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Guidelines for Graduate Student Research
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Overview
Graduate study provides a unique
opportunity for students and faculty to work together in advancing
the boundaries of knowledge through innovative research and to
discover new ways to apply this knowledge for the benefit of
humankind. The faculty also recognizes and supports another
purpose, which is the training of graduate students for future
careers as independent investigators in academia and industry.
Research activities are central to the success of any good graduate
program. Consequently, faculty tenure decisions, promotions
and salaries are highly correlated to research productivity.
But other responsibilities often leave faculty with little time to
engage in all aspects of the research process. They rely on
assistance in their research from students, particularly graduate
students. This gives students an opportunity to apply theories
they learn in the classroom under laboratory conditions.
Students are provided with the opportunity to develop new and
important knowledge in biomedical engineering and gain an
appreciation for the excitement of discovery. In addition,
students gain a mentor who can guide them through the joys and
frustrations of experimental and theoretical research. They
also gain experience in communicating their research results to the
scientific and technical community by writing manuscripts for
publication in archival journals and making oral presentations at
conference proceedings. Both the student and mentor gain
significantly when they work together as a team, respecting each
other's abilities and responsibilities. Both fail miserably
when this mutual respect is missing. These guidelines are
formulated so students can better understand what is expected of
them and what is expected of the faculty as they work together as
partners in pursuit of common research objectives in the BME
graduate program.
Faculty Responsibilities and
Expectations
Although graduate students are
familiar with the roles of faculty as teachers and mentors, they are
often unaware of the other duties and responsibilities of the
faculty. A partial list of expectations and responsibilities
of BME faculty members is given below.
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Teaching.
Faculty are expected to teach undergraduate and graduate level
courses; provide a syllabus for each course describing course
objectives, requirements and assessment criteria; discuss
responsibilities with Teaching Assistants; write proposals to
acquire equipment and materials for teaching laboratories; write
proposals to fund innovative teaching methods; incorporate new
research findings into courses and curricula; review student
course evaluations, student faculty evaluations, and student TA
evaluations for each course, each semester; evaluate teaching
assistants each semester.
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Research.
Faculty are expected to engage actively in research; publish
results in the scientific literature (expect at least two papers
per year); present results at scientific conferences; regularly
survey relevant scientific literature; write proposals to fund
their research program; write proposals to fund graduate
students; prepare materials for site visits; mentor individual
graduate students; meet regularly with their research team;
supervise undergraduate and graduate students in the laboratory;
be available to discuss research projects with students; secure
suitable facilities to conduct research; provide lab/office
space for graduate students; seek collaboration with other
faculty where appropriate; attend and assist with BME seminar;
evaluate graduate student research annually.
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Service.
Faculty provide academic advice to about 40 undergraduate and/or
graduate students; write letters of recommendation for students
applying to medical school, graduate school, and professional
positions; evaluate qualifications of applicants to the BME
Graduate Program; critique written, oral and poster
presentations by undergraduate and graduate students; serve on
MS, Master of Engineering, and PhD committees; evaluate faculty
in promotion and tenure; provide service to the professional
community through activities like serving as a reviewer for
professional journals, serving on review panels for funding
agencies, holding national offices in professional societies,
judging science fairs, providing for public laboratory visits,
etc.; provide service to the University by participating in
activities like sitting on university-wide committees, serving
on Graduate Faculty Council, Faculty Senate, etc.; provide
service to the School of Engineering through activities like
participating in school-wide committees, advisory boards, etc.;
provide service to the BME Department through activities such as
organizing seminars, serving as Director of Graduate Studies,
Director of Undergraduate Studies, research committee, graduate
committee, laboratory committee, and other committees; serve as
mentors, advisors and sponsors for students in professional and
volunteer organizations; provide professional counseling for
students for summer internship and career opportunities.
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Accountability.
Faculty submit a written annual report to the department chair
on all research and teaching activities, which is forwarded to
the dean; review the annual evaluation from the department
chair; review mentor evaluations by senior graduate students;
submit written annual summary reports to funding agencies for
each grant awarded; participate in periodic site visits for
research grants and training grants.
Students should note that many of
these activities involve submission of proposals, summaries or
evaluations. In addition, faculty are themselves evaluated by
funding agencies, by the department chair, and by students through
course and mentor evaluations. In short, faculty members are
expected to provide professional service beyond their immediate
needs and are held accountable for their activities.
Responsibilities and
Expectations of BME Graduate Students
To facilitate the success of their
academic and research training, graduate students should be aware of
some important program expectations and student responsibilities.
These, along with relevant guidelines, are provided below.
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Research. New
graduate students are expected to familiarize themselves with
available research projects in the BME department and discuss
research opportunities with several faculty members.
Students are urged to select an MS or PhD faculty research
advisor by the end of their first semester, and must have
selected their research advisor before the end of their second
semester. Students who are required to rotate through
laboratories as part of their obligation on a training grant may
postpone this decision until the summer of the first year.
Under the supervision of a faculty mentor, graduate students are
expected to engage in research during the academic year and in
the summer, and to maintain a consistent high level of
motivation. They are expected to gain the background
knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue the research
project. Students should work with their supervisor to
develop a plan that includes a timetable for completion of each
stage of the research. They should meet with their advisor
regularly to assess research progress and discuss possible
revisions to their plan. Students should strive to meet
appropriate deadlines and to adhere to their research schedule.
They should take special care in collecting, labeling and
preserving experimental data and should provide the research
supervisor with full access to all data, data analysis software
and simulation software. Graduate students should realize
that the data they collect and the programs they write for data
analysis and simulation are intellectual property of the
laboratory. Students are free to make copies of data and
programs for analysis outside of the laboratory, but must
consult with their research advisor before sharing these with
individuals outside of the research team.
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Attendance, Holidays and
Vacation. The BME Graduate Program prepares students
to be professionals. Professionals are expected to be
productive beyond the convenient hours between 9 AM and 5 PM.
Evenings, weekends, summers and academic breaks are excellent
times to engage in research activities. No one expects
graduate students to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a
week to work on their research. The number of hours spent
on research is a function of the other obligations of the
student (e.g., courses, TA responsibilities, outside job) and on
the nature of the research project. Students who receive
an annual stipend are expected to work 40 hrs/wk during the
summer. Graduate students with full course loads who are
funded as Research Assistants, NIH Trainees or Graduate Fellows
are expected to spend 20 hrs/wk on research during the academic
year. The number of hours is expected to increase to 40
hrs/wk as didactic coursework is replaced with research hours
(BME 369 or BME 399). Teaching Assistants should spend 20
hrs/wk on their combined TA responsibilities and research.
Students are expected to attend lab meetings, to work as a
member of a research team, to encourage and assist other
students in the same or related research group, to plan for
enough time each week to conduct the research scheduled for that
week, to assist their research advisor in preparing research
proposals, and to regularly monitor the available scientific
literature relevant to their research. Graduate students
in the BME Department should be treated like faculty or
professional staff in regards to holidays. With the
exception of Labor Day (classes are held), they may take
standard Vanderbilt University holidays (New Year's Day,
Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve,
Christmas Day) and two personal days. Students receiving
summer stipends will be treated as professional staff in regards
to vacation accrual rates, amounting to 15 days per year.
Ordinarily, vacation is taken between the end of the Spring
Semester and the beginning of the Fall Semester, but students
may elect to use some of this time during academic breaks.
Stipends will be reduced proportionally if larger time
increments of leave are sought. Students are expected to
consult with their research advisor before taking personal days
or taking vacation time. If the student does not have a
research advisor, holiday and vacation leave should be approved
by the DGS. In keeping with the professional nature of the
graduate student-faculty advisor relationship, students should
inform their research advisor when they must be absent because
of illness or an emergency, just as faculty should inform
students when they will be absent for an extended period of
time.
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Publication. An
important research goal is to disseminate knowledge to the
scientific community in the form of published manuscripts.
Reasonable expectations are one publication for a MS project and
three for a PhD project. Students are encouraged to
publish their results as the research unfolds, rather than
waiting until the entire project is completed.
Presentations at scientific meetings are also encouraged.
The student and supervisor have a joint responsibility to
publish work that arises from the supervisor's research program.
Students will share authorship on all manuscripts that result
primarily from the creative research and writing of the student.
Students and supervisors should agree on revisions before a
manuscript is submitted for publication and should decide
together the order in which they appear as authors. Since
publication is essential to the research process, the research
advisor has the right to submit a manuscript for publication if
the student leaves the program, refuses to write a manuscript,
or causes excessive delays in the publication process.
Manuscripts written under these circumstances will not be
considered for inclusion in a thesis or dissertation.
Theses and dissertations should follow the format specified in
the Regulations of the BME program. Note, this is
different than the general Graduate School format.
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Individual Fellowship
Applications. The average cost of tuition, stipend,
fees and benefits for a graduate student is approximately
$50,000 per year. Students with appropriate qualifications
are expected to apply for their own financial support in those
cases where they have been notified of special funding
opportunities by their research advisor or DGS. These
applications must comply with all University policies and
procedures for application of external support, including, but
not limited to, approval through the Department of Biomedical
Engineering and the University's extramural funding transmittal
process. The DGS, department graduate administrator and
department grant administrator will advise and assist in the
transmittal process and students should consult with them in a
timely manner when preparing applications to ensure such
compliance.
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Renewal of Financial
Aid. Students should realize that renewal of financial
support is not automatic. Financial support is contingent
upon the availability of funding, on academic performance, on
adequate research progress, and in the case of service stipends,
on satisfactory performance as an RA, TA or trainee.
Research progress is based on annual reports submitted by the
student and faculty advisor. Academic performance is based
on GPA and on adherence to the degree program. TA
performance is based on the student's annual report, faculty
evaluations submitted at the end of each semester, and on TA
evaluation forms filled out by students at the end of each
semester. The department reviews student performance on a
semester-by-semester basis, and allocates financial aid
accordingly. The department will attempt to fund all
continuing students as long as they are in good academic
standing and are making satisfactory research progress.
Students should realize that the department is evaluated on the
basis of the quality of our research and the quality of the
students that graduate from our program. It is the
department's responsibility to admit students with excellent
qualifications and we expect graduate students to assist us in
maintaining the quality of the program.
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Moonlighting.
By accepting a stipend, students agree to devote full time to
their research and graduate studies. The BME Regulations
strictly prohibit other employment during the period for which
aid is provided unless prior approval is obtained from the
Department Chair. If outside employment becomes necessary,
then departmental aid will be withdrawn or reduced.
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Tuition Scholarships.
Tuition scholarships are restricted to a maximum of 24 hours
for MS students and 72 hours for PhD students. Additional
hours needed to correct undergraduate deficits, to fulfill
departmental requirements, or to raise a student's GPA to 3.0 to
satisfy the Graduate School graduation requirement must be borne
by the student. Generally, tuition scholarships will not
cover more than 12 semester hours in a single semester.
Some research grants have limited funds available to pay
tuition, so students should consult with their research advisor
before registering for classes to determine the maximum number
of hours that can be charged to a grant.
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Intellectual Property.
Students should be aware that some research activities may have
commercial potential. Vanderbilt University has a strong
interest in maintaining and protecting these rights.
Research results are not to be disclosed outside of Vanderbilt
University without appropriate non-disclosure agreements in
place. These agreements are negotiated through the
Vanderbilt Technology Transfer Office. If you have any
questions concerning the commercial potential of a laboratory
activity, discuss them with your advisor.
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Service.
Success of the BME Department depends on service of its faculty
and graduate students. Examples of service include
assistance in mentoring undergraduate students in laboratory
projects, assisting less senior graduate students with
troubleshooting laboratory problems, assistance with the
recruitment of new graduate and undergraduate students,
providing laboratory demonstrations to the public, serving on
university and departmental committees, and other non-academic
tasks. Graduate students are expected to partner with
faculty in providing these services. Many laboratories also
expect faculty and graduate students to contribute to the
laboratory environment by caring for specific instruments, cell
cultures, pieces of equipment, etc. Students in such
laboratories should consult with their advisor(s) for individual
laboratory responsibilities.
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Seminars and Workshops.
Like faculty, graduate students are expected to attend all BME
seminars, whether they are taking the BME seminar course for
credit or not. Graduate students should participate in
departmental seminars by asking questions, making practice
presentations for scientific meetings, and by presenting the
results of their MS research to the rest of the department.
Students and faculty should make an effort to attend PhD
dissertation defense presentations given by BME graduate
students. All first year BME graduate students are
encouraged to attend the "Ethical Conduct of Research" seminar
series, and students supported by training grants are required
to attend these seminars. Teaching Assistants and ERC
Research Assistants are required to attend a 2-day ERC teaching
workshop.
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Academic Progress.
Students are responsible for informing themselves of all
academic and degree requirements. Every student should
become familiar with pertinent information contained in the
Regulations of the Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering at
Vanderbilt University, these Guidelines for Graduate Student
Research, and the Vanderbilt Graduate Catalog. All are
available online. Students should consult the
Vanderbilt University Schedule of Courses each semester prior to
meeting with the DGS and faculty mentor(s) in regards to course
selection. Changes to course schedules should only be made
after obtaining approval from the DGS. Graduate students
are required to maintain a Vanderbilt graduate GPA above 3.0,
and BME PhD students are expected to maintain a GPA above 3.3.
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Progress Report.
Graduate students are required to submit an annual progress
report each year documenting the courses that they have taken;
TA, RA or Training Grant activities; program milestones reached;
a short research summary; and a list of publications and
presentations. It should be a relatively easy task to cut
and paste the required information from proposals, publications,
and presentations coauthored by the student. The
report will be reviewed by the student's faculty advisor(s), by
faculty TA supervisors, and by the DGS. The primary
purpose of this exercise is to give the student an opportunity
to review his/her progress in the last year and to plan
activities for the upcoming year. It also provides needed
information to the faculty concerning student performance and
productivity. Feedback based on this report and other
sources, such as the research supervisor's evaluation and
student TA evaluations, will be provided to the students by the
DGS
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Mentor Evaluation.
PhD candidates who have completed all requirements for
graduation except for submission of the dissertation are
requested to evaluate mentoring by BME faculty. This
should be submitted to the department chair, who will provide
anonymous feedback to the faculty and DGS. A student may
request that the chair postpone feedback until after the student
has graduated.
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Student Conduct.
Students are expected to behave ethically in conducting their
research, as well as in the classroom. Falsification of data,
plagiarism, or any violation of the Vanderbilt Honor Code is
grounds for immediate dismissal. Students should respect
the rights of others in office and laboratory areas by keeping
those spaces safe and orderly.
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Communications.
Students are provided with a mailbox and an email account and
should check these daily during the week. Important
announcements involving registration, seminars, fellowship
opportunities, TA issues, employment opportunities and other
matters are routinely sent via email. Students should also
periodically check the Graduate Student Bulletin Board on the
9th floor of the Science and Engineering Building for additional
information.
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Departmental Resources.
The department will provide students with space appropriate for
their work. Typically, first year students are assigned a
carrel in a room with other graduate students, consistent with
their need to interact with other graduate students and to meet
with undergraduates as part of their TA activities. More
senior students will generally move from a carrel to office
space adjacent to the laboratory where their research is
conducted. This move often accompanies the transition from
TA to RA responsibilities and is consistent with the need to
allocate limited carrel space to incoming graduate students.
Computers provided by the BME Department or by individual
preceptors are for academic, non-personal use. Software
installations should be approved by the department or preceptor.
Students should be responsible for maintaining a professional
local environment with minimal disruption of the activities of
others. Students should also be mindful of the limited resources
of the department and its research programs when making
photocopies, generating computer output, or using laboratory
supplies.
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Resolution of Conflicts.
Students who are having difficulty working in laboratories or
offices because of disruptions by other students should discuss
this with the laboratory supervisor or the DGS. Teaching
assistants who are consistently working more than 16 hr/wk on
their TA assignment should discuss how to reduce the load with
the instructor. If, after meeting with the instructor, the
time spent is still more than 16 hrs/wk, the student should
discuss the problem with the DGS. Students who have been
advised that they are not making satisfactory progress, who are
unsure of their role on a research project, or believe that they
are treated in an unfair manner should meet with their research
advisor(s) to resolve these issues. If the student is not
satisfied with the outcome of that meeting, then she/he should
discuss the problem with the DGS. If the problem is still
not resolved, the student should present his/her grievance in
writing to the Department Chair. The chair will appoint a
committee of impartial faculty to review the grievance, and
their decision will be final.
Additional Guidelines for
Teaching Assistants
Teaching Assistants should be
prepared to devote 16 hr/week to TA duties in one or more classes,
including substitution for instructor when the instructor is sick or
out of town, designing in-class exercises and/or laboratories,
assisting students with in-class problems, conducting review
sessions, holding office hours, grading homework,
preparing homework solutions,
assisting the instructor with assessment duties, and other relevant
duties. A Teaching Assistant should make every effort to avoid
scheduling their own classes at the same time as the class he/she is
scheduled as an assistant. Teaching Assistants for laboratory
courses cannot schedule their own classes during laboratory hours.
Teaching Assistants should consult with the course instructor before
registering for their own courses to determine if the student is
expected to be present in the classroom.
Assessment of TA performance is based on student evaluations and on
faculty evaluations of TA duties. It is inappropriate behavior
for a Teaching Assistant to be romantically involved with a student
in a class that he/she is teaching. In such cases the TA
should request a reassignment from the DGS. Initiation or
continuation of such a relationship during a TA assignment is
prohibited and is grounds for termination of TA funding.
Guidelines for progression
through the academic portion of the BME Graduate Program
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Students are assigned an
academic advisor at the beginning of their graduate studies.
They should consult with their advisor before registering for
courses each semester. After obtaining their advisor's
signature on their study list, students should have the list
approved by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), who will
provide the student with an advisor approval code for
registration. Once the student has teamed with a research
advisor, that individual also becomes their academic advisor and
should be consulted when planning course schedules.
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Twelve hours is the maximum
load a graduate student should take in any given semester.
Students are considered full time if they are taking 9-12 hours
or if they are taking either BME 369 (MS Research) or BME 399
(PhD Research)
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MS and PhD students without
Masters degrees should focus on completing all course
requirements for an MS degree within the first three semesters.
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Students should concentrate
on finishing all remaining requirements for an MS degree by the
end of their fourth semester.
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No more than one F is
allowed, and the student must repeat and pass with a grade of C
or higher a course in which an F is made.
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Students admitted to the
BME MS or MEng Programs are not automatically eligible to
continue in the BME PhD Program. Students in these
programs who wish to continue for a PhD must petition the BME
faculty in writing and their request will be reviewed along with
new applications to the PhD Program.
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Students in the BME PhD
Program should take the departmental preliminary examination by
the summer of their second year. Students entering the
program with a Masters degree should plan on taking the
preliminary exam at the end of their first year. Students
on academic probation from the Graduate School (GPA < 3.00) are
generally not eligible to take the departmental preliminary
examination. Students who fail this exam may be invited to
take the Preliminary Exam a second time. Students who fail
a second time will not be allowed to advance to the PhD program.
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Students who do not enter
the program with a Masters degree are expected to earn an MS
degree before continuing on to the PhD Program. Students
may apply for admission to the PhD Program without completing MS
thesis research. This must be done in writing and is
dependent on the majority approval of the program faculty.
Guidelines for progression
through the research portion of the BME Graduate Program
The following guidelines are
written for those entering the BME Graduate Program with a BS or BE
in BME or equivalent. Students who enter with a Masters degree
should replace "MS" with "PhD" in the Fall and Spring
Semesters of the first year, then skip to the summer of the second
year. Students who need to take prerequisite courses should
consult with the DGS for a more realistic timetable.
Fall, Year 1 - Consult with
faculty, discuss MS possibilities, select MS advisor.
Spring, Yr 1 - Perform
initial literature search, propose MS project, begin
research. Research is
the focal point of our graduate training. The ideal project
should address an important problem in biomedical or clinical
science; contain theoretical, quantitative analysis of such problems
using the principles of physics, mathematics and engineering
science; and produce potentially useful medical instruments,
software or other systems. While particular projects will be
weighted more heavily in one of these areas than others, all are
considered important ingredients in cutting-edge biomedical
engineering research.
Summer Yr 1 - Work full
time on MS project, write abstract for scientific meeting
Fall, Year 2 - Complete all
coursework for MS and complete MS research project, present results
at scientific meeting
Spring, Year 2 - At the
rate of 9 hours/semester, you should be able to finish all of your
coursework for a PhD by the end of this semester. Even if you
can't finish your life science or advanced science/engineering
electives, you should try to finish your BME courses so you will be
prepared for the preliminary examination. With your research
completed, you should also be able to write and submit your MS
thesis to the Graduate School before the deadline, submit a
manuscript for publication, and receive the MS degree in the May
graduation ceremonies. Note that the MS thesis must be
signed by a second reader, in addition to the research advisor.
Consult with your research advisor before asking someone to be your
second reader. Have your research advisor review the thesis
before giving it to the second reader. Allow two weeks for the
second reader to review the thesis. Revise the thesis on the
basis of the comments from both reviewers and bring it to them for
their signatures. Be sure the format of the MS thesis follows
that given in the Regulations of the BME Graduate Program.
Submit the thesis in time to meet the May graduation deadline.
Give a bound copy of your thesis to your research advisor and one to
the BME department. Extract the manuscript section from the MS
thesis, edit it with the advice of your advisor, and submit it for
publication.
Summer, Year 2 - Take the
BME preliminary exam, discuss potential PhD projects with faculty,
select PhD preceptor, and perform initial literature search.
Students generally find it beneficial to study as a group for the
BME Preliminary Exam. The exam is ordinarily given on the last
Tuesday in May. It is designed to test a student's breadth in
biomedical engineering. In April, students are asked to select
the four areas they will be examined in. Available areas and
the scoring mechanism are provided in the BME Graduate Regulations.
Students who pass the exam with low scores may be asked to bolster
their knowledge in certain areas by taking a relevant course, being
assigned as a TA in a specific course, or some other corrective
action. Students are required to pass the preliminary exam
before they can take the PhD Qualifying Examination.
Most students elect to continue
with the same faculty advisor for MS and PhD degrees. Students
who wish to switch research advisors may do so after discussing this
with both advisors and the DGS. Students must be aware that
switching research projects will probably increase their residence
time and may have a profound effect on their financial aid.
Students are responsible for discussing financial aid with faculty
members before they request a change in research advisors.
Fall, Year 3 - Design and
propose PhD project to preceptor and perform preliminary
experiments. The PhD project must demonstrate
creativity and originality. The student should propose the
research project in consultation with the faculty advisor. The
PhD project will not simply be assigned.
Spring, Yr 3 - Write PhD
proposal, select dissertation committee, take PhD Qualifying
Exam. The PhD
dissertation differs from the MS effort in that doctoral students
are expected to take a stronger effort in the criticism of existing
literature, the conception of novel hypotheses and the design of
research to evaluate these hypotheses. Doctoral students
should progress from directed research toward independent research
during the progress of the dissertation study. The proposal
should be written as an NIH proposal according to departmental
guidelines, and must include a schedule for completion. The
student's advisor should nominate a PhD Committee of five
members to the Dean of the Graduate School with input from the
student. The committee shall have three members from the
Graduate BME Faculty (at least two from the primary BME faculty).
Don't select people for the dissertation committee because they are
unlikely to be critical. Instead, choose faculty because of
their expertise. The Chair of the Dissertation Committee is
responsible for notifying the Dean of the Graduate School of the
composition of the PhD Committee. Committee members who are
not members of the Vanderbilt Graduate Faculty will need special
permission from the Dean of the Graduate School to serve on the
committee. This is often the case when committee members are
selected from the Medical School. Allow sufficient time for
the Graduate School to review the qualifications of the committee
members. The Dissertation Committee composition and the announcement
of the Qualifying Examination must be delivered to the Graduate
School at least two weeks before the exam is scheduled. Drafts
of the PhD proposal should be reviewed by the research advisor
before being distributed to other committee members. The
student should deliver the PhD proposal to each committee member at
least two weeks before the Qualifying Exam.
The Qualifying Exam should
consist of an oral presentation of no more than 45 minutes, with
plenty of time allotted for questions by the committee. The
committee's responsibilities are to ensure that the project will
provide new and useful information, that the student is capable of
performing the necessary research, and that the project can be
completed in a reasonable time period. This is where the
research proposal is often molded into a vastly improved research
project. To take advantage of the strengths of the committee
it is essential that a student not delay the Qualifying Exam until
he or she has accumulated vast quantities of data. The
committee may suggest the addition of another measurement that would
improve the quality of the research or reduce the time necessary to
complete the project. Such information is much more valuable
if it is communicated early in the project. The committee may
take three courses of action during the Qualifying Examination.
They may pass the student unconditionally, pass the student with
conditions, or fail the student. Examples of conditional
passage may include taking a course or portion of a course,
performing a thorough literature search in an area, or similar
actions. Students who fail the Qualifying Examination may take
it a second time. The Chair of the Dissertation Committee is
responsible for delivering the results of the Qualifying Examination
to the Graduate School.
The time it takes to finish the
research is variable but there is rarely a good reason for a student
to still be in the program after six years. In most cases
students should be able to complete the BME PhD Program in five
years. The Final Examination is an oral defense of the
student's written dissertation presented before the PhD Committee
and the public. The student should provide each committee
member with a copy of the dissertation two weeks before the
examination date. The presentation should take about 45
minutes. The public will be asked to leave after the
presentation and the committee will commence the oral examination.
The student will be asked to justify hypotheses, conclusions,
methods used to analyze data, and statements written in the
dissertation. Students who have involved their committee in
the project will ordinarily only need to make minor modifications to
the dissertation. However, if the work is incomplete or
analyzed in an inappropriate manner, the committee can request that
additional research or analysis be performed. The Final
Examination can be taken a maximum of two times.
Publications provide
important leverage when competing for academic or industrial
positions. Students should publish their results and present
them at scientific meetings as they become available. Don't
wait until the project is completed before submitting results for
publication. A "manuscript in preparation" or a "manuscript
submitted" entry on your CV or Resume is not as impressive as an "in
press" entry or a full publication citation. The number of
publications, particularly with the student as the primary author,
is an important consideration in the deliberations of industrial and
faculty search committees. Consult with your research mentor
in selecting the appropriate journal for publication and the
appropriate scientific meeting for presenting your work.
Employers are looking for publications in journals of high quality
and place greater value on presentations that are made at high
impact meetings. You should present your work before experts
in your research area because they are the ones who will most
appreciate the significance of your work. As an added benefit,
they are also amongst the most likely people to hire you.
Follow BME guidelines for
submission of the PhD Dissertation. These are different
than the guidelines offered by the graduate school, and will be
enforced. The format of the BME dissertation is designed to
reduce the time spent writing the dissertation and should accelerate
the publication process. See the Appendix of the BME
Graduate Program Regulations for an example, or review some of the
Dissertations available in the BME Conference Room. Don't
forget to give your advisor and the BME Department bound copies of
your dissertation.
Revised: August 14, 2006
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