Getting Started - Information For New Students

Congratulations on being accepted into SILS and for making the good choice of coming here!  This is an exciting time for you but we realize it is also a confusing time: how do I register for classes?  Where can I live?  What should I do first? Along with guidance from your faculty advisor, this page will give you much of the information you need to establish yourself here at SILS.  If you still have any questions or issues you need help with, feel free to contact the SILS office on (919) 962-8366 and someone here will be happy to help you!

Registration

The first thing new students need to do is to create an ONYEN.  Along with your PID number, your ONYEN is used to access many other facilities and services at SILS.

my.unc.edu is the hub of all the services at UNC.  Here you can find tutorials on class registration and the portal to the ConnectCarolina registration system, links to your university e-mail account and important offices on campus, as well as other useful sites, forms, and information.

In preparation for registering for your first semester of classes at SILS, please talk to your advisor by phone or e-mail.  You should have received contact information for your advisor in a welcome letter that we sent to you.  If you have not received this yet, please contact us. 

The normal course load for full-time students is 12 credit hours, typically 4 courses.  You are considered a full-time student if you are registered for 9 credit hours, usually 3 courses.  First year students ideally take as many required core courses as possible, enabling advanced courses with certain pre-requisites to be taken in subsequent semesters.  Please review the curriculum and required courses for your degree before talking with your advisor.  Curriculum information can be found here: MSIS, MSLS, PhD.  

Information on what courses are being offered in the upcoming semester can be found here.  We do not offer all of our course every semester, to get an idea of how often courses are offered to help your planning please look at our course frequency.

Other Information

It is a requirement of the university that all graduate students should have a laptop.  Further information about the requirements and specifications needed can be found here.  Any questions about registering your computer for use on the UNC networks, what computer services SILS provides, or anything related to computers and technology, can be directed to the SILS IT Services.

Many of you will want to establish residency in North Carolina so you are charged the in-state tuition rate.  Information on how to apply for in-state classification and tips on what to do to improve your chances of getting NC residency can be found on the Graduate School's website here.

Tuition and student fee information can be found on the UNC Cashier's Office website.  If you have been awarded merit based financial aid from SILS or the Graduate School you will receive separate  information about that.  Need based aid for all students is handled through the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid.

Those students with a disability should contact the UNC Disability Services to arrange any accommodations that you may need during your time here.

UNC offers graduate student housing on campus the details of which can be found at the UNC Housing website.  Many of our students live off campus in rented houses and apartment complexes.  Here is a map and list of local apartments that we have experience of in the Chapel Hill area.  Some of these are in the town of Carrboro, the sister town of Chapel Hill that is very popular with our students.

Please feel free to contact the SILS office on 919-962-8366 if you have any other questions or concerns that you may have.