Once you have been offered admission to a graduate program at Carleton, we want to ensure you have a smooth transition to begin your studies. The following checklist takes you through the steps to become a Carleton grad student.

Checklist for New Graduate Students

 STEP  ACTION DETAILS
Step 1 Read the Terms and Conditions of Admission and Funding Handbook It is your responsibility to read and understand the information in this handbook before accepting your Offer of Admission and Funding. By accepting your offer, you are accepting the terms of this handbook.

The online version is considered the official version.
Step 2 Accept Your Offer of Admission and Funding You will have 21 days to accept your Offer for most programs. You can complete this step by logging into Carleton Central.

Note: If your Offer includes an Offer of Funding that you wish to accept, you are required to accept the funding as an additional step to accepting the Offer of Admission. Should you require additional time, please contact the department to which you have been admitted.
Step 3 Clear the Conditions on Your Offer of Admission It is your responsibility to ensure that the conditions on your Offer of Admission have been met. After you receive an Offer of Admission, you will be required to mail all official documents as indicated on your Offer to Graduate Studies. You will not be able to register for courses in your graduate program until these conditions have been satisfied.

For instructions on submitting your transcripts, please visit our Required Documents page.

Once Graduate Studies receives your official documents, the academic unit to which you have applied will submit a request to remove the condition(s) to Graduate Studies.

Once the conditions have been removed, you will be sent a Revised Offer of Admission which can be viewed in Carleton Central. This may take several days.
Step 4 Apply for On-campus Housing The application for on-campus housing is separate from the admissions process. If you are interested in applying for on-campus housing, you must first accept your Offer of Admission and then submit your housing application by the deadline to be entered into the lottery. Full details and applications are available on the Housing Services website
Step 5 Activate Your Carleton Email Account All Carleton students will need a Carleton email address. To protect your privacy, Carleton is only able to respond to inquiries about your student file/account through your Carleton email. Once you have accepted your offer, you will see a pop up in Carleton Central inviting you to activate your account. It is important to activate this account as soon as you accept your offer as you may begin to receive emails immediately from university administrators.
Step 6 Confirm Your Personal Information and Register Log in to Carleton Central to confirm your personal information. It is your responsibility to ensure that your personal information is up-to-date so that university administrators and faculty can contact you. You will also use Carleton Central during the registration period to make your course selection. If you require assistance selecting courses, contact the academic unit to which you’ve been admitted. For more information, visit the registration page.

Note: you will not be able to register for courses in your graduate program until the conditions of your offer of admission have been met.
Step 7 Pay Your Tuition Fees In order to confirm your registration, you must make payment arrangements for your tuition fees prior to the deadline. For the current tuition fee schedule and payment options, visit Student Accounts Receivable.

In order to assign any funding (TA/RA) to your tuition you must submit payroll information (see Step 10).
Step 8 Apply For Your Campus Card Apply for your campus card either online or by mailing in your application. Once received, your application will be processed and your card will be ready to be picked up when you arrive.

Note: You must be registered in your courses to apply for your Campus Card. More information can be found on the Campus Card website.
Step 9 Contact Your Department It is important to stay in touch with your department to review any updated information about events or other relevant matters.
Step 10 Stay In Touch With Graduate Studies You will receive a copy of TheGraduate@Carleton newsletter every Thursday (with some exceptions) throughout the academic year that provides news, important dates, and scholarship information. Visit our grad student site regularly for grad student stories and relevant information such as thesis information and policies.
Step 11 Submit Payroll Information If you are a Teaching Assistant (TA), you must be registered for courses as a full-time student and complete and submit the necessary forms to Human Resources typically before Sept. 15 or Jan. 15 to meet the end of the month payroll deadlines. Please check Student Accounts for approved dates. For complete information on what is required, please visit the official TA website.

The documentation process for Research Assistants is now done using an online tool that provides workflow approvals for funding and online forms for students to complete their hiring documentation. More information is available on this page.
Step 12 Orientation for New Graduate Students Graduate Studies has an orientation guide available as a course on Brightspace, and you can access it directly through this link, or alternatively click on “Discover” within Brightspace and search for “Introduction to Graduate Studies at Carleton.” Please enrol in the course to access the information!

In-person orientation sessions are held in September and January, please visit our Orientation web page for details.
Step 13 International Graduate Students If you are a new international graduate student, you are encouraged to visit the International Student Services Office website. ISSO offers an airport welcome, as well as a mentoring program. Details can be found on their website and orientation page.
Step 14 Apply for Awards and Scholarships The annual competition for several major awards and scholarships occurs soon after the beginning of the Fall term for the next academic year. Competition for these awards can be very strong, and preparing a successful application takes time. You are encouraged to begin working on your applications as early as August.