Information for incoming graduate students

Welcome to the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology!

Orientation and Registration for new Ph.D. students to all basic science departments at the University of Miami School of Medicine  will take place Friday, August 17, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. (location: DTC 259)

All International students are required to attend an additional orientation on Tursday, August 16, at 2:30 P.M.. The location will be announced.

Classes begin on Wednesday, August 22, 2007.

New Biochemistry Students, please come to the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the Gautier Building, 1011 N.W. 15th Street on Monday, August 17, 2007. You can enter the building at the South entrance by picking up the phone and calling Dr. Werner or Salome Antezana. Please arrive around 8:00 a.m. so that we can all go together to DTC 259.

Orientation and official Welcoming will take place between 8:30 a.m. and 11:45. At 12:00 noon, Dr. Werner, Graduate Director of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, will meet with the new students in Gautier 118 for lunch. It is important that you come to this luncheon as we will be discussing departmental policies.

At registration you will be asked to pay the following fees:

1. Medical Health Insurance fee of $790 (estimate) for one year,

2. University fee of $60 (Student Health Center at Coral Gables) for the fall semester, and

3. Activity fee of $3.50.

Please note that you will receive your first paycheck (stipend) at the end of September. If you are short of cash at the beginning, the department may be able to advance you some money until you receive your paychecks.

International students should plan to arrive at least a week earlier so that you can find a place to live. All students should come to the department as soon as possible to prepare the forms that are required for you to get paid and receive security cards at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

The following information is provided as a guide only, so that you can prepare yourself and know what documentation you need to bring with you.

Location:

The Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department is located on the Medical Campus of  the University of Miami in the R. Bunn Gautier Building (1011 N.W. 15th St.). For further information please contact us at (305) 243-6261.

Transportation:

Maps of the University and Metrorail will be handed to the student. The student will be required to make a few trips by Metrorail between the Medical School and the University of Miami Campus at Coral Gables. At the Coral Gables campus the University provides a free shuttle bus that travels throughout the campus all day long (waiting time about 10-15 minutes). This medium-sized white bus which reads in big green letters "hurricane" stops close to the entrance of all the buildings that the student must visit. The Coral Gables map that will be handed to the student shows the Shuttle STOPS throughout the campus (the stops identified with RED stars on the map). The hurricane bus has a stop at the University Metrorail station. It will be well worth for the student to take a FREE ride all through the beautiful campus (but please, do this after you have taken care of business that day. Later, during orientation/registration in the Gables campus, the student will become familiarized with the different activities and programs that he/she will be able to participate in.

Processing at the department:

All the departmental processing will be done by Vivian Gonzalez (Gautier Building, Rm 115, Tel: 243-6331). The most important element to get a student paid is to obtain a social security card (only foreign students) as soon as possible after their arrival. Upon arrival in this country, the students should have the following documents with them:

• I-20

• Passport

• Visa

• I-94

• 3 letters: (1) letter of acceptance from dept., (2) letter from office of graduate studies quoting stipend and (3) letter from graduate studies informing of tuition waiver

Procedure:

Initially, our office will make an appointment for the student with International Student Services Office, Bldg.  21-f (284-2928) to present their documents for review. This office will prepare 2 letters (letter of authorizing employment on campus and a second letter addressed to the Social Security Administration office). The letters will usually be ready 2 or 3 days later. Students should follow up (arrange) for the pick-up/delivery of the letters.

With these 2 letters, the student may apply for a social security number (at the Brickell train station and walk 1 block east to the Social Security Administration Building, 801 S.W. 1 Ave.). It is best to go there about 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. since most of the crowds, by that time, have already left. Ask to expedite and obtain a "receipt for application".  2 or 3 days later the student must call the Social Security Administration Office to get the new social security number over the phone. The social security officer will ask some personal questions to verify that this is the right individual. Once the number is available, the employment documents can be prepared by Vivian (Medical Campus, Gautier Building Rm 115, 243-6331) and processed thru the system. The forms will be held at student employment  until the system has been updated by the registrar (read below).

As soon as the social security number is known, an appointment will be made for the student with the payroll office, (Max Orovitz administrative services Bldg., Coral Gables campus) where the student will complete documents required by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service ). The documents are:

• Foreign national form

• W-4 (withholding tax form - prepared by Payroll in accordance with originating country's tax treaty

• W-8 (form certifying foreign status)

• Form 8233 (treaty document) and statement

These forms must be completed at least 11-12 days prior to the first pay-day. The IRS will record/verify eligibility of the student to work on campus.

The social security card will normally arrive in the mail within one or two weeks to the address provided by the student when he/she completed the social security form.

When the original social security card is received, the student must present it to the registrar. This is necessary because the student had previously been assigned a temporary social security number when his/her I-20 was issued. At this point, the registrar will update the student's records  with the permanent number.

The student may then open a bank account at the Credit Union.

It is at this point that the office of financial aid becomes enabled to enter the student assignment on-line (the documents listed below should have been prepared earlier by Vivian and processed via the budget office when the social security number became available over the telephone.

The documents are:

• Pef (Personal Event Form)

• I-9 (federal form required to confirm eligibility of employment in the USA)

• Pdf (Personal Data Form)

• Agreement card (to acknowledge UM policy on patents & copyright)

• Beneficiary form (to assign a beneficiary - usually parents or spouse)

• All visa documents and I-20

• I-94

• Drug-Free Form

• Policy on Sexual Harassment form

Once the student is entered in the computer system he/she will be able to obtain an ID card and Access Card to enter the building and departmental library.

Depending on the tax rulings from each country, all foreign students must, at the beginning of each year, must fill out a new set of forms for payroll (payroll will send the forms out directly to the students). The forms to be completed each year are:

• An updated foreign national form

• An updated W-4 form

• An updated W-8 form

• An updated form 8233 (treaty document) and statement

Please keep in mind that if the initial forms for payroll (or the renewal forms each year) are not completed at least 11 or 12 days before pay-day, the payroll office will deduct withholding tax from the student's payroll check. The funds withheld under such circumstances will not be refunded by payroll. Instead, the student will have to wait to claim this as reimbursement when they complete the annual nr 1040 form at income tax time).

Under no circumstances, is payroll authorized to deduct FICA or Medicare to any student.