Skip to main content

New Graduate Students

Please review the information below. You are encouraged to explore the College of Design website and the NC State Graduate School website for all of the information and resources that are offered. If you have additional questions, please contact design_graduate@ncsu.edu.

Accept or decline your admissions offer with the College of Design through the Response Form and email it to design_graduate@ncsu.edu. In addition, please submit your decision through the Enrollment Intention form on your application portal to update the Graduate School of your decision. To learn how this would look on your portal, click the “Applicant’s Status Portal View” box on the Graduate School’s Slate page.

Submit official transcripts from the institutions listed on your application to the Graduate School. Final grades and conferral dates must be present. You can mail a sealed version or request the official electronic transcript to be sent to graduate_applications@ncsu.edu from your previous institution. If you did not submit them with your initial application, submit them to the graduate school as soon as possible. 

To find your NC State Unity ID (user ID) and access your NCSU email account, log back into your application portal and view your admissions letter from the Graduate School. It will be provided underneath your tuition classification. To learn your default password, please visit the Office of Information Technology (OIT) page here. If you still encounter issues, please contact OIT through the NC State Help Desk via the NC State IT Service Portal or call 919.515.HELP (4357) during business hours to help troubleshoot or reset your password.

As a new NC State graduate student, you should visit NC State’s New Student Checklist page and the Graduate School New Graduate Student Survival Guide to get started and familiar with your accounts.

Do you have a question about tuition, fees, or financial aid? Visit the Student Services Center page to get connected and see the Academic, Enrollment, and Billing Calendar as well.

Please visit the Cost of Attendance page and consult with the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid about other forms of financial assistance. Information on financial aid for graduate students can be found here

International Student Financial Support can be found here.

You will receive an email from Student Health Services to submit immunization records through HealthyPack Portal. Please follow their directions and submit the necessary documents. If you have any questions, please contact them at healthypack@ncsu.edu or 919-515-2563.

Students use MyPack Portal to access all of their academic records, personal information, degree planner, Enrollment Wizard, financial records and more. If you’re having trouble activating or navigating your MyPack Portal, visit the MyPack Portal Help Guide. It will help you learn how to register for classes and learn where each tile leads.

Enrollment Wizard

Some programs enroll new students in their classes for the first semester. If this pertains to you, you will be contacted by your program director. If not, new and continuing students can register for courses using the Enrollment Wizard. Instructions can be found here. You will be able to enroll in classes by April (for Fall courses) and by November (for Spring courses) as long as the university has received your “Intent to Enroll” form, Enrollment Deposit, Official transcripts from previous institutions, and Certificate of Financial Responsibility (for international students).

Certificate of Financial Responsibility

All international students must submit a certificate of financial responsibility to finalize their admission to NC State. If you received a decision letter indicating that your department has recommended your admission, yet there is no financial assistantship available at this time, you can go ahead and complete the CFR showing your own funding. If at a later time the department indicates an assistantship is available for you, the university will update your I-20/DS2019 to indicate funding from your department.

If you do not have the funds to complete the CFR and are depending on an assistantship from your department in order to attend NCSU, you should not complete and upload a CFR with partial funding information

Be sure to submit your Certificate of Financial Responsibility by May 1st (for Fall) or November 15th (for Spring). If you have any questions about your Visa, contact Hayley Hardenbrook (hdharden@ncsu.edu)

Other International Student Resources can be found here. Or through the Office of International Services (OIS). 

Each program begins selecting students for research and teaching assistantships based on the student’s record and experience and the availability of positions. Most positions are awarded to current students. If new students are selected for RA/TA positions they will be contacted by the program director. There is no separate application for this. 

We have new student orientation scheduled in early August before the first day of class. Details about this will be shared with you via email as August approaches. The Graduate School requires new students to attend their orientation so we will provide more information once the date for that session is released as well.

US Citizens from other states can apply for NC residency. If you are seeking in-state tuition rates, you must establish residency here for at least 365 days to apply for residency through RDS. With this in mind, you should move into Raleigh the first week of August. Once you do, take immediate steps to establish your residency on the RDS website here (under “Initial Consideration”) and here (under “Residency Eligibility Requirements”), so that you can be considered a NC Resident by the start of your second year. You must apply and be classified as an in-state resident by Census Day.

Additional resources for graduate students can be found on the College of Design website here.

Students from McCoy’s Landscape Performance and Metrics class in collaboration with NC State’s Institute for Transportation, Research and Education (ITRE) collected drone and field data on campus four times a year for the last 5 years to understand the impacts of the Urban Heat Island and air quality on campus.