In the first and second year students enroll in six courses from a menu of seminar courses. Second-year students take at least one quarter of biostatistics or biomathematics from a departmental list as well as two courses from a menu of advanced neuroscience and engineering courses. One quarter of teaching experience is required.
Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.
A written qualifying examination is required following completion of the core requirements, generally by the beginning of the second year. The objective of this examination is to test basic knowledge and ability to relate knowledge in different neuroscience areas, to locate and interpret literature, and to apply research problems.
After passing the written qualifying examination, and after completion of all course requirements, students, in consultation with the adviser, choose the doctoral committee to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. For the examination students are expected to write a research proposal and orally present the outline of the proposal to their doctoral committee.
This presentation usually takes between one-and-one-half and three hours. Students should not have completed significant portions of the dissertation project at the time of the examination. Instead, the purpose of the exercise is for students to 1 formulate their plans in their own words; 2 become acquainted with the faculty committee; and 3 familiarize the committee with their projects at an early stage.
Students also are expected to hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination. This presentation also helps to identify the critical experimental areas that students needs to complete prior to the final defense of the dissertation. Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.
Students should contact the Program Office at the beginning of each quarter with the name of their rotation advisor. All students in the Program are expected to attend the quarterly rotation talks. Single credit courses that represent lab meetings, departmental journal clubs, etc. Entering graduate students will in general not be allowed to take elective courses in their first year, but may do so under special circumstances e. Approval for any elective not on the list is required before the student enrolls in the course.
Students may also petition for credit for courses taken at other institutions while enrolled in the program, such as summer courses at Cold Spring Harbor or Woods Hole. All students who have not completed their electives requirements are required to submit an advisor-approved elective plan annually by the end of Summer Quarter. At least 18 graded credits of your course work must be at the graduate level and must be completed prior to scheduling your General Exam.
The Graduate School accepts numerical grades in level courses approved as part of the major and all level courses. Throughout the term, students are expected to meet individually with the chair or other members of the advising committee to identify faculty whose research is closest to their own interests and who would be most appropriate for laboratory rotations. At the end of the fall term, the entire advising committee meets informally with the first-year students to field questions that have come up after their initial entry into the program.
At the end of spring quarter of the first year, students are required to submit a Faculty Mentor Approval Form co-signed by the mentor to the advising committee, which meets to consider the choice of mentor and the ability of the faculty to serve in this capacity.
The advising program continues after each student has chosen a faculty research mentor. Every year students receive a memorandum outlining current requirements for example, course electives, the written and oral qualifying examinations and midstream seminar. The advising committee also meets every year to discuss the progress of all students and identify potential problems. The committee then sends each student a letter that assesses their current progress in the program and makes specific recommendations as needed.
An overall assessment of student progress is also made annually to the neuroscience committee. In addition to the formal advising procedures outlined above, students are repeatedly encouraged to seek advice on career development from faculty members in the UCLA neuroscience community. Finally, an annual retreat serves the purpose of allowing informal and organized contacts between faculty and students, which provides further opportunity for advising. Several subdisciplines are represented by large groups of faculty with common interests who closely interact with each other in a collaborative manner.
A number of these clusters of faculty are represented as an area of specialty within the program, which we call a Focused Area of Research FAR. First-year students take four core courses: Neuroscience M, M, M and First-year students participate in three laboratory rotations.
Students also attend an annual retreat. In the first or second year, students take a course in scientific ethics, Neuroscience Second-year students take at least one quarter of biostatistics or biomathematics selected from a departmental list of courses, as well as two courses from a menu of advanced neuroscience courses.
Upon approval, and during the fall quarter of their second year, students will enroll in a NEUG section, 2 units, letter grade option.
The Minor Proposition course preparation begins winter quarter of the second year. The minor proposition proposal must be completed and the oral exam passed by the end of spring quarter. Minor Proposition is an intensive writing course required for second-year neuroscience graduate students.
Students prepare an entire application on the topic of their choice — likely on their research interest and in support from their primary mentor. Target deadlines for application components are provided with overview lectures on navigating the NIH system, descriptions on the importance of the Training Plan, and opportunities to write, discuss, and obtain feedback throughout the process. Upon receipt of feedback, the students prepare a response in addition to an oral defense to the reviewers of their application.
Students completing their application and defending their application and response to reviewers will receive a passing grade, those incomplete will not pass. Students must receive a passing grade in the course, based on a successful written proposal and oral exam, to continue in the graduate program. Before the end of their second-year, students are required to assemble a Pre-Thesis Committee. This committee provides scientific input on the dissertation project and evaluates students at the end of each year after the first i.
The committee consists of the Thesis Advisor and two other members of the Graduate Program faculty group one of the members may be from outside the program by approval of the Program Director. The full five member Doctoral Committee must be formed by winter quarter of the third year. All students are required to meet with their Pre-Thesis or full Doctoral Committee, once formed, every spring. This meeting serves as the annual Spring Evaluation. The meeting should contain an oral presentation by the student, outlining progress made and plans for the future.
Students must submit a page written thesis proposal to their committee prior to the first pre-thesis spring evaluation meeting. Prior to advancing to candidacy, students must assemble their full Doctoral Committee, during their third or fourth year.
The Doctoral Committee conducts the qualifying examination, conducts the students annual Spring Evaluation, supervises the preparation and passes upon the dissertation, and administers the final examination. The Doctoral Committee should comprise a minimum of five members. Names of the proposed committee members must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator at least one month prior to the anticipated advancement exam date.
0コメント