The most important activity for students during their first three semesters of graduate school is participation in the Laboratory Rotations course.
Students choose, according to their interests, a laboratory in which to work each semester.
Some of the adjunct faculty at pharmaceutical and government facilities in Research Triangle Park will also accept students. During this time each student conducts original research and works closely with a faculty preceptor. At the end of each rotation period students submit a written report and orally present their findings to the faculty and other graduate students. The rotations introduce students to many of the skills they will use throughout their careers. These skills are acquired as the student becomes fully involved in the process of scientific inquiry, and also when the student is called upon to communicate his or her own work in both written and oral formats.