PrintGraduate Student Handbook
Welcome to the virtual world that is the BISI Graduate Student Handbook. We hope that these linked pages will help you navigate the sea of forms, procedures, and policies that are part of the graduate school experience with a minimal amount of frustration so that you can focus on what really counts: becoming an inquisitive, thoughtful, and thorough researcher. And because all work and no play makes an unhappy graduate student, we've included sections on dining out, entertainment, music, the arts, sports, and outdoor activities so that you can enjoy the amenities of living in the vibrant Washington D.C. metro area.
You've finished your application, been admitted, accepted the offer...now what do you do? This section focuses on getting prepared for graduate school, moving to College Park, and the first year of graduate school. It will help you find an apartment, open your bank account, plan for orientation, get your paperwork started, and much, much more!
Preparing for grad school and the first year...help!
What is expected of me as a graduate student? What are the requirements for earning my Ph.D.? What kind of committee do I need? What kind of courses? How do I advance to candidacy? This section will help you see the "big picture"!
The "hoops"! How do I get a Ph.D.?
Qualifying exam, there's a form for that. Preliminary exam, there's a form for that. First committee meeting, there's a form for that! All of the forms that make up the bureaucracy of graduate school can be found here! Both program forms and graduate school forms are here for the taking!
Is there a form for that?
You've finished your first research project and have to present at a national meeting, but aren't sure how to put together that eye catching poster or that award winning talk. You'd like to know what career possibilities await you or how to get that funding you need to attend that international conference. This section focuses on all this and much more!
Professional development...why, yes, I am a doctor!
What do you do for fun around here?
You've spent all day in the lab and now you need some good food and some good music to unwind. Where do you go? You'd love to take a day trip and go camping, but don't know where to camp. This section focuses on the social aspects of being a graduate student.
You entered graduate school before the birth of the BISI graduate program and you're wondering where you can go to find your program information. This site contains all that and the handbooks from the programs that existed prior to Fall, 2010.
Enrolled prior to Fall, 2010??
