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Doctoral Program Requirements
- Advanced Mammalian Physiology (PHSL 511a, PHSL 511b)
- Presentation of Physiological Data (PHSL 501)
- Seminar (PHSL 500)
- Research (PHSL 598)
- Dissertation Research (PHSL 600, up to 6 credit hours)
- 10 graded credits at the 400 and 500 level from approved list (see coursework form)
- University required tool (e.g. PHSL 510)
- A total of 24 graduate credit hours is required prior to candidacy
Students must complete 24 hours of Dissertation Research (PHSL 600). Up to 6 hours of dissertation research earned prior to candidacy may be counted.
At least one semester of teaching is required for the degree and this usually consists of one or two sections of an undergraduate laboratory.
- Advisory Committee Chair – the student’s faculty advisor
- At least three members from the Department of Physiology
- At least one member from a department other than Physiology
Following the selection of a research advisor and the Advisory Committee, the Graduate Faculty Committee Approval Form must be filled out with the names and signatures of committee members and filed with the department secretary. The completed form will then be forwarded to the Graduate School for final approval.
Preliminary examinations for doctoral students consist of a set of written exams covering the student’s research area and course work, a research proposal in the area of the dissertation research project, and an oral defense of the proposal. In most cases, the written exams are taken in early August after completion of the second year of study. After passing the written exams, the student will have one month to write the research proposal. The student’s Advisory Committee will evaluate the research proposal and if it is found acceptable, the oral defense of the proposal will be scheduled with the Advisory Committee.
For more information refer to the Guidelines for the Preliminary Examinations.
The dissertation should represent a competent piece of original research carried out on a specific physiological problem or area under the advisor’s supervision. It should include an adequate review of the literature, a statement of the hypothesis, a set of experiments testing the hypothesis by whatever methods are appropriate, an analysis of the results, and an interpretation of the work and its significance. The research should be of sufficient quality and quantity to merit publications in peer-reviewed journals. The dissertation must conform to the formatting guidelines of the graduate school. Upon completion of the dissertation research, a final department seminar is presented followed by an oral examination. The examination will be conducted by the Advisory Committee and will cover the subject of the dissertation and topics related to the discipline.
- Graduate Faculty Committee approval form : Fill out form, get signature of committee chair, director of graduate studies and turn in form to the Physiology office.
- Preliminary Exam forms: Fill out forms and take them to your oral defense of your research proposal. Return signed forms with a copy of your research proposal to the Physiology office.
- Assessment of preliminary examinations for the Ph.D. degree form: You will need one copy for each of your committee members.
- Certification of completion of the preliminary exams for the Ph.D. degree form
- Defense forms: Take these forms to your thesis defense. All forms should be turned into the Physiology office.
- Assessment of dissertation and oral defense for the Ph.D. degree form: You will need one form for each of your committee members.
- Oral defense form: Only one copy is required.
- Dissertation approval form: Only one copy is required.