Information for Incoming Students

Master of Educational Technology and Applied

Learning Sciences: Incoming Students

Welcome to the METALS program! We are excited that you have decided to become a member of our program – it’s a special collection of staff, faculty and students. If you have any questions that are not answered below, please email metals-help@lists.andrew.cmu.edu.

Completing Your Enrollment

    • Submit official documentation to us no later than April 15ᵗʰ
      • Enrollment Contract
      • Required Prerequisites Form
      • Test Scores (if you have not already done this)
      • Have ETS send CMU your official GRE scores (if included in your application). Use GRE Institution code, 2074; Department code, 0402.
      • English Proficiency (required for non-native English speakers):
        • Have ETS send TOEFL scores (if required). Use TOEFL institution code 4256 and department code 78.
        • Deliver your IELTS scores to “Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science” at the address “School of Computer Science, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States”
        • Submit your Duolingo scores to “Carnegie Mellon University — Graduate Computer Science Programs”
      • Have your official transcripts sent to Carnegie Mellon by one of the following methods:
        • emailed directly by the university (not you) to metals-help@cmu.edu
        • transcripts delivered by WES (wes.org)
        • have your degree granting colleges and universities mail official transcripts directly to:

Mary Kate Noonan / HCII – METALS
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
USA

Action Items

  • Health Form and Immunization Information – All new Fall 2024 incoming students must complete the health form and submit immunization information between May 14 – August 1, 2024, via the HealthConnect portal. If you have questions, please contact University Health Services (412-268-2157, shinsure@andrew.cmu.edu).
  • International Student Form – If you are not a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident, you will need to request an I-20 to support your F-1 student visa application. It will take up to six weeks for the Office of International Education to issue your I-20 after you have submitted your completed “New Student Initial Document Request E-Form” and the required supporting documents via MyOIE Portal.

Classes

Classes at Carnegie Mellon begin on August 26, 2024, with the exception of some Computer Science Department and Machine Learning courses. Some statistics classes start the week of August 28th, but most machine learning and CS classes do not begin until mid-September, due to the Immigration Course.

For the Fall full-time students should be registered  for the following courses:

05-823 E-Learning Design Principles
05-738 Evidence-Based Educational Design
05-660 Interaction Design for HCI

+ two other distributional or general elective courses

For more information on how to register for courses, please see:
https://www.cmu.edu/hub/registrar/registration/steps/index.html

To see the complete schedule of courses go to: https://enr-apps.as.cmu.edu/open/SOC/SOCServlet

To register for courses go to: www.cmu.edu/sio

You must be registered for at least 36 units per semester for the university to consider you full time. Most courses are 12 units. Most mini-courses (half semester) are usually 6 units. You can pair two courses together during a semester.

CMU Graduate Student Orientation

University-Wide New Graduate Student Orientation will be held on August 12–14, 2024. This is for all new incoming graduate students at Carnegie Mellon on Pittsburgh campus.

METALS Orientation for the new incoming METALS students will be held on August 21-23, 2024, on the CMU Pittsburgh campus for all new incoming METALS students. Full schedule of events will be emailed to all incoming students in the summer.

Mandatory International Student Welcome and Immigration Check-in will be held on August 13, 14, and 16. International graduate students are required to attend an International Graduate Student Orientation session. Carnegie Mellon welcomes over 2,000 new international students each fall. To accommodate the large number of students, the Office of International Education offers several orientation sessions from which to choose (note: each session is the same). Seating is limited, and registration is required via Tartan Connect using your Andrew ID.

Computer Accounts

Andrew account – This is automatically assigned when you are entered into the Student Information System. The university Andrew network is needed to view your student account, register for courses, sign up for health insurance, etc.

New students should expect to receive an email from it-help@cmu.edu with the subject line “Receive your Andrew userID”.  The email will contain a link for retrieving the Andrew userID and instructions for continuing the First Pass process to set your initial password.

For problems with your Andrew Account: https://www.cmu.edu/computing/

Health Insurance

All full-time students who are physically located in the U.S. must have medical insurance that meets university requirements, either by enrolling in the CMU Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) or obtaining a SHIP waiver during the open enrollment period via the insurance portal on Student Information Online (SIO). Students who do not complete enrollment or receive an approved waiver during open enrollment will be auto-enrolled in the medical SHIP, and health insurance premiums will be billed to their SIO. Optional dental and vision plans are available for an additional cost during the open enrollment period.

Finding jobs on or around campus

Housing

Community Housing
Many of our graduate students live in off-campus houses and apartments in the many neighborhoods surrounding the university. Public transportation and university shuttle services make nearby communities extremely accessible to the campus. For more detailed information on housing and related issues, you may want to visit the CMU Housing Services (412-268-2139, housing@andrew.cmu.edu) website, which can be very helpful in locating suitable apartments or houses for new students. They can provide computerized listings of spaces available to match your specific needs.

If you will be looking for an apartment before you arrive, the best times are either early May or mid-July. Most leases are for one year, ending in May or August. You can sign a lease any time if the space is available, but people don’t always let the landlords know whether they’ll be renewing until 30 – 60 days before the end of the lease. There is usually a little overlap in August (old leases not over until the end of August, but you need a place by mid-August); it’s often possible to “bunk in” with older students for a few days until your place becomes available. Usually if you get in touch with the person who was your student contact s/he can be helpful in the transition.

Important Dates

July 1: Submit your photo for your Student ID Card

July 1 – August 23: Fall Open Enrollment of SHIP for all new and returning students for the 2024-2025 academic year

August 1: Deadline to submit health form and immunization information to University Health Services

August 12 – 14: University-wide Graduate Student Orientation

August 13, 14 and 16: Mandatory international student welcome and immigration check-in

August 21 – 23: METALS program orientation

August 26: Classes begin

International Students

International students must request an I-20 via MyOIE for their F-1 student visa application. If you are bringing legal dependents (spouse and/or children) with you, you must provide additional financial proof to support the dependents.

Note that all students applying for the F-1 visa are required to pay a SEVIS fee in addition to any other required filing fees. 

If you are already in the U.S., you will request a transfer through your Foreign Student Advisor rather than receiving a new I-20 form. For additional information regarding visas you may want to visit the Office of International Education website.

International students will also receive information with your I-20 form regarding the International Student Orientation program sponsored by the Office of International Education. This program is mandatory. If you have a situation that does not allow you to attend, you will be required to attend an orientation session before the end of the first week of the semester in order for your enrollment to be complete, and to maintain your valid visa status.

Visa Denials:
During the past year some international students’ initial visa requests were denied. However, when re-submitted, most were eventually approved and were able to arrive on time if the visa request was submitted early enough. It seems especially difficult for students from China. The following web link from the Department of state give a good overview of the visa application process for international students. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/student-visa.html

Student ID Card

Your ID Card is your official Carnegie Mellon photo identification. It is your access to campus buildings, athletic facilities and the Port Authority Transit system. You must have an ID Card as a graduate student.

To obtain your card:

  • Submit your photograph via the ID Photo Submission Application before July 1.
  • You will receive your ID Card upon arrival. If you do not receive your ID Card from your department, visit The HUB, lower level of Warner Hall, during business hours to receive it.
  • If you did not submit your photo online, visit The HUB to have your photo taken.

Tuition

Tuition & Fees:
https://www.cmu.edu/sfs/tuition/graduate/index.html Billing:
https://www.cmu.edu/hub/billing/index.html Payment Options:
https://www.cmu.edu/hub/billing/payment/index.html Your student account information can be found at:
https://s3.andrew.cmu.edu/sio

Loans

For federal financial aid, U.S. citizens will be eligible for up to $20,500 in unsubsidized loan and up to cost of attendance in the Graduate Plus/Alternative loan.

Carnegie Mellon will start processing graduate students awards in mid- to late July. Please make sure to complete the steps listed on the financial aid website in order to qualify.  See https://www.cmu.edu/sfs/financial-aid/graduate/index.html.

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