Welcome! This brief document provides the essential information that you will need to start your education in the Microbial Biology Graduate Program at Rutgers University. If you have any specific questions or need help on any matter please contact the Program Administrator Ms. Lindsay Vasy [(848) 932-5642 lindsay.vasy@rutgers.edu] or the Program Director Dr. Gerben Zylstra [(848) 932-6298 zylstra@sebs.rutgers.edu].
NetID and Email: If you do not already have a Rutgers NetID please go to the Rutgers NetID website and register. This process will also give you an official Rutgers email address (@scarletmail.rutgers.edu). Your NetID is needed for almost everything at Rutgers: course registration, course websites, free software downloads, electronic access to the library, etc. All official communication will be through email so please check your official Rutgers email often. Rutgers University, the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), and the Microbial Biology (MB) Graduate Program will all be sending you emails. If you do not see emails from these groups then please check your email settings. Information on how to set up your official email delivery address can be found at the Rutgers IT web site. Most graduate students end up with both a Scarletmail and a Connect account for email. Simple directions for managing your (multiple) Rutgers email accounts are on the Email, Office365, and Online Storage web page.
Email Listserves and Canvas: Your netID will be used to add you to the Microbial Biology email listserve. All official Microbial Biology Graduate Program announcements will be sent to this listserve. Please pay attention to the Microbial Biology emails! All new students will be added to the listserv in waves over the summer (and no later than August 31) so you should start seeing emails from Microbial Biology in your official Rutgers account in July or August. Your NetID will also give you access to the Canvas course site. Graduate courses use Canvas to disseminate course material (syllabi, course readings, handouts, grades, etc.).
Orientation: The School of Graduate Studies' orientation is an important virtual guide. International Student Orientation is a MANDATORY online program. (See the web sites for updates and schedule.) Please watch for email announcements from them.
Microbial Biology Program Welcome Meeting: We will have a short meeting to welcome all new Microbial Biology students to the program sometime in the first few weeks of classes. Please watch for an email announcement for the date, time, and place. There will also be a useful Biomedical Graduate Student Orientation before classes start. Please watch for an email announcement for more information on that orientation.
Safety Training: All graduate students are required to attend Laboratory Safety Training before working in a research laboratory. The biological safety training is included in the Biomedical Student Orientation. If you start working in a research laboratory over the summer or miss the Biomedical Student Orientation biological safety training then you need to attend one of the normal in person biological safety training sessions. The biological safety training is listed on the Rutgers Safety Training web site under "Lab Safety." All Microbial Biology students need to take the "Lab Safety / Biological Safety / BBP Training - Combined" safety training. If you do not have a formal research advisor arranged in advance then you can list your supervisor as the graduate program director Dr. Gerben Zylstra. Please note that if you work in a research laboratory that you must take refresher safety training every year.
Academic Calendar: The Academic Calendar, the registration calendar, and the schedule of classes are all available online. The 2024 Fall term courses start Tuesday, September 3, and end Wednesday, December 11. Final exams are held between December 16 and 23. A CSV file with the important 2024-25 Academic Calendar dates for importing into Google Calendar is available for download.
Registration: Once you have a NetID you can register for the Fall semester at the WebReg registration web site. You must register before August 31! Courses can be dropped or added later. If a course is full or if a special permission number is needed please contact Ms. Vasy for assistance. All Ph.D. students sign up for the same courses in the Fall term (see PhD Degree First Year Information web page). M.S. students have more options (see MS Degree First Year Information web page). Dr. Zylstra serves as the academic advisor for all Ph.D. and M.S. students so if you have any questions please contact him directly.
New Jersey Residency: Students should apply for New Jersey residency as soon as they are eligible in order to reduce the tuition cost. Please see the directions and forms at the In State Residency for Tuition Purposes web page.
Transportation: The University has a very efficient bus system for transfer around campus. Parking permits can be obtained at the Parking Permit web page. All first year courses are taught on the Cook Campus but microbiology research laboratories are located on all campuses.