FAQ ANYL 1styr

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Beginning Analytical, Environmental, and Atmospheric Division Graduate Students. A shortcut to this page is http://tinyurl.com/ANYL-1st.

Contents

Department-Level Questions

What rules apply to Graduate Students in the ANYL division at CU-Boulder?

  • Two sets of rules apply to the Graduate Programs at CU-Boulder:
    • The Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry has adopted these graduate rules.
    • The Graduate School has adopted these rules.
    • A Department can only make rules more stringent than the Graduate School, never less. Thus for topics discussed in the Chemistry rules, those rules apply. For topics not discussed in the Chemistry rules, the Grad School rules apply.

Does the Department maintain a similar list of FAQs?

Should I Take TA'ing Seriously?

  • Yes! We do take TAing very seriously and we expect you to put your best effort into it.
  • From past experience, there is a strong correlation between a good work ethic and performance when TA'ing and a good work ethic and performance on your thesis research. The Analytical faculty are kept informed of the performance of the TAs from the Analytical division. If you don't take TAing seriously, potential advisors will generally hear about it and worry about your work ethic, and this may discourage potential advisors from taking you for their research groups.
  • Later in your PhD you may need a TA position due to a hiccup in funding etc. There are often more non-1st-yr students who would like a TA position than positions available, and if your TA performance in your 1st yr was not good, you will have lower priority for a position.

Division Questions

So What is a "Division" Anyway?

  • A division in the CU Chemistry Dept. is a relatively "soft" institution. It is mostly a group of professors and research groups with related interests, that get together to organize course offerings, oral exams, cumes, seminars, etc. The Graduate Rules of the Chemistry Dept. apply to students in all divisions.
  • Analytical, Environmental, and Atmospheric Chemistry ("Analytical" or "ANYL" for brevity) is an official Division of the CU Chemistry Dept.

Atmospheric Chemistry by itself is not an official Division, and there are professors working on atmospheric chemistry also in Physical Chemistry (Vaida, Ravishankara, Bierbaum, Hynes), and in Organic Chemistry (Ellison, Fall). Atmospheric Chemistry could be an official Division but it is not, for historical and practical reasons. Thus if your primary interest is in this area you may want to explore opportunities in several official Divisions.

Which Professors are Part of the Analytical Division?

Which Professors are Active in Atmospheric Chemistry?

What is the Role of the Analytical Division Advisor?

  • The analytical division advisor (Paul Ziemann for 2013-14) is available for discussing any relevant issues with the 1st year analytical students during the year. Just email him or drop by.
  • There is also a meeting at the beginning of every Fall semester, typically after the first analytical seminar, with all first year students and all analytical faculty. This is a good opportunity to ask further questions.

Finding a Research Advisor

What Should I Focus on my First Semester?

  • The most important thing that you have to do in your first semester (in the long run) is to choose a research advisor. For this:
    • Talk to all of the faculty you are interested in working for. Not everyone will have time or funding to take you on, so create alternatives for yourself.
    • Talk to the students, postdocs and recent graduates of the groups you are interested on
    • Attend the group meeting of the groups you are interested on at least a couple of times
    • Note that in principle you can work for any professor in the department, although most students tend to stay within their division
    • In the analytical division you have to make a decision by Thanksgiving of your first (Fall) semester. At that time you have to email the analytical advisor with your first three choices for research groups, in order of preference. We will do our best to accommodate everyone in their first choice, although this is not always possible.

Do I need to give an Analytical Seminar on my first semester?

  • Yes, all 1st year students give a 1/2-hr seminar (including questions) during the first semester (two students per 1-hr seminar slot). The analytical advisor should sign you up for a seminar during the advising meeting before the start of the Fall semester.
  • You should also be signed up to the analytical seminar email announcement list. Ask Jose to add you before the start of the semester.

Can I work for Faculty in Other Departments?

  • It is certainly possible to work for faculty in other departments. The main requirement is that you still need a chemistry professor that is willing to act as your in-house supervisor. The purpose of the in-house advisor is to ensure that all the CHEM PhD rules are followed, which prevents negative surprises down the road.

Can I do my Ph.D. Research Working for a Scientist in a Local National Lab?

  • It is also possible to do yout PhD research with researchers at the local national labs (NOAA, NCAR, NREL), and typically about ~15% of the Analytical students follow this route. However this needs to be set up carefully to ensure that all the CHEM PhD rules are followed. You also need to find an group at one of the National Labs that is interested in hosting you (Analytical faculty may be able to provide you with contacts with relevant scientists in the National Labs).
  • This route also has both important advantages (e.g. exposure to a national lab and many professional scientists, more resources...) and important disadvantages (e.g. isolation from CU and other students, no time for tinkering around with an experiment, potentially lack of sufficient mentoring...), and thus you should think hard whether this is what you want to do and then very carefully examine the opportunities you may have in this direction. Important questions are: how available will your national lab advisor be? Are there regular group meetings?
  • Talk to the analytical advisor if you are interested in exploring this route.
  • You will also need a chemistry professor that is willing to act as your in-house supervisor.

When Will I be Expected to Start Doing Research?

  • You will officially join a group after Thanksgiving of your first (Fall) semester.
  • While students usually do not have time to work on research full time until the summer, most advisors expect students to begin reading the appropriate literature and to attend group meetings during the Spring semester of their first year.
  • Also, most advisors expect students to begin doing research as soon as their classes and TAing duties are over (~ May 9th), not on the 1st of June.

Exams, Courses, and Credits

What Qualifying Ph.D. Exams do I Have to Take?

  • Written exams ("cumes")
    • There are 8 cumulative exams ("cumes") offered each academic year. These satisfy the written exam requirement from the Graduate School.
    • For schedule and topics see the Analytical Cume Topics and Schedule and the CHEM Dept. Cume page.
    • A cume is a one-hour written exam on a pre-announced topic. They can be multiple choice and/or free response, and can be a general chemistry (CHEM 1111/1131) final from a previous year, a series of questions based on pre-announced research paper(s), or any other topic of the professor's choosing. Each Division (Analytical, Physical, Organic, and Materials) provides a cume every time they are offered. It is up to you (the student) to decide which one you want to take.
    • Cumes are graded P/F; all students must pass 6 before they fail 12. Of those 6, 3 need to be Analytical cumes, while the other 3 can be from analytical or from other divisions.
    • 1st year students do not have to take cumes; if they choose to do so, they count as a full pass, but failures only count half an F. Thus we recommend taking as many cumes as possible in your first year. Students are required to take cumes in their second year; if you miss a cume without a note from your professor given to Cori before hand, it will count as a fail.
    • Cumes are generally offered on the first Saturday of the month (September is an exception because of Labor Day as is May because of finals) and for the 08/09 school year were given from 9-10 am.
    • Topics are usually e-mailed out a week or two in advance and are posted outside Cori's office in Cristol 100.
    • Old cumes to study for are available from the Chemserve server at http://chemserve.colorado.edu. (Only available from CU IP addresses; you need to VPN if you wish to access them from off campus).
  • You also have to submit an independent research proposal which is unrelated to your Ph.D. research. See the CHEM Graduate Rules and the CHEM Graduate Secretary for details.
  • Oral exam.
    • All students take their oral comprehensive exam in their 4th semester in the program (e.g. if you start in Fall 2013, you will take the orals in Spring 2015), unless there are unusual circumstances.
    • The oral exam is a 2-hr period with 3 faculty, not including your research advisor. You will be asked probing questions aimed at determining whether you understand the fundamentals well enough to figure out the questions that will arise in your research, and whether you can think on your feet and incorporate new information etc.
    • It is a good idea to rehearse the oral exam a couple of times with older students, as often stage fright is a problem for students taking the orals.
    • There are three possible outcomes: pass w/o condition, pass w/ condition (with the condition determined by the orals commitee), or fail. If you pass with condition, the oral exam is considered passed when your committee chair certifies that you have met the condition. If you fail the exam, you will have to leave the program. That is infrequent (but not unheard of) in ANYL as we try to only admit strong students that should not have serious problems with the orals.
  • Higher pay (RA-II level) is only given to approved Ph.D. candidates. This represents a few hundred dollars a month so you should care! Often students forget and they can go for months or years without this pay raise. To be admitted into candidacy you must have passed your cumes, your oral exam, and your proposal must be approved by your advisor and one other faculty member. Then you have to fill this form and give it to the CHEM Graduate Secretary.

How Many Courses do I Have to Take?

  • You have to complete 5 courses (15 credits) with a grade of B- or better in each course; your average GPA must be 3.0 (B) or better at all times. If you fall below either rule you will be placed on probation.
  • That is a low number of courses compared to most other programs, so you should certainly take a few more courses if they would be useful to you.
  • The choice of the courses should be guided by (1) what you are interested on, (2) what you need to take to pass the CUMES and orals, and (3) most importantly, what you are doing research on

Do you Recommend Taking a Course in Computer Programming?

  • If you have not had a serious undergradute course in computer programming, or significant (> 3 months full time) programming experience, we strongly recommend that you take a computer programming course during your 1st year at CU. The introductory undergraduate programming course in Engineering (CSCI-1300) should be good, but there are at least 5 or 6 different courses you could possibly take, depending on your background and what you are interested on. The programming language used in the class is not that important: once you learn how to program in one, it is easy to "translate" to another one. Most courses use C or C++. Note that at present this is not an official requirement of the division, rather it is strongly encouraged.
  • Typically first year students are too busy in their first (Fall) semester, and things only get busier once they start to do research (summer of the first year), so we suggest taking the programming course during the Spring semester of your first year.

Which Courses Should I Take in my first (Fall) semester?

These are the recommended courses for 1st year analytical students (although they may not be offered every year):

What Other Courses Can I Take?

  • On your second semester the options are broader, and you should discuss it with your advisor. Sometimes the online catalog is not up to date, so don't assume that a course is not offered if it is not listed there (and conversely). Check with the professor or department to confirm.
  • Only courses at the 5000-level or higher count towards the five-course requirement. Thus any undergrad-level courses (including computer programming) do NOT count towards the course requirement. These courses don't all need to be in Chemistry, as long as your advisor approves them, and as long as your Chemistry training is sufficient for passing the cumes and oral exam.
  • You should register for CHEM 6101 (Analytical Seminar) during your 2nd semester.

How Many Credits Should I Register for Every Year?

(This information is adapted from information provided by Cora Fagan-Edmindster, CHEM Graduate Secretary. Sometimes rules can change slightly and the Graduate Secretary will typically have the most updated information)

  • 1st year
    • It is important to complete 18 total credits in your first academic year at CU.
    • Most students have not joined a research group yet at the start of the Fall semester. Those students typically register in the Fall for 2 courses (6 credits) and Analytical Seminar (1 credit). Then in the Spring they need to register for 11 credits, normally 2 courses (6 credits), Analytical Seminar (1 credit) and 4 research credits (CHEM-6901: Special Topics in Chemistry). You can try to take 3 courses on either semester, but the workload tends to be too high and few students chose to do that.
    • More infrequently students may join a research group from the start of the Fall semester. Those students should register as above, expect adding 2 credits of research (CHEM-6901) in the Fall, and then only registering for 4 credits of research in the Spring, an still reaching 18 credits at the end of the first academic year.
    • See the CHEM Graduate Secretary if you have questions on which section of CHEM 6901 to sign up for, especially if you have not yet joined a research group.
  • 2nd year
    • Complete any additional coursework needed to have a MINIMUM of 15 credits of coursework. Note that Analytical (and other) seminars, and courses less than 3 credits usually do not count towards the departmental requirement of 15 formal coursework hours.
    • Either 5 credits of CHEM 6901 in each semester (Fall and Spring), or coursework and enough CHEM 6901 to total 5 credits for each semester. You should have 30 credits completed by the end of your second academic year at CU. If you do not meet the 30 credit goal, you will have to pay higher student fees (out of your pocket) until you do complete this.
  • 3rd year and on
    • A MINIMUM of 5 credits CHEM 8991 (Doctoral Dissertation in CHEM) EVERY FALL & SPRING.
    • You can register for additional coursework that is useful for your research, and most advisors will encourage doing this in moderation. However if you are in an RA this does cost extra tuition. Both due to the time commitment and the extra tuition cost, you need the approval of your advisor.
    • If you do not take 5 credits of CHEM 8991 each semester after passing orals the Graduate School requires you to redo your oral exam.
  • Summers
    • There is usually no requirement to be registered in the summer.
    • However you must be registered in any semester in which you take an exam or defend. If you defend in the summer (after the end of May to the day before Fall classes start) you must register for 5 credits of CHEM 8991. If you defend before the end of May you will not need to register for summer, even though you will graduate in August.

Thesis Committee Questions

What is a Thesis Committee?

  • Your Thesis Committee is a group of 5 faculty (your research advisor + four others) who provide feedback during your PhD and evaluate your PhD thesis and thesis defense.

Who can be a member of a Thesis Committee in CHEM ?

  • Faculty in Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Faculty in other departments
  • Faculty from other universities or researchers with a PhD (typically from national labs such as NOAA, NCAR, NREL) often serve in thesis committees. However before they can serve in your committee they need to be appointed as Faculty of the CU-Boulder Graduate School, following the instructions here

Are the faculty on my Oral Exam Committee automatically in my thesis committee?

  • No, although there is often some overlap.

http://chem.colorado.edu/images/stories/ANNUAL_Report_Form2012.pdf

Miscellaneous Questions

What Electronic and Literature Resources are Available at CU?

  • The CU libraries are excellent and they subscribe to most important electronic resources.
  • The single most useful electronic resource is Web Of Science. It is a database in which you can search for journal articles using author names, keywords, etc. Most importantly, it has a list (with links) to the articles that cite or are cited by a given paper. This is an extremely useful feature, especially when researching a new subject. You can also create "Citation Alerts" for certain papers, so that you get an email every time a new paper cites a paper for which you have an alert. This is an excellent way to keep on top of the literature in some specific areas.
  • A reference management program such as Endnote or Reference Manager is essential to keep track of the references when writing papers and reports. A very good option is Endnote Web which can take references directly from Web of Science and is free. It also synchronizes easily with Endnote in your computer.
  • To find the electronic versions of most journals, go to http://libraries.colorado.edu and search for the periodical title.
    • You can find a list of journals relevant to atmospheric chemistry in this link
  • To access Web of Science and journal sites from off-campus, you need to set up VPN (Virtual Private Network) in your computer.

What Do I Need to Do For In-State Residency?

  • Unless you have lived in Colorado and done your undergraduate work in Colorado, you will not be eligible for in-state residency until the fall semester of your second year (i.e. students starting grad school in Fall 2008 were eligible for in-state residency in Fall 2009).
  • You need to be able to prove that you have lived in the state of Colorado for a year and have made reasonable steps towards making Colorado your (semi)permanent home. To do this, you need:
    • Lease: Make sure you have signed a lease before classes start for the semester. If you stay in a hotel around this time prior signing a lease, save your receipts.
    • Driver's License: If you have a driver's license currently valid in another state, you can take an eye exam and get a Colorado driver's license at the Boulder office. This is located at 2850 Iris Avenue, #F (inside a small shopping mall), and is open from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday-Friday. You need documentation to prove your presence in the country is legal. You can get information about documentation at http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Revenue-MV/RMV/1177024843078. Your license costs (as of August 2010) $21 and is only payable in cash or check.
    • Register to Vote: You can register to vote at the DMV when you get your license.
    • Register Your Car: To register your car, you must go to a different location: 1750 33rd St. from 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday-Friday. The cost of registering your car depends on age, make, and model and can vary from $20 - $300. This is also payable only in cash or by check.
    • Taxes: You will need to submit a copy of your taxes from the previous calendar year (and the year before that if you filed CO taxes) with your in-state residency application. Make sure you print out an official copy of your return for federal, CO, and any other state taxes.
    • Petitions for residency for the fall semester open up in March and should be filed by mid-May.
    • For more information and forms see the Registrar's page on this topic.

What Fellowships Should I Apply For?

  • NSF Fellowship: The National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship covers tuition, fees, insurance, and your stipend for three of the five academic years following the award. Applications are due in early November and require a two-page research proposal, a two-page communication on your previous research experience, a two-page communication on outreach that you have done or would like to do, three to four letters of recommendation, and official transcripts from all undergraduate schools. Generally applicants are only eligible in their senior undergraduate and first year of graduate school. You should only apply if you have already chosen a research adviser by early October. Awards are usually announced in early April. http://www.nsfgrfp.org/
  • NASA Fellowship: The NASA Fellowship covers $30,000 a year for up to three years (renewal required) to be applied towards tuition, fees, insurance, and stipend. It has a deadline in early February and requires an online cover page, a six-page research proposal, a schedule of your graduate career, a one-page student CV, a one-page adviser CV, a budget, a letter of recommendation from the adviser, and unofficial transcripts from both graduate and undergraduate schools. Awards are usually announced in May. Fellowship Website 2010
  • CIRES Fellowship: The CIRES fellowship is open to graduate students whose advisers are members of CIRES (R. Volkamer, M. Tolbert, P.J. Ziemann, J.L. Jimenez, and R. Sievers). The fellowship requres a one-page personal statement, a CV, publications, a graduate transcript, and a sealed envelope with a one-paragraph statement from the adviser. This is a one-time fellowship and can cover from one semester to one year. See this page for details.
  • There are other fellowships available (EPA, DoE, minority fellowships). Talk to your adviser and older graduate students for recommendations.

What About General Financial Information?

  • The local bank is Elevations Credit Union. They have an office and ATMs on campus. However, a local bank is not required for residency status and most of your financial dealings will be done electronically so you are not required to have an account with Elevations.
  • Your pay arrives by direct deposit. You will need to select a bank account for your paycheck to be deposited into. Hopefully this was taken care of before or at orientation; if not talk to Cori in Cristol 100.
  • When you TA (generally your first year and later if necessary), the department covers your tuition and ~70% of your insurance. They do NOT cover student fees; you will be responsible for paying them yourself. Fees are constant for 1-6 units and are then a higher constant value for 7+ units. They are ~$900/semester including your portion of insurance.
  • Your pay as a TA is low. You need to pass orals for the RA-II which is higher pay (usually starts the third year).

My Question is not in this List

  • Email or contact the analytical advisor, Paul Ziemann for 2013-14 (paul.ziemann@colorado.edu)
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