This website serves as a resource for graduate students and advisors. It includes policies related to admissions, registration, grading, student records, degree requirements, and academic integrity.
Student Support Resources: Links to career development, computing, counseling, scholarships, accessibility resources, campus living, and more.
Graduate Program Curriculum: Information on program course requirements and electives.
Faculty can utilize a wide range of software tools and other methods to assess plagiarism.
When an instance of suspected or alleged academic dishonesty by a student arises, it shall be resolved according to the procedures set forth by the Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures of the Graduate School.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following examples of academic dishonesty, which are excerpted verbatim from the University policies:
These procedures require that academic dishonesty will be reported directly to the graduate school.
The University community depends upon shared academic standards. Academic dishonesty in any form by any member of the University community represents a fundamental impairment of these standards.
It is recommended that the instructor consult with the Director of Graduate Studies, Department Chair and/or the Graduate School Dean if there are any questions regarding these procedures.
See course syllabus for attendance policy.
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciencees follow the graduate school policy. Any student with a grievance should first try to resolve the problem directly with the individual involved.
At the departmental level, if that fails, and if the grievance does not involve the student’s major advisor, the advisor should be approached for advice and to perhaps serve as a mediator.
If that fails, please see the sequence of steps outlined below.
Step 1: The student who believes that the grievance is severe or has been unable to obtain an acceptable consultative resolution should submit in writing to the department chair (or program director where there is no chair oversight) a description of their complaint, including any evidentiary or supporting materials and a request for a hearing. (If the department chair or program director is a party against whom the grievance is brought, either as a teaching faculty member or as chair or director, or where the department chair or program director can demonstrate that it will best serve the interests of the parties, direct petition to the school or college level may be pursued.)
Step 2: The department chair (or program director where there is no chair oversight) shall begin to assemble a Departmental or Program Grievance Committee within 20 academic days of receipt of the student’s appeal. The department chair or program director shall give the Departmental or Program Grievance Committee and each principal a copy of the written grievance, including any evidentiary or supporting materials and a copy of the Academic Grievance Policy and Procedures for graduate students.
Upon initial review of the materials and statements presented by the grievant, if the Departmental or Program Grievance Committee finds the grievance does not have reasonable supporting grounds, the committee shall conclude the grievance is without merit. In this initial review the committee may also consider materials or statements submitted by the teaching faculty member(s) against whom the grievance is lodged. If the grievance is found without merit, the committee shall report this denial to the department chair or program director. The committee shall complete this initial review within 15 academic days of its receipt of the grievance. The department chair or program director shall then submit a Statement of Decision to the principals (via certified, return receipt mail), the college or school dean and the dean of the Graduate School within 10 academic days of receipt of the committee’s decision.
If the Departmental or Program Grievance Committee finds the statement of grievance has reasonable supporting grounds, the committee shall begin to assemble a hearing (as provided below) within 20 academic days of the committee’s receipt of the written grievance.
Step 3: The Departmental or Program Grievance Committee shall convene hearing(s) as necessary to allow both principals the opportunity to present their positions and shall allow each principal the right to question the presentation(s), written and verbal, of each principal and of others who contribute information to the committee. Principals shall be notified of the hearing date, location, and Grievance Committee member names at least 72 hours prior to a scheduled hearing.
The hearing(s) shall be conducted in a fair and expeditious manner, but shall not be subject to the rules governing a legal proceeding. Each principal shall have the right to be present (under unusual circumstances, if either party is considered to pose a physical threat to the other or to the committee, the chair of the committee may request that either the student or instructor participate by phone) and to have one advisor present at all hearings. In no such case shall the advisor be an attorney, unless he or she is a member of the UB faculty who is not acting in a legal capacity on behalf of a principal. An advisor may not speak on behalf of or advocate for a principal or otherwise address members of the hearing committee. Hearing(s) shall be conducted in confidence.
Step 4: The Departmental or Program Grievance Committee shall submit its recommendation(s) in writing, including findings and reasons for the recommendations, to the department chair (or program director where there is no chair oversight) within 10 academic days¹ of the final meeting of the committee.
Step 5: The department chair or program director shall consider the committee's findings and recommendations and render a final decision. This Statement of Decision and an indication of the student's right to appeal the department chair's or program director’s decision (including time limit) shall be submitted, in writing, from the department chair or program director to the principals (via certified, return receipt mail), the college or school dean and the dean of the Graduate School within 10 academic days¹ from receiving the Departmental or Program Grievance Committee's written recommendations.
Files shall be maintained in the offices of the dean and the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School.
The direction of higher levels of appeal may differ depending upon the nature of the grievance, but might include the Dean of the School of Pharmacy, the Dean of the Graduate School, or the Chairman of the Health Sciences Divisional Committee of the Graduate School. The School follows the Graduate Academic Grievance policy.
UB does not have a policy that limits or favors current UB students, transfer or out-of-state applicants. All applicants are considered equally. UB SPPS is committed to a nondiscriminatory admission policy and philosophy. In accordance with federal and state laws, no person, in whatever relationship with the University at Buffalo, shall be subject to discrimination on the basis of age, religion or creed, color, disability, national origin, race, ethnicity, sex, marital or veteran status.
For financial aid purposes, a graduate student must:
in order to be considered making satisfactory academic progress for purposes of continued federal aid eligibility. Any student whose graduate GPA falls below a 2.75, or who completes less than 67 percent of all attempted credits per term, will be considered making unsatisfactory academic progress.
For more information about UB's graduate SAP criteria for federal aid eligibility please refer to the Office of Financial Aid website.
Students who are not making satisfactory progress towards their degree will be placed on academic probation.
All graduate students, regardless of whether they are in a Masters degree program (e.g., BS/MS, MS, PharmD/MS) or Doctoral degree program (e.g., PhD, PharmD/PhD) program, are required to maintain an 3.0 or better overall grade point average in graduate courses taken toward the degree.
For students in PharmD/MS and the PharmD/PhD collaborative degree programs, courses taken toward the PharmD degree will not be included in the calculation of the graduate grade point average.
Students who do not have a 3.0 or better grade point average will be placed on academic probation.
MS in PPP and PhD students are also required to maintain a B– or better grade (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) in all Required courses for the degree program they are pursuing. Students who do not have B– or better (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) in a Required Course must repeat the course and obtain a grade of B– or better (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered). At the discretion of the Graduate Education Committee, students may be required to repeat other courses with grades lower than B– (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered).
Students who resign from courses after the Add/Drop deadline without prior approval the Director of Graduate Studies may be placed on probation.
Students who do not meet these academic standards will receive a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies indicating that they have been placed on academic probation. The letter will outline the reasons for the academic probation and the conditions under which the probation will be lifted. The letter will be placed in the student’s file and the thesis/dissertation advisor will be copied.
Typically, students who have a grade point average of less than 3.0 will be required to raise their grade point average to 3.0 or better as the condition for lifting probation. Students who have a grade of less than B– (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) in a required course will be required to re-take the course when it is next offered and obtain a grade of B– (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) or better.
Students who have obtained grades less than B– (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) in more than 1 course, a grade point average of less than 3.0 and have been previously on academic probation may receive letters of probation that require a more extensive set of conditions for lifting of probation terms.
Students in advanced standing who are not making satisfactory progress toward the degree program may also be placed on academic probation.
The Graduate School defines good academic standing as a student who is making acceptable progress toward a graduate degree or advanced certificate. All graduate students are expected to remain in good academic standing throughout the entire course of their study. To monitor graduate student academic standing, the chair/DGS/program director in charge of each graduate program will regularly review the academic records of its graduate students. Any graduate student who fails to remain in good academic standing will be placed on academic probation for the subsequent fall or spring term.
The Graduate School’s minimum academic requirements for each graduate student to remain in good academic standing are:
Note: The S grade is awarded only in those instances where a student's letter grade would have been equivalent to at least a 3.0 (B) or better. As such, the S grade is considered equivalent to a 3.0 grade point average.
Individual college/schools may establish stricter academic standards. Academic requirements other than those established by the Graduate School are determined by the program faculty and approved by the appropriate decanal unit.
Students who are not in good academic standing as defined above, or who are put on academic probation, are not eligible to participate in university activities, including athletics.
All PhD and PharmD/PhD students are required to submit an Annual Progress report. The deadline for submitting the report is February 15. The reports must be submitted to the staff member responsible for Graduate Studies in the Departmental Office.
There are two parts to the Annual Report. The first part of the Annual Report is to be filled by the student. The student must schedule a meeting with their Research Advisor after completing their portion of the Annual Report. The Research Advisor will add in comments and discuss the Annual Report and both the student and the Research Advisor must sign the document before submission.
The following represent grounds for removal of a student from the Department’s graduate program:
Removal of a student from a graduate program must be approved by a majority vote of the Graduate Faculty of the Department.
The student is allowed to address a meeting of the Graduate Faculty discussing their removal, with the optional presence of an advocate.
Right to Appeal
Students are entitled to petition the Department faculty (through the Director of Graduate Studies or Chair of the Department) for review of any matter.
During such appeals, the student may speak on their own behalf, may submit a written statement, or may ask another person such as a faculty member or another graduate student in the Department to act as their advocate. Such an advocate should not be acting as a legal representative in these proceedings.
Subsequent written appeals may be made first to the Dean of the School and then if necessary to the Dean of the Graduate School.
Graduate students not meeting the written terms of their academic probation may be academically dismissed from the program by the director of graduate studies, chair of the department or graduate program director. Such dismissals shall be done in a timely fashion but no later than three weeks after the completion of the term. The Graduate School will be notified in writing of all such academic dismissals.
Service Indicator
Graduate students who are dismissed for academic reasons from a graduate program will have a "GRD" (Graduate School) service indicator placed on their academic record to prevent future registration.
For those enrolled in MS in Pharmacometrics and Personalized Pharmacotherapy or PharmD/PhD or PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences: all courses must be passed with a grade of at least B- (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered). Failure to meet this standard will result in those courses not being credited toward the minimum credit hour requirement.
For those enrolled in BS/MS, MS, or PharmD/MS programs in Pharmaceutical Sciences: required courses must be passed with a grade of at least B- (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) and elective courses must be at least a D.
Students who receive grades below these thresholds must retake the course and complete it successfully.
A student wishing to audit a course must officially register for the course and submit a written request to the instructor by the fourth week of class.
All students are responsible for checking their grades at the end of each term. Should a student discover a "missing grade" they should consult immediately with the instructor or the staff in the associated department. At the end of the following term an F grade will be recorded on the student’s record.
What is FERPA?
FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to protect student information. Students' education records are protected under FERPA. It mandates that students are allowed to inspect their education records and limit others from reviewing that information without their permission. See FERPA.
Request for Release/Non-Release
Students must submit the FERPA Information Disclosure Consent form to authorize or revoke authorization to release academic and financial information to others. Students must complete the form in the presence of a university employee who must validate the student’s identity or be notarized if the student is unable to come to campus. The form can then be submitted to the Office of the Registrar, Student Accounts, or Financial Aid, or advising office and will be recorded in HUB. A positive service indicator in HUB will appear to communicate this release.
Changes to previously recorded grades must be submitted within 12 months following the end of the term during which the student was registered for the class. After one year, grades are considered final.
Changes are made by faculty using the electronic grade change tool and must include a justification. The request must be approved by the instructor, the department chair and then submitted to the Graduate School for formal review.
Faculty are to maintain copies of student exams, reports and other assignments submitted to the course instructor but not returned to the student that are determinants of a student’s course grade for six months following the term in which the course is offered. Faculty are to maintain records of all graded assignments and other student assessments that are determinants of a student’s course grade for 12 months following the end of the term in which the course is offered.
Faculty must submit grades for all courses by the due date scheduled for each term, which shall be no less than seven days (including weekends and holidays) after the last day of the term's final examination sessions or the last day of classes of a term not having separately scheduled final examination sessions.
Courses offered in a non-standard term, e.g., a non-standard summer session, may have a shorter time for grade submission.
Grades may be obtained by students and advisors through the HUB Student Center available through the "MyUB" portal the day after they are submitted. They are also available in Navigate.
Faculty can review the Registar's Critical Dates.
Instructors are required to indicate the bases for determining course grades in each course syllabus. Students will be graded A-F, based on the work they did for the semester.
The Graduate School's weighted grades are as follows:
| Letter Grade | Quality Points |
|---|---|
| A | 4.000-3.671 |
| A- | 3.670-3.331 |
| B+ | 3.330-3.001 |
| B | 3.000-2.671 |
| B- | 2.670-2.331 |
| C+ | 2.330-2.001 |
| C | 2.000-1.671 |
| C- | 1.670-1.331 |
| D | 1.000-0.001 |
| F1 (for a student who participated beyond the 60% point of the class) | 0.000-0.000 |
| F2 (for a student who started participating, but stopped prior to the 60% point of the class) | 0.000-0.000 |
| F3 (for a student who did not participate in the class) | 0.000-0.000 |
Assignment of an incomplete grade is at the discretion of the instructor. Faculty may assign an incomplete grade, with a default grade if not completed (e.g., I/F = incomplete, fail if not completed). A default grade is the letter grade the student will receive if no additional coursework is completed and/or a grade change form is not filed by the instructor.
Any course graded with incomplete that will count toward a graduate degree must be changed to a permanent grade before that degree is conferred. Faculty can update the grade using the Grade Change Tool.
Courses Taken in (Semester): | Will default in 12 months on: |
|---|---|
Summer | Aug. 31 |
Fall | Dec. 31 |
| Winter | Jan. 31 |
Spring | May 31 |
When assigning an incomplete grade, the instructor may set an earlier deadline for completion of the outstanding course requirements. If an earlier date for completion is set, the instructor shall inform the student thereof in writing.
If an extension to the incomplete timeframe is sought, the above chart indicates the due date for the corresponding Petition for Incomplete Extension Download pdf form to be filed with the Graduate School.
International Student Services (ISS) is the authority for current policy. See Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT). Students will register for 1 credit of PHC 615/616 (Research).
Please note that if you are enrolled in the PharmD/MS program, you must satisfy the degree requirements for the MS before or concurrently with the PharmD if you wish to be eligible for STEM OPT. Students have to complete all degree requirements, including the project/thesis, in order to keep the program listed on the Post-Completion OPT I-20.
Required courses with a grade lower than a B- will not count toward the 30-credit requirement of the BS/MS, MS, PharmD/MS and the 72-credit requirement of the PhD and PharmD/MS. Students with a grade lower than a lower than a B- (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) must be repeat the course with a grade of B– (B or higher if whole letter grades are offered) or above.
If a graduate student repeats a course that is not normally "repeatable" ("repeatable" courses include dissertation, research, thesis, project or portfolio guidance; independent study; directed readings, etc.), only the highest grade earned in the course will be counted toward the degree and used to calculate the grade point average associated with the graduate degree program requirements. However, the student's official graduate transcript will record all courses attempted (including repeated courses). All resulting grades earned are calculated in the cumulative GPA reflected on the students' final official transcript.
Students should not resign from courses after the Add/Drop deadline without discussing the underlying reasons with the Director of Graduate Studies. Resignations can affect the visa status of foreign students.
Students who resign from courses after the Add/Drop deadline without prior approval the Director of Graduate Studies may be placed on probation.
View syllabus guidelines on the Graduate Course Syllabus Guidelines page.
View PharmD syllabus guidelines on the Academic and Curricular Information page.
Under extraordinary circumstances, students may petition for total academic withdrawal from a given term. Academic withdrawal is for the entirety of a student's registration in that term (i.e., these cases are considered on an all or nothing basis).
Academic withdrawal from the term will be indicated on the transcript by the symbol W (withdrawal) next to each registered class. For the purposes of determining good academic standing/satisfactory academic progress, courses given W grades are considered to be attempted credit hours but are not considered to be successfully completed.
The official university calendar is issued by the Office of the Registrar. Graduate students may obtain a class schedule from the Registrar's website.
Students should carefully review syllabi for course dates.
Continuous registration is required in each fall and spring term until students complete the program. Be sure to register for at least one credit hour (PHC 615/616) under your graduate program each semester (PharmD/MS: please be sure to register under graduate and not pharmacy). For international students, summer enrollment is also required if a student is using the summer semester as their last semester.
Exemptions:
If continuous registration is not possible, the student must secure an approved leave of absence. Students may not be on a leave of absence during the semester in which a degree is to be conferred.
In rare instances, a student may petition for a waiver of the continuous registration requirement for the semester immediately prior to degree conferral. The Graduate School will consider if the student has an incomplete from a previous semester, if the student is an approved candidate for degree conferral, will not be using any university services or faculty time and has submitted all required conferral materials to the Graduate School prior to the first day of the semester.
Full-time registration for fall and spring is satisfied by ≥ 12 credit hours per semester if you are not supported by an assistantship, and ≥ 9 credit hours/semester if you are supported by an assistantship.
Due to the abbreviated nature of the winter and summer sessions, three credits taken over the winter session and six credits taken within a single summer session, is full-time.
MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences students must complete the following before they are permitted to register only for PHC 615/616 research credits (i.e., advance to candidacy):
If students do not complete 10+5 in the first two semesters of the program, then students must continue to register full time (12 credits) until the course requirements are met.
PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences students must remain full-time until the dissertation has been submitted to the Dissertation Committee. This is a departmental policy. PhD student registration for less than full-time is permitted only after the student has completed their Departmental Preliminary Examination.
If you are called for jury duty, we can provide a letter asking the municipality for a postponement. Some municipalities accept such letters, others do not. You are not guaranteed a postponement. Also, you may be called again before you graduate (even though we state your graduation date in the letter). Please keep in mind that most courts will allow only one postponement. It is your responsibility to contact the court and explain your situation and ask their advice on requesting a postponement.
If you get a jury duty summons, do the following IMMEDIATELY...
Students who will not be enrolling at the university should file a Leave of Absence form in order to secure their status.
Requirements
International Students
Failure to register for classes or secure a leave of absence by the last day of classes of the semester in which the leave is to begin, will result in the student losing their access to register for classes in a future semester.
Students will be registered for required first-semester courses and will receive advisement for additional course selection by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Students will not be able to register if there is a service indicator on their account (view holds). International students will submit their U.S Visa Stamp via the New International Student Check-In to resolve the international student hold.
After identifying the courses they plan to register for, the student may register via MyUB (see UB's Web Registration Tutorial) or email pharm-advise@buffalo.edu for assistance.
In subsequent semesters prior to registering, students should meet with their Research Advisors to obtain guidance on the courses they wish to take. The Director of Graduate Studies can also be contacted for input.
Students should not resign from courses after the Add/Drop deadline without discussing the underlying reasons with the Director of Graduate Studies. Per SUNY policy, when you register, you assume responsibility for paying all tuition and fees associated with your enrollment/registration. See Financial Liability Deadlines. Resignations can affect the visa status of foreign students.
Students must be registered for at least one credit in the term immediately prior to degree conferral as indicated below:
Remote courses are reserved for students enrolled in the online degree programs.
Online courses are not meant to be a substitute for on-campus students, even though they are equivalent.
Students who are not enrolled in an online program who wish to take a remote course must seek approval from the course coordinator (or head instructor) and obtain a letter of support from their faculty mentor. Force registration is required - email pharm-advise@buffalo.edu.
For International Students, effective Fall 2023 and beyond: only three credits of online course work per semester can count towards the full course of study requirement.
All new incoming PhD, PharmD/PhD, MS and PharmD/MS students are required to take PHC 588 Faculty Research Seminar, an orientation class offered in the Fall semester. Faculty are invited to present their research interests in 30-minute talks in this class.
Requirement
Students should take the primary responsibility to ensure that this policy is complied with. A student who has not met this seminar requirement will not be permitted to schedule an oral defense of their PhD thesis.
Waivers
Students who have previously taken the cross-listed PHC 488 within 3 years of enrollment in the MS or PhD programs are exempt. They are, however, strongly encouraged to attend the lectures provided by new faculty on a non-credit basis.
Participation
Students are expected to participate actively in the seminars, through questions to the speaker and through public discussions of scientific issues. All students are expected to ask questions of seminar speakers to develop their scientific communication skills. PhD and PharmD/PhD students should set themselves a target of asking three or more questions in every semester after advancing to candidacy. BS/MS, PharmD/MS and MS students should set themselves a target of asking one or more questions in every semester after advancing to candidacy.
BS/MS, PharmD/MS and MS students must present a departmental seminar prior to completion of their program.
Every PhD and PharmD/PhD student is expected to give at least three departmental seminars (each of approximately 45 minutes in duration) before graduation. The third seminar will be given immediately preceding the oral defense of thesis, and will represent a part of the oral defense of thesis. This third seminar can be scheduled at a time other than that reserved for departmental seminars.
In some cases, talks presented at local or national meetings can be substituted for one of the three seminars.
For official transcripts, request from the Registrar's Office. See Transcripts.
For unofficial transcripts, see the HUB Student Center via the MyUB portal.
Transcripts cannot be issued for any student whose financial obligations to the university have not been met.
Students choosing to withdraw from the program should consult with their faculty advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
During the fall and spring semesters, from the 7th day of classes until the end of the 11th week of classes, you may visit your HUB Student Center to resign from one or more of your classes. The result of this action is that an “R” remains on your transcript as a neutral indicator of the action. There may be a 50% – 100% tuition penalty for resigning a course, depending on when you resign the course. See Financial Liability Deadlines here: https://www.buffalo.edu/studentaccounts/billing/financial-liability-deadlines.html
Checklist
Use this checklist as a guide as you prepare to exit the program.
All new PhD students are required to arrange and meet with at least 4 departmental faculty and discuss their research interests.
Students are free to make arrangements for rotations with individual faculty, if desired. The conditions of the rotations will be determined by the individual professor.
After successful completion of the departmental Preliminary Examination, all PhD and PharmD/PhD students must submit and orally defend a written Research proposal outlining their proposed dissertation research.
Students should register for PHC 511 Research Proposal in the Spring semester following completion of the Preliminary Examination. If the preliminary examination is written in January, they should use time in Spring semester following the completion of the Preliminary Examination to develop their research ideas and to write the proposal. If the preliminary examination is written in June, they should use time in the Fall semester following the completion of the Preliminary Examination to develop their research ideas and to write the proposal.
The deadline for submission of the Research Proposal to the Dissertation Committee write-up is June/January 15. The deadline for the oral defense of the Research Proposal is August/March 1st.
Written approval from the Director of Graduate Studies is required if the dates have to be altered because of scheduling conflicts for the committee members.
Failure to meet the submission and defense deadlines will result in a grade of “F” for the proposal.
The research proposal should be written in the format of a National Institutes of Health R01 grant. The most current formatting guidelines should be used. The page limits, line spacing, font size, headings of the different sections should be similar to those currently recommended for National Institutes of Health R01 grants. The instructions and forms can be obtained from the National Institutes of Health site. At this time the link is http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html
The proposal should be submitted to the student’s PhD Dissertation Committee members along with copies of the three most pertinent articles cited in the proposal. The student will defend the proposal orally before the Dissertation Committee. Normally, the defense will consist of a 10-15 minute presentation by the student followed by questions by the Dissertation Committee members.
The advisor’s role in the preparation of the written document is limited to an examination of the Specific Aims proposed by the student. Students should not have access to any written grant proposal of the advisor relevant to the subject matter. The evaluation of the proposed Specific Aims should assess feasibility of the proposed aims, which should occur prior to the actual writing by the student. The advisor should not edit, review or make suggestions for document revision prior to document distribution to all committee members. Additionally, the advisor should give the thesis committee an indication of any other contribution the advisor has made to the thesis proposal.
The Research Proposal will be graded by letter grade by the Dissertation Committee, based on the content and scientific merit of the written proposal and the student’s ability to orally defend any criticisms and answer the questions posed concerning the proposal and related areas. Each member of the thesis committee is encouraged to prepare a written evaluation of the student’s document and oral defense and distribute it to the student. If the committee requires certain revisions or additions, a written notice shall be transmitted by the Chair of the Dissertation Committee to the student detailing the revisions/additions and the timeframe for submission.
A letter grade will be given by the Dissertation Committee, with the passing grade set at B-, although certain revisions/additions may be required, as specified earlier.
A student who fails the proposal (i.e., with a grade of C+ or below) is required to re-submit the entire proposal within 60 days, and to schedule an oral defense within 30 days thereafter. The Director of Graduate Studies/designate, in consultation with the student, will appoint two additional Department faculty members to serve on the committee. These two additional committee members shall not participate in questioning the student in the defense, but shall participate in the grading process. The grade for this examination must be either a “Pass” or a “Fail” (i.e., no conditional passes). Failure in this second proposal defense automatically terminates the student in the PhD program, and removal of assistantship.
All new incoming PhD, PharmD/PhD, MS and PharmD/MS students are required to take PHC 588 Faculty Research Seminar, an orientation class offered in the Fall semester. Faculty are invited to present their research interests in 30-minute talks in this class.
Requirement
Students should take the primary responsibility to ensure that this policy is complied with. A student who has not met this seminar requirement will not be permitted to schedule an oral defense of their PhD thesis.
Waivers
Students who have previously taken the cross-listed PHC 488 within 3 years of enrollment in the MS or PhD programs are exempt. They are, however, strongly encouraged to attend the lectures provided by new faculty on a non-credit basis.
Participation
Students are expected to participate actively in the seminars, through questions to the speaker and through public discussions of scientific issues. All students are expected to ask questions of seminar speakers to develop their scientific communication skills. PhD and PharmD/PhD students should set themselves a target of asking three or more questions in every semester after advancing to candidacy. BS/MS, PharmD/MS and MS students should set themselves a target of asking one or more questions in every semester after advancing to candidacy.
BS/MS, PharmD/MS and MS students must present a departmental seminar prior to completion of their program.
Every PhD and PharmD/PhD student is expected to give at least three departmental seminars (each of approximately 45 minutes in duration) before graduation. The third seminar will be given immediately preceding the oral defense of thesis, and will represent a part of the oral defense of thesis. This third seminar can be scheduled at a time other than that reserved for departmental seminars.
In some cases, talks presented at local or national meetings can be substituted for one of the three seminars.
Students must keep their name and address updated through MyUB.
As soon as possible (i.e., within one week) following any change of name or address, a student must complete a Student Name Change form or an Address Change/Add Request form.
Student records are confidential and are released only to appropriate faculty and administrative offices. Release of such records to any other college, prospective employer or agency occurs only with the written permission of the student or upon subpoena.
In compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the State University of New York at Buffalo releases the following directory information upon request: student's name, current address, telephone number, email address, major field of study, dates of attendance and degrees received. The university will routinely release such information unless a student indicates on the Request for Directory & Information Release/Non-Release form that he or she wishes not to be listed in the student directory.
The law requires that students be given reasonable time to request that this information not be released. Students who have previously indicated that they do wish to have their directory information released should notify 1Capen (ground floor of Capen Hall,) if they wish to rescind that permission to release directory information. The law also affords students the right to inspect and review their educational records and to request a hearing to question the contents of those records.
Inquires or complaints may be filed with the Family Policy and Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue S.W., Washington, DC 20202-5920. Phone: 1-800-872-5327
Diplomas will be mailed directly from the Office of the Registrar to the graduate's diploma mailing address on file in that office. When no diploma mailing address is given, the diploma will be mailed to the graduate's permanent mailing address.
All admitted students will be deemed an out-of-state resident for tuition billing purposes until sufficient documentation is provided to verify New York State residency in advance of class registration.
If you are a US citizen or permanent resident, you should apply for New York State Residency as soon as possible (usually after one year of residency). Failure to do so may require you to pay the difference between in-state vs. out-of-state tuition.
To be eligible, students must have had a New York State domicile (i.e., a permanent and principal home in New York) for a 12-month period prior to registration.
Factors relevant to the determination of domicile include:
