Requirements

From the CBC Graduate Committee

Preliminary Exams:

  1. Before initial registration, all incoming graduate students (with the exception of B.S./M.S.) will be required to take either the Biochemistry or Chemistry preliminary exams. Those students desiring a degree with a specialty in biochemistry will be given one comprehensive biochemistry exam. The chemistry preliminary exams consist of three comprehensive exams, one each in physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. If the student wishes to change his/her area of study, (s)he will have to take the preliminary exams for the respective area, CH or BC.
  2. Based on the results of these examinations, the student may be required to take one or more courses in each area in which the student is weak. These courses must be taken the first time they are offered after the results of the examination are known. Each student must pass each of his/her required courses with a grade of B or better the first time they are taken to remain eligible for teaching assistantship support. Graduate credit will be given for 3000 and 4000 level courses up to a maximum of twelve credits.
  3. The students may petition the department to retake the exam(s). However, they may only be retaken when the exams are being offered to incoming students. If the required course is offered prior to the next time the exams are offered, the course must be taken. If the student fails the exam the second time, the course must be taken.
  4. If the student receives a grade lower than a B in a course required as a result of the preliminary exam(s), the student loses eligibility for institutional support, i.e., teaching assistantship, for a probationary period of not less than two years. During this probationary period, the required course must be retaken and a grade of B or better must be achieved. At the end of the two years the graduate studies committee will make a recommendation to the department to either reinstate eligibility for institutional support, or maintain the probationary period.

Other Requirements:

  1. Upon matriculation, students with graduate degrees from other institutions must petition the departmental graduate studies committee for graduate credit for these degrees. Within one year, a decision will be reached to grant or deny credit for the previous graduate degrees. Students who do receive credit for previous degrees must still fulfill all candidacy requirements.
  2. Each student is required to discuss possible research topics with a minimum of three faculty. This is to be documented by obtaining a signature from each faculty member approached. This should be done during the first term as each student must select a research advisor by the end of the first term of participation in the program. Research work should begin by the beginning of the second term.
  3. After consultation with and approval by the advisor, each graduate student must file a formal Plan of Study with the Department within the first semester if full-time and within the first year if part-time. Program changes are implemented by advisor and student. Copies of the current Plan of Study will be maintained in Department files. Three years after the initial filing of the Plan of Study, and in three-year intervals thereafter, a revised plan of study must be filed with the Projects and Registrar's Office prior to registration for additional academic credit. The Plan of Study must reflect all current courses that will be applicable towards the student's degree. Courses that are no longer current must be removed from the Plan of Study. The Department will determine which courses are current.
  4. All graduate students must attend all seminars and colloquia in the CBC department.
  5. All graduate students must give a departmental seminar in their second year. For second year M.S. students, the seminar can qualify as the public presentation of their thesis work if deferred to coincide with completion of the thesis. If the thesis is not finished during the second academic year, the student is still required to present a second year seminar and the public presentation of the thesis will be a separate event.

The seminar for second year Ph.D. applicants will involve an oral presentation of research to date and a defense of a research proposal. This accompanies the written report and proposal that must be evaluated by the student's committee for further work on the Ph.D. (see Ph.D. requirements below).

  1. All graduate students are required to register every semester for the appropriate current topics course. For chemistry graduate students this is CH571; for biochemistry graduate students, CH560.
  2. All graduate students must maintain a QPA of 2.75 or better to be considered to be making satisfactory progress. To be eligible for graduation the student must have a QPA of 3.0 or better. If the QPA falls below 2.5, the student will be removed from the program. With the consent of the department, this ruling may be appealed to the institute by the departmental graduate studies committee.

M.S. Program Requirements

M.S. level students can receive teaching assistantship support for no more than two years unless there are extenuating circumstances.

B.S./M.S. candidates will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee at the end of B term of the fourth year of undergraduate study to ensure that candidate performance has been maintained at a level appropriate for entrance to the graduate program. Review will include input from the candidate's MQP advisor

Ph.D. Program requirements

By the end of the first semester of the student's second year of residence, a document consisting of a written progress report on research completed and a proposal for the remainder of the Ph.D. research must be submitted by each student to the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. This is accompanied by an oral presentation of the work completed (second year seminar). A committee of three, including the research advisor, will evaluate the oral and written reports, the proposed research, the student's performance in courses, and the recommendation of the student's research advisor. The committee will then make a recommendation to the department, which will place each student into one of three categories.

Procedure for Qualification for the Ph.D.

  1. The student's committee will prepare a list of perhaps 4 or 5 broad research topics that are well outside the student's own research but which fall within the student's sub-discipline (i.e., physical, bio, organic).
  2. The student will choose one topic from among these and will spend 6-8 weeks preparing a thorough research proposal on the subject. The proposal, which will take the form of an NSF proposal will be distributed to 5 department or affiliated faculty (as chosen by the student's committee) for their review. These 5 faculty will include no more than two from the student's committee and will include the student's advisor.
  3. The student will present a short oral summary of the proposal to the faculty panel.
  4. The faculty panel will question the student on aspects of the proposal as well as on those areas of chemistry or biochemistry that are touched on by the proposal. Discussion should be wide-ranging and should probe the student's breadth and depth of knowledge.
  5. Following this oral session, the panel of faculty will prepare a written summary of those specific areas in which the student appeared to be weak. If there were no obvious weaknesses, then the student needs to take no further action and will be allowed to continue toward the Ph.D. degree. If there are weaknesses, the student must submit a written response to the panel in which he/she attempts to address the deficiencies identified. If the student's response is still considered to be lacking, he/she will be required to come before the panel for a second oral session. At the end of this second session, a yes-or-no decision will be made as to the suitability of the student for Ph.D. study. This will consist of a majority decision by the five-membered panel. A "no" decision by the panel will trigger the same consequences as failing 7 cumulative examinations.

A priority of the panel will be to provide timely feedback to the student such that the entire process from start to finish should take no longer than three months including the proposal preparation.

Make-up and Responsibilities of the Panel

One of the departmental members of the five-member panel will be designated the panel chair by the student's committee. The student's thesis advisor will not be that student's panel chair. The responsibilities of the panel chair will be:

  1. To make certain that the student is aware of faculty expectations for the student's performance in the process.
  2. To evaluate the student's proposal in some preliminary form, such as an abstract or outline. The panel chair will evaluate whether or not the preliminary proposal represents a substantial effort to address the research topic. The panel chair will either approve the preliminary proposal (as a basis for the full proposal) or indicate that it needs substantial re-working.
  3. To serve as the moderator of the oral examination. The panel chair, like the other members of the panel, will function as a critical questioner and evaluator of the student's performance, but will have additional responsibilities for the student and for the overall process. The panel chair might come to the student's aid by helping the student around mental blocks with leading questions, restraining unnecessarily aggressive questioners, or calling for a short break. The panel chair will ensure that the examination explores the breadth of the student's knowledge by occasionally calling an end to a line of questioning, either because that area has been explored sufficiently or because the student has reached an insurmountable block. The panel chair will also decide at what point to terminate the examination.

After these requirements have been satisfied, the student must apply in writing to the Department to be granted Ph.D. candidacy status. Prior to granting of candidacy status, the student can enroll for no more than 18 credits of directed research. Once Ph.D. candidacy status has been awarded, the student may enroll for dissertation credits.

Completion of the Ph.D. requires a total of 90 credits beyond the B.S. or 60 credits beyond an approved M.S. and one year of residency (full time status). For the final Ph.D. degree requirement the candidate must submit and defend a satisfactory dissertation to a committee of three or more, two of whom must be from the degree granting program and one of whom must be from outside the program. The dissertation must include a significant proposal for future research in the general area of his/her research. The format of the dissertation must conform to guidelines published by the library and must be approved by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs who then notifies the registrar.

Ph.D. Timeline

Year 1
  • Preliminary Exams
  • Take required/recommended classes as available.
  • Select Research Advisor and Project by end of 1st term.
  • Start research by 2nd term.
  • File Plan of Study
Year 2
  • Take required/recommended classes.
  • By end of 1st semester, turn in summary/proposal and present research to department. If approved by committee, formally admitted to Ph.D. program
  • Research proposal examination.
Year 3
  • Upon passing proposal examination, apply in writing to Department for formal Ph.D. candidacy status.
Subsequent
  • Must complete 60 or 90 credits (based on prior degrees).
  • Must complete dissertation with significant proposal for future research.
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Last modified: August 17, 2006 13:30:24