Admission to Candidacy
Students seeking the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must submit an application for admission to candidacy and an approved research proposal. Each student must have an overall 3.0 grade point average or better at the time of admission to candidacy. Admission to candidacy requires the fulfillment of all program requirements, including passing the qualifying examination, and must be approved by the Dean of the graduate school. The qualifying examination will ordinarily be completed by the end of the second year of study and is prerequisite to admission to candidacy.
Experimental Pathology graduate students are expected to complete a proposal for their dissertation and submit it to their dissertation committee within 6 months following the successful completion of the preliminary examinations.
The dissertation committee faculty must complete their evaluation of the Ph.D. research proposal within 1 month of its submission. The student will be asked to present and defend this proposal before that committee within 2 weeks following the faculty evaluation period. Should the proposal require significant alterations, the student will be given a maximum of 2 months to rewrite and re-submit their proposal to the committee. The committee will complete their evaluation within 1 month.
Proposal defense (and annual meetings)
Students are responsible for contacting all members of their committee and coordinating the time and location of their proposal defense (typically in Mary Moody Northern Pavilion Pathology Education Conference room reserved through the Program Coordinator). Meetings, vacations and external commitments by faculty can make this scheduling difficult, so be proactive and do not leave it to the last minute. The defense and annual meetings should last no more than three hours. The format is variable and should be discussed with the mentor. It can, for example, be a 1 hour presentation followed by questions, or can be a longer presentation with committee members asking questions during the presentation. Be prepared to explain methodologies (formulae, what specific reagents do etc), experimental plans (use of controls etc), data analysis (statistics) etc, etc.
GSBS rules state that all students are required to be admitted to candidacy within 12 months following the completion of their preliminary examinations or be subject to dismissal from graduate school.
Students and mentors are strongly encouraged to expedite the completion of this process.
Supervisory Professor
A Supervisory Professor is selected by the student during their first year (Term III) or, under special circumstances in the second year (Term IV). The Supervisory Professor must be a member of the Experimental Pathology Graduate Faculty, must inform the Program Director (in writing) of his/her willingness to serve in this role and provide financial support (account numbers to be provided to the Experimental Pathology Graduate Program Office) for the student while they are enrolled, and must be approved by the Student Evaluation and Advisory Committee and the Graduate School Dean. Mentors are expected to provide a stipend that equals or exceeds the BBSC stipend level in any given year. The mentors are strongly encouraged to pay for student tuition and fees for all students. These costs are allowable on NIH grants and should be budgeted on each NIH proposal submitted. A letter or email stating the willingness to serve as mentor and an account number that will be used to support the student must be provided to the Program Director. The Supervisory Professor will be in charge of the student's dissertation research project and is expected to provide financial support for the student’s full salary and tuition and fees during their entire tenure at UTMB and to provide research resources to allow the student to perform the research required for the completion of the Ph.D. A student may change his/her Supervisory Professor without prejudice to his/her standing in the Program.
Supervisory Committee Selection
Prior to admission to candidacy, the student shall select a Supervisory Professor who, with the approval of the Dean and the SEAC, will be in charge of the candidate’s doctoral dissertation. The student, in consultation with the selected Supervisory Professor, will recommend the other members of a supervisory committee. The selected Supervisory Professor and the recommended other members of the supervisory committee are appointed by the Dean. The Supervisory Professor will serve as chair of the supervisory committee. The supervisory committee will normally consist of five graduate faculty members, associate members or special members:
Mentor (Supervisory Professor)
Two faculty members with Pathology department
One special member or appointee from another institution
One UTMB faculty member outside of Pathology department
Students should consult with the Dean regarding appointment of the member from another program.
Annual Meetings of the Student Supervisory Committee
Each student is required to meet with his or her dissertation committee as least annually. A written report of each such meeting must be submitted to each committee member (including their off campus member) and the Pathology Education office within 1 week following the meeting. Students who do not observe this requirement, are at risk of receiving an unsatisfactory in research or dissertation and will be placed on academic probation.