Life of an MOCB Graduate Student

All BISI students are required to complete yearly progress reports. In addition to those reports the table below outlines the yearly requirements for students in the MOCB Concentration Area.
 

Year 1

First semester

  • Meet with MOCB Concentration Area Director to select courses and choose rotation labs (usually done during Orientation)
  • Complete 2 7-week laboratory rotations
  • Prepare at least one oral or written report on research activities performed in rotation labs
  • Attend all MOCB Seminars (Wednesdays, 12 noon)*

*If students cannot attend the MOCB seminar series because of course or teaching responsibilities, then any other seminar series may be substituted (e.g. BEES, CONS, CBMG seminar series)

Winter Semester: Short lab rotation (this is an excellent time to rotate into an off campus laboratory).

Second semester

  • Students must choose a research adviser by the end of the first year
  • Optional 4th rotation is possible for students having difficulty choosing an adviser.
  • In rare cases, a summer rotation can be approved by the CA Director for students having difficulty choosing an adviser.
  

Year 2

Third Semester 

Fourth Semester 
  • First meeting with Advisory Committee.
    • Goal of meeting is to introduce the committee to the proposed research project.
    • Committee will provide student with feedback on background knowledge necessary for proposed project
  • Following this meeting, the adviser sends a written report to the BISI Program Office. This report addresses:
    • the committee's evaluation of the student's project,
    • whether the student is making adequate progress in the program,
    • and, if necessary, provides recommendations for improvement.
 

Year 3

Fifth Semester 

  • The student must complete a Ph.D. Proposal Meeting (Preliminary Meeting).
  • The guidelines for this meeting can be found here.
  • Proposal guidelines can be found here.
  • All writing must be done exclusively by the student, although discussions with the student's adviser and colleagues is permitted.
  • If the student's project requires a committee member that is not a member of the Graduate Faculty, the committee member must be formally approved prior to the beginning of the 6th semester.
Sixth Semester
  • Student completes the Qualifying Exam.
    • A written report on the exam must be completed and submitted to the BISI Program Office at the completion of the exam. 
    • Students are evaluated on both their general knowledge and on their proposal.  
    • The student passes each part of the exam if all, or all but one, of the committee members cast Satisfactory votes.  Failure of either part constitutes failure of the qualifying exam.
  • Student advances to Candidacy.
  

Year 4 and beyond

Seventh Semester

  • Student should have advanced to candidacy or left the program by the end of the 7th semester

Eighth Semester

  • Mandatory fourth year meeting.
    • Includes entire committee, including Dean's rep.
    • Ensures that the student's project is moving forward
  • If it is necessary to change the direction of the project, the committee may decide to meet more than once
  • Adviser completes a written report, to be submitted to the BISI Program Office.  The report addresses
    • the committee's evaluation of the project
    • the student's progress towards their degree
    • any recommendations for improvement (if necessary)

Prior to defense:

There should be a final committee meeting between 6-12 months prior to the defense to ensure that the content of the dissertation is acceptable to the committee.