Guide to the First Year
Selecting a Research Advisor
Selecting a Research Advisor & Developing Individual Curriculum Plan
During the first semester, students are required to interview at least 5 faculty members before selecting their top 3 research advisor preferences. Please check with these faculty members that they are willing to accept you into their lab before submitting your selections. The department will then review preferences and inform students of their new research group assignments. Choosing an advisor is the most important decision a student will make in graduate school, and it should be done with careful deliberation. After joining a group, you will then develop your Individual Curriculum Plan and choose your Research Advisory Committee with the consultation of your new research advisor.
If you lose track of any of the forms used in the first-semester advisor selection process, you can find them below.
Forms and Guides
- Faculty Interview Form (pdf) (due Nov 21)
- Research Advisor Selection Form (pdf) (due Dec 4)
- Individual Curriculum Plan Form (pdf) (due Dec 18)
- Research Advisory Committee Form (pdf) (due Dec 18)
- Add a Class (pdf)
- Drop a Class (pdf)
- Swap a Class (pdf)
- Adjust Credit Hours on Variable-Hour Course (pdf)
- View Class Schedule (pdf)
A full list of the Enroll & Pay student user guides is available on the Student Information Systems website.
Seminar Attendance
Every graduate student is expected to attend all of the named lectures as an essential part of his or her graduate education, and should be a regular participant in seminars and colloquia in his or her area of specialization.
Departmental Seminar: Fridays at 4:00 PM in GL 1154
Analytical Seminar: Mondays at 3:30 PM in the Simons Auditorium
DyMERS Seminar: Wednesdays at 3:30 PM in GL 1146
Organic Seminar: Thursdays at 12:15 PM in GL 1160