MSTP Guidelines for Year 2

Joining a Graduate Program:

- Application to a specific program must be made by January 15th. Please note this deadline can be extended if a Program wishes to consider applications after that date (and for MSTP students, this can usually be accomplished easily. But please try not to push the system if you don't have to). It would be best to start on this as soon as classes end in December.

- Please contact the appropriate Graduate Program Director or Coordinator to let them know that you would like to join the program and to ask what they need you to do; Carron can help you with that. Note that it is fairly easy to join a graduate program as an MSTP student (e.g. you do not need GREs). Talk to Carron about the process before beginning any paperwork. The Graduate Application packet will be forwarded by me to the Graduate Program Coordinator.

- Students who don’t know which program to join should contact the MSTP Director in December. This is not a crucial decision, and switching to another program later (e.g. during the summer) can be readily accomplished if needed. It is necessary to join some program at this time though. As a rough guide, join one of the programs in which your intended thesis advisor is already a member of, unless this is unacceptable for some reason (and speak to the Director if this is a concern).

Lab Research Rotation:

- Must be arranged by Jan 1st of the calendar year of the summer rotation.
- Two backup labs must also be identified if lab is not the confirmed PhD thesis lab.
- Choice(s) must be approved by Program Director (before contacting PI of interest).
- Program will again confirm primary choice with student and PI in early May.

- The Step I USMLE exam must be taken before July 1st (by June 30th) (this permits 7
weeks of study post the end of classes on May 16th)).
- Summer research MUST start no later than Tuesday, July 1st.

- With the approval of your rotation mentor, you can choose to take some or all of your   two-weeks of vacation at any point during the summer research period..

Deviations from Policy

     Waivers to the above can be petitioned to the Director and Executive Committee in the event of extenuating circumstances. Such circumstances can include medical, personal, academic, or professional reasons (e.g. pregnancies, weddings, academic difficulty, or unique scientific opportunities). Students in academic difficulty should address their concerns by May 1st to the Dean’s office (Drs. F. Schiavone and L. Chandran), who will determine whether to approve additional time to prepare for the Step I exam. Note that students who are approved for additional time may nonetheless encounter a break in MSTP scholarship support, as decided upon by the MSTP Executive committee.

     Violations of the above policy will automatically trigger review of the incident by the MSTP Executive Committee to determine whether the student should be referred to the Dean for suspension or dismissal from the MSTP. Suspension will entail immediate and full loss of stipend support for a period of time as recommended by the Executive Committee and approved by the Dean and will be noted in the academic record as presented in the Dean’s letter to residency programs.

"Version: June 23, 2008. This version supersedes all previous versions."