Students in Biological Sciences follow one of three parallel course work tracks for which examples are shown below.  Students entering through the IGP program represent one track and participate in the IGP first-year curriculum. Direct entry students pursuing studies in cellular, molecular, developmental biology, genetics, biochemistry, neurobiology and structural biology also participate in the IGP first-year curriculum  (option 1 below), whereas students pursuing studies in ecology, evolution and organismal biology participate in a core curriculum track designed by the student in collaboration with a faculty advisor and a member of the Graduate Program Committee (option 2, below). Each direct entry track contains a core of required courses, participation in either the BSCI 320 or the BSCI 336 seminar courses and the BSCI 390 research rotation course. Following completion of the core requirements, all students are required to take three elective courses specializing in their area of interest.  Students must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 in their core and elective course work to be eligible to take the Qualifying Exam (see below).

By the end of the second year, students should have completed the core courses and at least 3 elective courses.

The dissertation committee is composed of at least five faculty members.  One member must represent a field of research outside of the focus of the proposal, and the committee must additionally include one member from outside of the Department of Biological Sciences. The chair of the dissertation committee cannot be the mentor and must be a tenured faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences. The dissertation committee should be appointed as early as possible in the second year, but no later than by the end of the Spring semester of Year 2. The student and mentor should submit for approval by the DGS a list of potential committee members and indicate a potential Chair for the committee. Students should consult with the potential members prior to submission of their names. The final list of members will be submitted by the GPC to the Graduate School for approval and notification. 

The Qualifying Exam constitutes an oral defense of the dissertation proposal and an evaluation of student’s familiarity with related concepts.  Students are strongly encouraged to prepare the research proposal during the second year and take the qualifying exam at the end of the Spring semester or as early as possible in the ensuing summer. The student should request the Department Office to notify the Graduate School of their plans for the Qualifying Examination two weeks in advance. Students must pass the Qualifying Examination by October 15 of the third year. The qualifying exam generally lasts about two hours (but may be longer). It includes a session at the beginning and the end in which the committee discusses the student¹s performance in the absence of the student. Students should prepare a 15 to 20 minute overview of the project, including an introduction to the project and its significance, the specific aims, and a brief outline of the planned experiments. The dissertation Committee will use the following information as the basis for their pass/fail decision: the dissertation research proposal, the oral examination of the proposal and issues related to the proposal, and the previous academic and research performance of the student. Written evaluations by the student's IGP rotation advisors and BSCI 390 advisors/coordinator can also be considered as part of the research performance evaluation. Once the Qualifying Exam has been passed, the student is officially a doctoral candidate. Students that fail the qualifying exam are often given the opportunity to write a Master¹s thesis, which must be completed by May 1 of year three.

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:

The Chair of the Dissertation Committee will submit to the GPC a summary of all committee meetings. 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.

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. Provided the Committee agrees, permission will be given to proceed with the writing of the dissertation and scheduling of the defense.

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:

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.

Teaching. Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for at least two semesters. 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 two semesters. TA assignments average 10-15 hours per week.

The Department of Biological Sciences ordinarily provides financial support (direct or through a training grant) for students through the third year of graduate study. The Department ordinarily underwrites support (usually provided by the mentor) for ensuing years, but continued support will depend on a recommendation of the Dissertation Committee, a vote of the faculty, and on the availability of funds for such support. The Vanderbilt Graduate School guarantees support for students in good standing for five years. Support will cease with the expiration of candidacy as defined in the Graduate School Bulletin--"the dissertation must be completed within four years after a student has been admitted to candidacy for the degree (passage of the Qualifying Exam)". Reentry into candidacy by petitioning the Graduate School does not necessarily reactivate financial support.
 

Further details of the Graduate Program in the Department of Biological Sciences can be obtained from the Director of Graduate Studies:

Dr. Douglas G. McMahon
Department of Biological Sciences
Vanderbilt University
Box 351634, Station B
Nashville, Tennessee 37235-1634
Telephone (615) 936-3933
Fax: (615) 343-6707
BioSci_Graduate_Program@vanderbilt.edu

Students with interests in the areas of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology may also choose to contact the Associate Director of Graduate Studies:

Dr. Daniel J. Funk
Department of Biological Sciences
Vanderbilt University
Box 351634, Station B
Nashville, Tennessee 37235-1634
Telephone (615) 322-2214
Fax: (615) 343-6707

*201 Introduction to Cell Biology

*205 Evolution

*210 Principles of Genetics

*220 Biochemistry I

222 Reproduction and Development in Plants

226 Introduction to Immunology

230 Biological Clocks

238 Ecology

247 Molecular Evolution

252 Cellular Neurobiology

255 Cell Physiology

258 Vertebrate Physiology

262 Biomolecular Interactions

265 Biochemistry ll

270 Statistical Methods in Biology

273 Molecular Mechanisms of Environmental Toxins

274 Protein Design

320 Graduate Seminar in Biological Sciences

325 Dynamic Organization of Nuclear Function

327 Developmental Biology of Microorganisms

328 Microbial Genetics

332 Seminar Biological Rhythms

336 Seminar in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

340 Developmental Biology

342 Advanced Developmental Biology: Vertebrate Organogenesis

349 Graduate Seminar in Molecular Biophysics

361 Fundamentals of Molecular Biophysics

363 Macromolecular Structure Determination by X-Ray Diffraction

364 Macromolecular Structure Determination by High Field NMR

369 Master's 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