Life As a Committee on Genetics Student
So you want to know what life is like as a Committee on Genetics student? First you need to know who we are and why we chose to join the Committee on Genetics. The student who chooses the Committee on Genetics wants broad training in various aspects of genetics as well as the flexibility to pursue cross-departmental research interests. When it comes to selecting a thesis lab, we are uniquely positioned to consider labs using genetic approaches throughout the University. If the researcher with whom we would most like to work is not already appointed to the Committee on Genetics, we petition the Committee to consider an appointment. Committee on Genetics students are found in labs of all kinds: Ecology and Evolution, Human Genetics, Medicine, etc. We work on projects as diverse as human disease, viral transmission, stem cell propagation, molecular evolution, signaling pathways, genome regulation, embryology, and polymerase structure. Take a look at recent student publications to get an idea of what some of the Committee on Genetics students have been doing lately. Reflecting the diversity of our thesis labs, we work in buildings all over campus.
Committee on Genetics students enjoy a remarkable degree of flexibility regarding our choices of elective classes, permitting us to make an early move in the general direction of our research interests, e.g., infectious diseases, viral transmission, regulation of transcription, etc. "Tracks" for students interested in concentrating in different areas of genetics (Model Systems, Human Genetics, Developmental Genetics, Population Genetics) have been developed by the Curriculum Committee. We are aided in this process in a number of ways:
- Each student is assigned to an academic advisor who responsible for helping us to choose a coherent set of classes and begin to think about rotations.
- Faculty Research Seminar Series ("Allstars"): a weekly seminar designed to provide incoming first year Molecular Biosciences students with information on the variety of faculty research opportunities available and experience with oral presentations.
- The Molecular Biosciences Retreat provides an opportunity for students, post-docs, and faculty to meet in a pleasant, informal setting to learn about the research programs of the various research laboratories.
- Thursday lunch meetings alternate between the Genetics of Model Organism Club and the Committee on Genetics Journal Club. Students and post-docs make presentations at these meetings with background information provided by faculty.
- The constant flow of weekly departmental seminars: we learn about these seminars by email and by posters in our common areas.
- Graduate student seminars. These are held on Fridays at 4 pm (with libations). Faculty are excluded from these events.
In the Summer following Year One, we do a full-time rotation in potential thesis labs. At the end of the Summer we take (and pass!) the Preliminary Exam. We choose labs for our thesis project in the Summer or Autumn. Year Two includes developing a thesis project and getting started on experiments. We are also required to present at one of the biweekly Committee on Genetics Journal Club luncheons. By May of Year Two, we have chosen our Thesis Advisory Committee and present a detailed trajectory of our research project, otherwise known as the Qualifying Exam. And then it's time to really get down to the business of research!
Year Three and beyond: In addition to doing experiments we meet with our Thesis Advisory Committee every year to get advice and ideas. We also have opportunities to present our work in a number of forums including the Genetics of Model Organisms Club, Graduate student seminars, and the Molecular Biosciences Retreat. After Year Four or Year Five, our research has (generally) progressed to the point where it is time to begin to write our thesis. Shortly after the written thesis is submitted to our committee, we defend it by giving a 50 minute oral presentation that is open to the public and by answering our committee members' questions.
Click here to view the Committee on Genetics Handbook and Student Tracks (Appendix A).
Life exists outside the lab!
Grad students are encouraged to participate in all of the University organizations and events. Student representatives from each class are highly involved in organizing Committee-wide events, including the allotment of Committee activity funds to appropriate activities. The Biological Sciences Division also has a Dean's Council to which a student from each Department and Committee is elected. Dean's Council frequently funds social events (such as barbecues or movie screenings) or subsidizes cultural events (such as sporting events, dance performances or symphony performances).
Tuesday night is Trivia Night at the Student Pub, where there are 21 beers on tap; student-run Doc Films screens movies nightly; intramural teams (dodge ball, volleyball, soccer, flag football, broomball, etc.) practice and play regularly; the Gerald Ratner Athletic Center is open daily 6 am to Midnight and, aside from its state-of-the-art exercise equipment and Olympic-size pool, offers a wide variety of fitness classes available for a nominal per class fee. Student outreach groups, such as Save Our Science, get involved in issues including science funding and promoting scientific literacy in inner-city schools. The University community supports a large number of religious organizations and volunteer opportunities.
Committee on Genetics students choose to live throughout Hyde Park and, for that matter, throughout the Chicagoland area depending on their personal preferences. Hyde Park is primarily a residential neighborhood. Some love the tree-lined streets and the familiarity bred by bumping into the same people at local restaurants, coffee shops and bookstores. Others are willing to commute from outlying areas due to their preference for a suburban environment (such as Des Plaines, Oak Park or Tinley Park) or a more urban neighborhood defined by its shopping opportunities or nightlife (such as Wicker Park, Bridgeport, or Bucktown). One of the great things about Chicago is that affordable housing can be found in most neighborhoods (and certainly in Hyde Park). Furthermore, The University of Chicago offers a variety of Graduate Student Housing options, with buildings throughout Hyde Park all of which are serviced by CTA buses running to and from campus. Many Committee on Genetics students are married or living with a significant other; some have children, dogs or both.