The qualifying examination in Biochemistry will be composed of three parts, (1) a written proposal based on the student's own research project, (2) a seminar (open to general attendance) and (3) two round-table discussions, administered by the student's advisory committee.
For a general overview of the exam, visit our Biochemistry Qualifying Exam Overview page.
In order to pass the qualifying examination, the student should be able to:
- Identify a significant and original scientific problem
- Formulate a testable hypothesis
- Formulate an experimental approach to directly test this hypothesis
- Express this research problem clearly and concisely in writing
- Present his/her ideas orally in an effective manner before a general audience and defend them before the examination committee
The Written Proposal
The written proposal must provide a concise review of the relevant literature (with citations), putting the proposed work into context. The literature review section may not exceed 3 pages of single-spaced text. The next section of the proposal presents the Aims of the Research; these are the studies that are proposed to complete the body of work that will constitute the core of the dissertation. The proposed research must describe questions/experiments that could lead to at least 2 independent research publications. This section should describe the work the student has completed to date on their project, including figures and describing key methods (this can be considered as preliminary data). This section may not exceed 7 pages. Key things that should be addressed are: 1) a clear hypothesis or aim statement, 2) a rationale for why the proposed work is important, 3) the student's preliminary data to support the feasibility and direction of each aim and then 4) what the student will do to complete the aim. If data generated by another student are required to provide context or rationale for the aim, it would be best to include these in the introduction, not in the Aims section and ensure proper credit is given. The proposal will be submitted to the Committee at least 10 days before an initial meeting with the Committee. At this meeting, the Committee will ask clarifying questions and will provide feedback on any necessary changes to the proposal. Within 20 days after this meeting, the student will provide a revised version of the proposal to the Committee that will be evaluated as a part of the exam.
The proposal must be formatted according to the following guidelines:
- 1-inch margins on all sides, top and bottom
- Paginated
- Times Roman or Arial 11-point font on all text. Figure legends, scheme legends, tables, and table legends may be done in 8-11 point.
- Single space
- Entire proposal (not including references) must not be longer than 10 pages.
- All figures should be embedded and have a figure legend.
- The bibliography will include at least 35 references and all references will be annotated (include a few sentences stating the essential parts of the paper and how the reference relates to the proposed research).
The Seminar
The seminar must be announced in writing to the faculty, students and staff of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at least one week beforehand. This seminar will consist of an oral presentation of the research proposal, directed toward a general audience. The seminar should be a clear and concise presentation of the research and proposed studies with sufficient background for the non-specialist. An important aspect of the presentation will be the effective use of visual aids. The presentation should be 40-45 minutes, with sufficient time following for questions from the audience. Members of the examination Committee may ask general questions, but the examination should be confined to the oral section
Round-table Discussions/Justification of the Proposal
The proposal will be submitted to the Committee at least 10 days (but not more than 3 weeks) before the first round-table meeting with the Committee. The second round-table discussion/justification of the revised proposal can take place as soon as immediately following the seminar, but no later than 5 working days following the seminar. The dates of the meetings are to be scheduled at least four weeks in advance of the examination. During these meetings, the Committee will ask clarifying questions about the proposal to help guide the student’s upcoming research efforts and to ensure that they have provided a well-prepared proposal that effectively addresses a central hypothesis. The student's major advisor will be present for all parts of the examination but will be a non-voting member of the committee and must refrain from guiding the student or responding to committee queries to the student. The PI can provide clarifying comments at the request of the Committee. Immediately following the meeting, the Committee will decide if the student has passed or failed each section of the exam. In the case of a failure of any portion of the exam, the conditions that must be fulfilled by the student to pass the exam upon a single retake opportunity and the time period within which these conditions must be met will be provided in a Committee letter to the student within one week following the conclusion of the meeting.