To-Do List

Graduate students are directly admitted to their major programs.

Certain undergraduate programs require a separate application to be admitted into majors.  Find out more by selecting undergraduate majors listed here: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/home/schools-and-programs

Academic calendar is available on Office of The Registrar's website: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/registrar/academic-calendar

Read the calendar closely and pay attention to important dates. For example: 

• Registration Period II (registration period opens at midnight for newly admitted students)
• First day tuition & fee balance is available on MyUW
• Deadline to register for classes to ensure advance UPASS activation
• Instruction Begins
• Last day to make changes to class schedule via MyUW without being assessed a $20 fee and possible tuition forfeiture
• Tuition payment deadline for all registered students
• ....and more!

Undergraduate students pay the New Student Enrollment and Orientation Fee (NSEOF). 

Graduate students pay the Enrollment Confirmation Deposit. 

If you have additional questions or have trouble making a payment, please visit the UW Enrollment Confirmation System page.  

Instruction on how to set up NetID and UW Email account is available here. 

University email communications will only be sent to University of Washington email addresses. Faculty and staff are not obligated to respond to students who use non-UW email accounts. Official UW Tacoma email addresses should be used to correspond with UW Tacoma staff and faculty at all times. To learn more about this email policy, please read here. 

If you have trouble logging into Google, you can use Office 365 to access your email.  To do this, please go to www.tacoma.uw.edu, then click on “Tools” and then click on “Office 365 ”.

Please see our housing page for detailed information on housing options.

If you are planning to live in on-campus housing, be sure to submit your housing application (an easy online form) and pay the deposit as soon as possible to make sure you get a spot.

Students need to meet their immunization requirements by submitting proof of measles, mumps, and meningococcal ACWY vaccination or exemptions to the Immunity Verification Program here (link: https://wellbeing.uw.edu/medical/immunizations/immunization-requirement/).

The immunity requirements must be met by the 2nd week of their first quarter. If they are not met, students will not be able to register for classes.

You can find locations to receive vaccinations or blood titer tests at the UWT Student Health Services (link: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/sh).

To learn about how to obtain your UW Tacoma I-20, please visit the I-20 information page.

To learn more about obtaining a visa, please visit the Visa Information page.

Undergraduate students who have declared a major should contact their academic advisor of specific majors.

If you are freshmen or have not declared an academic major, please review the the University Academic Advising (UAA) page.

Graduate students should contact graduate program advisors of their specific programs.

If you have a difficult time setting up an appointment with your academic advisor due to high volume, consider sending them an email. 

NOTE: All new international students have a registration hold until their I-20 request is complete. 

Will you be living off-campus? How do you plan to get to campus? Parking spaces on campus are limited and come with a high cost.

The U-PASS is included in your tuition so consider taking public transportation to campus!

To learn more about on or off-campus parking options, please visit this page. 

Washington State law requires that international students maintain adequate health insurance while attending the University of Washington.

Most international students will automatically be enrolled for the UW International Student Health Insurance Plan (ISHIP).

To learn more, please visit the International Student Health Insurance page.

To learn more, please visit our What to Bring page.

Please note that initial F-1 Students are not permitted to enter the United States earlier than 30 days before the start date of their program printed on their I-20. 

Students arriving by air should fly into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). UW Tacoma does not provide airport pickup, so plan ahead for your airport transfer transportation. There are many options for transportation from the airport:

Taxi: Taxis are always available at the airport and a typical taxi fare from Sea-Tac airport to downtown Tacoma should be around $70 (USD). In addition, you will need to tip your driver for at least 10% of the charge. 

Uber/Lyft: You can call an Uber or Lyft on their app and there is a dedicated area for shared drive services pick-up. The cost is usually around $50 one way.

Capital Aeroporter: UW Tacoma student discount is $36 one way for shared van service. http://www.capair.com/discounts

Shuttle Express: http://www.shuttleexpress.com/

Public Bus: While the bus is much less expensive, it may be stressful with lots of luggage, so we don’t recommend this option for your first arrival. Bus 574 from Sea-Tac airport takes you to the Tacoma Dome Station, about 5 minutes from campus. Free transfer to an inner-city light rail brings you to campus. Check bus schedules and fees at:

http://www.soundtransit.org/Schedules/ST-Express-Bus/574?dir=inbound

All new international students must attend orientation programs. Please visit the Orientation for International Students page to learn more about orientation programs and to register.

All international students must also complete the New Student SEVIS Record Activation and New International Student Information Session via ISSS Portal. These two forms become available only after 30 days before the program start date.

Email us at uwtiss@uw.edu.