than Autumn.*

Enrolling PhD and MFA students cannot defer their offer and must begin their studies in the year they were admitted unless there are significant extenuating circumstances and with departmental approval. 

Enrolling MA students can defer their enrollment one year to the following Autumn Quarter only. We do not permit two-year deferrals or non-Autumn quarter starts. The only exception is if an individual is active duty or reserve military and is unexpectedly deployed between the time they accepted their offer and their matriculation date.

*Students admitted to some MA and PhD programs may, with permission of their program/department, enroll in coursework in the Summer Quarter prior to the quarter for which they have been admitted. In those cases, PhD students will officially matriculate in Summer Quarter and have their stipend and time to degree begin. Students in Master’s programs who enroll in courses during the Summer prior to beginning the program may not have those courses be counted towards degree requirements, and the student matriculates into the program in the Autumn.

While the majority of PhD students matriculate in Autumn Quarter, we do have a small number of students, who in consultation and advisement with their departments, matriculate in Summer Quarter. There are a number of reasons why a student might want to matriculate in Summer including language training and/or academic coursework. The Dean of Students Office will need to know by May 15th whether a student is matriculating in Summer Quarter so funding and time to degree can be updated appropriately.