Answers to questions commonly asked by Bredesen Center students
DISCLAIMER: Information on this page has been compiled by the Student Advisory Council, which is not the ultimate authority on these topics. These FAQs and their answers do not represent the official views or responses of the Bredesen Center or the University of Tennessee. Moreover, answers may be outdated due to UTK/ORNL policy changes. For official, up-to-date information, we recommend visiting the Bredesen Center Student Handbook, the Graduate School homepage, the Graduate Catalog, or speaking directly to Bredesen Center staff.
Where can I find information about the student health insurance plan?
You can find a summary of the insurance plan here: https://www.studenthealthprograms.com/lib/file/manager/20-21_Knoxville_Summary_Brochure.pdf. Dependent coverage isn’t paid for by the Bredesen Center/UT, but can be purchased at your own expense during annual enrollment in the fall. Dental and Vision insurance can be purchased in addition at the student’s expense. You can find more information on the Student Health website here: https://studenthealth.utk.edu/student-health-insurance/.
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What if I have an “immunization hold” on my student account and I am not sure if I’ve gotten the required vaccinations or I can’t find my immunization records?
If you don’t know or can’t find your immunization records and you don’t have a primary care physician to help you fill out your immunization packet, you should email or call the Immunization Coordinator (immunizations@utk.edu; 865-974-2264) to explain your situation. They will then provide you with instructions to help make sure you’re compliant and the hold from your account can be removed. In many cases, you may only need to go to the Student Health Center for an antibody titer test or booster shot. The specific immunization records that you’re required to submit and the instructions for how to do so can be found here: studenthealth.utk.edu/immunization-requirements-forms/.
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Will I need a car to get around campus and to ORNL?
It certainly helps, and most students eventually do. But you may not necessarily need a car to get to ORNL for the first year or two that you’re here. During normal operating hours, the “T” has a route that runs from UT’s campus to ORNL.
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Should I purchase a parking pass?
If you’ll be driving to campus regularly then a parking pass is recommended, as there’s limited free and metered parking available on/near campus. Many graduate students with cars who are living off campus will only purchase parking passes during their first and second years when taking classes.
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How to prepare for the Qualifying Examination?
The Energy Science & Engineering exam will include a list of 100+ questions/research topics for you to pick from, some of which may have been written by your advisor specifically for you -or- more generally for any student. So you can talk to your advisor beforehand to see if there’s a specific question they have in mind for you to work on, but there’s nothing that you need to do to prepare beforehand. There are two options for the Data Science Qualifying Exam: either you may choose to analyze a data set, or you may complete a review paper on a topic of your choice that is relevant to the growing field of data science. Regardless of which option you choose, an oral defense of your work before an exam committee is required.
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What can I do to make progress on my research during Covid-19 delays, restrictions?
Read. Research. Review as much as you can about your research topic during COVID19 downtime. The more familiar you are with relevant background information, previous work, current status, future directions, and even funding sources related to your field/topic of interest, the better your life (and dissertation) will be later on. Dig through peer-reviewed publications, find good primary research articles, and go down those rabbit holes while you have the time. Also modeling and data analysis are always good ways to optimize your time if you have to work from home or have laboratory downtime. If access to a laboratory is required for you to move forward, talk to your advisor and to Bredesen Center Administration about the process to express your needs and request support from necessary parties.
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What if my research includes proprietary information?
Conversations about what can or should be included in the dissertation should begin you’re your faculty advisor. Often proprietary work cannot be included in a PhD dissertation. The following excerpt is from the graduate student handbook:
A basic principle in graduate education is that theses and dissertations produced by graduate students will be published and made available to other researchers in the field. When a graduate student is involved in classified or proprietary research, and such research is intended to lead toward a thesis or dissertation, prior approval should be secured from the department head and dean, and from the Dean of the Graduate School. Should the research become classified in the course of a project, these same persons should be notified immediately so that proper procedures can be assured. Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to rejection of a thesis or dissertation manuscript.
If research and data are the result of a work at ORNL, all of that information is subject to ORNL policies. The ORNL advisor will need to provide guidance. Additional guidance may be provided by the University’s Office of Research and Engagement: https://research.utk.edu/
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How do I find/pick the right advisor for me?
There isn't really a straightforward or standard process that's applicable to everyone. Certainly begin by aligning your research interests with those of Bredesen Center ESE and DSE faculty and joint faculty in other departments and at ORNL. For students who's research interests are more flexible/varied, it may be more important to look at several CVs and department/lab websites to identify faculty who have active, longer-term projects (e.g. 3-5 years) and robust, consistent sources of funding.
Aside from their research credentials/interests and funding, here are some other general things to consider when picking an advisor:
tenure status
sabbatical plans
their other time commitments
size of lab/research cohort
their other time commitments
feedback from others (talk to SAC members, their current students, even other faculty members they work with )
Their other time commitments
This is an extremely bare bones list of considerations regarding PhD advisor/committee selection. For more information about this topic check out some of these other resources:
Science: What matters in a Ph.D. adviser? Here's what the research says
Nature: Just A Minute...PhD Students Voice Concerns on Mentoring
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Can I change advisors if I feel like things aren’t working out?
There are several reasons why you might consider changing advisors, and PhD students from all departments and from all schools have made the switch. The Bredesen Center is no different, and changing advisors is completely doable. However the most important thing to recognize, avoid, and address this situation is to communicate! We cannot stress how important it is to communicate with Bredesen Center Staff (e.g. such as Allie Burns and Suresh Babu), the SAC, your advisor(s), and/or committee members. Whoever you are most comfortable with, reach out to them as soon as you start to feel this way.
Some important things to know about this process:
Just because you've talked to the SAC or a Bredesen Center staff member about your concerns, it doesn't mean that you've set some official, high-level, mandatory extraction processes into motion for you and your advisor.
As long as the issues you describe don't violate university policy or jeopardize your health/safety, the information you provide will not be shared with anyone else, you will not be characterized as a "problem student" by the Bredesen Center Staff, and your advisor does not have to be notified.
There are several options and approaches (both informal and formal) we can explore to remedy the issue(s) you're experiencing. The BC Staff and/or SAC can listen to you, share their own similar experiences, help you brainstorm different solutions, facilitate and mediate dialogue between you and your advisor, and if needed, help facilitate a successful, professional transition for you.
Consider having co-advisors on you dissertation committee as a potential safety net, and try to fill your committee with other active, engaged scientists and professors who are in your corner. Stack your committee in your favor and keep them in the loop by meeting and communicating with them frequently.
You, the student, are the always the focus of this process, and you will always call the shots when deciding on the approach, resolution, and the level of involvement you want the Bredesen Center staff to partake in this process.
Students are the number 1 priority for the SAC and the Bredesen Center staff, so please don't wait and ask for help from BC leadership as a last resort.
It's true that the later this occurs in your program, the more complicated the process can become and the more detrimental it can potentially be to the timeliness of your degree completion. So don't ignore these issues - if you feel that you might want to change projects; if you're starting to experience concerns, doubts, or difficulties with your advisor; if there's anything about your program/project or research that you feel could negatively impact your research progress and degree experience - talk to the SAC or BC staff about it sooner rather than later.
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What if my advisor runs out of funding for me while I'm pursuing my degree?
If your advisor or principle investigator (PI) on the project you're working on ends up running out of funds to cover you as their student, don’t worry, but once again - the most important thing to do in this situation is to communicate and communicate often with you advisor(s) and most importantly Bredesen Center Staff. The Bredesen Center and UT have processes and solutions in place to address this issue should it occur. Whether you are working with an advisor funded through grants/contracts in a different department at UT, or with staff/researchers at ORNL, there are options to help you with support. But early and frequent communication is key for understanding, avoiding, and resolving these issues.
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Are Bredesen Center students permitted to get a concurrent Master's degree while working towards their PhD? If so, can any credit hours be counted toward both degrees?
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