Incoming Graduate Students

Welcome to SILS and UNC at Chapel Hill! We hope your time and experience here will be a positive one. Starting a new graduate program and moving to a new place can be overwhelming. We hope that the resources we have put together will hopefully make your transition easier and as always if you have any questions please feel free to contact us.

First Steps

Creating your Onyen

Advising and Registration

Finances

Health Insurance

Housing Resources

Transportation and Parking

New Student Orientation

The Graduate School

Students with Disabilities

Other Important Campus Phone Numbers

First Steps

You must accept your admission and pay your enrollment deposit. You also must send in final official copies of ALL of your transcripts from each school you have attended before you can register for classes. Below is a helpful set of links that will help you get organized and ready to attend UNC!

The Graduate School which SILS is a division of has put together a checklist for new incoming students and is a helpful starting point in getting organized. Graduate School's Resources for New Incoming Students
Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF) is part of the UNC Student Government that serves Graduate and Professional Students here at UNC has also put together the GPSF resource guide that contains everything from housing to parking.

Creating your ONYEN (the Only Name You'll Ever Need)

Your onyen is your passport to everything UNC from registering for classes to paying your bill. To create your onyen visit the Onyen page to get started.

Advising and Registration

Advising

SILS tries to pair students and faculty advisors together based on their areas of interest. Your academic advisor can serve as a great resource when it comes to choosing courses. Once you have accepted your admission and have paid your enrollment deposit we will be able to assign you an advisor. You may contact your advisor via email or phone to discuss your classes or you can make an appointment with your faculty advisor to talk about your classes in person.

The Curriculum:

The MSLS and MSIS require 48 hours in order to complete the degree. The links to the curriculums for both degrees are below.

MSIS Curriculum Information

MSLS Curriculum Information

Registration

Course registration is done through ConnectCarolina using your onyen and onyen password. Average courseload for a graduate student is four (4) courses or twelve hours (12). Most of our required courses are offered in both the fall and spring semesters. Many new student elect to start out their first semester with required courses as many serve as pre-requisites for other courses.

Registration tips:

Make sure you don't have any holds
The course prefix for courses within SILS is INLS
All SILS courses are restricted to just SILS students
When searching for classes the system default view is the first three sections. To view all sections of a class hit View All in the blue bar above the search results
Most special topic classes should be three hours unless otherwise noted. The system defaults to 1.0 hour.
If a class is full, please add yourself to the waitlist.

Registration information page (Office of the University Registrar)

Finances

Office of Scholarships and Student Aid
919-962-8396

Cashiers Office
919-962-1368

Tuition and Fees

Health Insurance

Campus Health Services

Housing Resources

Most graduate students live off-campus in rental apartments or houses in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, however there is on-campus housing available for graduate students. Some students do elect to live in Durham, Raleigh or other surrounding towns.

On-Campus Housing for Graduate Students
On-Campus Housing Office phone number: 919-962-5401

Off-Campus Housing Resources

SILS Apartment suggestions

Transportation and Parking

The best way to get around Chapel Hill and Carrboro is the bus. Parking on campus is expensive and limited. The Chapel Hill Transit buses within Chapel Hill and Carrboro are free and go to various locations throughout town as well as throughout campus. Most apartment complex's are on or near a busline. There are also several park and ride lots around town that require a permit from the UNC Department of Public Safety.

Getting to and from Chapel Hill from either Durham or Raleigh is also very manageable. GoTriangle serves Durham, RTP, and Raleigh. Students can get a free monthly pass to ride GoTriangle when you register for the CAP program.

New Student Orientation

SILS holds orientation for new students in both the fall and spring semesters and is usually the day before classes start for the upcoming semester. Watch the SILS website for dates. Students who enter in the summer are included in the fall orientation. Topics at orientation include a current student panel, the curriculum, and an introduction to the SILS library and lab area. There are also chances to meet the SILS faculty and staff as well as socialize with your fellow classmates. The Graduate School also holds a half-day orientation for new graduate students but only in the fall semester.