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POLICIES AND CUSTOMS Revised June 2007 The following is intended to serve as a guide for students pursuing a combined degree of M.D., from the College of Medicine, and Ph.D., from the Department of Biochemistry. It is written with the "typical student" in mind, one who is neither over- nor under-qualified in biochemistry. Depending on a student's background and qualifications, some requirements may be waived or additional requirements added. Within reason, the program will be tailored to the needs of each student. The "tailoring" is initially done by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and later by the Special Committee appointed for each student. Areas specifically related to study in the Biochemistry Department are presented in this guide. For a comprehensive treatment of all procedures and requirements of M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Kentucky, one is referred to the catalogs of the College of Medicine and Graduate School, respectively. The M.D./Ph.D. program in biochemistry is designed for the exceptional individual who plans to pursue a career combining the practice of medicine with original research in the biochemical aspects of disease processes. The program consists of: (1) all of the normal courses in the medical school curriculum; (2) additional course work to broaden and deepen one's knowledge about biochemistry; (3) original research in the laboratory leading to a dissertation on a biochemical problem; and (4) the normal clinical clerkships of the medical school curriculum. Two plans for integrating the clinical and basic science aspects of this training are possible. In Plan A, the student completes the first two years of medical school, taking the National Board Examination Part I, then enters and completes graduate studies and finally completes the final two years of the medical school curriculum with clinical clerkships. In Plan B, the four years of the normal medical school curriculum are taken without interruption and these are followed by graduate work. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Because backgrounds and interests of students differ, courses to be taken will vary somewhat. In addition to the regular medical school curriculum, Ph.D./M.D. students are required to take three advanced courses in biochemistry-related fields (numbered BCH600-700 with 3 or more hours of credit per semester). Other courses in biomedical sciences can be substituted, but only with the prior approval of the DGS. In addition, students are required to participate in the Departmental seminar course in every semester of the Ph.D. phase of their studies and to give an annual seminar as part of this course. The DGS/Special Committee will advise each student with respect to courses, set individual requirements, and evaluate each student's performance after each semester and inform the student and the faculty of his or her progress. University standards. Students must register for 9-12 credit hours each semester to be considered full-time. Each student must obtain prior approval from the DGS for all matters dealing with curriculum (normal course registration and course additions or drops). Satisfactory work in the classroom is defined by the University in the Graduate School Bulletin. Note that graduate students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better in all credited activities (class, seminar, or laboratory). If the cumulative grade point average, calculated at the end of each semester, falls below a B average, the student is placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation are not eligible for out-of-state tuition scholarships from the Graduate School. The student has one semester to raise his or her average to a B. Failing that, he or she is automatically dismissed from the Graduate Program. This applies to students at all stages of study.Departmental standards. The Department of Biochemistry expects its graduate students to perform above the minimal standards set by the university. Specifically:
In addition, the Department expects the student to maintain a level of scholarship and research productivity that is satisfactory to the student's mentor and Special Committee. Failure to meet any of these expectations is grounds for dismissal from the program. The Director of Graduate Studies will advise each student on the choice and scheduling of courses and set individual requirements. In order to preserve as much time as possible for laboratory research, students are encouraged to satisfy their course requirements as early as possible. The overall time for courses can be shortened by integrating medical school and graduate school curricula whenever possible. Advanced planning in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies is recommended. LABORATORY EXPERIENCE Graduate students in biochemistry are expected to acquire laboratory experience in biochemical techniques prior to beginning dissertation research. M.D./Ph.D. students are encouraged to work on short-term, assigned research projects in multiple laboratories before making a final choice of dissertation project. Students can also become familiar with the various research programs of the department through seminars presented throughout the year, through interviews and other formal or informal interactions. Choice of the laboratories is determined by the student, the research mentor, and approved by the DGS. In Plan A, these laboratory rotations may be done in the summer before the first year, the summer between first and second year, and the summer following the second year. In Plan B, rotations would be during the summers between the later academic years of the four-year medical school curriculum. CHOICE OF DISSERTATION DIRECTOR The student is encouraged to decide on a dissertation director in whose laboratory he or she will work as soon as possible but at least by the beginning of the full-time graduate school phase. For this reason, it is advisable to schedule laboratory rotations so as to be complete by this time. The choice of dissertation directors should be discussed with the DGS and with the faculty members involved. As soon as arrangements are made, a Special Committee is appointed for the student. The Special Committee minimally consists of the dissertation director, three Biochemistry faculty members and one member outside the department - in all, no fewer than five. At least three of the members must be full members of the Graduate Faculty, the remaining can be associate or full members. This committee is responsible for ensuring that the Department's and Universities standards for graduate education are met. They have the specific duties of (1) reviewing the student's records relevant to their educational pursuits, (2) setting requirements that the student must meet before taking the qualifying examination, (3) administering the qualifying exam, (4) setting any additional requirements that must be met after passing the qualifying examination, (4) monitoring and evaluating the student's progress during their time as dissertators, and (5) administering the dissertation defense. At a minimum, the Dissertation Committee should meet annually. At the conclusion of each meeting, the Committee chair will write a report to the DGS summarizing the committee's proceedings, noting especially the consensus opinion of the student's progress and any actions taken by the committee regarding requirements that the student must satisfy to continue in the Program. It is the responsibility of the student to schedule this annual meeting.QUALIFYING EXAMINATION The qualifying examination is both written and oral and is usually given at the end of spring semester. Students who have substantially completed their course requirements are eligible to take the examination with the approval of his or her Special Committee. Ideally, the examination is completed after one full year of full-time graduate study. It normally consists of following four steps: Step I. During the second year, each graduate student--in consultation with his/her mentor-- develops a topic and direction for a dissertation proposal. These directions are further delineated by the student in a written Background and Specific Aims. The Specific Aims concisely (one page or less) state the major scientific goals to be accomplished (it should not be a statement of methods). The Background (5 page maximum recommended) should provide appropriate information that allows the committee members to understand the scientific problem to be examined and appreciate its significance. The approval of this written document by all Special Committee members is required. Unapproved Background and Specific Aims are returned to the student for rewriting. This process can be repeated until the committee approves the proposed research.Step II. The approved Background and Specific Aims is then expanded into a dissertation proposal that is written in the NIH grant format (15 page maximum, including any figures). In addition to the Background and Specific Aims , the full proposal should include descriptions of:Although the topic and direction of the proposal should be developed in consultation with the student's mentor, the exercise of writing that proposal is the responsibility of the student. As with the Background and Specific Aims section, the finished proposal must be approved by all committee members. Unapproved proposals are returned to the student for rewriting. This process can be repeated until the committee approves the proposal. Step III. All graduate students are required to take a written examination prior to the oral exam. This examination is derived from questions submitted by committee members. These questions examine the ability of the student to perform, evaluate and troubleshoot the research described in his/her written proposal. As with the oral exam described below, the questions can be directly related to the proposed research or can examine the students breadth of knowledge in related biochemical topics. A student failing this exam can retake it once (with different questions) at a time to be set by the committee. Step IV. Once the written exam has been passed, the student is then required to take an oral examination. The purpose of this exam is to address, in a more open environment, perceived weaknesses or deficiencies exposed in the written examination. Students will be given ample opportunity to examine the results of their written test and it is anticipated that the basis for questions for this oral exam will, in part, be derived from evaluation of the written exam. Questions generally begin with topics closely related to the proposed research and can subsequently expand to spheres only remotely bordering his/her research area. As with the written exam, a student failing this exam can retake it once. The minimum time between examinations is 4 months and any re-examination must be taken within 1 year following the first exam. FINANCIAL SUPPORT Financial support is given to all M.D./Ph.D. students pursuing the Ph.D. degree full time in the Department of Biochemistry during the graduate phase of their studies. In addition to an annual stipend, the Department will also pay the student's tuition, standard university fees, and health insurance. Students are expected to cooperate with the DGS and their mentor in obtaining outside financial support (grants, fellowships, etc.) when requested. These stipends are given with the understanding that the student will not take on secondary employment without the approval of the DGS and their mentor during their graduate career. Secondary employment will normally result in the loss of financial support from the Department. Financial support is guaranteed only to students that remain in good standing in the program. A student's academic performance in course work and in laboratory investigation is monitored periodically. If performance in either category is found to be unsatisfactory (as defined by the DGS or the Student's Special Committee), financial support to that student can be terminated with an advance notice of 60 days. The stipend is usually increased following successful completion of the qualifying exam, with the increase to go in effect in the semester following passage. (If the date of passage is within the first six weeks of the fall or winter semester or within the first three weeks of the eight-week summer session, the stipend increase will go in effect that semester.) The current standard stipend is $15,500 annually prior to passing the qualifying exam and $17,000 thereafter. Students with special qualifications may be awarded bonuses that augment this standard stipend. ADDENDUM
Doug Andres Del Collins Bob Dickson Lou Hersh Mark Kindy Mike Mendenhall Dan Noonan Kevin Sarge Peter Spielmann Sam Turco Tom Vanaman Skip Waechter Denys van der Westhuyzen Wally Whiteheart David Watt
Current Associate Members of the Graduate Faculty in the Department of Biochemistry (Mike Clark) Trevor Creamer Becky Dutch Rick McCann Carole Moncman Sabire Ozcan David Rodgers Chandler Medical Center • University home • Search our site • Contact us Copyright ©1997, University of Kentucky. |
