| I. FIRST-YEAR REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL DEGREES: GETTING THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR |
| Reviewed: Jun 2008 -- Revised: Feb 2008 |
| A. Advisers |
| Revised: Mar 2005 |
| 1. Ph.D. students |
| Entering Ph.D. students are assigned temporary advisers by the Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC). Temporary advisers help students choose courses to meet specific departmental requirements, discuss rotations (see below) and areas of research interest, and outline the nature of courses and programs available. They may also help with the choice of a permanent adviser for thesis research, or with any academic concern. Students entering directly into a laboratory are not assigned a temporary adviser. All students should feel free to ask the Graduate Program Coordinator, GAC, Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, or the Chair for advice at any time. |
| 2. M.S. Candidates |
| Entering M.S. students choose a permanent research sponsor prior to admission. |
| B. General Requirements |
| 1. Graduate College Requirements |
| The Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College may be found here. This source specifies in detail the Graduate College's general degree requirements and provides guidelines for preparation of theses, deadlines for applications for degrees, and requirements for submission of theses (first and final drafts). All degree-granting departments and programs must adhere to the requirements of the Graduate College as minimum requirements. |
| 2. GPA Requirements |
| Requirements for Ph.D. and thesis M.S. candidates. A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 in formal course work must be maintained by Ph.D and thesis M.S. candidates, and a GPA of 2.75 must be maintained by non-thesis M.S. candidates. Courses numbered below 100, courses not related to the graduate degree, and non-science (eg., education or writing) courses do not count in calculation of the Departmental GPA. Letter grades for research or independent study (usually graded S/U) are also not used in establishing the Departmental GPA. If a course is repeated for credit, both the original grade and the second grade are included in calculating the GPA. If the Departmental cumulative GPA falls below 3.0, Ph.D. and thesis M.S. candidates are required to earn at least a 3.0 in formal course work in the following semester (in the academic year) and to restore the cumulative Departmental GPA to 3.0 or above by the end of the second semester following the decline. Failure to restore the GPA to the required level means the student can no longer be a degree candidate in the department. Requirements for non-thesis M.S. candidates. If the Departmental cumulative GPA falls below 2.75, candidates are required to earn at least a 2.75 in formal course work in the following semester and to restore the cumulative Departmental GPA to at least 2.75 by the end of the second semester following the decline. Failure to restore the GPA to the required level means the student can no longer be a degree candidate in the department. Important Note: Graduate College requirements for maintenance of GPA minima differ from Departmental requirements: (1) The Graduate College allows grades for research or independent study to count in the GPA, but the Department does not. (2) The Graduate College requires that the GPA be raised to the required minimum (3.0 or 2.75) upon completion of 8 sh following the decline below the minimum. This means that the Graduate College may take dismissal action a semester earlier than the department. This is particularly important for first-year students. (3) The Graduate College requires only a 2.75 GPA for M.S. students but the Department requires 3.0 GPA for thesis M.S. candidates. |
| 3. Semester Hour Requirements |
| Students (with the exception of post-comprehensive students) are expected to maintain full-time status by registering for at least 9 sh during each semester of the academic year. If a student drops a course, meeting the semester hour requirement may be jeopardized. Summer registration is required only for students supported by Graduate College Fellowships and students who intend to graduate during the summer session. In some cases, graduate students who are very close to meeting the semester hour requirement for their degree (30-34 sh for the M.S. or 72 for the Ph.D.) may register only for the number of semester hours needed to reach the required total. In such cases a “short hours” form must be submitted to the Graduate College. |
| 4. Normal Progress to the Degree |
Normal progress toward the degree includes:
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| C. Course Requirements |
| Reviewed: Jan 2008 -- Revised: Feb 2008 |
| 1. Deficiencies on Admission |
Cognate Requirements. Students who have not completed the following requirements must complete them for a letter grade.
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| 2. Specific Courses |
| Graduate Research Techniques(002:207). All first year rotation students take a 1-sh mini-course designed to acquaint students with basic laboratory skills and tools for research. Genetics(2:128/2:228). First-year graduate students are required to enroll in Fundamental Genetics (2:128) for 3 sh and the special 1-sh discussion section (2:228) reserved for graduate students. A grade of B or better must be earned; a lower grade requires re-taking the course. A second grade lower than a B will result in dismissal from the program. Students may petition the GAC to excuse them based on prior training or experience. Ordinarily, students will be excused based on a strong performance in an undergraduate fundamental genetics course taken at a major research university within the preceding three years. Students who are excused from 2:128 are usually required to take 2:228. Students may defer enrollment in 2:128 until the spring semester on approval by the GAC, in which case they register for 2:128 for 4 sh. Colloquium(2:200). In the fall semester, students enroll in 2:200 for 0 sh, which requires attendance at the Friday afternoon guest seminar series. In spring semester, all students enroll in 2:200, which is a 2-sh colloquium devoted to a critical analysis of research presented by the Friday afternoon seminar speakers. |
| 3. Electives |
| Seminar Courses. During the first two years in residence, all Ph.D. students are required to take at least two 2-sh seminar courses with a significant writing and oral presentation component, one of which is 2:234 Writing in Natural Science. Following comprehensive examinations, Ph.D. students must take at least two additional 2-sh seminar courses. Seminar courses from other departments may be approved by the Graduate Affairs Committee in consultation with the faculty advisor to satisfy the requirement. All M.S. candidates are required to take one 2-sh seminar course with a significant writing and oral presentation component. Advanced Courses. During the first two years in residence, all graduate students are expected to take two advanced 3-4 sh biology-based lecture courses. The advanced lecture-based course must be:
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| D. Research Rotation Requirement |
| 1. Description of the Program |
Research rotations provide newly admitted Ph.D. students the opportunity to gain experience in three research labs during their first academic year in residence, thereby providing them with information necessary to choose a permanent adviser for thesis research. Students admitted directly into a laboratory are exempted from rotation.
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| 2. Mechanism of Scheduling Rotations and Laboratory Affiliation |
| Research Day Presentations. Students should become aware of faculty research by reading published papers and web-based summaries, and by attending faculty research presentations during “Research Days”, which typically occur at the end of the week before classes start. Attendance at Research Days is mandatory for all incoming graduate students and strongly encouraged for everyone else. Reprints of representative publications of faculty in whose research a student is interested can be obtained by requesting them from the faculty members, or accessing them through journal web sites or PubMed here. Faculty Accepting Rotation Students. Prior to the beginning of the fall semester and before the new graduate students arrive, faculty are surveyed to determine the number of students they will accept and the number they can ultimately accommodate in their laboratory. Students are notified which faculty are able to accept rotation students. Consultation With Prospective Rotation Sponsors. During the first week of the fall semester, students must consult with faculty members in whose research they are interested to discuss the possibility of a rotation. These meetings allow students and faculty to become better acquainted and to evaluate possible mutual research interests. Assignment of Rotations. After students meet with prospective rotation sponsors, faculty and students indicate their preferences for rotations by providing a rank-ordered list on forms provided by the GAC. These preferences will be used by the GAC in consultation with the Chair to schedule rotations. Rotation schedules are determined at the end of the second week of the fall semester. If problems in scheduling rotations arise, the Chair and the GAC will assist students in exploring additional options. Changes in Rotation Schedule. To accommodate possible changes in research interests, students will be given the opportunity in early February to modify their choice of sponsor for the third rotation. A change in sponsor will require the approval of the GAC and the new sponsor. In extraordinary cases, requiring a change in schedule other than for the third rotation, the student may consult the GAC or the Chair. |
| 3. Evaluation of a Student’s Performance |
| Faculty Expectations. Faculty should make their expectations clear to prospective rotation students at their first meeting. Written Reports. Each student's performance is evaluated by the faculty member in a brief written report at the end of each rotation period. Reports are submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator acting on behalf of the GAC; copies are made available to the GAC and the temporary adviser. The reports indicate possible areas in which the student could improve and assess the likelihood that the student would be able to affiliate permanently with the faculty member at the end of the first year. Presentations. At the end of the second semester students are required to present a short (~20 minute) seminar based on one of their rotations. The seminar should address the goals of the research, the background to the problem, the approach taken, and any progress made. Grading. Students are graded only on a S/U basis to emphasize that the rotation is primarily a means of acquainting students with research generally and with specific areas in chosen rotation laboratories. Recording of grades and communication with the registrar are the responsibility of the GAC. Once a student affiliates with a laboratory, grading in 2:301 becomes the responsibility of the faculty sponsor. Except in very unusual circumstances, grades in 2:301 will be S or U. Students may wish to clarify this policy with their research sponsors. |