Matriculation into the Program and Formal Course Work
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Students can apply directly to the department and enter in their first year (Direct Entry), or they can enter after spending their first year in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (IGP) or the Quantitative and Chemical Biology (QCB) program. Most Direct Entry students will complete three research rotations with BSCI department faculty during the first year. At least two rotations are required for all students. IGP and QCB students will complete all first year coursework required by those programs. Direct entry students pursuing studies in cellular, molecular, developmental biology, genetics, biochemistry, neurobiology and structural biology typically follow Option 1, whereas students pursuing studies in other areas (for example, ecology, evolution or organismal biology) may choose to follow option 2. Both options are planned in greater detail with the aid of the faculty advisor and Director of Graduate Studies. An outline of course requirements for the first year is given below (for QCB, please consult the program website). Numbers indicate credit hours.
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Program Course Work Outline
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Fall Semester Year 1
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Course
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IGP
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Option 1
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Option 2
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Bioregulation (IGP300a)
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6
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6
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--
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FOCUS
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2
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2
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--
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BSCI320 (seminar)
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--
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1
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1
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BSCI390 (rotation)
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--
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2
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2
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BSCI379 (research)
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4
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1
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(3-6)
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Electives
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--
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--
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(3-6)
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Total
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12
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12
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12
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Spring Semester Year 1
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Course
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IGP
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Option 1
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Option 2
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BSCI320 (seminar)
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--
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1
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1
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BSCI390 (rotation)
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--
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2
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2
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BSCI379 (research)
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(2-4)
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(5-7)
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(5-7)
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Bioregulation modules
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(4-6)
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*see note
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*see note
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Electives
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(2-4)
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(2-4)
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(2-4)
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Total
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12
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12
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12
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*Direct Entry students may enroll in one or more modules to fulfill elective credits. |
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All Biological Sciences graduate students (IGP/QCB and Direct Entry) will take 3 credits of BSCI390 and 7 credits of BSCI379 during the summer semester following the first year.
In year 2, all students will enroll in BSCI320 (1 credit) for both semesters. The following additional requirements apply:
IGP/QCB Entry: 4 total elective credits are required. QCB students should consult with the DGS to confirm that total credit numbers earned are sufficient.
Direct Entry Option 1: 8 total elective credits are required. Those elective credits earned during the Spring semester of the first year count toward this total (including any modules completed).
Direct Entry Option 2: 15 total elective credits are required. These credits can be distributed over the 4 semesters of years 1 and 2. Course choices will be made in consultation with the mentor and the DGS.
All students will register for 8 credits of BSCI379 during the second summer. A minimum of 24 didactic credits must be earned and all additional requirements detailed above must be fulfilled prior to the qualifying exam. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required. BSCI379 and BSCI399 are research courses graded on an S/U basis. These courses provide non-didactic credit. All other courses listed above are didactic courses.
Prior to passing the qualifying exam, students should register for BSCI379. After passing the qualifying exam, students should register for BSCI399. In the Fall and Spring semesters, students should register for sufficient BSCI379/399 hours to bring the total to 12 hours but care should be taken not to exceed 72 cumulative credit hours. When 72 credit hours have been earned, students should continue to register every semester for BSCI 399 for 0 credit hours.
Additional description of coursework:
BSCI320: Graduate Seminar in Biological Sciences. This course is designed to give students experience with the presentation and critical evaluation of the literature. Students present a recent research manuscript in a journal club format under the guidance of a faculty facilitator
BSCI390: Special Topics and Advanced Techniques in Biological Sciences. Students write a research paper and give a presentation about work done during the rotation or summer research. Effort and progress maintained in the laboratory during the semester also contributes to the overall evaluation.
Bioregulation 300a: This course focuses on biological processes within a cell, from macromolecular structure and function to cell biology and the regulation of cell growth. It covers the foundational principles and processes of biology.
FOCUS: One of the key objectives is for students to become proficient in reading and critically analyzing the primary scientific literature. As a method for instruction in developing these skills, a small number of students is paired with a faculty, postdoc and graduate student to facilitate discussion of seminal papers in the field of biomedical sciences. Discussions are centered on identifying the central hypothesis being tested, various experimental methods and technologies used, key experimental controls, analyzing the authors’ interpretations of the data, and using this discussion as a springboard to identify future directions.
IGP modules: Bioregulation modules are 1 credit mini-courses offered through the IGP program. Each module meets 3 times per week for five weeks. For a description of current modules, see https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/igp/academic
Courses available for graduate elective credit in the Department of Biological Sciences are listed at the bottom of this page.
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The Qualifying Examination and the Ph.D. Committee
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Dissertation Research and Annual Evaluation
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A bound notebook is the preferred method for daily entry of experiments and results. Notebooks should contain enough information to enable others to readily reconstruct experiments. It is important to note that research notebooks are the property of Vanderbilt University and should remain in the laboratory in which you conducted your dissertation research. Several variables affect the time for degree completion, including the relative difficulty of the project, the motivation of the student, and the expectations of the mentor and Dissertation Committee. Graduate School regulations limit Ph.D. candidacy to four years from the date of successful completion of the Qualifying Examination. Thus, the combination of Departmental and Graduate School regulations limits the total time to no more than six years. Extension of this time limit requires a petition to the graduate school. In order to ensure satisfactory and timely progress, Dissertation Committee meetings must be held annually or more often if needed. It is the responsibility of the student to schedule the annual meetings and the responsibility of the Dissertation Committee Chair to document them. Students should prepare a short report (3-5 pages) and a 15-20 minute talk to update the Committee on progress and/or problems in the following format:
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Introduction and Significance
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Current and Original Specific Aims
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Progress and/or Problems (including raw data)
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Short and Long Term Goals.
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The Chair of the Dissertation Committee will submit to the GPC a summary of all committee meetings using this form. BioSci Committee form. These reports should include a brief summary of the work presented by the student and a statement as to whether satisfactory progress is being made in the various aspects of scientific training, including knowledge in the field of research, an ability to present data both in an oral and written form, attention to the literature, critical and independent thinking skills, evaluation of results, and design and implementation of experiments. Attention should be given to delineating any perceived problems or deficiencies, and clearly outlining recommendations and goals in relation to the above outlined areas and others. A copy of these reports will also be given to the student. The GPC will meet at least annually to review the annual progress letters and discuss the progress of each student in the department. If the GPC concludes that academic or research progress is insufficient, or there has been no annual committee meeting, or there is no documentation of an annual meeting for a particular student, the GPC will issue a letter to the student, mentor and Dissertation Committee chair specifying corrective action. At the end of the fourth year, the Dissertation Committee will submit to the GPC an evaluation of whether the student has demonstrated the ability to become an independent researcher and is in a position to complete his or her Ph.D. degree within a reasonable time. This does not mean that a student has amassed a certain amount of data; indeed the assessment should be made on a demonstrated ability to think critically and independently, to evaluate results, to design and implement experiments, and to understand the significance and impact of their work.
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The Dissertation and Final Defense
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Prior to formally beginning the writing of a dissertation, a penultimate Dissertation Committee meeting must be held. The student should present a brief outline (1-2 pages) of the proposed dissertation and be prepared to review and discuss all pertinent data upon the request of committee members. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that sufficient data are in hand to support a complete dissertation. At this meeting, mentors and other members of the Committee should provide the student with a general description of expectations for the dissertation’s content. In cases of disagreement, permission to proceed with the writing of the dissertation and scheduling of the defense will be determined by a majority vote of the Committee.
It is the intent of the faculty that Ph.D. dissertations in Biological Sciences be closely tied to peer-reviewed research articles. To this end, doctoral candidates will be required to have at least one first author manuscript accepted for publication that is derived from research performed in the Biological Sciences graduate program, as a prerequisite for scheduling the final defense. Exceptions to this rule will require a vote of the GPC. It is recommended that manuscripts be incorporated directly into the Ph.D. dissertation. A suggested format for dissertations that include manuscripts is as follows:
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Introduction - The introductory chapter should contain a sufficiently rigorous review of the literature and set the context of the dissertation research (background and significance), introduce the major questions addressed, and explain the relationship of the chapters to one another.
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Chapters - Chapters presenting the main body of the dissertation research can be directly derived from submitted and/or published manuscripts. Material that is not intended for publication can be written in the same format. Additional details concerning the materials and methods and supplementary data may be included in the chapters or included as appendices. Formatting of these chapters must conform to the Graduate School requirements.
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Summary - In addition to summarizing the conclusions of the dissertation, this chapter should discuss matters not addressed in the preceding chapters. These could include studies that failed to produce interpretable data or are incomplete, and/or aspects of the research that did not survive editing and refereeing of the manuscripts representing the preceding chapters.
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Students should check with the Graduate School concerning specific format requirements for the dissertation (the suggested dissertation outline presented above must conform to any Graduate School stipulations). Mentors should read and approve the dissertation before submission to the Dissertation Committee. A complete dissertation must be submitted to the Dissertation Committee at least two weeks before the scheduled final defense.
After the student presents the results and conclusions of the dissertation project at an open seminar, the Dissertation Committee will conduct an oral examination and discuss the dissertation with the student. The committee will then decide whether to pass the student on the oral presentation and defense and decide whether the dissertation requires modifications and/or corrections. Normally a student passes the oral defense, but the dissertation requires some changes. The dissertation is not signed by the Ph.D. committee until a final draft has been approved. Because at least some revisions are usually required, students should not plan to leave Nashville or be otherwise employed until at least two weeks after the defense.
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Graduate Student Financial Support
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Teaching. Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for at least one semester. Typically this entails a TA assignment in the Fall or Spring semesters in years 1, 2 and 3 for direct entry students or years 2 and 3 for students that enter through the IGP. It is expected that students will TA one semester for each year they are supported by the College of Arts & Science, although students supported by any means must TA for at least one semester. TA assignments average 10-15 hours per week.
"All students receiving fellowships and stipends that pay less than the normal stipend rate for biomedical graduate students will be supplemented to bring the total amount up to, but no exceeding, the normal stipend rate. For students receiving fellowships that pay above the normal stipend rate, awardees will be allowed to receive the additional funds as long as the fellowship persists. If the fellowship ends prior to receiving the Ph.D., the stipend rate will revert to the normal rate."
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All students are expected to participate in the annual departmental retreat, but first year students will not be expected to present their research.
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All students are expected to complete the program on Responsible Conduct of Research. Ordinarily, this requirement is fulfilled in the first year by participation in the lecture/discussion series on Responsible Conduct of Research.
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Exceptions From These Policies
Any request for alteration to these policies (e.g., an extension of the qualifying exam or other deadline) should be submitted, along with a written justification of no more than one page, to the DGS no later than one month before the relevant deadline. Such requests must be accompanied by a written endorsement from the mentor. The DGS, together with the Chair and the GPC, will evaluate each request prior to rendering a final decision.
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Further details of the Graduate Program in the Department of Biological Sciences can be obtained from the Director of Graduate Studies:
Dr. Katherine Friedman
Department of Biological Sciences
Vanderbilt University
Box 351634, Station B
Nashville, Tennessee 37235-1634
Telephone (615) 322-2073
Fax: (615) 343-6707
BioSci_Graduate_Program@vanderbilt.edu
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Biological Sciences Graduate Courses
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*201 Introduction to Cell Biology
*205 Evolution
*210 Principles of Genetics
*220 Biochemistry I
*238 Ecology
230 Biological Clocks
234 Microbiology
247 Molecular Evolution
252 Cellular Neurobiology
265 DNA Transactions
266 Advanced Molecular Genetics
270 Statistical Methods in Biology
272 Principles and Practice of Genome
274 Proteins
320 Graduate Seminar in Biological Sciences
332 Seminar Biological Rhythms
336 Seminar in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
340 Developmental Biology
379 Non-candidate Dissertation Research
385 Advanced Reading in Biological Sciences
390 Special Topics and Advanced Techniques in Biological Sciences
399 Ph.D. Dissertation Research
* Normally not available for graduate credit in Biological Sciences
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