Fall 2024 orientation activities (tentative schedule, subject to change):
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| July - Sep, 2024 | Campus-wide new graduate student orientation July-Sep: Online course for all new graduate students campus-wide Sep: In-person social events |
| June - Sep | Campus-wide new international graduate student orientation June-Sep: Additional online course for all new int'l students campus-wide Sep: Additional orientation sessions and social events (online and in-person) for int'l students |
| August | BISB Bootcamp Summer Seminar Series Talks by faculty for incoming students on several dates on Zoom |
| Sep - Oct | Triton Weeks of Welcome Campus-wide events for new students at all levels |
| Sep. 16-20 | BISB Boot Camp (in-person) |
| Sep. 17 | Bootcamp Challenge Ropes Course at Eucalyptus Grove |
| Sep. 20 | BISB New Cohort Welcome Event The Stage Room (next to Shores Diner), 2-4pm, RSVP req'd |
| Sep. 24 | Campus tour for grad students from all departments 11am-1pm. Sign up by Aug 30. Organized by GEPA. |
| Sep. 24 | Picnic for graduate students and faculty from all departments Sun God Lawn, 3-5pm. Organized by GEPA. |
| Sep. 25 | Campus-wide new IA Teaching Symposium On Zoom, 9am-2pm, registration required. Part of orientation in many departments, but for BISB, usually applies to 2nd-3rd year students, not incoming students. Also watch for emails about ASE orientations Sep-Oct on Zoom. |
| Winter 2025 | BISB Exchange (BEx) Some years, this is during bootcamp; this year, it will be in Winter 2025 |
The week-long boot camp for incoming first-year students of the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program aims to:
- Introduce the doctoral program, the University of California, San Diego, and the greater San Diego area.
- Foster community and collaboration among students of the incoming cohort and with senior students.
- Convey expectations for the core curriculum and elective courses, while reviewing basic concepts to remedy deficiencies.
- Showcase student and faculty research, while guiding students in preparing for their research rotations.
- Review strategies for choosing a thesis advisor, navigating a PhD, and preparing for a scientific career.
In addition to boot camp, new graduate students should also attend various campus-wide orientations:
- New Graduate Student Orientation (mandatory for all new graduate students)
- International Student Orientation (mandatory for all new international students). Follow the link for information on registering and what to bring.
- TA orientation and training (mandatory for all new TAs; usually 2nd-3rd year for BISB students):
- In September, there are campus-wide teaching assistant orientations by ASE and The Commons, usually announced by email rather than a website link. Sometimes these are repeated other quarters. These are for students doing their first TAship that school year; other programs have TAships in the first year, but BISB students typically do their first TAship their 2nd-3rd year.
- Throughout the school year, The Commons has many workshops and other programs available for graduate student TAs.