BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY GRADUATE GROUP EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 121103 FINAL Revised December 11, 2003 and March 19, 2004 Approved by Graduate Council on April 7, 2004 M.S. DEGREE General information: The M.S. degree may be taken under Graduate Studies Plan I (thesis) or Plan II (no thesis) as outlined below. The student must be in residence for at least 3 academic quarters but ordinarily will take 1.5-2 years to meet all requirements for the degree. If a student accepted for the M.S. program wishes to enroll in the Ph.D. program, he or she must submit a written request to the Chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) Graduate Group and the student's file will be reviewed by the BMB Admissions Committee and UC Davis Graduate Studies. BMB policy is not to provide financial support from group resources to Master's degree students. Masters Degree Plan I (Thesis) Course requirements: Thirty units of advisor-approved, upper-division and graduate courses in which the student receives grades of A, B, C or S. Required courses include the following: 1. Core: MCB 221A (4 units) Physical Biochemistry MCB 221B (3 units) Mechanistic Enzymology MCB 221C (4 units) Molecular Biology MCB 221D (4 units) Cellular Biochemistry 2. Current Techniques in Cell Biology (MCB 200A - 2 units) and Current Techniques in Biochemistry (MCB 200B - 2 units). 3. Rotations (MCB 220L - 10 units). Two, five-week rotations per quarter. At the end of each rotation, students give short presentations on their rotation projects to other first-year students, the instructor in charge and any other faculty and students who wish to attend. In addition, each student prepares a short written report. 4. Additional elective courses that can include BMB 290 and BMB 299 to bring the total up to 30 units. Courses taken to make up deficiencies in a student's background such as organic or physical chemistry may not be used as electives. Students must have a grade point average of 3.0 for the degree to be awarded. Advancement to candidacy: The student must file an official application for Advancement 1
to Candidacy after completing at least one-half of the course requirements for the degree and at least one quarter before completion of all degree requirements. Forms may be obtained from Graduate Studies. The student must have a grade point average of 3.0 to be eligible for advancement. Research requirements: The Master's thesis is to be carried out under the supervision of a faculty member of the BMB Group and must represent a contribution to knowledge in biochemistry or molecular biology. The thesis is submitted to a committee of three faculty members recommended by the Adviser and appointed in accordance with the Academic Senate regulations. The topic of the thesis should be acceptable to all members of the committee when they agree to serve and a joint meeting of committee members and the student should be held at that time. For the thesis to be acceptable for the degree, all committee members must sign the title page. Instructions on preparation of the thesis and a schedule of dates for filing the thesis in final form are available from Graduate Studies; the dates are also printed in the UC Davis General Catalog. Masters Degree Plan II (No Thesis) Course requirements: Thirty-six units of advisor-approved, upper-division and graduate courses in which the student receives grades of A, B, C or S. Required courses include the following: 1. Core: MCB 221A (4 units) Physical Biochemistry MCB 221B (3 units) Mechanistic Enzymology MCB 221C (4 units) Molecular Biology MCB 221D (4 units) Cellular Biochemistry 2. Current Techniques in Cell Biology (MCB 200A - 2 units) and Current Techniques in Biochemistry (MCB 200B - 2 units). 3. Rotations (MCB 220L - 10 units) Two, five-week rotations per quarter At the end of each rotation, students give short presentations on their rotation projects to other first-year students, the instructor in charge and any other faculty and students who wish to attend. In addition, each student prepares a short written report. 4. One additional lecture or laboratory course (minimum of 3 units) in biochemistry or molecular biology or in a related field. 5. Additional elective courses that can include BMB 290 and BMB 299 to bring the total up to 36 units. Courses taken to make up deficiencies in a student's background such as organic or physical chemistry may not be used as electives. Students must have a grade point average of 3.0 for the degree to be awarded. 2
Advancement to candidacy: The student must file an official application for Advancement to Candidacy after completing at least one-half of the course requirements for the degree and at least one quarter before completion of all degree requirements. Forms may be obtained from Graduate Studies. The student must have a grade point average of 3.0 to be eligible for advancement. Final examination: The student must pass a comprehensive final examination in biochemistry and molecular biology. The format is usually an oral examination administered by a committee of three faculty members nominated by the Advisor. A unanimous vote of the committee is required to pass a student. If a student does not pass the examination, the committee may recommend that she or he be re-examined one time. If the Graduate Advisor concurs, the student may be re-examined. A student who does not pass on the second attempt is subject to disqualification from further work as a graduate student. The results of all Master's examinations must be reported to Graduate Studies. A Ph.D. qualifying exam does not suffice for the Master's degree exam. 3
BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY GRADUATE GROUP EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 012204 Revised January 22, 2004 and March 19, 2004 Approved by Graduate Council on April 7, 2004 Placement exam: Ph.D. DEGREE Entering students are required to take a biochemistry knowledge profile examination to determine whether their background knowledge is sufficient for graduate level biochemistry courses. This exam, composed by the Educational Policy Committee, consists of sections covering general biochemistry, metabolism, cell and molecular biology and will be administered shortly before entering students first meet with their graduate advisors to establish course schedules. The Student Affairs Committee reviews the results and uses them, together with the student's transcripts and GRE scores, to evaluate deficiencies. If there are deficiencies in background, appropriate remedial undergraduate courses will be recommended. Graduate advisors: Graduate academic advisors are members of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) Graduate Group faculty whose role is to advise students about all aspects of their graduate education. This includes selection of labs for rotations, selection of a major professor, selection of courses, preparation for the qualifying exam and annual reviews of progress. The academic advisor is the person to whom a student turns should there be a problem with a major professor. Students meet with advisors upon entering BMB, quarterly for advice during the first year, and at least once a year to review progress and complete reports to Graduate Studies. Formal course requirements for BMB Ph.D. program: The following courses must be completed with a grade of B- or better: 1. Core: MCB 221A Physical Biochemistry (4 units) MCB 221B Mechanistic Enzymology (3 units) MCB 221C Molecular Biology (4 units) MCB 221D Cellular Biochemistry (4 units) 2. Current Techniques in Biochemistry (MCB 200B, 2 units) 3. Rotations (MCB 220L, 10 units) Two, five-week rotations per quarter during fall and winter of the first year. At the end of each rotation, students give short presentations on their rotation projects to the other 4
first-year students, the instructor in charge and any other faculty and students who wish to attend. In addition, each student prepares a short written report. Alternative schedules can be arranged for compatibility with training grant requirements. 4. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Seminar (BMB 290; 4 units total) 5. Elective course: Each student must take at least one additional advanced course (minimum of 3 units) to be selected in consultation with the academic advisor and major professor. Attention to the schedule on which such courses are offered is essential - many are offered only in alternate years. 6. Teaching Assistantship (TA) requirement: Participation in teaching is an essential part of training in the graduate program. In addition, teaching experience can be helpful later in obtaining employment. Students are required to TA one advisor-approved undergraduate biochemistry or molecular biology laboratory (or lecture) course such as MCB120L. It is expected that students fulfill this requirement during the third quarter of their first year or during the first two quarters of the second year. It must be fulfilled prior to the qualifying examination. While working as TA s students must register for MCB 390 (1 unit) or equivalent. Teaching assignments may vary according to past teaching experience and source of support. Open positions are advertised quarterly across the campus. Application forms may be obtained from Section or Departmental offices. In general, applications are current only for the quarters indicated on the form. New applications must be filed for subsequent consideration. Students will enroll for 12 units per quarter including research, academic and seminar units. Courses that fulfill any of the course requirements may not be taken S/U unless the course is normally graded S/U. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better to be eligible for employment as a Teaching Assistant, for fellowship funding and for non-resident tuition awards. If the GPA falls below 3.0, the student is placed on academic probation. If a student is on academic probation for more than three quarters, the student is subject to disqualification upon recommendation of the BMB Executive Committee to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Transfer Students: All students admitted to the BMB Graduate Program from other institutions are required to take a Qualifying Examination. While course waivers of required courses may be granted by academic advisors, all transfer students must demonstrate proficiency in general subject matter equivalent to BMB students already enrolled at UCD. Choice of a dissertation advisor: 5
Selection of the dissertation advisor (major professor) is normally accomplished by the end of the winter quarter, first year. The chair of BMB sends a letter to each first year student requesting that the student find a major professor with whom the student wishes to work and who is willing to take the student into the laboratory and to provide the necessary financial support. Students submit their requests to the BMB Student Affairs Committee, which approves and makes final assignments. Satisfactory progress in the BMB program is dependent upon assignment of a dissertation advisor by the end of spring quarter in the first year. Qualifying exam: See attached Advancement to candidacy: After the qualifying exam is passed, a student must file an application for advancement to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The chair of a student's qualifying examination committee is sent the application form for advancement to candidacy. When the student has passed the examination, the chair signs and dates the form. The student then identifies a dissertation committee, provides a dissertation title, obtains signatures of the major professor and graduate advisor, pays a fee, and files the form with Graduate Studies. Graduate Studies requires that students must be advanced to candidacy by the tenth quarter of academic enrollment to be eligible for continued appointment as a graduate student researcher or teaching assistant. Dissertation committee: Upon advancement to candidacy, a committee of three faculty members is submitted to Graduate Studies and appointed in accordance with Academic Senate regulations to direct the student in the dissertation research and to approve the dissertation. The chair of the dissertation committee, the student's major professor, must be a member of the BMB Graduate Group. The other two members need not be members of the BMB Graduate Group. Members of the graduate program faculty are recommended by the Graduate Advisor to serve on advanced degree committees for students in BMB. If proposed members of the dissertation committee are not members of the BMB Graduate Group, their service must be approved by the BMB Student Affairs Committee. Under certain circumstances, it is possible to suggest a committee member from outside the University of California who has special expertise and qualifications. The Graduate Advisor must submit a brief statement indicating the appointee's affiliation and title, degrees held, and describing the special expertise that cannot be duplicated on the campus. A curriculum vitae and letter from the nominated person indicating willingness to serve must also be submitted. Yearly meetings of the student and dissertation committee are required. A written report must be filed with the BMB staff person after each meeting; it includes the appended 6
form and a 2-3 page progress report. Annual progress reports: Graduate advisors must file an annual report with Graduate Studies on each graduate student's progress towards a degree. A report indicating that a student's progress is satisfactory informs the student of the remaining steps necessary to attain the degree. A BMB checklist of progress towards the Ph.D. is filled out in parallel. BMB requires that the student be making satisfactory progress toward the degree for continuation of financial support. If a student's progress is unsatisfactory, Graduate Studies places the student on academic probation. The BMB Student Affairs Committee reviews a situation in which a student is not making satisfactory progress and decides upon a course of action. The Dean of Graduate Studies and the BMB Student Affairs Committee send the student a notice delineating the work that must be completed to obtain a satisfactory evaluation and a time limit in which to complete the work. If the student fails to meet these requirements, the student is subject to disqualification. To keep track of students' progress, the BMB staff person keeps a computer database of information. This includes the student's name, year in BMB, laboratory, telephone number, email address, major professor, qualifying examination members, date and result of qualifying exam and dissertation committee members. Periodic updates are provided to advisors. Major professors may obtain information upon request. Dissertation The research conducted by the student must be of such character as to show ability to pursue independent research. The dissertation reports a scholarly piece of work of publishable quality that solves a significant scientific problem. It must be approved and signed by the dissertation committee before it is submitted to Graduate Studies for final approval of formatting. A copy of the signed title page must be sent to the Graduate Group Staff person. The dissertation must be submitted to each member of the dissertation committee at least one month before the student expects it to be signed. Keeping the committee informed of progress as research proceeds helps committee members to read it in a timely fashion. Exit seminar: Each student must present a seminar on the dissertation research before the dissertation is signed and filed with Graduate Studies. The seminar is arranged through the major professor and advertised by the BMB Graduate Group Office. 7
Time to obtain a Ph.D.: A minimum of three years is required for the Ph.D. but ordinarily a student should plan on four to five years to satisfy all requirements of the degree. Normative time, measured from the time a student begins graduate study at any level at UCD, is 5 years for the BMB Graduate Group. 8
BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY GRADUATE GROUP Ph.D. QUALIFYING EXAMINATION GUIDELINES 2002 (ADOPTED 06/24/02) Revised March 10, 2004 and March 19, 2004 Approved by Graduate Council on April 7, 2004 A Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) student must pass an oral qualifying examination before being advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. To be eligible for the exam, the student must have completed all BMB course requirements, must have removed any deficiencies on the transcript, and must have at least a B average in all work undertaken while in graduate standing. The student must be registered during the quarter in which the qualifying exam is taken. The purposes of the qualifying examination are two-fold: 1) to determine that the student has acquired sufficient knowledge, in breadth and depth, of biochemistry, molecular biology and related areas and 2) to determine that the student has identified a dissertation research topic that asks a significant question in biochemistry and molecular biology. The latter includes demonstration that the student has completed a literature review of that topic, has identified a set of achievable goals and has designed appropriate experimental approaches to accomplish those goals. Input into the nature of the general subject part of the qualifying examination will be provided from each student's academic advisor who will evaluate the student's performance in the core courses. Individual instructors of the core courses will be expected to provide the academic advisors with a summary of each student's performance, i.e. satisfactory or unsatisfactory, in their part of the core courses. This information will be used to guide the content of the general portion of the examination. The dissertation research part of the exam is meant to be a proposal, not a research progress report. Finally, the student's previous academic record, performance on specific parts of the examination, and overall performance/potential for scholarly research will be evaluated in determining the outcome of the examination. Qualifying examination committees will consist of five faculty members who are recommended to Graduate Studies by the BMB Student Affairs Committee in the Fall quarter of the student's second year. Three members of the committee will serve on all/most qualifying examinations for that year depending on the number of exams to be administered. These individuals will be selected with expertise in the three core areas of BMB (i.e. Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology). Two other members will be selected by the BMB Student Affairs Committee with solicited input from major advisors and students will be asked to recommend names of the latter members - ideally faculty who have agreed also to serve on the student s dissertation committee. Qualifying examination committees are submitted to Graduate Studies and appointed in accordance with the Academic Senate regulations. The chair of the qualifying examination committee is expected to ensure that the student receives a fair examination. Qualifying Examination Committees may not include the major professor who will serve as chair of the student's dissertation committee. The area of the student's dissertation research will be considered so that at least one individual with expertise in this area is a member of the qualifying examination committee. 9
Students will be informed of the prospective composition of the qualifying examination committee (i.e. the recommendations of the Student Affairs Committee), and will be asked to confer with their major professor to inform their graduate advisor of any concerns with the committee composition. With this input taken into account, the advisors formally recommend to Graduate Studies the composition of the qualifying examination. Committees will be submitted to Graduate Studies and appointed in accordance with the Academic Senate regulations. Copies of the approved petition are sent to the student, the chair of the examining committee, and the BMB Program Liaison. Students must notify all members of their examination committee that they have been appointed. This is important - for example, if a faculty member will be on sabbatical and unable to serve, the exam committee must be reconstituted through the BMB Student Affairs Committee and Graduate Studies. Scheduling the qualifying examination. All Ph.D. candidates are expected to take their Qualifying Examination prior to their sixth quarter following admission into the program (i.e., the Winter Quarter of the second year), unless a prior waiver is approved in writing by the BMB Student Affairs Committee. The oral qualifying examination will be scheduled during finals week of the Winter Quarter or during the Winter quarter break. Format of the Qualifying Examination. The qualifying examination will consist of a dissertation research proposal and an examination in the core subject area(s) identified by the core course instructors recommendations to the Student Affairs Committee. Candidates will be expected to submit a written dissertation proposal to their committee at least one week prior to the oral examination (see below). The qualifying examination will be administered on a chalk/white board only. The exam should last no longer than 3 hours. The Dissertation Proposal. The goal of the dissertation research proposal is to provide a substantial and original contribution to the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. The scope should be similar to that of a grant proposal. Written versions of the dissertation research proposal are to be prepared by the student and distributed to the committee at least one week prior to the examination. The format is that of an NIH postdoctoral fellowship proposal. Organize sections 1-5 of the research proposal to answer these questions: (1) Specific aims. What do you intend to do? (2) Background and significance. Why is the work important? (3) Preliminary studies. What have you already done? (4) Research design and methods. How are you going to do the work? (5) References. DO NOT EXCEED 5 PAGES FOR SECTIONS 1-4. The following distribution for length is recommended: (1) Specific aims. State briefly the broad, long-term objectives of the work. Then state the specific purposes of the proposed research. One-half page is recommended. (2) Background and significance. Briefly sketch the background to the proposal. Critically evaluate existing knowledge, and identify the gaps that the project is 10
intended to fill. State concisely the importance of the proposed research by relating the specific aims to the broad, long-term objectives. One page is recommended. (3) Preliminary studies - dissertation research only. Describe the work you have already accomplished that is relevant to the proposal. A maximum of one page is recommended. (4) Research design and methods. Outline the experimental design and the procedures to be used to accomplish the specific aims. Include the means by which data will be collected, analyzed and interpreted. Describe any new methodology and its advantage over existing methodologies. Discuss the potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures along with alternative approaches to achieve the aims. Provide a tentative sequence for the investigation. Although no specific number of pages is recommended for this section, the total for sections 1-4 should not exceed 5 pages. (5) References. Each citation must include the names of all authors, title of the article, name of the book or journal, volume number, page numbers and year of publication. BMB students may meet with each committee member to discuss his or her expectations for the examination. This meeting should not be not a pre-examination of the research proposals. Students should not ask for, nor should the committee members provide, comments on weaknesses, potential problems and errors in the research proposals. Qualifying Examination Evaluations. There are three possible outcomes of the examinations - pass, not pass, and fail. Pass advances the student to candidacy for the Ph.D. Fail means that the student is disqualified. Not pass means that the student is required to retake all or part of the examination OR to satisfy another requirement. If requested, the second examination is to be scheduled at the earliest possible date and will be administered by the same committee. Satisfactory completion of this examination (or completion of the new requirement) will result in Advancement to Candidacy. Failure will result in disqualification. Note: To officially advance to candidacy, a fee must be paid to the Cashiers Office and the fully endorsed Advanced to Candidacy Petition can then be submitted to Graduate Studies. 11