The rotation process is designed to provide students and advisors with the opportunity to consider potential research matches. Matching to a research lab involves three constituencies: students, advisors, and department faculty. During the rotation periods, students should demonstrate their abilities and high level of interest to potential research advisors who have active, funded research projects. An advisor’s scientific body of work, evidenced largely by peer-reviewed publications, as well as job placement of former graduate students, provide some indication of research activity. Even students who are self-supported by fellowships or other means should seek to join research groups that actively seek funding. Funded research (GRA) support is the primary source of support for continuing graduate studies. Students are welcome to discuss research opportunities with faculty members with whom they did not rotate.
Below is an approximate timeline for the research advisor matching process.
- A student who has identified an advisor match at the end of the second rotation should consult with the BIOE Graduate Office by the last day of classes of the fall semester and submit a formal request to match with the research advisor of their choice. This selection will then be considered for approval by the Fischell Department of Bioengineering full-time faculty. If the match is approved, the student would begin working in the advisor’s lab at the start of the spring semester, and the advisor would be expected to start funding the student from the beginning of January.
- Most students will complete their third rotation, and before spring break will turn in a ranked list of three potential research advisors. These selections will then be considered for approval by the Fischell Department of Bioengineering full-time faculty. By the end of March, all first-year student and advisor matches are confirmed, and students and faculty are notified.
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