Graduate Handbook

Getting Started

• Graduate School Orientation (WUGS)
  • Fall 2025: August 29, 2025
• International students: Visit the Office of Global Affairs at 70 Butterfield Terrace, Amherst.
  • Office of Global Affairs Website
  • Attend Mandatory International Student Orientation (ISO)
    • Fall 2025: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
  • Check your UMass email for the messages from the Office of Global Affairs.
• Get a campus ID card from Whitmore, room 225.
• Order a building (Chenoweth) and lab key with the lab technician for your lab.
• Activate your UMass email address.
• Discuss and get approval for course selection for your degree with your advisor. Enroll in the courses through SPIRE.
• Discuss and get approval for course selection for your degree with your advisor. Discuss with your advisor your expected lab working hours and timing for your degree.
• Sign up for and attend lab, fire, and biological safety ( ask your advisor if this one is needed) training with Environmental Health and Safety. Check with your advisor to register for additional required safety course(s).
• If you are receiving a Graduate Assistantship, sign paperwork with Moriah (@email) to start getting paid.
• If you are interested in ordering business cards, inquire with Moriah (mafahey@umass.edu).
• Learn to use Science Citation (Web of Science), library resources, data analysis software (GraphPad, Origin or Sigmaplot), and bibliography software (RefWorks, Endnote, or Mendeley). Check with your advisor on which software you should get and learn. Trainings for citation management tools can be found here: https://guides.library.umass.edu/CitationManagers/citationatumass. Guidance on the library science databases can be provided by Paulina Borrego, pborrego@umass.edu (by appointment).
• Some suggested reading to get you started with independent research and technical writing:
  • Chapters 1, 4, 5, and 6 of At the Bench, A Laboratory Navigator;
  • George Whitesides’ paper on writing a technical journal article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.200400767/pdf.
  • Purdue Online Writing Lab for Avoiding Plagiarism: (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/). Generally speaking, you must ALWAYS cite any reference you use in a text, and you must NEVER write word-for-word what someone else has already published (on the internet, in a book, or in a journal article). You must rephrase it and cite the original source. If you have questions about plagiarism, contact your PI. Our library has a subscription to Turnitin, a software to detect plagiarism. It is a good idea to submit papers to Turnitin to ensure you are not ‘accidentally’ plagiarizing.
  • English Communication for Scientists from Nature Education (https://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-14053993/)
• Other places on campus you may want to check out: Recreation Center for gym membership; Campus Center for Campus Store and Blue Wall Café; Peoples Market for snacks and coffee; Mullins Center for hockey and basketball games and shows; University Health Services for doctor appointments. A full list of student organizations can be found on: https://umassamherst.campuslabs.com/engage/Organizations
• Other useful University links:
  • Graduate Student Handbook from the Graduate School
  • Tuition and Fee information: Office of the Bursar