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Description of Graduate Student Colloquium In
the Fall of 2004, the Chemistry Department will offer for the first
time a Colloquium for all first year students entering the Ph.D.
program in Chemistry. The course was inspired by meetings of the
Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate Committee. A general theme of many
of these meetings has been to take a thorough look at the entire Ph.D.
program and consider ways in which it might be improved or even
reconfigured. One
point that came up repeatedly was that many graduate students in our
program do not have a complete understanding of the reasons behind the
Ph.D. requirements. In addition, students need information regarding
potential career opportunities, including a better understanding of
what sorts of expectations and cultures they are likely to encounter if
they pursue either academic or industrial career paths. Faculty members
may have assumed that such information was readily available or
self-evident, but in fact students were not receiving the proper
guidance. To
remedy this situation, we have developed a new course for all
first-year graduate students, which will seek to explicitly address
these issues. Professor Lloyd Smith is the organizer behind this
endeavor.
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Details of the course The
course is required of all graduate students in the fall semester of
their first year. Although there was considerable support for this idea
across the Department, there was also concern with placing additional
burdens on first year students, who are extremely busy with classes and
teaching duties. To minimize this issue, the course has been
implemented on a limited trial basis in the first year. Subsequent
years will expand the number of topics addressed. The
course meets on Tuesday evenings. Pizza is served starting a 6 pm,
allowing time for socializing before the colloquium begins at 6:45. The
sessions are lead by faculty members, with some assistance from senior
grad students, and last about an hour. The style of the event is quite
informal, allowing for wide-ranging discussions. The course announcement for Fall 2004 is posted below.
Course Announcement
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What educational purpose does this class serve? The
primarily goal of this course is to provide a trans-divisional
orientation for all in-coming graduate students in chemistry, ensuring
that everyone is "on the same page" regarding the structure of the
Ph.D. program, its requirements, and the nature of the graduate student
experience. It is a chance for students to ask questions and discuss
the important decisions they will soon make, such as joining a research
lab. But beyond orientation to grad school, the class aims to introduce
students to the broader scientific enterprise. In fact, an appropriate
course title is "On Being a Scientist". The first year involves only three sessions, but the fully-developed course will address the following topics: 1. What is the Ph.D. program in chemistry all about? 2. Joining a research group 3. Teaching 4. Ethics 5. Management skills 6. Communcating - how to give a good presentation 7. Publication Strategies / Writing Grant Proposals 8. Careers in Chemistry 9. Patents and Inventions / Entrepreneurship
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What evidence will that this course works? This
course's effectiveness will be best judged by the energy-level and
quality of the discussions that take place. Are the students engaged
and participating, or is this colloquium simply another lecture they
attend? Preliminary reports suggest that the students are finding the
course worthwhile. Additionally, at the end of the semester, the those
participating will be asked to complete a course evaluation. Based on
their feedback, the course will be expanded and/or altered for next
year's in-coming class.
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Reflection from a faculty member At the end of the semester, Lloyd Smith with submit his thoughts about the course, and discuss its future in the department.
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Student Feedback Results from the course evaluations will be posted as soon as they become available.
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