The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
offers the Graduate Summer Bridge program (GSBP) in an effort
to give incoming graduate students a head start on their graduate
studies. Participating students will have the advantage of becoming
familiar with the UMBC campus and becoming acclimated to the Department
before classes begin. The GSBP is an eight-week program starting
in early to mid-June, consisting of four discussion and problem
solving sessions per week. These sessions will focus on a review
of the principles of Organic and Physical Chemistry. Participants
in the GSBP will also complete a research rotation in a faculty
member's laboratory. The Department strongly encourages all students
to participate in the GSBP, but it is not required, as some students
might prefer to pursue other, off-campus, activities. The guidelines
for the program are as follows:
- All students accepted into the Chemistry and Biochemistry
Graduate program are automatically eligible to participate
in the GSBP. In addition, Meyerhoff students will be invited
to participate in the discussion sessions, as well as the
activities. Interested students should contact the Program
Director as soon as they are accepted into the Graduate Program.
- The GSBP is an eight-week program starting in early to
mid-June. This is viewed as the minimum time allowed to the
program; students wishing to get a head start on summer research
may join at anytime after June 1st. The discussion sessions
(two each) are generally from 9 AM-12 noon or 10 AM-1 PM on
M-Th. The sessions will begin with a brief overview of a topic
of interest, followed by intensive group problem solving.
Afternoons following the discussion sessions, as well as all
day Friday and the weekends, will be free to allow time for
the research rotation. The aim of these discussions is to
prepare the student for the graduate core classes using a
friendly, discussion based approach. In addition, incoming
graduate students, including GSBP participants, are required
to take placement examinations before classes start in the
fall. Our statistics show that students participating in the
GSBP score higher on the placement exams, since the students
are exposed to problems that far exceed the minimum requirements
set out for these placement tests.
- Participants in the GSBP will be on full support for the
summer, with no teaching duties until the fall semester starts.
The level of support is commensurate with the incoming graduate
stipends.
- Participants are asked to review the Departmental website
for information pertaining to the individual research projects
of the faculty before they arrive on campus. Students are
encouraged to meet with several faculty and the current research
groups before making a choice on which group to join for a
rotation. It is normal for students to participate in several
research rotations and participation does not imply permanent
membership in that particular group. Students must complete
at least two rotations within different groups in the first
year before making the final choice on which group to join.
Please contact the Program Director,
Dr.
Paul Smith, for further information.
