School of Education Student Services FAQ

The School of Education Student Services Office is in the Education Building, located half way up Bascom Hill. Student Services is in Room 139 on the first floor. The Teacher Education Center is located inside the Education Building on level L1.

The Educational Sciences Building and the Teacher Education Building are located between Johnson St and Dayton St and between Mills St and Charter St.

You can find semester deadlines on the Office of the Registrar’s Dates and Deadlines webpage. This includes information on add/drop deadlines, first day of classes, tuition and fee deadlines, withdrawing, enrollment, and more.

For many of our majors or certificates, you can apply or declare your major whenever you like throughout the year (commonly in the spring of your sophomore year). Some programs have specific application periods and admit one to two times per year. Check out the application timelines and support materials.

You should meet with a School of Education academic advisor or department advisor to talk about the major you are interested in and its requirements before changing your major to ensure that you are on track.

To schedule an appointment, you can use Starfish or visit our advising page for more direct links.

The School of Education Career Center is located in Room 181 of the Education Building. The Career Center is a great resource for exploring internships, careers, and applying to secondary education programs. They also host job/employer fairs and bring students on trips to explore career fields, as well as other professional development opportunities. Students and alumni can even do mock interviews with the Career Center staff and get help with your resume, cover letter, and application

Lost and found for the Education Building is in the Business Office on level L2, Room L259.

If you have specific questions about our academic programs in the School of Education, you can fill out this form to request a virtual, in-person, or over the phone advising appointment. Please note that there are some periods of heavy advising in late-March through April and late-October through November where we do not meet with prospective students. If you contact us during these times, we will put your name on a wait-list.

For questions about Graduate programs in the School of Education, please contact the program coordinator for that program. This can often be found on a department’s website.

You are welcome to visit the Education Building while you’re on campus, but we do not host private specific School of Education tours. Please check the Visit Bucky website for campus tours and School of Education Information Sessions.

Students wishing to transfer to UW-Madison’s School of Education from another university, resume studies after withdrawing from UW-Madison, or students seeking a second undergraduate degree should view the Office of Admission’s Transfer & Reentry page.

Prospective teachers at Madison College should check out the Madison College Transfer Agreement.

You can find how score can be awarded credit on this Credit by Exam site. UW-Madison grants advanced credit for the successful completion of some AP, IB, A-Level, and CLEP exams. AP and IB must be completed while in high school. CLEP exams must be completed before completing 16 semester hours of college credit.

For courses that have a wait-list option, we recommend adding yourself to the wait-list. You can also continue looking for other open sections and checking for open seats (more information about wait-lists on this page).

In the meantime, we recommend enrolling in a back-up course in case you are not able to get into your first choice. You can always swap into the wait-listed course if a spot becomes available.

If you have additional questions, contact the appropriate academic department. Academic advisors do not have control over closed courses nor wait-lists. We also cannot grant any enrollment permissions for classes. Staff in academic departments (e.g., Rehabilitation Psychology, Art, Curriculum and Instruction, etc.) manage access to their courses.

The department will email you if/when a spot is available, and then you usually have 24-48 hours to enroll in that course. Watch your WiscMail, as you don’t want to miss your window!

There could be a number of reasons why you may be seeing an enrollment error, such as not meeting the prerequisites for a class, trying to enroll in a section that’s reserved for a specific group, etc. Often, you may just need to click “re-validate”. The Common Issues and Error Messages page is a good resource for understanding what those messages mean. It also offers some helpful advice for how to move forward if you receive an enrollment error.

In most cases, you will need to contact whichever unit/department placed the hold (e.g., Housing, Office of Student Financial Aid, etc.). You can find who placed the hold, as well as how to contact them, in your Student Center.

Remember to complete your pre-enrollment checklist before enrolling. If you do not, a hold will be placed on your enrollment until you do so. Once you complete it, that hold will automatically be removed.

We recommend first speaking with your advisor before taking these actions, because doing so may have unexpected consequences. If you have spoken to your advisor, look at the Enrollment Actions page for step-by-step instructions. If you are simply moving from one section of a course to a different section of the same course, you do not need to talk with an advisor.

When navigating through the enrollment process at UW–Madison — enrolling in a class, making changes to your class schedule, or withdrawing from school for a semester — you may first need to get permission from a campus official. Check the Office of the Registrar’s Permissions page to see what types of approvals you may need for making changes to your enrollment.

The Enrollment Overview on the Registrar’s website has more answers to common (and uncommon) enrollment questions.

Some courses’ credits can satisfy multiple requirements for your degrees, certificates, and general education. Some majors and certificates only allow a set number of overlap credits. You can visit the School of Education Guide to learn more about our majors, certificates, and their requirements. You should meet with your an academic advisor to discuss your options.

If you receive an incomplete, it is your responsibility to resolve it. You must work directly with the professor to create a plan to complete the unfinished coursework. Incompletes must be finished by the end of your next semester of residence (the last day of class), excluding summer term. If you do not complete the work by the deadline, the Incomplete will lapse into a F. Your professor may request to extend your deadline.

If there you are unable to speak with your professor about your incomplete, schedule an Academic Advising meeting on Starfish to speak with an advisor.

Pass/fail is an option where, instead of taking a course for a grade, a student takes the class with only two options: pass or fail. You are eligible to take an elective course on a Pass/Fail basic once per term.  You must request it before the deadline and have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above.

No letter grade or grade points are given for pass/fail. Pass/Fail option can be submitted via your Student Center.  You can find out more information about Pass/Fail Grading in School of Education Guide under Grades and Grading. You should meet with your advisor to discuss the option before proceeding.

Full-time enrollment means being enrolled in at least 12 credits during the fall/spring semester. Sometimes students are required to attend full-time based on visa status, association with athletics, financial aid, etc. If you are receiving financial aid, we recommend checking in with the Office of Student Financial Aid to make sure that dropping below full-time status would not impact your eligibility. We also recommend connecting with your academic advisor to discuss how taking courses part-time for a semester might impact degree progression.

Your academic advisor is a great resource if you have questions about degree requirements. In addition to your advisor, the School of Education Guide provides information about degree and major requirements. You can also run a DARS report to see how you are progressing towards those degree requirements.

You can visit the Transfer Credit Guidelines for more information on legible institutions and courses. Some courses with transferable credits can be looked up on Transferology. Before enrolling at another institution, you should meet with your assigned advisors to discuss your plan and options.

Your academic advisor is a great resource if you have questions about degree requirements. In addition to your advisor, the School of Education Guide provides information about degree and major requirements. You can also run a DARS report to see how you are progressing towards those degree requirements.

DARS stands for Degree Audit Reporting System. It is a tool used to help advise enrollment and degree requirements as well as track your progress toward degree requirements. The Office of the Registrar has tutorials on how to access and understand a DARS report.

For a major you haven’t declared yet, you can run a “What-If DARS”. You can view your progress towards requirements by following these instructions to run a what-if DARS report (instructions to run it; instructions to read it).

Yes. You need to let us know that you intend to graduate at the end of a term so that your degree can be cleared and so you can receive information about commencement. It is each student’s responsibility to inform the university when graduation is expected. This information is entered through the individual’s Student Center in My UW–Madison. For more information, check out the School of Education’s Graduation Requirements page.

Degrees take time to post to your student record and generally cannot be expedited. This process is completed by the Registrar’s Office. Usually, they are posted within a few weeks following your graduation date. Get more information about your degree in the Registrar’s graduation section.

Honors or distinction designations are handled by the Registrar’s Office, and you will receive an email informing you of your status. Cap and gown information can also be found at the Registrar’s Office. We will email you before your graduation date to notify you if you’ve received honors or distinction status.

It’s best to start with the new Accessibility @ UW-Madison hub. Learn about the eligibility process, timelines for requesting accommodations, common accommodations, and other campus resources to support students with accommodation needs or disabilities. The McBurney Disability Resource Center is dedicated to assisting students with disabilities.

If you need an accommodation for your advising appointment, please reach out to Nicole Spear, our Office Operations Manager, for assistance at nspear@wisc.edu.

UW’s Academic Support website is a great place to start. If you have more concerns about any of your courses, it’s also a good idea to connect with your instructors and your academic advisor.

You are not alone! The Student Affairs office helps with many types of challenges (personal, academic, or other concerns). The resources on this page can provide support, guidance, and help for challenges you or someone you know are facing. You can also contact the Student Services office at 608-268-1651 or speak with your advisor. They can provide you with referrals to campus resources to help.

University Health Services can also assist with medical or mental health issues.

Withdrawing from UW is sometimes the best course of action, and there are many reasons that people withdraw, including medical reasons or other personal challenges. To begin the withdrawal process, go to the withdrawals page on the Registrar’s Office website.

For questions about refunds or other tuition payment questions, please contact the Bursar’s office. If you use financial aid or want to consider financial aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.

For more information about scholarships and grants, please take a look at our Scholarships page for School of Education specific scholarships and grants.

The Wisconsin Scholarship Hub features a wide variety of scholarships available to UW-Madison students. Learn more about applying for scholarships here.

While resources are limited, there may be a variety of options available to provide some assistance if you are currently experiencing a financial crisis (food insecurity, rent/utilities payment difficulties, medical bills, etc.). Check out the emergency funding support page to find details. Note that there is no guarantee of funding, but each funding request will be reviewed by a financial aid professional.

The best place to start is the Teacher Education Center. They have step-by-step information about becoming a teacher.

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is the state agency that handles licensure for public education in the state of Wisconsin. They can also be reached at 800-441-4563.

If you graduated or are graduating from a teacher education program at UW-Madison and need assistance with testing, obtaining exam results, getting licensure in another state, or need a letter proving you graduated from a teacher education program, refer to the Applying for Your Wisconsin License page for more information. If you have additional questions that are not answered on that page, email educatorlicensing@education.wisc.edu.