Ph.D. Examination Schedule

The rationale behind these examinations is defined at length in the Standards for the Ph.D. Degree in the Molecular Biosciences, recommended by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Students will write dissertation proposals beginning in the spring of the 2nd year. These proposals will outline the research plan and be written in cooperation with the dissertation advisor. Content must include hypothesis to be tested, background and significance, specific aims, and experimental design and methods (including expected results and alternative strategies). Recommended length is 10-15 single spaced pages in an NIH NRSA format.

The qualifying examination must be completed by October 15th in the fall of the 3rd year and must adhere to the following schedule that covers ~3 weeks (see timeline below):

1) The dissertation proposal will be distributed to the advisory committee 2 weeks prior to an initial meeting. Also due at this time are three abstracts that describe potential topics for the mock proposal.

2) At this first meeting, the committee will approve the topic and content of the dissertation proposal to ensure it is appropriate for PhD level research. The advisory committee then will assign the topic for the mock proposal selected from the three abstracts. Mock proposals should be no more than 7 single spaced pages excluding references, and will follow the dissertation proposal format. Mock proposals are due to the committee within 2 weeks following topic approval. These proposals are to be written independently of the advisor or other faculty.

3) One week following the distribution of the mock proposal to the committee, students will present a public seminar on their dissertation work. This presentation will be followed by an oral examination by the advisory committee on subjects covering both dissertation and mock proposals, and general knowledge relevant to the program.

Failure to complete examinations by October 15th will result in dismissal from the graduate program unless there are extenuating circumstances. The Graduate Core Committee in cooperation with the advisor and Department Head will determine whether reasons for delay are acceptable.

Each part of the exam will be evaluated by the advisory committee. Students may pass the exam, fail the exam entirely, or be required to retake one or more components.  Repeated examinations must be completed by the end of the fall semester of the 3rd year. The criteria of evaluation are described here.

Examination time-line

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