Qualifying Examination

Admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. requires that students prepare and defend a written research proposal, modeled on an NIH-R01 grant proposal. A student may choose a topic that is related to his or her own prospective dissertation research or may select an unrelated biophysical topic. The student is expected to write a hypothesis- or question-driven proposal. Students who choose to defend an invention or new method must devise suitable controls to demonstrate feasibility. Proposals based on anticipated dissertation research are expected to address fundamental issues; these may, in some cases, extend beyond those encompassed by the dissertation itself. Both the written proposal and the oral defense will be judged for clarity and originality of thought and for the degree of mastery of experimental design and analysis of data expected for a student at the end of the second year of Graduate School. During the oral examination, the student also is expected to respond to questions of general knowledge in molecular biophysics.

The ad hoc Examination Committee is composed of three faculty members, at least two of whom belong to the Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program. The student’s mentor is not eligible to serve on the Committee. Members of the Committee and the Committee Chair will be chosen by the Chair of the Molecular Biophysics Student Evaluation Committee in consultation with the student’s mentor. These choices are based primarily upon expertise in the field of study to be examined.