OSBP Handbook - Quarters

Contents

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Finanical Aid

OSBP is committed to providing financial support for its PhD students. In the first year, each student admitted to the PhD program receives a graduate appointment that carries a stipend and waiver of tuition and general fees. The financial support is provided by the OSBP administration. After the first year, students are financially supported by their research advisor and the nature of the appointment (either a Research Associate or Teaching Associate) is the decision of the advisor. Students may expect continued support from their research advisor as long as they meet the following criteria:

  • Fellows must carry a total of at least 15 graduate credits each quarter, before passing the Candidacy Examination.
  • Graduate Research Associates (GRA) and Graduate Teaching Associates (GTA) carry different course loads, depending on whether or not they have taken the Candidacy Examination.
  • Before passing the exam: GRAs and GTAs must carry a minimum of ten graduate credits each quarter except summer quarter, when the minimum is seven.
  • After passing the exam: GRAs and GTAs must register for exactly 3 graduate credit hours, including summer quarter.
  • Students must remain in good academic standing by maintaining a grade point average of at least 3.0.
  • Students must be making satisfactory progress toward their degree, as determined by the Graduate Studies Committee and/or their research advisor. (See Appendix A for guidelines regarding “satisfactory progress”)
  • Students who do not meet the above criteria may no longer be eligible for support, and their continued registration in the program may be in jeopardy.

Academic Standards

The Graduate School Handbook describes the academic standards for all graduate students, regardless of which program they attend. Students are expected to follow the Graduate School standards as well as the OSBP guidelines.

Advising

The Program Director acts as a temporary advisor for each of the new students until they have completed the required amount of lab rotations and selected a permanent research advisor, which is normally done before the beginning of the student’s second year. During the student’s first year each individual will meet with the Program Director once throughout the academic year to discus he/she progress. Each student is required to take the core courses in the first year. Each student’s undergraduate course work is reviewed and individualized programs are arranged for any student with deficiencies. Also, students who have completed the Master’s Degree at an accredited U.S. university may be eligible to receive transfer credit for some of the core courses. While all students are expected to take the core courses, the elective courses are chosen by the student to correspond to the student’s area of interest and expertise.

Curriculum

To fulfill the Ph.D. course requirements, students take:

  • Core Courses - covering the areas of molecular biology, proteins, enzymes, bioenergetics, and intermediary metabolism in the first year. Students may not drop any of the core courses unless permission of the Director is obtained.
  • 8 elective credits (only 5 of which may be for lab coursework) at the 700 level or above. These must be graded courses. Students may choose from the list of approved electives which is provided at orientation. Students wishing to take courses that do not appear on the approved electives list must submit the proposed elective course description with an explanation from the student/advisor as to why the course is necessary towards coursework completion of the PhD degree to the curriculum committee chair.
  • 1 credit of Student Seminar during winter and spring of the 1st year; autumn, winter, and spring of the 2nd year. Students must enroll in 1 credit of Program Faculty Colloquium during autumn, winter, and spring terms of the 1st and 2nd years in the program.
  • 1 credit of 1st Year Orientation Seminar - This is a special mentoring seminar course given by the faculty of the program and is required for all first year students. This course is held in autumn semester only.

Selection of Research Advisor

Students are required to participate in a formal process developed to expose them to the wide variety of research being carried out by the OSBP faculty. In an effort to match students’ interests with those of faculty advisor, the selection process involves the following activities [will be changing with the semester conversion]:

  • Autumn Quarter: Students complete one 10 week rotation. Students will have an opportunity to learn about all faculty research at orientation and can choose which faculty he/she will rotate with for the remaining quarters.
  • Winter Quarter: Students are to register for OSBP 793 and complete a second 10 week rotation.
  • Spring Quarter: Students are required to register for OSBP 793 and complete a third 10 week rotation.
  • Summer Quarter: Students begin working in the laboratory of their new advisors.
  • Note: Students may not choose faculty members outside the program for rotations. The three rotations must be completed with three different faculty members.

Student-Advisor Separations

Student-Initiated Separation
If a student wishes to terminate the relationship with his/her advisor they must request a meeting with the Program Director, or, if this represents a conflict of interest, another member of the Graduate Studies Committee. This meeting will be held in confidence. If the student so desires, the Director (or another member of the Graduate Studies Committee) will arbitrate differences between the student and the advisor. If the student does not wish to confront his/her advisor they will be allowed to leave the advisor with no stated reason. However, all research materials, complete copies of notebooks and any supplies provided by the advisor must remain with the advisor. The student must transfer to a new advisor within the program during the quarter of separation. The program bears no responsibility for financial support of the student during the separation. If a student does not identify a new advisor affiliated with the program within the quarter of the separation, the student must leave the program.

Advisor-Initiated Separation
If an advisor wishes to terminate the relationship with a student, he/she must follow the rules of the Graduate School and the rules of the Ohio State Biochemistry Program.

  • Graduate School rules state that GRA’s and GTA’s may not be terminated prior to the end of their appointment period. The appointment period is determine by the contract signed between student and advisor kept with the hiring department, and may be quarterly or annually, as defined by their appointment letter. Students may only be terminated for reasons listed in Section IX.2 of the Graduate School Handbook without written permission of the Graduate School. Terminations at the end of the appointment period do not require permission of the Graduate School.
  • OSBP requires that the advisor must document the dissatisfaction in a written letter to the student, with a copy sent to the Program Director. If unsatisfactory progress in research is an issue, this must be documented by a “U” in the advisor’s 999 research course. A meeting of the student’s Advisory Committee should be held to allow the student the opportunity to present his/her progress. In the event that two “U’s” in 999 research are given, a special meeting of the Graduate Studies Committee will be conducted to determine whether the student should be asked to leave the program or allowed to transfer to a new advisor.

Student Advisory Committee

In the summer, after the advisor assignments are made, students consult with their new advisors to select an Advisory Committee. The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to assist in advising the student of appropriate elective courses to take in order to complete the Ph.D. program; to provide advice on scholarly matters throughout the student’s tenure at the university, and to review the annual progress report prepared by the students. Students should meet with their Advisory Committee once a year for this purpose. The Student Advisory Committee also serves as the Candidacy Oral Examination Committee, the Dissertation Reading Committee, and the Final Oral Exam Committee.

The four person committee consists of the student’s advisor and three other faculty members. One member of the committee may be a non-OSBP faculty member. Students submit their choices to the Graduate Studies Committee for review in Autumn Quarter. After the review, the Graduate Studies Committee provides confirmation of the committee members to the student and advisor. The student will make the Graduate School aware of his/her committee members when the student is ready to schedule their candidacy exam. You may find the forms at the Graduate School website under ‘Examinations’.

Qualifying Policy

After completing the core courses, each student’s record is evaluated by the Graduate Studies Committee. Students are normally expected to complete the core courses by the end of Spring Quarter of the first year. In order to remain in good standing and to be eligible to take the Candidacy (General) Examination, students must have a grade point average of 3.0 in the core courses as well as a 3.0 cumulative average, i.e., the student cannot be on academic probation. Students who have not completed the core courses or students who do not have a 3.0 grade point average will not be allowed to take the Candidacy Examination.

Candidacy Examination (formerly called the General Examination)

The following policy applies to students entering OSBP Autumn 2009 and earlier.

In the Summer Quarter of the second year (8th quarter), students in good academic standing who have completed their core and elective courses are eligible to begin the Candidacy Examination. There are two portions of the exam: written and oral. The evaluation of the examination is made on the combined written and oral portions.

The written portion of the examination will be an actual predoctoral application, which may later be submitted for funding.

Written Portion:

In the Summer of the second year (8th quarter) graduate students will begin the written portion of the Candidacy Exam. The written portion should be completed by the end of the Summer Quarter, which for the purposes of this exam will be July, August, and September. The written portion of the exam will be an NIH predoctoral application, focusing on the dissertation problem*. The proposal should include three Specific Aims, and at least one of these aims must be a novel and creative aim developed by the student that is not assigned by the advisor or present in the advisor grants (i.e. independent of the advisor). The page listing all three specific aims, in particular the aim developed by the student, should be mailed to the exam committee for their approval. Once the committee approves the specific aims, the student may begin writing the proposal. The final written proposal will also be submitted to the committee, and it will be evaluated within 2 weeks of submission. The Advisory Committee will examine the proposal, as well as the Advisor’s current and pending grant proposals to assure that the proposal is in the student’s own words and that at least one aim is original and creative. The committee may choose one of these options when evaluating the final written proposal:

  • Triage, or major rewrite
  • Revise, changes within the document but not a major rewrite
  • Approve as submitted

Once the committee approves the final version of the written proposal, the student may schedule the Oral Examination.

While the intent of the Graduate Studies Committee is to encourage students to subsequently submit these predoctoral applications, we understand that some agencies do not allow international students to apply.

Oral Portion:

The student and his/her advisor schedule the oral portion of the Candidacy Examination by completing the appropriate paperwork through the Graduate School. At the oral examination the student presents the research proposal and is questioned by the Oral Examination Committee, which will include an outside representative appointed by the Graduate School. General questions on biochemistry can be included in the oral examination. Students have until the end of December (9th quarter) to complete the Oral Examination.

Committee Membership for the Candidacy Exam - Advisor and members of the Student Advisory Committee

The committee for the exam will chaired by the advisor but the advisor is cautioned not to aid the student either by answering questions or giving hints.

Dissertation Research

Once both portions of the General Examination are completed successfully, students continue working on their original research project, which will be the basis of the dissertation. The work must be deemed by the Dissertation Committee to be a scholarly contribution to knowledge in biochemistry. The preceptor and the Student Advisory Committee act as the Dissertation Committee.

Publication Requirement

  • Students of OSBP must have 1 or more publications before applying for graduation with a PhD
    • At least one of the student’s publications must list the student as first author. By “publication” we mean the paper must be published, in press, or accepted. Submitted manuscripts and manuscripts “in preparation” and theses or abstracts may not be counted.
  • Students may not apply to defend their Doctoral Dissertation and the Director of the Program may not sign the application to graduate unless the Requirement for Publication is met. It is the Faculty Mentor’s responsibility to assure that this policy is followed.
  • Adherence to this policy shall be added to the Contract signed by OSBP Faculty.
  • This policy shall apply to Graduate Students in the entering Class of 2001 and all subsequent classes.

Timeline of Events

Year 1: Autumn - Summer

  • Complete core courses and attend seminars
  • Complete laboratory rotations in Autumn, Winter and Spring Quarters
  • Choose faculty research advisor and begin working the lab in Summer Qtr

Year 2: Autumn - Summer

  • Select Student Advisory Committee members
  • Complete elective courses and attend seminars
  • Give one presentation in Student Seminar
  • Complete written section of General Examination by the end of Summer Quarter
  • Submit annual report

Year 3: Autumn - Summer

  • Complete oral section of General Exam by the end of Autumn Quarter
  • Enroll in seminars
  • Give one presentation in Student Seminar
  • Continue research
  • Submit annual report

Year 4 and subsequent years

  • Enroll in seminars
  • Give one presentation in Student Seminar
  • Continue research
  • Submit annual report

Dissertation Year

  • Enroll in seminars
  • Give one presentation in Student Seminar
  • Submit annual report
  • Complete one first-authored publication before requesting permission to graduate

For your dissertation

  • Obtain approvals of the written portion of your dissertation from your committee members
  • Make changes as requested by your committee members and/or advisor
  • Schedule your dissertation defense with the Graduate School
  • Obtain necessary paperwork from the Graduate School

Appendices

Appendix A - Statement on Satisfactory or Reasonable Progress Students are considered to be making satisfactory or reasonable progress toward their degree if they follow the curriculum prescribed in our Time Line of Events. Attendance at Program Seminars (Biochemp 790), required Student Seminars (Biochemp 760, 796 and/or 796A) and Program Events such as the Fall Symposium and Spring Poster Session are important parts of satisfactory and reasonable progress. Two unsatisfactory grades in any of these courses is considered lack of reasonable progress and will be reported to the Graduate School and a warning will be issued (Graduate School Handbook section II.4.8). Further unsatisfactory grades may result in denial of registration (Graduate School Handbook section II.4.7).

Satisfactory and reasonable progress toward Doctoral Research must be maintained as documented by satisfactory grades (S) in research courses (999). Two unsatisfactory grades (U) in Doctoral Research could result in dismissal from the Program. Any student who receives two unsatisfactory grades in Doctoral Research will be requested to appear before their Advisory Committee and/or the Graduate Studies Committee to discuss the reasons for the unsatisfactory progress.