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[detritivore]

Just what the subject says.  I would like some insight into the expectations, particularly in terms of research, for graduate students in their first year.  I know that most students have coursework to get out of the way, and if they are funded through a TA, they are teaching as well. 

In terms of research however, I am unsure.  Normally, students don't yet have a research topic for their dissertation - correct?  If that is the case, what research are they doing?  Working on a project for/with their advisor?  Or are they indeed beginning work on a project right away - either of their own design or one "given" to them by their advisor? 

In addition to what research they are doing, if they are taking courses and teaching, what are the time expectations?

I know this must vary greatly, but I would appreciate any information y'all would share.

[locutus]

In my program (no rotations) first years are required to complete some sort of project that they present to the department during their second year. These are usually along the lines of something that would make a good poster, but not quite publication level. Some profs handed first year students data sets, told them what analysis to do and a general outline of how to write it up. Others have the student come up with a totally new project on their own.

So everyone is doing research and spending a good deal of time on it, but the intellectual responsibilities vary.

[scampster]

Are you asking as a prospective grad student, current grad student, or someone who is about to have their first grad student?

I'm sure everyone is different, but in the first semester of my masters I took 3 courses and did an independent study (which was along the lines of what locutus said - good enough for a poster at a conference, not good enough for a paper- due to data limitations in my case). I was more or less handed the project my masters was on, so the second semester I did all the prep for the field work and did the experiments (and took two courses).

The first year of my PhD I worked on odds and ends for my advisor while developing my dissertation project (which was done jointly with my advisor) and taking a few courses.

I never TAed until the fourth year of grad school and I mostly did that as a favor and to get a teaching line on my CV and by then I was done with my own courses.

In addition to what research they are doing, if they are taking courses and teaching, what are the time expectations?

I think this is where it gets tricky. If your paycheck comes from TAing, not from your advisor, I think your only research obligation is doing what you need to do to keep your research moving along, especially when you have coursework that needs to get done too. It's totally different if your advisor is paying your salary for research (which was always my case, except when I was on fellowship, in which case it was functionally the same).

[galactic_hedgehog]

I TAed my first semester in grad school, took a full load of courses, and started a research project with my (then-) advisor, which would be used during my qualifying exams in year two.  For a PhD, research is the name of the game.  Even if you don't have a formal dissertation topic yet, you should be working towards one, either by proposing your own topic or by working on some topic that your advisor has given you.

Re: time, it varies.  How much of a time sink is your TAing (if you have it?)?  How much time do you need for your courses?  Once those are out of the way, research, research, research, even if (especially if) your advisor doesn't constantly hound you and make you show up for weekly research meetings.

Also, don't forget to show your face at weekly seminars.  And try to hang out with the other grad students and have some beers.

[inthelab]

In my program, first year students rotate through labs to gain experience and exposure while they take classes (we're a post-grad uni so no TAs).  They don't start diss projects until after they qualify; they may have selected a lab before then.
And yes, you should be attending seminars and journal clubs in addition.

[polly_mer]

I would expect a first-year PhD student to be doing research on something in addition to taking classes.  Teaching may or may not be expected, but once an advisor is chosen, which should be before the end of the first semester, you join the group and start working on someone else's project as part of the lab team while you figure out what your specific project will be.

[totoro]

In economics/environmental studies I tell students to use the courses which require papers to scope out potential research topics, do some literature review and begin to work out whether data is available to answer questions that arise. If all the coursework was exam based then they should be doing something along these lines outside of their courses. So not neccessarily serious research yet, but scoping out ideas.

[kron3007]

What country are you in? The US seems to be the odd ball in this area, or everyone else are oddballs.

What field are you in? Science is a broad area.

Did you apply with a specific prof on a specific project, or directly to the dept.?

[anon99]

It will depend where you are and the program.  For both my PhD and my PhD students where I am, the expectation is to design the project and come up with a proposal in their first 6 weeks (we have 3-4 year programs).  The students to do a lot of background reading and develop the basis for their project, after that they start doing research for their thesis.  Both where I did my PhD and where I work now, course work is limited as is the amount of time you spend TAing.

Here is a link I posted earlier on being a successful grad student in the sciences.
http://www.uwyo.edu/benkman/StudentSuccess.pdf

[detritivore]

Thanks all for your replies.  To answer your various questions, I  asked this question as a first-year PhD student in the US, doing ecology-type work.  I do have a project already, in fact I spent the year before I started officially at my institution working with my advisor to develop this project and begin work on it.  Despite the fact that I've been 'working on' this project for over a year and a half now, I really haven't been working much on it.  Before I started here, I wasn't sure I wanted to stick around - so I never felt like it was really my project.  I still kind of don't.

I also get no indication from my advisor about work expectations, even if I specifically ask, which makes it harder to know what I need to do to make sufficient progress.  I suppose the main thing is for me to feel like it is my project, and then I will want to work on it.  Then this will no longer be an issue.

Thanks again for your replies.