MCDB Graduate Student Handbook
Normally, Ph.D. students coming into MCDB from ACCESS will have completed three laboratory rotations during the first year in residence. Laboratory rotation periods are congruent with the academic quarters (Fall, Winter and Spring). The purpose of laboratory rotations is to give you an opportunity to look closely at several laboratories you are seriously considering for your thesis research. At the same time, rotations are an opportunity for the faculty to get to know you and to judge your ability to function in a research setting. During a rotation, you should try to function as if you were a graduate student in the host laboratory. You are expected to undertake at least a modest research project, and to participate fully in the intellectual life of the lab, attending group meetings and taking part in the give- and-take discussions of the lab's research. Rotations are not simply a period for you to observe what goes on in the laboratory.
All students are required to complete three lab rotations. In general, you will be expected to be in a laboratory each quarter on a rotation basis in order to seek a thesis advisor and a permanent research laboratory. Students are expected to independently arrange each of the three lab rotations with the MCDB faculty members they are interested in working with. However, arrangements cannot be made prior to five weeks before the quarter in which the student plans to rotate. If necessary, students are allowed to do a fourth lab rotation during the summer session. Fourth rotations are not encouraged, however. They are granted only in unusual circumstances, requiring permission of both the Faculty Graduate Advisor and the Department Chair.
Summer rotations are available for students interested in completing a rotation prior to the start of the Fall term. These rotations must be a minimum of 8 weeks in length. Arrangements are made by the entering student and stipend for the duration of the rotation is provided by the mentor.