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 4 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 Oct 15)
- Research Advisor Selection Form (pdf) (due Dec 1)
- Individual Curriculum Plan Form (pdf) (due Dec 16)
- Research Advisory Committee Form (pdf) (due Dec 16)
- 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.
Domestic Students:
Please refer to the instructions on HR's Graduate Student Health Insurance page:
To be eligible, you must first be enrolled in the minimum number of hours to be considered full-time (usually 6 hours).
Step 1: Submit an online application for health insurance at United Healthcare Online Enrollment. Once the application has been submitted, the University will verify eligibility and approve the application.
Step 2: Once the application has been approved, the student will receive an email from UHCSR with a link requesting payment of the student's portion of the premium. Enrollment is not complete until UHCSR receives the student's premium payment.
Please note, it is the student's responsibility to apply for and renew this voluntary health insurance each semester.
International Students:
To enroll in Health Insurance, please refer to the instructions on the ISS’s Health Insurance for GTAs page.
Namely, they will need you to do the following:
- Enroll in KU classes. The insurance fee for the semester will automatically be assessed to the student’s account in Enroll and Pay. Insurance rates for eligible GTA, GRA, GA students can be found on the office of Graduate Studies website.
- Submit an online application to United Healthcare Student Resources (UHCSR) sometime between 7/29/24 – 8/26/24. Once the application has been submitted, the University will verify eligibility and approve the application. Go to United Healthcare Online Enrollment and click on the “Enrollment Form” link at the bottom of the webpage.
ISS will then bill you for the 25% portion of the insurance fee ($294.88) on your student account in Enroll & Pay. The other 75% portion ($884.62) will be paid by the University separately.
Seminar Attendance
Every graduate student is expected to attend all of the named lectures of the Departmental Seminar (Brewster Lecture, Adams Lecture, Maher Lecture, etc.) 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: Mondays at 2:00 PM in CDUP 1200
For directions to and from the Simons Auditorium on West Campus for the Analytical Seminar, please see the section below.
Bus Route to West Campus - Analytical Seminar
The Analytical Seminar is hosted in the Simons Auditorium (Simons Biosciences Research Laboratories - Room 100) on West Campus.
This building is easily accessible from Gray-Little Hall via the 42 Blue KU Transit Bus. Start at Bus Stop 216 on Irving Hill Rd just outside Gray-Little Hall. Take this over to Bus Stop 458 outside the Simons Research building on Constant Ave.
You can also take this same bus route between Gray-Little Hall and the Multidisciplinary Research Building (MRB) - just use Bus Stop 375 outside MRB on Becker Drive.
For more information on Lawrence Bus routes (including real-time bus location info), please visit their website:
