Student Resources
Effective December 2015, the CPB has converted to a fully digital workflow for SACS reporting. The reasons for this are to:
- Reduce the inefficiencies associated with moving, completing, and submitting the paper forms;
- Promote standardization across the committee’s evaluations;
- Reduce the inefficiency of requiring the Program Manager to identify missing forms and committee letters manually; and
- Simplify the mechanisms for the program leadership to review student progress at regular intervals and to complete the annual SACS reports
The digital reporting mechanism uses REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture). All students have been enrolled in a REDCap project entitled, “CPB SACS.” The document linked here provides detailed instructions for how to join that project, fill in basic information about your committee membership, and send a survey link to your committee chair for completion at your qualifying exam, committee meeting, or defense. Please plan to review the instructions and complete the process of sending the survey link well in advance of your next meeting; if you need additional guidance, please contact Patty Mueller, CPB’s Program Manager.
Please visit this website for the following required forms.
https://gradschool.vanderbilt.edu
Request to Appoint PhD Committee
Request to Change PhD Committee
Request to Schedule Qualifying Exam
Qualifying Examination Results
Request to Schedule Dissertation Defense
Dissertation Results Form
Please follow the instructions listed on the Graduate School’s website for thesis and dissertation scheulding and submission.
The Office of Career Development at Vanderbilt School of Medicine offers a variety of services, opportunities, and resources for students in the Chemical and Physical Biology Program. All students are encouraged to use the resources of the Office of Career Development throughout their studies at Vanderbilt as well as after their departure from Vanderbilt. The office’s website contains links to useful material on general information on career exploration, self-assessment, goal-setting, networking, and grant writing as well as detailed guides on composing a resume, curriculum vitae, and cover letter.
Traveling to domestic and international meetings to share your research is an important part of building a scientific career. We encourage students to travel to appropriate meetings in consultation with one’s mentor. Once the meeting and funding have been identified, the BRET Travel Coordinator Aaron Howard is happy to help students purchase airfare, register for meetings, or make deposits for hotels. Please arrange to meet Aaron to complete the travel authorization forms prior to travel.
In order to facilitate student travel, the BRET office has developed the following guidelines to help students navigate the process of planning a trip and getting reimbursed for the expenses associated with the travel. Students in all of our graduate programs are expected to follow these guidelines. By following these expectations and guidelines, students’ needs will be met in the most efficient manner.
Please research the BRET Travel page for more details on travel forms and policies.
https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/bret/guidelines-student-travel
Guidelines from the Graduate School
Student must have completed one full academic year in the Graduate School.
Student must be the first and sole presenter of research conducted at Vanderbilt.
Meeting must be a major regional, national, or international conference.
Grants are limited to $1000, and all charges must be allowable and comply with accepted Vanderbilt travel and reimbursement policies.
Grants are awarded per budget year (July 1-June 30) and travel must begin in the year they are awarded.
- Students are allowed one travel grant per year, and the award may only be used for the conference listed below.
- Students are eligible for three trips during their Graduate School tenure.
If awarded a Graduate School Travel grant, you must have travel authorization from your department 6 weeks prior to travel.
All reimbursement requests must include this form, signed by the appropriate DGS and Graduate School representative.
When booking travel in Concur, the traveler’s name must be listed in the expense report to ensure proper reimbursement. If the student is able to login Concur the student must book flights in Concur or risk not receiving a reimbursement for the flight.
A student will still need to attach the abstract of what he/she is presenting. We are not asking for a breakdown in expenses; however, the same rules about what expenses will be covered is still relevant for this award. Also, the student and program will no longer get a letter back from the Graduate School but rather will be sent back the form with either approval or disapproval from the Graduate School.
Please visit the Graduate School’s website for full instructions and application.
External Funding Oppourtuniteis-
Prospective applicants are urged to apply for fellowships or grants from national, international, industrial or foundation sources. These awards enable students to supplement the funding received in the department and make them a more attractive candidate for future funding opportunities.
https://gradschool.vanderbilt.edu/funding/external-funding-opportunities/
The BRET office maintains a website which lists a variety of internal and external funding opportunities for students and postdoctoral fellows.
If you would like to identify Vanderbilt students and postdocs with NRSAs, please try the NIH Reporter tool. You can specify Vanderbilt University as the organization and “Training, Individual” as the Funding Mechanism. The NIH Reporter tool can be used to find people who have been funded by specific institutes and people who may have had NRSA funding in the past.
The University Counseling Center is a central part of Vanderbilt’s Student Care Network – the holistic network of resources and support services available to all students in support of their health and wellness.
While you are staying home, practicing social distancing, and engaging in other best practices to avoid COVID-19, I want to remind you of the resources available to you through the university in order to promote mental and physical well-being.
Furthermore, if you have questions about your Student Health Insurance Plan regarding coverage for COVID-19 testing and treatment, or to simply learn more about the coverage that you have under your plan, visit the FAQs on the United Healthcare Student Resources website for details.
Returning to the topic of your personal well-being, the Student Care Network is offering updated services, summarizing both enhancements to the extended network of care as well as changes in services as a result of COVID-19, including:
- Student Health Center
- Office of Student Care Coordination
- University Counseling Center
- Center for Student Wellbeing
- BRET-UCC Specialized Services
The Student Care Network has organized resources into nine wellness categories, including physical, social, financial, spiritual, and emotional. Pick a category, then select “Grad/Prof” to find helpful resources relevant to you. Also, frequent the SCN site for new programming for graduate and professional students currently being developed in conjunction with the UCC, and follow them on Instagram @vandycarenetwork.
Additionally, you have access to SilverCloud, an online mental health platform with modules to help you build resistance, help manage anxiety or depression, develop stress management skills and promote good sleep hygiene. Visit https://gsh.silvercloudhealth.com/signup/, select Vanderbilt from the dropdown list and use your Vanderbilt.edu email address to get started.
Don’t know where to start? Complete the Student Care Coordination Intake Form to work with a Student Care Coordinator to identify resources and develop a plan for success.
We are all experiencing additional stress and feel a bit untethered as a result of this pandemic. I encourage you to reach out to available resources for support. Whether you learn coping strategies from Graduate Life Coach Stacey Satchell and her team, or talk to a mental health professional at the UCC, know you have a variety of options to choose from to assist you during this unsettling time.
The University Counseling Center offers services to all Vanderbilt students including crisis and trauma-informed care, short-term individual counseling, group psychotherapy (process and skill-building), psychiatric services, LD/ADHD assessment, alcohol and drug evaluations/counseling, biofeedback, and community outreach. Visit the Student Services page to learn more about the services offered at the UCC.
The UCC also functions as a training facility. Each academic year, graduate practicum students, pre-doctoral interns, and post-doctoral fellows train at the UCC. They receive supervision from our staff of licensed psychologists, social workers, and professional counselors.
New appointments for UCC services, including for therapy and medication management, are managed through the Office of Student Care Coordination (OSCC). After completion of an intake form, the Care Coordinators at the OSCC will assess a student’s needs in an in-person or telephone meeting and connect them to the most appropriate resources (including the University Counseling Center) to meet those needs.
The Center for Student Wellbeing
The mission of the Center for Student Wellbeing is to create a culture that supports the personal development and academic success of students using an integrative, holistic framework.