Practical Realities, Hidden Costs, and Two-Way Street Benefits: Faculty Experiences Hosting Laboratory Rotation Students

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Advising, Mentoring, and Building Relationships in Graduate Education

Abstract

Many Ph.D. students in the laboratory-based (lab) sciences are first introduced to doctoral-level research during lab rotations. Rotations are short-term laboratory experiences that facilitate student selection of a doctoral advisor and permanent lab. Despite their importance, they are vastly understudied. This study uses interviews with 25 chemistry and biochemistry faculty to explore faculty experiences with hosting rotation students in their labs. Findings indicate that faculty encounter constraints associated with time and students’ lack of lab experience, as well as many hidden costs. However, they can evaluate students across several characteristics, allowing them to make informed choices about who to select as doctoral mentees. Thus, rotations are a ‘two-way’ street for both students and faculty to determine doctoral mentor-mentee compatibility.

Authors

• Michelle A. Maher, University of Missouri - Kansas City

• Michael T. Ashby, University of Oklahoma