Life Sciences Example Schedule

Freshman year

Fall semester

• Enter MU and begin coursework
• Discuss research interests with academic adviser and course instructors
• Begin a part-time job taking care of research plants in a greenhouse on campus

Winter semester

• Continue part-time job, but increase responsibilities by extracting DNA from plan tissue samples
• Interview faculty members of interest to look for a summer job on campus and find out what opportunities might be available at home
• Attend faculty research seminars and the Undergraduate Research Conference to get more ideas

Summer semester

• Enroll in a summer school class at MU and work 20 hours a week maintaining a colony of transgenic mice

Sophomore year

Fall and winter semesters

• Continue to attend faculty research seminars and campus poster sessions
• Join a research lab studying stem cells and neurodegenerative diseases. Attend weekly lab meetings to learn more about the ongoing research projects in your lab
• Early during the winter semester prepare research internship applications to receive funding for the summer and next academic year
• Help a graduate student prepare his or her poster for the Life Sciences Week poster session

Summer semester

• Conduct your first independent research project full time during the summer with your MU faculty mentor
• Present your work at the summer Undergraduate Research Science Symposium

Junior year

Fall and winter semesters

• Continue project with new cell line and receive funding for academic year
  Begin to search for summer programs at other universities and medical centers, and apply in January or February
• Begin to explore graduate programs in neurobiology using the World Wide Web and faculty contacts you’ve made
• Outline project for senior thesis
• Prepare abstract for submission to the Society of Neurosciences
• Study for and take the GRE exam
• Present your project at the Undergraduate Research Conference

Summer semester

• Participate in summer research program at CalTech in Pasadena, Calif.
  Network with faculty at CalTech and contact your mentor’s roommate from graduate school
• Narrow down graduate school options and collect application materials

Senior year

Fall and winter semesters

• Register for senior capstone credit for your research
• Continue gathering data and analyzing results, and work with faculty mentor and graduate student to plan for research publication
• Attend Society of Neurosciences national meeting to present your research, and talk with faculty from universities with strong graduate programs in neurobiology
• Put together application materials for graduate school and mail applications during winter break
• Apply for national graduate fellowship awards
• Serve as an undergraduate teaching assistant in your faculty mentor’s lab course
• Interview at graduate schools and make a decision on which offer to accept

Graduation

• Participate in Honors Convocation on Francis Quadrangle with your mentor by your side
• Find out that your publication has been accepted with only minor revisions
• Go out for a final lunch with your lab mates and mentor
• Pack up your belongings and prepare for the next phase of your career!