First ever Information Session for
First Year Ph.D. students
Sponsored by the BGSA

• To provide clarification for all the little things you have to do in order to make your life easier
• For you to meet new people and recognize each other
• Ask us questions
• Free food

• Trudy (AEM)
• Jeanetta (MGB)
• Christie (CMBP)
• Stephanie (NBB)

• AEM representative-Trudy-Ann Tucker
• trudym_tucker@yahoo.com
, 1-3095
• Area Program Director- Dr. George Pierce
• biogep@langate.gsu.edu
, 1-1552

• Can be done at appointed times online at
GoSolar.
• To check registration times in GoSolar
– Click on registration in the main menu
– Choose check Registration Status and Appointment
Times
– Select the term
• Log in using either your social security number/A number and your password.

• All graduate students must take Introduction to Graduate
Studies
• Students doing lab research MUST register for 6900(2hrs), and 8800. (only students who pass the qualifying exam register for 9999)
• Total required credit hours must be 25. (See Latesha if there are any problems getting registered for these hours)
• An Agreement and Approval form must be completed and signed by your advisor then submitted to Latesha, this will provide authorization to register for the courses.
• If you are teaching then registration for 7802 is required

Core Courses (8 hours)
Electives (8 hours)
Topics and Seminar (8 hours)
Proficiency in Biochemistry

• GSU assigns each student a username and an initial password which can be changed
• Email address will be
______@student.gsu.edu
• All official messages will be sent to your
GSU e-mail so it should be checked daily.

• After registration there are fees which must be paid.
• GRA receive a tuition waiver. However payment of mandatory fees are required($450.50).
International students fees include health insurance ($576 annually).
• Non payment of fees can result in classes being dropped and your assistantship being suspended.

MGB Representative
404-651-1952 jholley2@student.gsu.edu
NSC530
Program Area Director: Dr. Chung-Dar Lu
Email biocdl@panther.gsu.edu
Telephone
(404) 651-2531
Location
536 SA

Parking and Transportation
Autoclave Training
Financial Aid
Radiation Safety

• All vehicles must be registered on-line to qualify for student parking rates and parking in the Blue
Lot of Turner Field.
– Registration for parking permits is done on-line on
ParkingWeb. ParkingWeb can be obtained by going to the Auxiliary and Support Services webpage and looking under Parking Registration.
– Parking permits can be picked up at the Customer
Service desk of Auxiliary and Support Services.

• There are several places available for parking on campus. A parking attendant is on duty from 6:30am – 10pm.
– K, M, S (top two floors), N, G (after 4pm and
Sat. (7am-7pm) & Sun (8am-6pm).
– Free Student parking with shuttle service is available in the Turner Field Blue Lot for registered vehicles.

• Parking Fees
– $3.50 w/ budget card
• These cards are obtained at the customer service window of
Auxiliary and Support Services. They allow a savings of
$1/deck entry and can be used at any lot, except for the Loft parking deck.
• A min. of $7 and a max. $200 are allowed for this card.
– $4.50 w/ parking permit
– $6.00 w/o parking permit
– $2.25 after 4pm
– $18/semester for motorcycles and mopeds at G deck

• Anytime access parking
– There are two M deck parking alternatives
• 1. M Deck lottery for $200/semester: Registration is done each semester via the Auxiliary and
Support Services Web-site http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwaux/parking/students.ht
m .
• 2. GRA parking for $55/month, unlimited parking year round. This permit is limited, there are only
60 slots and they are available on a 1 st come basis. Currently there is one spot open, others become available as GRAs return their permits.
Contact the main Auxiliary and Support Services office for more information.

• Loft parking
- For non-tenants $200/month. Unlimited entry as with M deck, however, you must register for this parking every semester. Availability of permits is dependent on demands of parking of Loft residents.
- For tenants $85/month, permits are available for the entire year. Re-registration is required every semester.
• Parking in private lots
– Several private parking lots surround the campus. The cost ranges from $4.50-$7/day. Some lots give student discounts so be sure to ask the parking attendant.
– After 4pm most of the lots offer parking between $2-$3.50.

• Commuting to GSU
– Marta
• Monthly passes are available for $26 at several location on campus, with a valid GSU ID.
– Auxiliary and Support Services
– Rialto Center for Performing Arts
– University Bookstore
– Student Account Cashier’s Office
• Passes can be picked up on the following dates:
– October card: Sept. 22- Oct. 18
– November card: Oct. 20 – Nov. 15
– December card: Nov. 17 – Dec. 13
– Cobb and Gwinnett County Express
• Cobb County Transit offers a 31 day pass at $70 for transport from different areas in
Cobb to downtown. For more info http://www.cobbdot.org/cct/cct-park-ride.htm
.
• Gwinnett County Transit offers a monthly pass for $100. For more info http://www.gctransit.com/frame_set.html
.
– Check out the Cash for Commuters Incentive Plan
• http://www.atlantadowntown.com/docs/Cash%20For%20Commuters%20Appl ication.pdf
• Receive up to $180

• Autoclave training is required for all students needing access to common room equipment.
• Autoclave training is usually done by one of the core facility staff. The dates and times of autoclave training can be obtained from Barry Grant ((404) 651-3093).
• Barry Grant is responsible for issuing cards for access to common rooms, but will only issue a card upon completing the training class and signing a form indicating which rooms you will utilize. This form must be signed by yourself and your advisor. Forms can be obtained in the biology office.

• Financial Aid is available to graduate students from the federal government in the form of Federal Direct and Perkins loans
– To qualify you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Generally, you an eligible non-citizen if you are:
• a US permanent residents and have an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-551);
• a conditional permanent resident (I-551C); or an other eligible non-citizen with an
Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the US Immigration and Naturalization Service showing any one of the following designations; "Refugees", "Asylum Granted",
"Indefinite Parole", "Humanitarian Parole", or "Cuban-Haitian Entrant".
• Financial aid can be received for a max. of 220 hrs as a PhD student
– We quickly reach this limit by registering for 25hrs/semester.
– If you max. the hours you can petition by having the Grad Coordinator provide a letter and having your advisors signature, this letter should be taken to the financial aid office.
• For more info about financial aid visit the web-site at http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfia/graduate/index.html

• All labs members who will use radioactive materials are required to attend an introductory 2 - hour course on the fundamentals of radiation safety.
– This course covers the basic theory of radioactivity, procedures for the safe handling of radioactive materials and disposal of waste and personal surveying and clean up of radioactive contamination.
– This course is generally given at 34 Broad Street Suite 1200.
• The GSU Radiation Safety Officer is Peter Farina (404-651-4318).
– Contact Peter for times and dates of training.
• For more information about Radiation Safety at GSU visit the website at http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwsaf/r_comply.htm#R.

Georgia Cancer Center
Grady Hospital
Room 10D012
Email: ccarter25@gsu.edu
Area director for CMBP is Dr. Barfuss

• Rotation*
• Semester Reports/Annual Reports
• Qualifying Exams*
• Teaching Assistantships
* Ph.D. students only

• 1 st year Ph.D. students are required to do 2 – 10 week rotations in 2 different labs.
• You may do more than 2; however, 2 is the required minimum.
• Talk to the professors in your area to find out what their interests are.
• If you would like to rotate in a specific person’s lab, talk it over with your advisor first, then ask the professor of the lab you wish to rotate if they will accept you as a rotating student.
• You may also want to speak to students currently working in the lab you wish to rotate in, to find out what the working environment is like on a day to day basis.

• Speak to the professor whose lab you are rotating in about your schedule.
• Show up.
• Ask questions of senior lab members.
• Don’t expect to jump right in with a project, it takes time.
• Most importantly, look at it as an opportunity to learn different lab techniques, jump in and learn as many new ones as you can.
• Keep a techniques notebook.

• Who must submit a semester report?
-PhD students
-Masters students who have a GRA position.
• Typical reports consist of:
– Cover Sheet
– Background/Introduction
– Methods/Results
– Discussion
– Future Work
– References

12/1/05 Fall 05
Christie Lee Carter
18 Dr. Zhi-Ren Liu
555 55 5555
8800
The Effects of Stress on First Year Graduate Students

“But I don’t have any results yet!?”
• Your first few reports will consist more of background and information on what you intend to do.
• Your report done after rotation will consist of what you learned/did in both of your rotating labs.
• Be aware of the deadline to turn in semester reports which occur 3 times a year: the end of Spring, Summer and Fall semesters.
• Turn in one copy to the Biology office 402 Kell and one copy to your advisor.
• If you don’t have an advisor, turn in your first report to the Area
Director.

• Form available online.
• You must meet with your area committee once a year, in the Fall.
• Bring a copy of the form to the meeting for everyone to sign, return it to LaTesha.
• Does LaTesha set this up for everyone??

• Typically begin at the end of the summer semester, and run through the middle of the fall semester.
• Plan to take the qualifying exam approximately 2 years from beginning the program.
• Also plan to be finished with most of your courses, and ALL of your core courses by this time.

• A qualifying exam is the bridge from your coursework to your dissertation.
• You must pass the qualifying exam in order to begin your dissertation research.
• Know that your qualifying exam cannot be based on any current research project that you are doing, but it can be related to research that you plan to do for your dissertation.

• The general format for the qualifying exam is:
• A written proposal containing Specific Aims,
Background/Significance, Methods, Discussion,
Statement, References.
• Similar to an NIH R01 grant.
• You will select a committee of 3 members from your area and they will critique your proposal.
• Finally, you will give an oral presentation to this committee and they will decide if you pass/fail.

• Ph.D. students are required to teach 5 laboratory sections. Masters students may also teach but are not required.
• Typically you will teach the beginning level labs.
• First, you must contact Judy Block at jbphilo@yahoo.com
or 314 NSC to obtain an apprentice position.
• You must also attend the TA workshop, which is typically offered once a year just after summer.

• Try to get most of your classes out of the way so that you won’t have to struggle with coursework and teaching at the same time.
• You will get paid!
The more labs you teach, the more money you’ll make!
• Think about apprenticing in the summer , the labs are 4 hours long; however, you only have to attend once a week for 5 weeks!
• Ask the TA for handouts of all the labs. You will be required to teach at least
1 of the labs during your apprenticeship.
• Attend the Friday TA meetings (Ask Judy for times).
• After you successfully apprentice and attend the TA workshop, contact Judy
Block again to obtain a TA position before the semester you want to teach.
• You probably don’t want to TA the semester you are doing qualifying exams.

Neurobiology and Behavior Rep
220 Kell Hall sgutzler1@student.gsu.edu
Area Program Director:
Vincent Rehder (404) 651-0905 biovre@panther.gsu.edu

• Go to the Biology office (402 Kell Hall) and request a key card form
• Fill out the information required and get the appropriate signatures (advisor’s)
• Bring back to the Biology office for Dr. Tai’s approval
• Go to the police station for requested keys

• Go to the Biology office and request afterhours access form (white)
• Fill out information such as which hours you will need access
• Gain appropriate signatures and return to
Biology office
• Access usually granted in 24 hours
• Problems call the GSU police station

Health clinic
-Semester health fee covers unlimited primary care office visits and consultations.
-All patients must present their Panther Card or other photo ID to receive services.
Payment must be in the form of cash, check, credit or debit card.

• Health Fee does not cover medical equipment, over the counter medications, dispensary prescriptions, immunization vaccines, laboratory or other diagnostic tests, and supplies.
• Appointments are required for women's health, allergy shots, and physical exam visits.
• Call (404) 651-2229 to schedule an appointment.
• For more info go to: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwuhs/

• Proof of Private insurance
• Georgia State health insurance
How does GSU insurance work?
….This is a great question….

• International students already pay for this in student fees
• Information at http://www2.gsu.edu/~www dos/healthinsurance.html

Make this lady your ally
LaTesha Morrison-Warren, 422 Kell Hall, biolxm@langate.gsu.edu