You should wait until arrival at the department to register. You'll need to have your UW netID set up before you register.

Registration:

Course registration is done online via MyUW. You'll want to register each quarter before the end of finals week to make sure there are no problems with your U-Pass.

Regarding Insurance:

US Citizens and permanent residents will automatically receive Graduate Appointee Insurance Program coverage unless you have a fellowship which pays you directly rather than going through the UW payroll system - if so, please contact Brian.

International Students will automatically receive Graduate Appointee Insurance Program coverage but will also need to sign up for standard UW international student insurance each quarter when registering. Please be assured that once the system recognizes that you have GAIP coverage, the standard UW student insurance charge will be removed. This cumbersome system is in place to ensure all international students at UW have insurance coverage.

Once you are ready to register:

You will need the 5 digit Schedule Line Number (SLN) which identifies a particular course. These are found on the time schedule.

Faculty codes & add codes:

Some courses will require add codes; you can get these from the graduate program assistant ( Brian Giebel, Foege S-340, bgiebel [at] uw.edu) either in person or via email. Faculty codes used to register for research courses (Genome 501, 600, 800) are available online. If you are registering for a non-Genome Sciences course that requires an add code, you should get the code from the graduate program assistant in that particular department.

You should sign up for a minimum of 10 credits each quarter (except for Summer, when you should sign up for 2 credits). You'll want to vary your credits in Genome Sciences 501 to accomplish this. For example, if your core courses and electives total 6 credits, register for 4 credits in Genome 501. Registration for more than 10 credits is fine, as long as you don't go over 18.

New: Genome Sciences students now have the option of choosing to follow one of the Data Science options of the Genome Sciences PhD program. Please see the Data Science page for more information.

MSTP students now have the option of taking both elective and core courses as soon as they begin the program in Spring Quarter or waiting until Autumn Quarter to take courses with the rest of their incoming student cohort.

About the department's computational courses:
Genome 559 is required for those with little or no programming experience. It is not a suitable course for those with some programming experience.
Genome 540 is a popular elective for those with advanced skills, but is not a required course.
Those who do not need to take 559 are not required to take 540.

About tuition balances:
Tuition payments are often not "automatic" and can take a week or two to clank through the system after the quarter begins. Please be assured that the terrifying $10,000 balance you may see will be resolved within a few weeks of the quarter beginning. Students will owe only the student fee component of tuition, which is typically $250-$270 per quarter.

Autumn Quarter:

Genome 501: Lab Rotation (Vary credits in this course so that your total registration is for at least 10 credits. MSTP students can go ahead and register for Genome 600, since you have already selected dissertation labs)
Genome 520: Seminar (1 cr)
Genome 523: Research Reports (1 cr)
Genome 550: Methods & Logic in Genetics (3 cr)
Genome 555: Proteomics (1.5 cr)
Genome 552: Genomics (1.5 cr)

MSTP students will also take Genome 599 B, Scientific Speaking, since you have already selected a lab and will be giving a Research Reports presentation.

It's a very good idea to avoid taking additional electives during your first quarter, (unless you are part of a program which requires this) but you have the option of doing so if you wish. Carefully consider, though, that you will be very busy with core coursework, lab rotations, and departmental events.

Winter Quarter:

Genome 501: Lab Rotation
Genome 520: Seminar (1 cr)
Genome 523: Research Reports (1 cr)
Genome 551: Mechanisms of Gene Regulation in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes (1.5 cr)
Genome 561: Population Genetics (1.5 cr)
New: Genome 559: Introduction to Statistical and Computational Genomics (3 cr) has been moved back toWinter Quarter.
( to be taken by students with little or no programming experience. Not for students in the CMB program.)

any desired elective, so long as the total number of credits is at least 10

Spring Quarter:

Genome 501: Lab Rotation
Genome 520: Seminar (1 cr)
Genome 523: Research Reports (1 cr)
Genome 553: Advanced Genetic Analysis (1.5 cr)
Genome 560: Statistics for Genome Sciences (3 cr)

any desired elective, so long as the total number of credits is at least 10

Summer Quarter:

Genome 600: Independent Study / Research (2 credits)

Please have on your radar: Genome 599 (grant writing) will begin late August / early September (i.e. in the interim period between summer and fall quarters), in order to provide sufficient time for the NSF fellowship deadline. You will register for this one in Autumn Quarter of your second year.

Enrolling in more than 2 credits costs the department extra tuition dollars. However, you may sign up for additional courses if they are vital to your research; please inform Brian Giebel if you plan to do so.

Electives:

Generally speaking, any 500-level science course related to your research interests is an acceptable elective. 400-level courses may also be taken for graduate credit. You'll need to check with one of the Graduate Program Coordinators, Drs. Christine Queitsch or Doug Fowler, to be sure a 400 level course is acceptable. In addition to courses offered by the department, Genome Sciences students often take courses from other programs. You should check the time schedule to see what's available.

You're expected to have some background in Biochemistry. If not, you should take Biochem 440 during your first year. Please check with either Dr. Fowler or Dr .Queitsch for suggestions if you think another course may be more appropriate for you.

Please keep in mind a graduate school requirement that you complete at least 18 graded credits by the time you take your General Exam (this is done during Spring Quarter of your second year). Most of the core coursework is graded, but some is not, so you will need to take a graded elective or two during your first two years.

Here's how to determine how many graded credits you'll end up with:

core course series:

Genome 550 - 3 credits
Genome 551 - 1.5 credits
Genome 552 - 1.5 credits
Genome 553 - 1.5 credits
Genome 555 - 1.5 credits
Genome 560 - 3 credits (sometimes students with an extensive statistics background opt out of this one)
Genome 561 - 1.5 credits
Genome 599 (grant writing) - 1.5 credits
Genome 599 (scientific speaking) - 1.5 credits

So, assuming you don't opt out of Genome 560, you'll end up with 16.5 graded credits from the core course series. This means you'll need to take at least one elective. Common electives like Genome 559 (3 credits) or Genome 540 (4 credits) will put you over 18 credits. You can of course take other electives instead of one of those, and you can take additional electives to meet your interests & research goals.