Miscellaneous-Department of Biological Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University

Miscellaneous

Stipend/Compensation

  • Tuition paid by Department
  • CMU-related fees and health insurance paid by Department.
  • Stipend check received on the last working day of each month. 
  • First payment of stipend at the END of September, for the month of September. 
  • Students are not allowed to work on- or off-campus while receiving a stipend.

Life Other Than Classes

There are numerous societies and clubs on campus that you can join. Also, the university centre has several gyms, squash courts, tennis courts, basketball courts and a swimming pool.

Official University days off

Academic Calendar
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving
  • Day After Thanksgiving 
  • Christmas Eve
  • Christmas Day
  • New Year's Eve
  • New Year's Day
  • Memorial Day 
  • July 4th
  • Mid-semester break (no class but lab rotation still on going)
  • Unofficial time off can be arranged with rotation professors. Graduate students are allowed 10 days of vacation, including 9 holidays listed above.

Activity fair in September

Held at main campus. http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/studentactivities/descriptions.html for a list of organizations

Gyms

  • Skibo gym (obtain gym pass from UC gym).
  • UC gym (exchange Carnegie Mellon ID for gym wristband).
  • Free equipment rental available at UC gym (e.g. tennis, badminton, squash and racquetball racquets).
  • Group exercise classes available with a fee, class passes purchased in sets of 10.
  • One guest pass is free.

Piano/Guitar

Several locations on campus are available for playing the piano (legally and illegally). The legal source of a piano is at a student dormitory called Morewood Gardens. Show your ID to the staff and ask for the keys to the piano room. Music scores can be sourced through the internet or through the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (which has a huge collection of classical, jazz as well as modern music scores for guitar, piano and vocal)

Movies

Movies can be rented from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for free. They have a fairly up to date catalog at http://catalog.einetwork.net/search/X.

Movie theatres are located at the waterfront as well as Squirrel Hill.

Movies are also shown at CMU University Centre for approximately USD $1 - $3 most weeks on Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat nights. You can view the schedule at http://www.tcpulse.com/events/

Ice-skating

Ice skating is also available during winter at Schenley Park.

Suggested Things to Bring

  • Winter Clothing + Gloves (It can get as cold as -20 degrees Celsius during winter)
  • Camera
  • Travel Adaptors (For internationals)

Pittsburgh Weather

  • Can be highly variable, even within the same day.
  • Cool jacket for spring and fall.
  • Bring umbrella for heavy rains in spring and sudden thunderstorms throughout the summer.
  • Winter can be extremely cold. Unless you routinely enjoy freezing, bring gloves, winter coats, scarves, hat and dress in layers.
  • Summer can be very hot - ~90 F.

Daylight savings

Turn the clock an hour forward in spring, and an hour back in fall.

    Disclaimer: This list of advice and information was put together by current graduate students of the Biological Sciences department, and does not express the views of the department. Most of the information below has been verified, but some may have changed including URLs, dates, and email addresses, so self-verification of information is advisable.