New Graduate Students

Welcome to all new graduate students in the Departments of Educational Studies and Teaching & Learning!

This page is designed to give you some next steps in your journey as you prepare for your first semester. Should you have questions about any of the information covered on this page, please contact our Teaching, Learning, and Educational Studies Academic and Graduate Student Services (TLES) office.

Within this page, you will find the following information:

  1. Introduction to TLES and the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE)
  2. The role of TLES and faculty advisors
  3. New graduate student checklist
  4. Connect with us
  5. Other university resources

Introduction to TLES and the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE)

The Departments of Educational Studies and Teaching & Learning are situated within the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE).

The Teaching, Learning, and Educational Studies Academic and Graduate Student Services (TLES) office serves the needs of graduate students enrolled in Educational Studies and Teaching & Learning programs.

College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE)
Dean Don Pope-Davis
EHE Leadership
Department of Teaching & Learning
Interim Chair: Dr. Binaya Subedi
Interim Associate Chair: Dr. Francis Troyan
Teaching & Learning Faculty

  • Master of Education (M.Ed.)
    • English Education/Integrated Language Arts
    • Integrated Social Studies
    • Mathematics Education
    • Middle Childhood Education
    • Primary Education
    • Science Education
    • Visual Impairment
    • World Language Education
  • Master of Arts (MA)
    • Adolescent, Post-secondary & Community Literacies
    • Foreign, Second & Multilingual Language Education
    • Integrated Studies in Teaching & Learning
    • Literature for Children & Young Adults
    • Reading and Literacy in Early & Middle Childhood Education
    • Rethinking Early Childhood & Elementary Education
    • Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Education
    • Sensory Impairments & Inclusion
    • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
    • Critical Studies in Education: Race, Justice and Equity
    • Inclusive Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Education
    • Literacies, Literature and Learning
    • Multilingual Language Education
    • Innovative Arts, Literacies and Language
 Department of Educational Studies
Chair: Dr. Bryan Warnick
Associate Chair: Dr. Dustin Miller
Educational Studies Faculty

  • Master of Arts (MA)
    • Biomedical Education
    • Counselor Education
    • Educational Administration
    • Educational Policy
    • Educational Psychology
    • Higher Education & Student Affairs
    • Philosophy & History of Education
    • Quantitative Research, Evaluation, & Measurement
    • Special Education
    • Workforce Development & Education
  • Master of Learning Technologies (MLT)
    • Learning Technologies
  • Educational Specialist (EdS)
    • School Psychology
  • Doctor of Education (EdD)
    • Educational Administration
    • Higher Education & Student Affairs
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
    • Counselor Education
    • Educational Administration
    • Educational Policy
    • Educational Psychology
    • Higher Education & Student Affairs
    • Learning Technologies
    • Philosophy & History of Education
    • Quantitative Research, Evaluation, & Measurement
    • School Psychology
    • Special Education
    • Workforce Development & Education

The role of TLES and faculty advisors

TLES staff and your faculty advisor work closely together to provide support and guidance during your graduate program. See the table below for a list of examples of how each will support you during your time with us.

TLES Staff Faculty Advisor
  • Provide timely service and support to students and faculty.
  • Answer questions regarding university and Graduate School policies.
  • Maintain student files and records.
  • Communicate university and Graduate School important dates and deadlines.
  • Provide information regarding professional development, career, and social events within the university, college, and department.
  • Review and approve forms for transfer credit, exams, and graduation.
  • Meet with students as needed to answer questions and provide support.
  • Manage licensure/endorsement verification and completion.
  • Register T&L and ES graduate students for department courses which require faculty approval.
  • Assist with scheduling rooms for candidacy and final exams.
  • Assist the Graduate Studies Committees with processing student petitions and requests.
  • Orient new students to the university and departments by providing information to help students get started.
  • Assist in the planning of college-level graduation events.
  • Provide students with their academic program plan.
  • Advise students on appropriate courses to take.
  • Guide students through their academic progress.
  • Direct the master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation process.
  • Conduct advising in an ethical manner, including when recruiting advisees.
  • Communicate with the student’s candidacy or dissertation committee and the Graduate Studies Committee regarding the student’s program of study.
  • Communicate clear intentions, expectations, and requirements to potential and current advisees, including how long the advisor expects to stay in their current position and the amount of funding support available to advisees.
  • Address problems immediately so both parties can remedy issues expediently.
  • Maintain open lines of communication with graduate students, including those enrolled in distance programs, and interact with graduate students in a professional manner.
  • Communicate clear expectations for time to degree completion and publication expectations.
  • Provide periodic and regular evaluations of progress toward degree.
  • Provide timely written feedback on advisee’s professional writing (article drafts, dissertation chapter drafts, etc.).
  • Give students appropriate credit for their work (e.g., as reflected in author strings in journal articles or books).
  • Aid in preparing students to be the best professional they can be.
  • Initiate conversations about academic progress and stay current about degree requirements and procedures.
  • Initiate conversations with advisee about career goals.
  • Support traditional and non-traditional career goals.
  • Help graduate students develop professional skills that will make them competitive for employment in their given field.
  • Encourage students to take part in activities that will enrich their academic development, e.g., by participating in professional conferences and other networking activities.
  • Respect advisees’ academic and non-academic commitments and responsibilities.
  • Provide prompt and honest feedback on student’s work.
  • Allow reasonable time for students to prepare requested materials.
  • Do not require that a student continue to provide a service (e.g., teaching, laboratory management, mentoring of other students, etc.) under terms that can hinder a student’s degree completion.

New graduate student checklist

The following list provides you with steps you should take to prepare for your first semester. This list is adapted from the Graduate School’s New Student Checklist.

  1. Activate your OSU name.# username. This can be found in your notice of admission, at my.osu.edu.
  2. Accept your offer of admission at appstatus.osu.edu
  3. Activate your BuckeyePass. BuckeyePass is multi-factor authentication service provided by Ohio State. It helps protect your account even if your password is stolen.
  4. Activate your Ohio State email account. All university correspondence is sent to your osu.edu email address, and all email sent to faculty and staff should be sent from your osu.edu email address.
  5. Contact your faculty advisor. Your notice of admission should have contained the email address of your faculty advisor. Send them an email to identify the classes you should take your first semester and begin putting together your program plan. Some programs also offer their own orientation and your faculty advisor will be able to provide you information about that. If you do not know who your faculty advisor is, contact our office at tles@osu.edu.
  6. Complete the Financial Responsibility Statement. You will need to do this each semester before you will be allowed to register for classes. A hold will be put on your account that will prevent you from registering for classes until you complete this step. Follow the steps below to remove this hold from your account each semester.
    – Buckeye Link → Student Center
    – Under HOLDS, click DETAILS
    – Click REGISTRATION LOCK and follow the instructions
  7. Submit final official transcripts. If any of your transcripts from your application were unofficial copies, it is your responsibility to ensure official final transcripts and proof of degree(s) are submitted by each institution directly to Ohio State. Failure to do so will result in a provisional hold on your account, preventing future registration.
  8. Schedule classes. Your faculty advisor should provide you with course options for your first semester. A list of courses for each department can be found on our website. Students in our programs who wish to take classes which require faculty approval should fill out the course registration request here: go.osu.edu/tles-grad-registration. Find more information about scheduling courses here.
  9. Complete the Graduate School Online Orientation in CarmenCanvas. The Graduate School will automatically enroll you in the orientation and you can complete it at your own pace.
  10. Obtain a BuckID student identification card. Students are eligible to receive their first BuckID once you have registered for classes. Stop by the BuckID Office located on the 3rd floor of the Ohio Union. Bring a valid, physical photo ID (driver’s license, state issued ID card, or passport) with you to receive your BuckID.
  11. Transfer credit in from other universities or programs. You can transfer in several different types of credit. Consult our website for instructions for how to transfer:
    – Master’s degree credit as a block of 30 credit hours to a Doctoral degree
    – Individual Credits from another University
    – Ohio State Graduate Non-Degree Credit
    – Post-Degree Credit
  12. Pay fees. All fees are due one week prior to the start of classes. Accounts not paid are assessed a late payment fee. You will not receive paper statements of account in the mail. You must check your statement of account online and meet all payment and registration deadlines. If you are receiving funding through the university or college through a graduate associateship, fellowship, scholarship, or other form of support, those payments will be reflected on your student account before the tuition and fee due date. Please check your statement of account before the due date to pay any fees that may not be covered by your funding package.
    – Online: Buckeye Link → My Student Center → Finances tab → Make a Payment
    – In person: Office of the University Bursar, 2nd Floor, SAS Building, 281 West Lane Avenue
    – By mail: University Bursar, The Ohio State University, PO Box 183248, Columbus, OH 43218-3248

Additional steps for international students: In addition to the steps outlined above, international students should also follow the important information below.

Connect with us

We look forward to staying connected with you during your first semester and throughout your academic journey with us! Below are just a few ways you can stay connected with us and learn more:

Look out for our student newsletter to hit your email inbox.

We publish a graduate student newsletter weekly during the academic year. The newsletter will be sent to your OSU email each Monday morning. We use the newsletter to communicate important information to students including:

  • Upcoming important dates and deadlines
  • Funding opportunities
  • Events for graduate students
  • Career and professional development opportunities

Other university resources