Colloquium
The Colloquium meets once per week for one hour during the academic year. Students receive one credit hour per semester for the Colloquium (BCB 710) and are required to participate for the first 2 years of graduate school. The main goals are to expose students to the research interests of BCB faculty, provide experience reading and presenting scientific research articles, and provide an opportunity for students to present their own work and receive input from their peers and faculty.
During the fall semester, the Colloquium primarily involves seminars presented by BCB faculty. During the spring semester, the Colloquium agenda alternates between journal club presentations by first and second-year students on research articles of their choice and research seminars presented by senior BCB students. Such presentations provide students with valuable feedback on their research projects as well as opportunities to hone their oral presentation skills.
The Colloquium also hosts guest speakers throughout the year to present seminars that focus on relevant research outside UNC and on career opportunities in bioinformatics and computational biology.