Do I have to select a research-advisor in advance or is this done once I am at CSU/CCF?
What are the chances of getting an assistantship?
Are there any other opportunities to work?
What books do I need / should I have to bring any books?

Do I have to select a research-advisor in advance or is this done once I am at CSU/CCF?

Normally you select an academic advisor (your "Guide" in research and with respect to organizing classes etc.) in the first semester that you are here. Normally there is a seminar series, where all the professors present their work and if/how many students they need. Upon this you generate a list with your 3 favorite choices for an advisor. However, the actual decision to work for him/her is upon the professor himself/herself.
Also, there is a possibility of contacting a certain professor in advance if you are interested in a special field and both of you come to an agreement in advance. Here it’s up to you to contact the professor and talk with him/her.
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What are the chances of getting an assistantship?

This greatly depends on the different professors being in need (or not) of graduate students for their work. Many students have an assistantship or some other funding, however there is no prior guarantee for this and we cannot make other statements here.
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Are there any other opportunities to work?

You are only allowed to work on-campus. There are various different campus jobs, however, you´ll have to check the availability in each case. This also cannot be determined in general here. Once you are here, you can apply for these jobs. You are allowed to work for 20 hours a week only.
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What books do I need / should I have to bring any books?

Books required for the courses are available new as well as often also used from CSU´s bookstore as well as other students (and you, again, can resell your books to new students if you don´t need them anymore). So you do not have to bring books. If you have them anyways, and still space in your suitcase, you can of course bring them, especially references from your undergraduate education (since you know the material and can look up things easily).

For the core-courses of CSU currently there are these books in use (subject to change anytime!):

• Advanced Transport Phenomena: Bird/Stewart/Lightfoot – Transport Phenomena

• Advanced Reactor Design: Fogler – Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering (3rd edition)

• Advanced Thermodynamics: Prausnitz/Lichtenthaler/de Azevedo – Molecular Thermodynamis of Fluid-Phase Equilibria (3rd edition)

Again, don´t worry to buy anything in advance if you don´t have it already. Also often an earlier edition should be o.k.

Graduate Student Organization ChemBioMEGA

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