Graduate School and Research

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello;</p>

<p>I'm transferring to Miami University in the fall as a sophomore and I've done a year's worth of research at Case Western during my time at a community college.</p>

<p>They have plenty of research opportunities for undergrads at Miami, but I just made my schedule today and I think I want to take a semester off in regards to research to focus on my coursework. I'm a microbio major and I've signed up for:
Calculus I
Microbio: Ecology, Evolution and Genetics with lab
General Chemistry 2 with lab
and an Intermediate Creative Writing course.</p>

<p>Aside from the creative writing course, I'm worried that it may be a little heavy of a load because I've never taken two science courses (especially with lab) together in one semester. Gen Chem 1 was a struggle for me (mostly because it was a Sat. class), but I've always been stronger at bio.</p>

<p>How does a gap in research affect my graduate school application, if at all? I will try to sign up for something in the spring, but I know I'll be going back to my current lab for the summers, if that makes any difference.</p>

<p>And, is it possible to go to graduate school for immunology or oncology? I've been thinking about doing something related to drug design or those fields, but not medical school as I prefer the research-oriented side of things.</p>

2

<p>It is possibly to go to graduate school in immunology - there are many immunology PhD programs. Oncology, however, is a medical specialty. You could instead study biomedical sciences or biology and specialize in cancer biology. For example, my university (Columbia) has an integrated program in cellular, molecular, and biological sciences; a program in basic cell and molecular biology (with specializations in cell biology, genetics and development, and microbiology, immunology and infection); and a program in the molecular basis of health and disease.</p>

<p>Check this, though. As a PhD student you will have to take anywhere between 2 and 4 classes a semester in the sciences AND you will be expected to do lab work at the same time, and possible teaching your own section of an intro bio class. It’s very rigorous. And honestly, I think any research based PhD would prefer a student with a 3.6 and more research to a student with a 3.8 and less. I mean one semester off probably won’t hurt too much especially if you already began doing research as a freshman, but I would just try to talk to my PI and lighten my load a little bit with the understanding that classwork is important.</p>