First Year Centre

Congratulations on your acceptance to the UM! To start preparing for university, please review the New Student Checklist.

University 1 (U1) is a direct entry option with a unique, flexible approach to your first year at UM. Starting in U1 gives you the opportunity to meet the admission or first year requirements for one or more target degree programs.

U1 is the most common direct entry program and will not add any time or cost to your degree; it serves as year 1 of any three- or four year degree.

Review University 1’s Admissions page to see if U1 would be a good fit for you. 

“I entered U1 because my program of choice didn’t have a direct entry option directly from high school. Something that surprised me in U1 was how many academic supports were available. The writing tutors were very helpful to me in my first year. The First Year Centre advisors were also really helpful in ensuring that I was getting all of the coursework that I needed for my desired program. If you’re not sure where to start, ask questions. Everyone is so helpful!”
SARI - Fourth year student, Faculty of Architecture

Review the First Year Planning Guide and (if taking courses in Summer) the Summer Term Planning Guide. These online flappable books have all the resources you need to plan for your first year and choose which courses you would like to take. 

Make sure to also attend or watch our Get Ready to Register (GRTR) sessions, which are designed specifically to help all new students make choices and decisions about target programs, course selection, and registration in classes.

Review these resources to learn how to register for courses and how to resolve registration errors: 
•    How to Register Using Aurora 
•    Get Ready to Register 
•    Registration errors and tips on how to resolve them 

All students are given a specific date and time to begin registering for courses, known as your Initial Registration Time. This is the earliest date you can register, and registering on this day gives you the best chance of getting into the courses you have chosen. 

To check your initial registration time in Aurora, select: 

• Open Registration Dashboard
• Registration Time and Status 

Fall and Winter Registration – General Timeline

• For more specific dates, please review Important Dates & Deadlines. 

Early July

• Check Initial Registration time in Aurora 

Mid-July

• Initial Registration opens for new students

Late July-early August

• Initial Registration opens for returning students 

September

• Fall courses begin; students can add/drop Fall courses and Fall-Winter during the revision period (the first two weeks of class) without academic or financial penalties 

January

• Winter courses begin; students can add/drop Winter courses during the revision period without academic or financial penalties 

All students are given a specific date and time to begin registering for courses, known as your Initial Registration Time. This is the earliest date you can register, and registering on this day gives you the best chance of getting into the courses you have chosen. 

To check your initial registration time in Aurora, select: 

• Open Registration Dashboard
• Registration Time and Status 

Summer Registration – General Timeline

• For more specific dates, please review Important Dates & Deadlines. For more information about how Summer term is different from Fall and Winter, please review the Summer Term Planning Guide. 

Mid-March

• Check Initial Registration time on Aurora 

Late March-early April

• Initial registration opens for all students 

May or July

• Summer courses begin 

Please review Important Dates & Deadlines to see the specific dates for each term, including: 

• When registration opens
• When classes start 
• The last day you can drop a course without academic or financial penalties
• The last day you can add a course
• The last day you can Voluntarily Withdraw (VW) from a course

Before registering for courses: To get a general idea of your tuition and other fees, check out these fee estimates

After registering for courses: Check Aurora for a fee balance (also called an account summary).

In Aurora, select: 

• View Account Summary by Term 

Please note: If you’re registering for courses in July, your account summary may not be viewable until August. 
 

There are several options for how to pay your fees, whether you’re paying from within Canada or outside of Canada. 

Academic advisors at the First Year Centre are available to advise students in person and online. We do our online advising through Microsoft Teams, which all UM students have free access to. 

Instead of booking appointments in advance, we see students on a drop in / walk in basis. This lets us as help as many students as possible in a timely manner. 

If you would like to connect with an academic advisor to discuss your course planning for your first year, please take the following steps:  

1. Attend or watch our Get Ready to Register (GRTR) sessions, which are designed specifically to help all new students make choices and decisions about target programs, course selection, and registration in classes.
    
2. Fill out a course plan, to the best of your ability, based on the info in Get Ready to Register and the First Year Planning Guide
    
3. Contact the First Year Centre: 
   205 Tier Building
   1-204-474-6209 
   Toll free in N. America: 1-800-432-1960, ext. 6209 
   Business hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30 am-4:30 pm CDT/CST 
   Advising hours: Mon-Fri, 9:00 am-3:30 pm CDT/CST 

If you’re outside North America: You can e-mail fycentre@umanitoba.ca with your phone number and request that we call you back during our business hours.

You will be notified by e-mail when UM has made an official admission decision about your application. 

• Log into the application portal and view the admission deadline about your application
• If you have received an admission officer, your letter of offer will be available within the online application portal. Follow the steps in that letter to accept your offer

You can connect with Admissions at:

Undergraduate Admissions
424 UMSU University Centre (campus map)
1-204-474-8808
1-800-224-7713, ext. 8808
admissions@umanitoba.ca

Go to Claim Your ID to start the process of claiming your UM Net ID.

Your UM Net ID will give you access to:

• Your student e-mail (@myumanitoba.ca)
• Campus Wi-Fi
• UM Learn
• Microsoft Teams
• Online library resources
• And more

If you have trouble logging into your UM e-mail account, connect with UM’s IST (Informative Services and Technology) Service Desk:

IST Service Desk
123 Fletcher Argue (campus map)
1-204-474-8600
Online chat
Mon-Fri, 8:00 am-8:00 pm (CDT/CST).

You can get your Student ID card at the Photo ID Centre in the Registrar’s Office (fourth floor UMSU University Centre). Remember to bring a piece of government-issued photo ID (ex. driver’s license, passport).

Visit the UMSU Service Centre (first floor UMSU University Centre) to get your U-Pass. Remember to bring your Student ID card.

You can purchase a parking pass through the Parking Portal. To log into the Parking Portal, you will need to have claimed your UM Net ID.

Please review the Student Parking website for important info, such as the cost of parking passes and the dates for when parking passes will be available for purchase.

After you’ve registered for courses, you can order an enrolment verification letter for proof of registration.

If you have further questions about your enrolment verification letter, please contact:

Registrar’s Office
400 UMSU University Centre (campus map)  
(If you are visiting in-person, you are required to check in to the virtual queue)
1-204-474-9420
registrar.office@umanitoba.ca 

Before classes begin, you can check your booklist on Aurora. In Aurora, select:

• Open Registration Dashboard
• Enrolment & Academic Records
• Student Records
• View Booklist

Please note: For some courses, booklists may not be available until late August.

You can order your textbooks through the UM Bookstore.  The Bookstore has put together these helpful instructions for how to order your textbooks online.

Locker rentals are managed by Student Councils and Associations on campus, usually in the first few weeks of each term. After checking the campus map and deciding which building you’d like to rent a locker in, contact the association responsible for that building for more info.

Arts (Tier, Isbister, Greenhouse Café tunnel, Tier-Drake connection)

• Arts Student Body Council (ASBC)
• asbc@umanitoba.ca
  • Half-locker per term: $10
  • Half-locker per year: $15
  • Full locker per term: $15
  • Full locker per year: $25

Science (Allen, Armes, Duff Roblin, Parker, Machray)

• Science Students’ Association (SSA) 
• ssastudentservices@gmail.com
• For Faculty of Science students:
  • Half locker per term: $10
  • Full locker per term: $15
• For non-Faculty of Science students:
  • Half locker per term: $15
  • Full locker per term: $20

St. Paul’s College

• St. Paul’s College Students’ Association
• spcsa@umanitoba.ca
• For St. Paul’s College members:
  • Free (SPC members get first priority)
• For St. Paul’s College non-members:
  • $25 (if space available)

St. John’s College

• St. John’s College Students’ Association
• sjcsacontact@gmail.com

You can order a transcript online through Aurora. If you have questions about ordering your transcript, contact:

Registrar’s Office (Transcripts)
400 UMSU University Centre (campus map)
(For in-person, you are required to check in to the virtual queue)  
1-204-474-9420
1-877-474-9420
transcripts@umanitoba.ca

To regain access to your Aurora account, please create a ticket with IST to Reset or change your password, and select Log in as a Guest.

To transfer in AP/IB credit you may have earned in high school:

• Check if your specific AP/IB courses are equivalent to UM courses
• Follow these instructions to transfer your AP/IB credit to UM
• In the First Year Planning Guide, check if AP/IB can courses be used to meet admission requirements for your specific target faculty/program