Integrative Biology Graduate Program Handbook-Advising
Advising
Before applying to the Integrative Biology Graduate Program, prospective students must identify and contact potential faculty advisors. Potential advisors include both faculty from the Department of Integrative Biology as well as affiliated faculty from other departments on campus that are listed on the department web page. Prospective students should contact potential faculty advisors by email early in the application process to discuss mutual interests and to determine if the faculty member is actively recruiting graduate students. (For examples of questions to ask prospective advisors, see appendix example at the end of this section).
Admission to the graduate program is contingent upon being accepted by an individual faculty advisor and approval by the admissions committee. Faculty advisors must have an anticipated funding plan for each student they wish to admit. Students are admitted to a specific laboratory. Research / thesis advising, advice on classes and professional development, and mentoring are carried out by the student’s major advisor and the members of the student’s advisory committee. The advisory committee is assembled in consultation with the primary advisor during the first year of study and consists of faculty with expertise in areas relevant to the student’s planned course of study. Peer mentoring / advising is available through the Integrative Biology Graduate Student Organization.
Organization Advising related to administrative requirements of the Graduate School and Integrative Biology Graduate Program is carried out by the Graduate Manager.
Advising related to professional development, administrative requirements, grievances and conflicts is carried out by the Director of Graduate Studies, Monica Turner.
Students meet with the primary advisor immediately upon joining the program. The advisory committee is assembled in consultation with the primary advisor during the first year of study and consists of faculty with expertise in areas relevant to the student’s planned course of study. Students are required to meet annually with the advisory committee and to fill out the required progress reports during these meetings.
Students funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health are required to complete Individual Development Plans (IDPs). All other students are also advised during orientation to complete IDPs. IDPs are described in detail in PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER PLANNING.
Advisor/Advisee Roles Advisor
Advising Resources
The advisor serves a dual role: first, to assist the student in acquiring the highest level of knowledge and competence in the field that is possible; and second, to chair the committee that will determine whether the student 4 has performed acceptably at each of their degree milestones. The chair or co-chair of the committee must be Graduate Faculty from the student’s program. Advisors play a role in tracking the student’s progress toward degree completion, assisting with course selection and academic planning, and helping students identify possible research mentors, committee members, and opportunities.
Advisee: Since the advisor's role can vary, students should discuss roles and expectations with their advisors or prospective advisors. Both the student and the advisor have a responsibility to make their expectations clear to each other.
Advisor/Advisee Roles Advisor
Additional Advising Contacts
There are many advising resources available to students. Students can reference the program’s website, the program’s Graduate Handbook, the Graduate School’s website (grad.wisc.edu), and the Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures (grad.wisc.edu/acadpolicy/). However, when students still need clarification on issues there are various faculty and staff resources also available (described below). Generally, faculty and staff are best able to assist students when they have researched a topic (using the resources mentioned above).
Advisor/Advisee Roles Advisor
Students in the Integrative Biology Graduate Program select an advisor prior to applying to the program (as detailed in the first paragraph of this section). Students are directly admitted by a primary advisor to a specific laboratory. A student who later decides that a different faculty advisor would be preferable should discuss this with the current advisor and then feel free to seek the change. However, it is solely the student’s responsibility to contact other potential advisors, and the department cannot guarantee that another advisor will be available. Advising related to such a transition is provided by the Director of Graduate Studies.
When a student has selected, or changed, advisors, they must file the appropriate form with the program's graduate manager.
Students may see their official advisor listed in MyUW. (The official advisor is entered in the Student Information System (SIS) by the graduate program manager.)
Students should always reference the program’s website, this Handbook, the Graduate School’s website (grad.wisc.edu), and the Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures (grad.wisc.edu/acadpolicy/) for answers to various program-related questions. However, when students need further clarification on any of these policies or procedures they should contact the Graduate Program Manager. The Graduate Program Manager may play a role with issues including satisfactory academic progress, academic deadlines, graduation completion, program-related forms, advising/course holds and permissions, and course offerings.
Many of these questions are not simple and may not elicit a quick answer. However, any advisor should be willing to discuss these important issues with you. You may also want to discuss these issues with any students that are currently in the prospective advisor's group/lab. This list is by no means complete; you should spend some time thinking about what is most important to you in your graduate training.
- What thesis projects would be available to me if I were to join your group?
- Would these projects expose me to a variety of different approaches?
- In general, how available will you be to answer questions I might have?
- What is your philosophy regarding the amount of guidance the advisor should provide to a student during preparation of the thesis proposal, literature seminars, thesis, etc.?
- What are your expectations for the amount of time I should spend each day/week in your group/lab?
- What regularly scheduled activities (e.g., group meetings, joint group meetings, research clubs) does your group participate in that provide an opportunity to get outside input on my (research) project and to hear about the work of other students and postdocs?
- Do you encourage your students to attend seminars and journal clubs, including those that may be outside of their narrow field of interest/research?
- Do students in your group/lab have the opportunity to attend professional meetings where they can interact with colleagues/researchers from other institutions?
- Do you include your graduate students in professional activities that will familiarize them with their field of interest/research, such as reviewing manuscripts and meeting with visiting speakers?
- How long do you think it should take me to get my degree?
- What are your former graduate students (if any) doing now?
- What is your general philosophy of graduate training and what goals do you have for your graduate students?