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The oral qualifying exam in Cellular and Molecular Pathology will consist of a written proposal that will be defended orally.
The written proposal may be related or unrelated to the general interest of the laboratory. However, the proposal should not overlap with any projects in the laboratory. The student should discuss and decide a topic for oral exam with the thesis advisor. The student should then submit the ABSTRACT AND SPECIFIC AIMS of the proposal to the doctoral committee for confirmation that the proposal does not overlap with other projects in the PI’s laboratory (See CMP Proposal and Specific Aims) form. Once the proposal and specific aims have been approved, the student should no longer discuss the project with the thesis advisor or the committee members. Changes in the abstract and specific aims are not allowed unless approved by the doctoral committee.
The written proposal, in the form of a grant application, must include the following sections:
Provide a short introductory paragraph that delineates the broad, long-term objectives and what the specific research is intended to accomplish. State the hypotheses to be defended. One page or less is recommended.
Briefly state the background leading to the present proposal, critically evaluate existing knowledge in the field, and identify gaps that the project is intended to fill. State concisely the importance of the work to a basic biological or clinical issue. Remember that this section must provide a rationale for the specific aims that have been formulated. One to three pages is recommended.
Describe the research design and procedures that will be used to address the specific aims. Include how the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Indicate possible outcomes of experiments and how these will influence the direction of the studies. Discuss potential difficulties and limitations. The experimental methods should not include too many details regarding buffers, concentrations of antibodies, etc, although the committee may ask the student about such details during the oral presentation. This section should form the major portion of the application and should be at least four pages in length.
Sections A-D should be no more than 10 single-spaced pages in length. Font size should be 12 point. Margins should be ½ inch on all four sides. Adherence to these formatting instructions is mandatory for submission of the proposal.
The proposal should be a scholarly document and appropriate references should be cited to indicate knowledge of key papers in the field and to support statements that have been made. Each reference must include the title, names of all authors, book or journal, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. Select only those references pertinent to the proposal. References are not included in the page count.
Student in consultation with the advisor selects the topic of the proposal
• Approximately one month prior to the prospective oral exam date, student should prepare a one page proposal and aims report (CMP Proposal and Specific Aims) form and submit it to the doctoral committee for approval.
• Once the proposal has been approved, student should contact the CMP Student Affairs Coordinator who will reserve an appropriate venue and schedule a date and time (approx. 2 hours) that is agreeable to the student and all committee members. At this time student should also reserve a laptop and projector, if needed.
• The student and thesis advisor should plan 4-6 weeks for completion of the written proposal and study for the oral examination.
• The proposal will be presented orally by June in Year 3 of graduate study. Unless other agreements have been reached with the oral examination committee.
• All four members of the Doctoral Committee MUST attend the oral qualifying exam. THIS IS A UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENT.
• Two weeks prior to the oral exam, the student should submit the completed proposal to each of the committee members, and one copy to the CMP Graduate Student Affairs Office.
• Prior to the meeting, the Student Affair’s Coordinator will provide the student with an official university form (Report on the Oral Qualifying Examination and Request for Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy) to take to the meeting for the committee members to sign. Each member of the doctoral committee must sign the form and indicate a decision of “Passed” or ‘Not Passed”. The student should return the completed document to the CMP Graduate Student Affairs Coordinator immediately following the exam (or no later than two days, thereafter).
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