I was recently admitted into the Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics program at IIT (not to mention with a very generous Herald scholarship!). My long-term career goal is to do research in this field, which I know requires a Ph.D., so I am curious as to where IIT students typically end up for graduate school.
Related sidenote: I am very interested in doing undergraduate research as soon as possible, which is one of the main reasons I am drawn to IIT. I am worried, however, that academics, research, and a job will be a bit cumbersome, especially if I want to do significant research. As a way to kill two birds with one stone, is there any way to get paid for doing research during the school year? I am not expecting a lot of pay (I would be more than happy with minimum wage), I was just wondering if there was any possibility at all.
Thanks!
I cannot tell you in detail about where the MBB students go but physics and engineering students I know have gotten into just about every level of program in the US, even the most highly selective ones. The important thing is to have strong research experiences and excellent letters of reference as well as good GPA and GREs.
We are starting a program in the College of Science which will give all entering students the opportunity to engage in a summer research experience after their first or second year at IIT. This is designed to give students a low barrier to getting started in research even at the beginning stages of their college career. The big plus of this program is that students will get course credit for this summer experience and the tuition costs will be covered as an additional scholarship.
As for getting paid to do research, that depends on whether the professor has funds to do so. Not all do but some will. The biggest problem is that in the first year, you are really not in a position to do anything substantive, that is what the summer program is designed for.