Overview
The Biomedical Sciences (BIMS) PhD Rotation Program augments the traditional direct admission model by providing the opportunity for motivated prospective students to enter the BIMS Graduate Program and become engaged in biomedical research training by rotating through multiple research labs over the course of one academic year prior to pairing with a faculty mentor. Rotations serve as a mechanism for laboratory and faculty mentor selection and are an important opportunity for students to receive training in laboratory-specific techniques, methods, and instrumentation that will help them prepare for success as doctoral students and in their future career paths.
Program Timeline
Laboratory Selection: Upon admission, rotations students will choose three laboratories from a list of faculty participating in the BIMS PhD Rotation Program that year and will spend eight weeks in each of the laboratories during their first year.
Research Project: Rotations students will conduct a project associated with the work of each laboratory that may result in manuscript authorship or other substantial achievements, despite the relatively short rotation experience.
Evaluation: Rotations students will be formally evaluated by the faculty in each laboratory after each rotation.
Faculty Mentor Selection: After three rotations and feedback from the participating students and faculty, the School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) Office of Research & Graduate Studies will facilitate the matching of students with a faculty mentor and the transition into a curricular training track.
Funding
During year one, the VMBS Office of Research & Graduate Studies will provide the following for each student participating in the rotation program:
- A graduate research assistantship (GAR) with an annual stipend of $22,000. The faculty mentor selected at the end of the rotation process is responsible for the assistantship after year one.
- Payment of tuition and fees (~$10,400) for minimum full-time enrollment in fall, spring, and summer semesters. The faculty mentor selected at the end of the rotation process is responsible for tuition and fees after year one.
Eligibility
- All prospective BIMS PhD students who submit a complete application by December 15 are eligible to be considered for the rotation program.
- All BIMS PhD applicants are considered uncommitted to a specific laboratory and eligible for the rotation program unless a faculty member communicates to the admissions coordinator that they would like to initiate the traditional direct admission process.
Application Process
- Eligible prospective students may apply to the BIMS PhD Rotation Program by following the standard application process, with the following exceptions:
- Application Deadline: December 15
- GraduateCAS – Applicants may type “Rotation Program” when prompted for the name of a faculty mentor.
- After a preliminary holistic application review, the admissions committee will select a set of applicants to invite to the BIMS Doctoral Student Recruitment Weekend in February for an interview. Interview questions will relate to the applicant’s perseverance, goals, and overall preparedness for doctoral training.
- Four prospective BIMS PhD students are selected for fall admission.
- Applicants will receive notification about the rotation program decision (accept or decline) by the first week in March, along with information on how to pursue the direct admission process if they have not been chosen for the rotation program.
Requirements & Guidelines
- Applicants who accept an offer of admission to the rotation program must complete the three rotations before joining their permanent laboratory in the VMBS.
- Admission to the rotation program does not guarantee acceptance to the rotation student’s first choice of a laboratory at the end of the rotation process.