You've done it - you got past the interviews, you chose a school, and now you’re on the way to getting a PhD and getting called “Doctor.” But what should you expect during grad school? How do you navigate through this long, sometimes confusing process?
Note: The following posts will be heavily influenced by my own experience. UMass has an umbrella program, which means students are accepted to the graduate program, and they pick their department based on which lab they decide to work in. It is possible to generalize my experience to almost all graduate programs in the US, but the details will differ. I invite people who have different grad school experiences to post in the comments, so folks can see the kind of diversity that exists.
Note: In this section I will introduce an abbreviation some of you may not know: PI, which stands for Principal Investigator. This references the professor of the lab you choose to join. (PI comes from the last author listed on biology papers, which is the professor.)
Year 1 - Courses, Rotations, and Selecting a Lab
Year 1 is very intense. There are multiple levels of stress that you will have to deal with. Most likely, you have moved away from where you did your undergrad. You’ll be searching for new friends and getting used to living in a brand new city. You will be dealing with classes, and expected to do better than you did in undergrad. You will also be rotating through labs that you will possibly join for your thesis research. Each of these things is important, and you need to succeed at all of them at the same time. Let’s start with moving to a new place.
Getting Settled in a New City
The grad school should be able to help you with this. If the school does not have student housing, or if you choose to live off campus, you should be able to get some recommendations for apartment buildings that are close to campus and affordable. The school may send out a list of first year students that are looking for roommates. If you want a roommate, get on this list. It’ll be good to room with someone going through the same things you are. Realize that you will be living in this city for 6-7 years, so you have the ability to move around. If you live somewhere that you don’t like, use the time to scope out the area and find a better neighborhood to move to next year.
Coursework Year 1
At my school, there is a full load of coursework in your first year. There are two types of courses, lectures and paper discussions. The lecture courses are graded through homework and exams; the paper discussions are graded via participation and knowledge. My school requires a grade of A or B. A student who receives a C must repeat that course and obtain an A or B. If a student receives two C’s, they are kicked out of the school. If a student outright fails a course, they are kicked out of grad school. About half to three-fourths of your time the first year is spent on coursework and studying.
The coursework will be more difficult than you had in undergrad. Mainly, this is because you will be expected to learn and memorize all aspects of science research in a short period of time. You will be flooded with information, and each lecture will present a new topic and its associated details. In one lecture, a professor went through 65 extremely detailed slides in 45 minutes, and then went through another 60 in the last hour. It’s a lot of information to take in.
The courses are taught by faculty. At UMass, a different faculty teaches on different topics, meaning that it’s common to have a new faculty teaching each lecture in a course. This also creates diverse grading during exams, since each faculty grades their own questions. Therefore, you have to determine how to answer each question based not only on the material you learned, but on the faculty that will grade you. Some faculty want you to write a two-page essay answer, while others want one sentence and a diagram. This only creates additional stress during exams.
Another type of class you’ll probably be exposed to is based on reading primary literature and discussing it in a group setting. The idea is to learn how to understand and dissect scientific publications. These courses are usually pretty easy, since the focus is on group discussion and comprehension. The hardest part is getting used to reading and interpreting the papers. Once you've got a few under your belt, the rest should be pretty simple.
Lab Rotations
Besides surviving the rigorous coursework, you will be going through rotations. Rotations are short periods of time (anywhere from 4 weeks to 3 months) that you spend in a lab, working on a mini project and deciding if you want to join that lab for your thesis research. Many incoming students wonder how many rotations they should do before settling down in a lab. I would suggest doing at least three. Just because you like the first lab doesn't mean that’s the one you should pick. There may be better labs out there, and there may not be. This is the most critical choice you will make in grad school, so it’s better to err on the side of caution.
To pick a rotation lab, first check out the faculty’s web site. Does their research sound interesting? Read the most recent publication or two from the lab. Do you like what you read, or did you find it boring? How many publications does the lab have, and when did the most recent one come out? How big is the lab? Once you have a few candidate labs, e-mail the professor and ask for a meeting. Wait for a few days, then e-mail again. If you don’t get a reply, go ahead and stop by the professor’s office. If you don’t get a friendly answer, don’t bother rotating there. During your meeting, discuss the projects that are currently underway in the lab, and ask about any ideas the professor has that a new grad student could take on. It’s a good sign if there are a few projects ready and waiting to be picked up by a new student.
Once you’re in a rotation, it’s important to get a good feeling for the lab. Most likely, you’ll be working with another grad student or a post-doc for the rotation. This lab member will show you the ropes and help you get your hands wet at the bench. Some schools focus on the result of that work as a measure of competency. It’s important to keep in mind that along with impressing the professor, you are judging the lab. Is this a place you could work in for the next 5-6 years?
Choosing a Lab
At the end of your rotations, you will have to choose a lab in which to do your thesis research. There are a lot of considerations at this point, and I’ll address some of them here.
1) Try to avoid working in a lab where you are the only grad student (exceptions are small labs just getting started). If the lab has been around for a while and there are no other grad students there, it may be a sign that it’s not a good lab.
2) Listen to the gossip about professors. If you hear about PIs who are harsh on their students, who hound them for results, it is a good idea to avoid that lab. I've talked to a few students who regret joining their labs because the professor is pushy and controlling. They've actually told current rotation students not to join the lab.
3) Make sure your professor is around and available. I've heard stories of students going months without even seeing their bosses. That’s too long. You should feel comfortable enough with your PI that you can walk into their office at any time and sit down to chat about your progress. Your PI should be in their office most of the time. They are there to act as your mentor, so find one that will.
4) Think about the quality of research you could produce in that lab. Does the lab work with a model organism? If so, which one? (Mice take forever to work with, flies are irritating, yeast is easy, human cells can be very tricky.) Is there a pet technique that the lab uses? What type of science will you be learning and doing, and how will you use that in a future career? If you didn't like the type of experiments you performed during your rotation, don’t join the lab.
5) How big a name is your PI? This has pros and cons. If your PI is a big name in their field, they’ll be traveling to a lot of meetings, but they also know a lot of people and can connect you for future employment. If they are a small name, they’ll be more accessible, but also may not have great contacts. This may or may not influence your decision, but it’s something to consider.
Overall, think carefully about this decision. Consider what type of support and friendship you will get from your labmates; the type of mentoring you’ll get from your PI; the type of research you will produce and publish; finally, consider how long it will take you to graduate. Make a good, smart decision!
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