Standards for Maintaining Satisfactory Progress

It is crucial that students, Advisory Committees, and/or Program Directors monitor the students’ progress throughout the duration of their academic training. Continued financial support is contingent upon maintaining satisfactory progress at all times. Additionally, failure to achieve and maintain satisfactory progress, after counseling is sought from the Program, Advisory Committee and/or Dean of the Graduate School, can result in academic probation and ultimately, dismissal from the Program. Students who do not complete their degree within the maximum duration allowed will be dismissed from the program.

The maximum registered time by which a PhD student must complete all doctoral requirements is 7 years for Biomedical Science or Neuroscience and 6 years in the PhD phase for MD-PhD students. By the end of their 6th year in the PhD program (5th year for MD-PhD students), students must have received from the committee a signed Progress Form indicating that they have the approval to proceed with scheduling their dissertation defense in the next 3-6 months. If this step does not occur by the end of the 6th year (5th year for MD-PhD students), the student will be referred to the Committee for Academic Review (CAR) for a status evaluation. This referral can be initiated by any member of the student's advisory committee, the dissertation mentor, an MTA director, or any member of the GSBS leadership team.

Upon entry into the 6th year of a PhD program, a student can no longer switch labs. If, at end of the 6th year, the PI, advisory committee, and CAR do not think sufficient progress has been achieved and the PI will not continue to support the student, the student will be dismissed from the program.

To request an extension or discontinue the PhD, the advisory committee/mentor should prepare a written recommendation, including a certification of progress, and a detailed timetable, including deadlines, for completing or discontinuing the dissertation. The recommendation and supporting documentation, signed by the student (in the case of requested extension), must be forwarded to CAR. CAR will review and recommend to the Senior Associate Dean for PhD Programs whether to grant an extension or discontinue the PhD. The Senior Associate Dean for PhD Programs, based on the recommendation from CAR, will consult with the Dean of the Graduate School to approve the extension, which will be communicated to the student by the Graduate School.

When an extension is not granted, a student may appeal that outcome, in writing, to the Dean of the Graduate School within 5 days of notification.

Under exceptional circumstances, the dissertation advisor, with the support of the student’s Advisory Committee, may petition the Dean of the Graduate School in writing to let a student continue his/her/their studies beyond the 7-year time limit for PhD students or 6 years in the PhD phase for MD/PhD students in Biomedical Sciences or Neuroscience and 5 years for students in the PhD in Clinical Research program. For those receiving a stipend, there is no guarantee that full stipend support will continue under these circumstances and each case will be reviewed and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Satisfactory progress is maintained in the following ways for PhD students by:

• Reaching and passing each of the Program Milestones by the required deadlines (see details in section on Program Milestones) and submitting of registration and documentation memos on time.

• Matriculating on a full-time basis

• Registering on time, on or before the registration deadline for each term, and maintain continual enrollment until the degree completion.

• Maintaining a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA and achieving a cumulative 3.0 GPA for the Core Curriculum consisting of a year-long core course (BMS or NEU) AND an approved biostatistics course.

• Demonstrating the potential for research and timely progress toward the choice of lab, dissertation advisor, and training area through their rotation activities in the first year.

• Submitting a completed Laboratory Rotation Agreement Form and a completed Laboratory Rotation Evaluation Form for each rotation on time (see Lab Rotations)

• Demonstrating the ability to grow in research skills and moving towards project goals following the selection of a lab, dissertation advisor, and MTA (see Thesis Advisory Committee)

• Enrolling in journal clubs, works-in-progress, and seminars as required by the student’s MTA (see Seminars, Works-in- Progress, and Journal Clubs)

• Completing at least 14 letter-graded credits of coursework (see Requirements to Graduate)

• Forming full Advisory Committee within three months of lab declaration; meeting with the Advisory Committee at least once per semester; and submitting an Advisory Committee Meeting Form following each meeting (see Thesis Advisory Committee)

• Completing the Thesis Proposal Exam by the end of the 4th semester in the program (see Thesis Proposal)

• Developing a research project, under the supervision of one or more faculty members, which results in a thesis that reports new findings, and is presented, defended and deposited by student (see Dissertation Defense)

• Producing data equivalent to that needed for a first author publication in a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal. A manuscript need not be submitted or accepted (see Dissertation Defense)

• Defending and revising within the prescribed time (5 weeks for no or minor revisions; 8 weeks for major revisions) (see Dissertation Deposit)

• Depositing the approved Dissertation within the time limits of the Program, i.e., (defend and deposit by June 30 of the seventh year in the Program) (see Dissertation Deposit)

• Successfully reaching and passing each of the Program Milestones by the required deadlines and timely submission of registration and documentation memos (see Program Milestones)

If the dissertation advisor is dissatisfied with the academic progress of a student and is considering removing the student from the laboratory the following steps must be taken:

1. The advisor will document sources of dissatisfaction.

2. The advisor will have direct discussions with the student to clarify the issues and to set a plan to correct the problems. A summary of the discussions should be documented by the advisor.

3. If dissatisfaction continues, mediation between the student and advisor should be sought by meeting with the MTA Director and the student’s Advisory Committee.

4. If required, a discussion between the student, the advisor, and the Dean or Senior Associate Dean should be also sought to determine whether the issues are potentially irrevocable.

5. The Dean may place the student on probation for a period not exceeding a semester.

If the student is placed on probation and fails to achieve sufficient academic progress during the following semester, the Committee for Academic Review will review the student’s status and may recommend dismissal from the PhD program.