Workshop Series

Industry Skills Workshop series

This training series will introduce the skills necessary for students to work in the life and physical science industries, including the biotechnology, environmental/green technology, biomedical engineering and pharmaceutical industry fields. In addition to soft skills, such as communication and teamwork, regulatory affairs and documentation are often considered workforce essential skills that are rarely taught in academics. This training series will introduce the structure of the industry, the product review process, as well as the documentation requirement. 

Effective Pedagogy of College Biology Workshop series

Biologists and biology educators are increasingly recognizing that traditional teacher-centered approaches to teaching and learning do not adequately prepare undergraduate students to meaningfully participate and understand life sciences in the twenty-first century. Approximately two-thirds of the Masters of Science graduates from the Biological Sciences Department at Cal Poly Pomona teach undergraduates at some point in their careers and many choose careers that involve extensive teaching. Effective biology faculty need to understand and know how to implement student-centered learning, including inquiry-based approaches, and useful assessments to help all students understand core concepts and gain important skills in the practices of science. Students in the Effective College Biology Pedagogy workshops will learn to use the Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) process to develop their courses.

PhD Program Admission & GRE Test Preparation Workshop series

Twenty-five percent of graduate students who obtain their Masters of Science degree from the Biological Sciences Department at Cal Poly Pomona go on to attend a PhD graduate program. For students whose goal is to pursue a PhD degree, the scholarship program will offer a workshop series on graduate program application. The workshops will be centered around the process of program application, development of a personal statement, and strategies aimed at improving exam scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The major goal of the PhD Program Admission & GRE Test Preparation workshop series is to improve the competitiveness of PhD applicants by improving GRE test taking skills. Workshops are offered collaboratively with other programs on campus, including LSAMP, SEES and McNair.