Doctor of Philosophy (Biological Sciences)

Thesis

• Registration in 900-level THES. Students must present their thesis research to the Department in the form of a public seminar either on the same day, or the day before, the thesis defence. In addition, students are strongly  encouraged to present annual progress reports to their supervisory committee.

Coursework and Seminar Component

Individual programs will be developed by agreement between the student and the supervisor/supervisory committee.

• Two 3-unit graded courses.
  • At least one 3-unit course must be a graded seminar or discussion-oriented course.
• Attendance/participation in an appropriate seminar series is required as determined by the supervisor/supervisory committee.
• Project courses or individual study courses may not be included in the minimum requirements, but may be taken for credit in addition to the minimal graded requirement on the recommendation of the supervisory committee  with approval of the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies).
• Generally, coursework should be completed in the first year of the program.

Candidacy Exam

Students are required to complete a written and oral candidacy exam by the end of their third year.

Teaching

• Hold a 0.5 (6 hour per week) graduate teaching assistantship for one semester.

Ethics

• Complete 8 hours of approved ethics activities.
• Ethics hours are approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies).

Professional Development

• Complete 8 hours of approved professional development (PD) activities.
• PD hours are approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) but cannot include any activity for which the student has previously received credit, cannot be required for the student’s thesis research, cannot be required training, and cannot reasonably be an expected part of the students graduate program.