Program Milestones
Our program milestones are devised to ensure a successful PhD career. Starting in the first semester, students select a Diagnostic Committee to aid in setting up a research plan and choosing courses. Then, students complete four major milestones: the First Year Project, Qualifying Exam, Preliminary Exam, and Final Exam (defense of the dissertation). Each of these steps is associated with a faculty committee selected by the student.
DIAGNOSTIC COMMITTEE
In the first semester the student selects a Diagnostic Committee consisting of their advisor and two additional faculty members. Committee members are chosen on the relevance of their research to the student's areas of concentration. The Diagnostic Committee assesses the student's preparation for their chosen field within neuroscience and guides the student in the selection of courses and development of an independent research project. The Diagnostic Committee also evaluates the First Year Project.
CONCENTRATION AREAS
Each student selects one major and two minor areas of concentration. These are self-designed and form the nucleus of the student's professional expertise, serving as the basis for the Qualifying Exam. There is considerable latitude in the choices of concentration areas, but these must be chosen to give the student sufficient breadth of knowledge for the student to be successful in a highly competitive and demanding discipline.
FIRST YEAR PROJECT
The First Year Project is an independent research project that allows students to hit the ground running in their graduate career. Research is completed primarily during the spring and summer of the student's first year. A written report is submitted in the fall of the second year, and the results are presented to the Program in a ten minute talk given as part of the NSP seminar series.
QUALIFYING EXAM
The Qualifying Exam is a written and oral exam that demonstrates mastery of the areas of concentration. It is given and evaluated by a Qualifying Exam Committee that includes four faculty members, typically the Diagnostic Committee and one additional member.
PRELIMINARY EXAM
In the Preliminary Exam the student presents and defends a thesis research proposal. The Preliminary Exam Committee consists of four faculty members, who in most cases also sit on the Final Exam Committee for the thesis defense.
FINAL EXAM (THESIS DEFENSE)
A committee of four faculty members, who in most cases also comprise the Preliminary Exam Committee, hears a public oral presentation by the student of the thesis work, followed by a closed defense of the thesis.
