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Incoming Students

 

Information for Incoming Students

Orientation for Fall 2016 will be September 18-21. Instruction begins September 26. All incoming students must attend orientation.  Anyone unable to attend will need to make special arrangements to attend mandatory sessions on policies, TA training, and other essential elements of orientation. 

  • Frequently Asked Questions 
  • Students with External Fellowships
  • Student Health Insurance
    • During the summer, you will receive information to help you understand the Caltech insurance plans so that you can make your choice.  If you have questions or need assistance, please visit the Benefits website. 
    • The enrollment/waiver period usually runs from mid-July  to late August, but be sure to check the website for specific dates.
    • Coverage begins on September 1, 2016
  • Student Dental Insurance
  • The Honor Code
  • New Graduate Student Start-Up (NGSS) Loan 
    • Incoming students who have submitted the loan request form in the link above, please click here to complete your loan processing. Follow the instructions provided on the website to confirm your receipt and understanding of these documents. If you have any questions, please contact the Graduate Studies Office or call 1-626-395-6346.
  • Caltech Email Account Setup - Information will be sent by the Registrar's Office during the summer.  
  • Responsible Conduct of Research Certification - all new students are expected to complete the online CITI course in Responsible Conduct of Research prior to matriculation or enroll in Bi252 Research Ethics for the spring term.  In the summer, once you have received your Caltech Universal Identification (UID) number, you will be asked to log onto the CITI training site via access.caltech and complete the short training course no later than September 26.  A record of certification will be sent to Caltech and will only need to be completed once while enrolled as a graduate student. 

 Forms

Caltech collects information for Form I-9 electronically.  If you are currently residing in the United States, Section 1 of Form I-9 should be completed prior to September 19, 2016. Your account for the I-9 system will be created by Human Resources, and instructions and your password will be sent in a separate email.  Please note that both the login and password are case sensitive. 

If you are not currently residing in the United States, you will be able to complete Section 1 of Form I-9 when you check in on Monday, September 19. Computers will be available, but you may also consider bringing a laptop with you when you check in.  The documentation required for Section 2 must be reviewed for authenticity during check-in.  Examples of acceptable documents can be found on page 9 at http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf.

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