Biochemistry and Molecular Biology WELCOME BMB MAJORS! Third Year Advising Meeting: Preparation for Spring 2018 Course Registration

Today’s Meeting Agenda -BMB major advising system -Course registration and lifting holds -Required academic courses -Where to go for help

Who is my advisor? Valerie Miller BMB Academic Advisor: Email: bmbadvising@biochem.umass.edu Office: LGRT 914

BMB Chief Undergrad Advisor Dr. Amy Springer ChiefAdvisor@biochem BMB Chief Undergrad Advisor Dr. Amy Springer ChiefAdvisor@biochem.umass.edu She is a great resource for: approval of transfer courses and advanced electives, scholarships, internships, graduate school, independent study, study abroad, or when you need support for any other reason. BMB Honors Program Director Dr. Bryan Monesson-Olson bolson@umass.edu He is great resource for navigating CHC requirements for honors theses and honors courses.

BMB Faculty Advisors Dr. Sergey Savinov Dr. David Gross Dr. Li-Jun Ma They are a resource for you for the next four years and beyond. You will be assigned a secondary advisor as a sophomore. You can discuss internships, research opportunities, your interests outside of BMB, and advice about career options. Soon, you will be able to sign up online for appointments with your advisor—watch for emails about this. Dr. Sergey Savinov Dr. David Gross Dr. Li-Jun Ma Dr. Elizabeth Vierling Dr. James Staros Dr. Ludmila Tyler Dr. Becky Miller

Registration and Lifting Holds You will have an assigned Registration Appointment time. The date and time for this appointment is indicated on your Student Center page in SPIRE. You will not be able to register at this time unless your Registration Hold has been lifted. There are four ways to have your Registration Hold lifted: -Attend a group advising session* -Meet with a Peer Mentor during office hours -Meet with BMB Academic Advisor Valerie Miller, or -Electronic clearance; this option is available only after all scheduled group advising sessions have met.

Departmental Consent Many of your upper level BMB classes are enrolled by “Departmental consent” This is indicated in SPIRE when it says "Department Consent Required" Courses include:  Biochem 424, 426, 430H, Independent study You *CANNOT* enroll in these classes yourself, but need to go through the Department. 1. Some required major classes (Biochem426, 430H):  When you are eligible for these, you will receive an email with detailed instructions Note:   You will not get the classes you need unless you follow the instructions *exactly*

Departmental Consent 2. Independent  Study:  Using an electronic Google form, found here: http://www.umass.edu/biochem/undergraduate/lab-research     ALL the way at the bottom of the page  Need to fill this out in consultation with your research supervisor

Common Second Year Courses *BMB Second Year: Biochem, Organic Chemistry, & Physics, and Math *Keep in mind that this is not the only path through the BMB major, talk to one of your Peer Mentors for information on what courses can be taken later

BMB Second Year Courses (If you haven’t already taken one or more of these courses, see a Peer Mentor) Biochemistry Biochem 275 Organic Chemistry (with lab) Chem 261, 262 & 269 3rd Semester Math Math 233, Stats 240, etc. Physics (with lab) Phys 131 and 132

Common Third Year Courses Biochem 276:  Biochem lab (Prereq Biochem 275) Genetics:  Biochem 390G:  Molecular Genetics and Genomics (Prereq Biochem 275) *Honors option with Honors colloquium: Biochem 390GHH *Biology 283,  Microbiology 330 or Animal Science 311 can be substituted for Genetics if necessary. *Microbiology 330 is offered in Spring 2015, but restricted to Microbiology majors. *Animal Science 311 is offered in the fall. BMB is planning to offer a junior-level genetics course (Biochem 390) that would meet the genetics requirement for BMB majors. Successful completion of Biochem 275 is a pre-req. We expect the course to fill quickly, so I would continue to mention Biology 283 as an option for fulfilling the genetics requirement.

Common Third Year Courses Integrative Experience *usually Biochem 394RI (fall only) *Natural Sciences 494I (CNS IE) can be substituted. (spring only) *iCons students meet the IE requirement through iCons. *You only need to take one IE: in your primary major

Common Third Year Courses General Biochemistry Biochemistry 423 Biochemistry 424 (This Spring, this course will not have much space for Juniors, however a section of it will be offered in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019)

Common Third Year Courses Physical Chemistry *Biochem/Chem 471 (This course is usually Spring Only, however a section is going to be offered in Fall 2018 one time only) *Physics I and II are a pre-req.

Advanced Electives *8 credits are required. *Can be coursework, research, or a combination *Most, but not all, math and science courses at the 300-level or above count. *Independent studies (but not practica) at the 300-level or above count. *The BMB webpage has a list of options in the undergraduate resources section (Dr. Springer can approve new courses) *If you have a 2nd major or minor, check with your other department about “double-dipping”.

Summary of Third Year Course Layout If you are now taking: You can register for: -Biochemistry 423 -Biochem 394RI -Chem 269 -Biochemistry 424 -Biochem/Chem 471 -Biochem 390G (or alt.) -Advanced Elective Not enrolled in some of these courses? Talk to your Peer Mentor!

Up Next: 4th Year Courses General Biochemistry Lab *Biochem 426 (Fall and Spring) *Prereq. Biochem 276 and Biochem 423 *Meets twice a week *Required for all BMB majors *Required as part of Junior Year Writing

Up Next: 4th Year Courses Senior Writing Seminar *Biochem 430H *satisfies 2nd part of Junior Year Writing *pre-requisite: Biochem 423 *usually taken in the senior year *iCons students meet this requirement through iCons.

General Considerations *Honors students, please check with the Commonwealth Honors College for additional requirements and deadlines. *Keep up with your GenEd requirements. *You must have 12 graded credits / semester to be a full-time student. *In total, 120 credits are required for graduation. *Major and minor requirements are set by the corresponding department.

If you have general questions about how to navigate Spire, Where To Go For Help If you have general questions about how to navigate Spire, University rules and regulations, finding Gen Eds, info about courses, BMB major requirements: Try the Peer Mentors in LGRT 915!! (schedule on the BMB website and our door) There is of information at the BMB website (Undergraduate page) -http://www.umass.edu/biochem/undergraduate -Information about Advising, BMB Courses, Doing Research *Keep checking your ARR to make sure you are on track (this may not show if you have met the minimum grade for the BMB major, so always double check the department requirements)

Where To Go For Help Advisors -Valerie Miller, BMB Primary academic advisor about registration, courses, forms etc., 914 LGRT bmbadvising@biochem.umass.edu -Check in with your BMB Faculty Advisor even if you don’t need help—they are part of your professional network (letters of recommendation, career advice…) -Chief Undergraduate Advisor about change of major (in or out), transfer credit issues, study abroad, advanced electives, etc. email: ChiefAdvisor@biochem.umass.edu

Questions?