Advanced Research

Progress towards the Ph.D. Degree

1. When a student has passed the Dissertation Proposal Hearing with permission to proceed to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, a Doctoral Committee shall be formed by the Department Chair, in consultation with the student and his/her advisor. The rules for the composition of this Committee are the same as those for the Final Examination Committee (see below), and normally the two committees will have the same membership, although periodic changes in the composition of the Doctoral Committee are permitted.

2. The Doctoral Committee shall meet with second and third-year students at least once a year, and shall submit in writing to the Department Chair its assessment of the student's progress. This assessment is normally to be based on a written progress report from the student and an oral discussion between the student and the doctoral committee.

3. The Basic Science Chairs of the Division of the Biological Sciences have adopted the following policy for monitoring the progress of students in the BSD Ph.D. programs:

Beginning with the fourth year of graduate studeies, each student should meet with his/her doctoral committee once every other quarter. It should be the responsibility of the student's advisor to report a summary of the proceedings of the doctoral committee meeting to the academic unit. The student's registration for the fifth and subsequent years shall be permitted only if the summaries of the doctoral committee meetings have been reported to the appropriate academic unit.

4. Students in Ecology and Evolution shall hold these committee meetings in the Autumn and Spring Quarters. The Autumn Quarter meeting shall be scheduled so that advisor can submit a written report to the department Chair before the December faculty meeting. Based on these reports, and discussion in the December faculty meeting, the department Chair and Student Programs Administrator submit requests for the next year's fellowships for continuing students to the BSD Dean of Students. The budget for the year beginning (July 1) is fixed shortly thereafter, and it includes the maximum number of students the Department can admit for the next academic year.

5. Each student should submit in the Autumn quarter the following information to the Chair/Student Programs Administrator: Current CV, Annual Progress Report, Timetable for completion of the Ph.D., Significant publications/abstracts of scientific talks. These materials should be available to the faculty well before the December faculty meeting.

6. The student is responsible for ensuring the fulfillment of all degree requirements of the University (as set out in the Announcements of the Graduate Programs in the Division of Biological Sciences) and of the Department as indicated in this notice and its successors.

1. The Division of Biological Sciences requires a student to have been in candidacy for the Ph.D. degree at least eight months before the degree can be awarded.

As noted in the General Knowledge and Dissertation Proposal Hearing guidelines (above), it is the responsibility of each student, upon successfully passing each examination, to submit the forms for admission to candidacy for the relevant degree to the Department Office. The Department Student Programs Administrator will then forward the forms to the Division of Biological Sciences for review and approval by the appropriate faculty committee.

2. Any student who fails to take the Final Examination within five years (20 quarters) of passing the Dissertation Proposal Hearing shall normally be required to redefend the dissertation proposal.

3. The candidate shall notify the Department Chair of his/her wish to take the Final Examination, after seeking the approval of the Doctoral Committee. The Chair will form a Final Examination Committee in consultation with the student's advisor, who will normally be the Chair of the Committee.

4. The Committee shall consist of at least five members. The Chair of the Committee (primary advisor) must have an appointment in the Department of Ecology & Evolution. Non-Departmental co-advisors may be permitted, after consultation with the Department Chair. At least two members of the Committee in addition to the Chair must be members of the Department of Ecology & Evolution, although in extraordinary circumstances this requirement may be altered by the Department Chair.

5. The candidate must submit one copy of her/his dissertation and a brief abstract to the Department office at least 21 days before the date of the Final Examination. The candidate shall provide one copy of the dissertation for each member of the Committee. Arrangements for announcing the examination are the same as those described above for the dissertation proposal defense.

6. The Final Examination shall consist of a public seminar on the subject of the research described in the student's thesis. A closed session will normally be held at the end of the public examination. At least four members of the Committee (including the Committee Chair) must be present at the examination, with the others submitting written questions or comments.

7. The Committee Chair shall communicate the result of the examination, in writing on the "Report on the Final Examination" form (available in the Department Graduate Programs Office) to the Department Chair. The signed form should be submitted to the Student Programs Office as soon as possible after the examination.

Dissertation and Graduation

After successfully passing the Final Examination for the Ph.D., the student must submit the written dissertation to the office of the Academic Publications in the Administration Building. The student will be allowed to graduate only after Academic Publications has accepted a final copy of the dissertation.

It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that the thesis is prepared in a form suitable for acceptance by the University Office of Academic Publications. Students are advised to consult with this office well in advance of final preparation of their thesis. Academic Publications must receive, approve, and accept the written copy of the student's thesis before the term deadline for the student to graduate at the following convocation. Failure to meet the Academic Publication's deadline will result in a delay of graduation. University regulations require that a student be registered for research on campus in the quarter in which they graduate. This means that tuition and fees for that quarter must be paid.

A bound copy of the accepted dissertation must be submitted to the Department Office after graduation.