Did anyone else attend the TPCB Open House this past weekend? I'm curious to hear your thoughts about the Open House and the program itself. I'll just repeat the question from other program-specific threads: what do you see as the pros and cons of TPCB?
For me, funding is one of the most attractive aspects of TPCB. Not only does it offer both the best stipend AND the cheapest housing, but the three institutions that comprise TPCB are just loaded with research funding and resources such that "if you want to do a particular experiment, you most likely can very easily" as remarked by a current student. I personally wish there had been more opportunities for speaking with current students about their experiences, but based on my conversations with a few students, I got the impression that TPCB students are overall a happy and friendly group of people. I also like the rotation system and the fact that we can take classes at other NYC universities, the latter which is not super crucial but still a nice plus. The program director said something about a TPCB student publishing ~4-5 papers on average, which sounds like a great number to me.
My only reservation about the program is that it is relatively new. It may be the world's first chemical biology PhD program, but I don't think it is as widely recognized as programs like UCSF CCB and Harvard Chemical Biology. I feel like a graduate degree from UCSF or Harvard would carry more weight when seeking industry jobs, since these schools are also conveniently located in the two biggest biomedical hubs of this country. I don't think NYC is quite ready to compete with the Bay Area and Boston yet, though this is just my personal opinion.