EDUCATING LEADERS IN PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SINCE 1886
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.
The Graduate School defines good academic standing as making acceptable progress toward a graduate degree or advanced certificate. All graduate students must remain in good academic standing throughout their studies. The chair/Director of Graduate Studies/program director will regularly review academic records to monitor student standing.
Students not in good academic standing will be placed on academic probation for the next fall or spring term. They will receive an email outlining the issue and 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.
Minimum Academic Requirements:
Note: An "S" grade is equivalent to a term GPA of 3.0 (B) or better.
MS in PPP, MS in CTT, PhD students, and Micro-credentials:
Students resigning from courses after the add/drop deadline without approval from the Director of Graduate Studies/program director may be placed on probation.
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 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.
Students who are not in good academic standing or who are put on academic probation, are not eligible to participate in university activities, including athletics.
Students who are not in good academic standing or who are not making satisfactory progress towards their degree will be placed on academic probation.
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.
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 online 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 may add in comments and discuss the Annual Report and both the student and the Research Advisor must approve via the online document.
The following represent grounds for removal of a student from the school’s graduate programs:
Additional for Micro-Credentials:
Removal of a student from a graduate program must be approved by a majority vote of the Graduate Education Committee.
The student is allowed to address a meeting of the Graduate Education Committee discussing their removal, with the optional presence of an advocate.
Right to Appeal
The appeal process shall follow the Academic Grievance Policy procedures as defined by the Graduate School (see Academic Grievance). 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.
To participate in the next Commencement Ceremony, students must be planning to confer the spring (6/1) or summer (8/31). The following criteria must be met:
PhD and PharmD/PhD Students: must have completed >95% of all laboratory, experimental or simulation studies. In addition, the student should have submitted to their research committee:
- A completed table of contents of planned thesis chapters
- At least 75% of the thesis chapters, in complete draft form
BS/MS, PharmD/MS and MS Students: must have completed >75% of all laboratory, experimental or simulation studies. In addition, the student should have submitted to their research committee:
- A draft abstract of the project report
- An outline of the project report including the major conclusions of the project
Up to 50 percent of a student's PhD program may be comprised of courses used to complete another degree program at UB or at another institution. A minimum of 50 percent of the PhD program must consist of courses completed at UB that have not been applied toward any other degree program.
For the master's level degree program, students must have a minimum of 24 credit hours at UB.
Students must satisfactorily complete at least 30 graduate credit hours for a MS degree, and 72 graduate credit hours for the PhD degree.
Delayed public access, commonly known as an “embargo,” postpones public distribution of the thesis or dissertation that has been approved and filed with the university. In some cases, it may be reasonable and appropriate to put in place an embargo that delays public release, but only in narrowly prescribed circumstances affecting intellectual property rights (such as when a patent is being filed), to satisfy requirements for the review of grant-sponsored research, to allow time for the submission of content to a peer-reviewed journal, or for potential consideration of content by an academic or commercial press. Such an embargo must be limited in time.
If delayed public access is necessary due to the purposes set forth in the previous paragraph, a graduate student should select this option when uploading the thesis or dissertation to ProQuest, and a completed and signed Request for Embargo (Delayed Release) of Thesis and Dissertation form should be submitted to the Graduate School.
The delayed release requested at the time of submission will postpone public distribution of/access to a thesis or dissertation via both ProQuest and the University at Buffalo’s institutional repository (UBIR). Students may request embargoes for up to one year or two years, with longer time periods considered by exception. If a delayed release is approved, ProQuest and UBIR will display only the graduate’s citation and abstract for the duration of the embargo. The full text of the graduate’s thesis or dissertation will become available for public access only after the embargo expires. The UB Libraries will archive and preserve the manuscript in perpetuity.
Exception Requests for Extended Embargoes
Under rare circumstances and prior to the filing of the thesis or dissertation, the dean of the Graduate School may approve requests for embargoes beyond the two-year limit. A request for such an exception to UB policy should be made as soon as the graduate student’s master’s or doctoral committee is aware of the need to do so.
The Graduate School is the first point of contact for exception requests. The graduate student and their major advisor must submit a formal request for a time-delimited extended embargo using the Request for Embargo (Delayed Release) of Thesis and Dissertation form available from the Graduate School. The request must be made prior to filing the thesis or dissertation. Each request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The Graduate School’s review of such requests will take the following factors into consideration:
When an exception request is approved by the Graduate School, the library will be notified to ensure that UBIR suppresses access until the end of the approved extended embargo period.
Post-Submission Requests for Delayed Public Access
Students who wish to delay public access must select this option at the time they submit their theses or dissertations to the Graduate School via ProQuest. Requests to embargo a thesis or dissertation after the manuscript has been filed generally are not allowed. Post-submission embargo requests to the UBIR are permissible only in exceptional circumstances and require Graduate School review and approval.
Procedure
The Graduate School is the first point of contact for post-submission embargo requests to the UBIR. To make such a request, which is considered only for exceptional circumstances, the graduate student must submit a Request for Embargo (Delayed Release) of Thesis and Dissertation form to the Graduate School detailing the reason for the request for an embargo and the reason for the delay in seeking the embargo, and including an explanatory letter from the thesis or dissertation committee chair. Each request will be reviewed on a case-by- case basis.
ProQuest allows graduate students to embargo their manuscripts at any time and for any duration, but cautions that “the rules and policies around dissemination related to a university’s institutional repositories are created and managed separately by the university”.*
ProQuest will notify UB’s Graduate School of each request for a post-submission embargo. Upon receiving the notification from ProQuest, the Graduate School will send an email to the graduate student reminding them of the university policy restricting delayed release. The Graduate School will approve of such post-submission requests in accordance with the procedure set forth below for review of post-submission requests.
Review of Post-Submission Embargo Requests
The review of a post-submission embargo request by the Graduate School will take the following factors into consideration:
In the rare cases in which a post-submission embargo request is approved by the Graduate School, the Graduate School will notify the library and UBIR to withhold release for the approved embargo period.
*ProQuest, Embargoes and Restrictions
Students who receive grades below the following thresholds must retake the course and complete it successfully.
For those enrolled in...
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...
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.
See also: Academic Standing, Academic Progression and Academic Probation
Students must satisfactorily complete at least 30 graduate credit hours for a MS degree, and 72 graduate credit hours for the PhD degree.
Coursework more than 10 years old, whether from another institution or from UB, that is to be included in a current graduate degree program must be petitioned at the time of the student’s matriculation to the program. The student should submit a Use of Historical Coursework Petition upon admission to the graduate program to determine whether such courses and associated graduate credits can be applied toward the current degree program requirements. The director of graduate studies reviews the coursework to determine whether the content of those courses is still relevant and applicable and the student must demonstrate their continued knowledge of the course content.
Definition: Informal courses include registration in independent study; project, thesis or dissertation guidance; directed or supervised reading; and directed research coursework.
A formal Independent Study Agreement (see section below regarding Independent Study Agreements) must be established in writing between the instructor and the student for each registered independent study course by the end of the first week of classes. It is the responsibility of the student and the instructor to see that all Independent Study Agreements are maintained in the student’s file within the student’s home department. Independent Study Agreements are to become part of the student's permanent academic record.
Informal courses associated with final project, portfolio, thesis, research or dissertation completion do not require the establishment of formal Independent Study Agreements.
With the exception of Introductory Language Courses, use of undergraduate courses below the 400 level, as the criteria for creating an informal graduate course, is strictly prohibited.
Independent Study Agreements
Independent Study coursework agreements should contain the following components:
*If the Independent Study Agreement is filed electronically, some indication of acceptance of the agreement from both the instructor and the student.
Affirmation of Public Access
Submission of a thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School is the last step in many academic programs leading to the award of a graduate degree. The manuscript is a scholarly presentation of the results of the graduate student’s research and/or creative work. The University at Buffalo requires that research and scholarly work conducted by graduate students and incorporated into theses and dissertations be made publicly available through the University at Buffalo’s institutional repository (UBIR). The University at Buffalo’s Graduate School hereby affirms the principle that graduate students have a responsibility to share their work with scholars in all disciplines and the general public, and stands by the university’s commitment to ensuring public access to master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. The policy of the University at Buffalo is that graduate students own the copyright to their original works of authorship. The license granted to UB as required by the Public Access of Theses and Dissertations policy is fully consistent with university copyright policy.
Public Access
As one of the requirements for conferral of a degree, a graduate student must submit their thesis or dissertation to UB through the ETD Administrator website. Approximately three months afterward, the manuscript is made available for viewing through ProQuest's dissertations and theses database as well as the UBIR. Requests for delayed public access through either ProQuest or the UBIR must adhere to the Graduate School’s Embargo (Delayed Release) of Thesis and Dissertation policy.
Upon submission of their thesis or dissertation as a requirement for conferral of the degree, the graduate student shall grant a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to the University at Buffalo/SUNY as set forth in the University at Buffalo Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Reproduction and Public Access Agreement form.
Author Warranties
Upon submitting the thesis or dissertation as a requirement for conferral of a degree, the graduate student shall affirm that the work: (a) is the graduate student’s original work and that they have full power to enter into an agreement; (b) does not infringe copyright, intellectual property rights, or privacy rights of another; (c) contains no material that is libelous, defamatory or other unlawful material; and (d) the graduate student has not made, and will not hereafter make, any contract or commitment contrary to the terms of the agreement with UB or in derogation of the license granted to the university hereunder. The graduate student shall indemnify, defend and hold the university harmless from any losses, claims, damages, awards, penalties or injuries incurred, including reasonable attorney's fees, which arise from any claim by any third party of an alleged infringement of copyright or any other property right arising out of the access and use of the work.
You are allowed to transfer up to 36 qualified credit hours in fulfillment of your PhD requirements, subject to approval of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).
However, such transfer credits are included within the 72 credit hours of tuition waiver. Thus, students who transfer credits may run the risk of not having enough “tuition-waiveable” credit hours to take electives. It is therefore more advisable to seek a departmental waiver of the relevant course requirements (when you have already taken equivalent courses outside UB), rather than officially transfer such credit into your PhD dossier. The Director of Graduate Studies may grant such waivers.
If you wish to transfer in credits from an outside university, you must file a petition during your first year of matriculation to UB. The final, official, original transcript (copy is acceptable for international students) must accompany the request. If the original transcript has already been submitted (department uploaded to SLATE), a legible photocopy is sufficient. Transfer credits may comprise no more than 20% of the total credits required for a master's program and no more than 50% for a doctoral program. Transfer courses are subject to approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
Form: Petition for Approval of Non-UB Transfer Credits Download pdf
MS students typically advance to candidacy after two semesters of coursework. PhD students advance to candidacy upon completion of the required coursework and the preliminary exams. Then, they are eligible to register for less than 12 (or 9 with an assistantship) for each subsequent semester and be certified full-time.
In place of the Graduate School's "Application for Candidacy," submit the electronic Degree Update Form. This must be submitted at least three months before the student’s anticipated graduation, according to the deadlines. See Forms.
When a graduate faculty member retires from UB with no intention of assuming a faculty appointment at another institution, that faculty member is eligible to continue serving as the major advisor or as a committee member for a current student. The actual decision whether or not that person may continue to serve in such a capacity with a current student rests with the director of graduate studies and the chair of the department. However, subsequent to their retirement, graduate faculty members should not accept major advisor or committee membership assignments for any new student.
When a graduate faculty member leaves UB for an appointment at another institution and the student is at the final stages of completing the thesis or project (generally with one year or less needed to finish), the Graduate School will allow the departed faculty member, if they are willing, to retain their role on that student’s committee, providing the department chair and the director of graduate studies concur. The primary consideration in retaining a departed faculty member on a committee should be to avoid delaying completion of the degree and unwittingly penalizing the student. However, if the student is more than a year from degree completion, the Graduate School does not recommend allowing a departed faculty member to remain on that student’s committee since, after that time, the faculty member will become immersed in responsibilities at their new place of employment, often leaving little time to devote to our student.
The focus of the research for a master's project is generally more applied than that for a thesis, with the student often defining a problem and developing a solution for it. The project may be a scholarly undertaking that results in a tangible outcome (a photo exhibit, a performance piece, a business plan, a technical report, a computer program) that does not fit neatly within the framework of a traditional scholarly thesis paper. However, the final project should be accompanied by a paper written by the student that introduces, analyzes and contextualizes the project and demonstrates the student's familiarity with the relevant literature of the field. A master's project/paper receives final approval at the department level.
Before degree conferral is possible, all master's candidates must:
MS students typically advance to candidacy after two semesters of coursework. PhD students advance to candidacy upon completion of the required coursework and the preliminary exams. Then, they are eligible to register for less than 12 (or 9 with an assistantship) for each subsequent semester and be certified full-time.
In place of the Graduate School's "Application for Candidacy," submit the electronic Degree Update Form. This must be submitted at least three months before the student’s anticipated graduation, according to the deadlines. See Forms.
When a graduate faculty member retires from UB with no intention of assuming a faculty appointment at another institution, that faculty member is eligible to continue serving as the major advisor or as a committee member for a current student. The actual decision whether or not that person may continue to serve in such a capacity with a current student rests with the director of graduate studies and the chair of the department. However, subsequent to their retirement, graduate faculty members should not accept major advisor or committee membership assignments for any new student.
When a graduate faculty member leaves UB for an appointment at another institution and the student is at the final stages of completing the thesis or project (generally with one year or less needed to finish), the Graduate School will allow the departed faculty member, if they are willing, to retain their role on that student’s committee, providing the department chair and the director of graduate studies concur. The primary consideration in retaining a departed faculty member on a committee should be to avoid delaying completion of the degree and unwittingly penalizing the student. However, if the student is more than a year from degree completion, the Graduate School does not recommend allowing a departed faculty member to remain on that student’s committee since, after that time, the faculty member will become immersed in responsibilities at their new place of employment, often leaving little time to devote to our student.
The dissertation should be an original contribution to the field as determined by the PhD candidate's department or program. Doctoral dissertations, except those in the department of romance languages and literatures, are normally written in English.
There are several style manuals available in the UB Libraries, including Strunk and White, Turabian and the University of Chicago Press, that answer a host of questions regarding the technical aspects of a properly prepared dissertation. A bibliography is also available which provides further examples that are more specific to various disciplines (e.g., the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association). Students should consult the appropriate professional journals and their major professors to determine the most appropriate style within their area of research.
It is the prerogative and responsibility of the candidate and the sponsoring department to ensure that the canons of organization, presentation and documentation usually prescribed for publication in their discipline are observed. Likewise, the dissertation must be certified as substantially free of errors and ready for publication before it is submitted to the Graduate School.
Since 2005, all master’s theses and doctoral dissertations completed by UB students in fulfillment of graduate program requirements have been archived and accessible through ProQuest’s dissertations and theses database. Beginning with the June 1, 2018 degree conferral, all theses and dissertations will also be accessible for public access through UB’s Institutional Repository. Students will continue to have the option to request a temporary embargo (delayed release) of their thesis or dissertation containing patentable material or content being submitted to peer-reviewed journals or for commercial publication. See the Public Access of Theses and Dissertations and Embargo (Delayed Release) of Thesis and Dissertation policies.
Timeline for Selecting Project/Dissertation Advisor and Committee
Students’ choices for Dissertation Advisors are due by the last day of the PHC 488/588. Students should provide at least 3 names of faculty ranked in order of preference by email to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). The DGS may request additional choices if needed. The PhD students have dissertation committees; the BS/MS, PharmD/MS and MS students have Project Committees.
Students requiring additional time to make their decisions should notify the DGS by November 30 and will have until the end of the Spring Semester.
The PhD and PharmD/PhD Dissertation Committee is normally chosen after the student has successfully completed the comprehensive Preliminary Examination. The Dissertation Committee must be chosen before the filing of the “Application to Candidacy”, i.e., after the student has satisfactorily completed most (if not all) of the course work.
Approval
Faculty should not make formal commitments to PhD students until the Graduate Education Committee has reviewed and coordinated the choices provided by students. The assignments proposed by the Graduate Education Committee will be reviewed and approved by the Department Chair.
Selecting Faculty
The Graduate School of the University requires a minimum of 3 University at Buffalo Graduate faculty members to serve on the PhD Dissertation committee.
The Chair of the Dissertation Committee usually is the student’s research supervisor. Only Graduate Faculty from the Department can serve as the Chair of the Dissertation Committee for PhD. and PharmD/PhD students.
The Department recommends that at least one member of the Committee should have the academic rank of Professor in the Department. At least two of the members of the PhD and the PharmD/PhD Dissertation committee must be full time, tenure-track faculty members in the Department. The Department requires that the two other members of the committee (i.e., besides the research supervisor) be unconnected to the student’s research project.
If the PhD student’s research supervisor is not a faculty member of the Department, the Chair of the PhD Dissertation Committee must be appointed from among the faculty of the Department. The student’s research supervisor must be a member of the Graduate Faculty and will serve as the fourth member of the committee. Pharm.D.–Ph.D. students are required to select a research supervisor from the among the Department’s graduate faculty.
All Graduate Faculty in the Department (Regular, Adjunct and Research) are eligible to serve as Project Advisors. The MS Project Committee is comprised of at least one faculty member in addition to the student’s research project advisor.
The DGS must approve the selection of the PhD Dissertation Committee.
Students should work with their research supervisor to select this committee, but be prepared that the chosen faculty may decline because of other responsibilities. Members of the committee should be chosen with great care, because this committee can greatly facilitate the progress of the dissertation work.
Meetings
Students should seek an informal meeting with their Project or Dissertation Committee members every six months to review progress and to discuss proposed studies and the future direction of the research project.
The student must schedule a meeting with their complete dissertation committee within one month after delivering a Department seminar. It is recommended that no less than three meetings with the full dissertation committee (including the oral defense of the research proposal) be carried out prior to the thesis defense. Such meetings should be conducted at least once a year after completion of the departmental Preliminary Examination.
It is recommended that the entire Dissertation Committee should meet at least once a year, preferably soon after the student has presented each departmental seminar, to discuss the student’s research. The student is responsible for scheduling meetings of the PhD Dissertation Committee.
Presentation and Report
BS/MS, MS, and PharmD/MS students must present a departmental seminar prior to completion of the program and submit an electronic copy of their final Project Report to their committee 14 days prior to their defense. The final project report should be submitted as an electronic copy to the department within 30 days of a successful oral defense.
The student's copyright is established as soon as the dissertation is fixed in a tangible medium, i.e., saved on a computer hard drive. However, it is the student's choice whether or not to then register that copyright. Registering the copyright will allow the student to file suit against anyone who infringes upon this copyright in the future. Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required in order to establish copyright. The rights of a copyright owner include the ability to make copies of the work, make derivative works, distribute copies of the work, perform the work publicly and display the work publicly. Whether or not a student chooses to register their copyright, that student retains the rights to their dissertation and may authorize others (i.e., a publisher or another researcher) to exercise them. The student retains these rights unless they relinquish them, as is the case with some publisher contracts. It is the student's responsibility to guarantee that the work is original and that they have followed accepted standards for documenting the use of references and citations of other works. Attribution of one's sources, however, has nothing to do with copyright and does not protect a student from copyright infringement when using other copyrighted works in their dissertation. Students should discuss the option to register the copyright of their work with their major professor before reaching a decision. Once the decision has been made to register one's copyright, the appropriate symbol, the date, and the author's name must be included on the page immediately following the title page. Regardless of registration, the student's copyright will run for the life of the author plus 70 years. Students may request this service to be provided through the Graduate School's online submission system as an option under the ProQuest Dissertation Publishing Agreement they sign when submitting the final dissertation.
PhD dissertation defenses will be preceded by a one-hour departmental seminar open to the academic community and the public. The PhD defense should be announced in the department.
Departmental policy requires that PhD students must remain in the Department on a full-time basis until the thesis has been submitted to the dissertation committee. The only exceptions to this policy are PhD students who have been approved to pursue a part-time program.
Except under extra-ordinary circumstances, the oral defense should be scheduled at least 3 weeks after the distribution of the thesis to the Outside Reader and to the departmental committee.
Ordinarily, the oral defense should be held only after receipt of the Response Form, which indicates acceptance from the Outside Reader. However, if at least 3 weeks have elapsed after the distribution of the thesis to the Outside Reader, and a Response Form from the Outside Reader has not been received, an oral defense can go forward if all members of the PhD Dissertation Committee have no objection. In this case, the DRG will withhold final signature of the M-form until a satisfactory Response Form is received.
All PhD students should submit a bound (two-sided) copy of their dissertation and an electronic copy of their dissertation to the Department. These materials must be submitted to the Departmental Staff Member responsible for Graduate Studies within 30 days of a successful dissertation defense.
The Graduate School will accept any self-consistent format that follows conventions of a recognized discipline, but some general formatting standards are also expected as outlined on the Graduate School's Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Guidelines page.
The Department requires the Dissertation to be approved by an Outsider Reader as part of the requirements for the completion of the PhD and PharmD/PhD programs.
The Outside Reader should normally hold a doctoral degree, and have demonstrated relevant expertise as evidenced through peer-review publications.
The Outside Reader must not hold an appointment in the UB Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, or be connected with the dissertation research project as a collaborator or investigator. The Outside Reader however may serve as an advisor to the project prior to the submission of the Dissertation.
With the advice and consent of her/his major advisor, the candidate should submit, in writing, the names of 1-3 potential Outside Readers to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval. Such submission should be accompanied by 1-2 pages of PUBMED or MEDLINE printout of the Outside Readers’ recent publications pertaining to the investigative areas of the thesis. The interaction between the candidate and the proposed Outside Reader, prior to the completion of the thesis, must also be described.
After the Director of Graduate Studies approval of potential Outside Reader(s), either the candidate, or her/his advisor, should contact these individuals to determine their availability. It is acceptable to invite more than one approved Outside Reader, and the acceptance of the thesis by any one of these Outside Readers would suffice.
The Outside Reader Response Form (see Appendix A) should be sent by the candidate/major advisor to the approved Outside Reader(s) along with the thesis.
Before degree conferral is possible, all PhD candidates must:
Guidelines for PhD and PharmD/PhD Students in Advanced Standing
All PhD and PharmD/PhD students must pass a comprehensive written Preliminary Examination before they gain admission to candidacy for the PhD degree.
This examination will cover scientific areas in which the student is expected to be knowledgeable. The material for the examination is generally taken from the required departmental offerings and current literature in the area of pharmaceutical sciences.
The PhD Preliminary Examination can also be utilized, in part, by BS/MS, MS or PharmD/MS students who wish to complete their degree requirements by examination (instead of by research project). As described below, MS students only need to complete part of this examination.
Preliminary Exam Offerings
PhD and PharmD/PhD students should ordinarily take the Preliminary Examination before the beginning of their 4th semester in the PhD program. Students who complete the core courses earlier than their 3rd semester, should take the Preliminary Examination following the semester of the completion, upon consultation with the DGS and the major mentor.
The Preliminary Examination will be offered up to twice a year: in January immediately following the fall semester in June, only when requested by students before May 1st and approved by the DGS.
All students who wish to take the examination are required to submit a written request to the Director of Graduate Studies no later than December 1 for the winter Preliminary Examination.
The exact dates of the test will be set by the Director of Graduate Studies or their designate. The Director of Graduate Studies has the option to postpone the Preliminary Examination for up to six months.
Scope and Exam Questions
For PhD students, the knowledge base for this examination includes, but not limited to, the required courses of the PhD curriculum. For BS/MS, MS or PharmD/MS students, the knowledge base pertains to the chosen area(s) of focus.
BS/MS, MS or PharmD/MS students who wish to complete their Masters degree requirements by examination are required to answer questions from any 2 of the above areas, whether they are from the core or elective areas. Students must indicate their choices of scientific areas in their written petition to sit for the examination. Changes cannot be made once the petition has been submitted.
The examination will be coordinated by the Director of Graduate Studies /designate. The Director of Graduate Studies may seek the assistance of another graduate faculty member of the department. The questions for the examination will selected from those submitted from the faculty of the department. The examination will contain no less than six and no more than 12 questions. No individual faculty member will have more than two questions in the examination.
Questions about research techniques and methodology may be incorporated in any of the above areas. Any faculty member can submit questions in any of the indicated areas. Thus, questions may not be derived specifically from any particular course, lecture or faculty. In fact, some questions are likely to originate from the current literature or recent seminars.
Purpose
The purpose of the Preliminary Examination is given to test the ability of the student to analyze, synthesize, apply, and extend knowledge in the pharmaceutical sciences. It is not the intent of this examination to test rote memorization.
Assessment & Grading
Papers will be given letter grades. The following numerical values are assigned for the purpose of computing averages:
A student Passes the Preliminary Examination if he/she attains an average of 80 or above without a single grade of C- or below.
A student obtains a Conditional Pass if he/she attains an average of 80 or above but he/she also receives only one grade of C- or below. In such a case, the professor(s) who gives the failing grade will conduct a re-examination of the student. The results will be presented to the Graduate Education Committee who will decide whether remedial work and/or another examination is to be required or whether the Conditional Pass is to be changed to a Fail.
A student Fails the Preliminary Examination if s/he has not attained an average of 80 or above, or if the scores for two or more answers were graded C- or below. If a student fails the examination, s/he will be given the opportunity to take the entire examination again, no later than 30 days after s/he has been notified of the failure in the first examination. S/he must petition to the Director of Graduate Studies to schedule a second Preliminary Examination within 10 days after being notified of their failure in the first examination. A student who fails the examination twice will be terminated from the PhD program, and their assistantship will be removed immediately.
Failure to Complete
If a student has not successfully completed the Preliminary Examination by the end of their 4th semester of registration in the program (not including summers), the department may withdraw stipend support from the student. In special cases, the Chair may grant a waiver of this rule upon petition.
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.
The dissertation must be examined and approved by the candidate's PhD dissertation committee and if required by the student’s home department, by an outside reader.