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Ph.D.
Requirements
- Enroll in full-time
doctoral study at the NYU School of Medicine or approved affiliate laboratories.
- Complete 72 credits,
of which 36 credits are coursework and the balance are research and
seminar credits, within ten years from the initial date of matriculation
or seven years from date of transfer into program with a master’s
degree.
- Transfer a maximum
of 30 credits of B (3.0) or better of course work from graduate programs
at other institutions within the first year of attendance at the Sackler
Institute. All courses will be reviewed for appropriateness according
to University and Sackler Institute regulations.
- Maintain a minimum
3.0 GPA while taking the required 36 credits of coursework. Students
transferring into the Sackler Institute must maintain a B (3.0) GPA
for all coursework taken at NYU. Students who receive a grade of C-
or lower in a course cannot count those credits towards the 36 credit
requirement.
- Pass a comprehensive
or qualifying examination.
- Present and defend
an oral and written thesis.
- Academic Probation - The academic and laboratory performance of new and
entering students is reviewed every semester. Students whom do not maintain
a 3.0 G.P.A. and/or perform unsatisfactorily in the lab will be placed on
academic probation. If the situation in not remedied the student may be asked
to leave the program.
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The
First Year
Orientation
The Sackler Institute offers an orientation program to acquaint incoming
students with the staff, faculty, students, and facilities of NYUSM. An overview
of the curriculum and various topics such as library privileges, health coverage
and the issuance of identification badges and email accounts are covered during
orientation. Senior graduate students are often asked to participate in orientation
activities to acclimate each first year student to their new surroundings.
Open Program
When applying for admission to the Sackler Institute students have the
option of applying directly to individual training programs or entering the "Open Program." Students have the opportunity to perform research
rotations during their first academic year in any laboratory of a Sackler faculty
member, regardless of their departmental or program affiliation. By the end
of their first academic year students choose a research advisor and a correlating
laboratory in which to perform their thesis research. The difficult decision
of choosing a lab is eased with the help of a Graduate Advisory Committee,
exposure to research possibilities through a series of faculty seminars, and
participation in elective courses in the various disciplines.
First Year Research Rotations
During their first academic year all Sackler "Open Program" students
are expected to complete two to three rotations (depending upon the
program) of approximately three months in length. The rotation schedule
extends from the start of the Fall semester until December break, from
January through March, and from April to the end of June. Students
select their rotation mentors after consultation with and approval
from the Dean. Students are required
to submit to their mentor, Graduate Advisor, and the Sackler Office,
within two weeks of completing their rotation, a brief report (2-4
pages) on their rotation project. In
order to assess each student’s progress during these rotations
all research mentors are required to complete an evaluation form and
discuss its contents with the students. These evaluations become part
of the student’s permanent file, and are used in the assessment
of student records at the end of the first academic year. The Sackler
Office will be responsible for sending out evaluation forms to each
laboratory mentor approximately two weeks before the end of every rotation.
In order to begin thesis research, students completing their first
year must make an appointment with Dr. Oppenheim to discuss all research
rotation reports, rotation evaluations and expectations for future
research.rts, rotation evaluations and expectations for future
research.
Scientific
Methods Course - Fall Semester: REQUIRED
Ethics
Course - Spring Semester - REQUIRED
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The
Second Year and Beyond
Choosing a Committee
Students begin their doctoral research once they have selected an advisor
after completing their research rotations. The committee is ultimately comprised
of the advisor, three readers who must be Sackler Faculty, and an outside reader
who is not an NYU faculty member. Once a doctoral topic has been chosen, students
select the three remaining members of the committee with input from the advisor.
The committee members should be experts in the field of doctoral study correlating
to the students’ thesis topic. It is required that students meet at least
once a year with the members of their committee, and strongly recommended,
if schedules allow to meet twice per year.
Qualifying Exam
The qualifying exam is given at the end of the second academic year (after
all basic course work has been completed), and consists of two parts. First,
students must take a comprehensive written examination. (Note: Those matriculated
in the Microbiology program have different qualifying examination requirements.
Students should speak with the Microbiology Graduate Advisor for further details.)
Students also prepare a NIH-style research proposal, between 10-15 pages, outlining
experiments to be accomplished during a three-year period. For each experiment
proposed, students should discuss difficulties, possible outcomes and interpretations
of such. After reading the proposal, normally within 2-3 weeks of receipt,
the committee will decide whether the candidate is ready to orally defend the
proposal. Once approved, the candidate will give a twenty-minute presentation
and respond to questions from the committee to establish the student’s
depth of knowledge and analytical ability on the thesis topic. Students are
eligible to receive their Master’s degree after successful completion
of the presentation.
**For
M.D./Ph.D. students... Qualifying exams are
to be scheduled at the beginning of the summer
between the third and fourth years of the program.
Once the qualifying exam is completed, students
should organize a thesis committee comprised
of their Ph.D. advisor and three other faculty
members. Students should submit the thesis proposal
to the committee in the fall of their fourth
year and must defend their thesis proposal no
later than December 1st. (Note: Students matriculated
in the Developmental Genetics program are subject
to different dates, and should speak with the
D.G. Graduate Advisor regarding such.) Any deviation
from this schedule must be cleared with the
Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program
beforehand. Strict adherence to this schedule
is intended to assist the students in finishing
the M.D./Ph.D. program in a timely fashion.
Master’s Degree
Students who have passed both the written and oral parts of the qualifying
exam and completed 36 credits with a 3.0 GPA are eligible to apply for the
master’s degree. Transfer students must complete at least 24 credits in
residence at NYU to be eligible. Conferrment of the master’s degree occurs
three times per academic year during September, January, and May. GSAS commencement
ceremonies are held in May. Students whose master’s degrees are conferred
in September or January are entitled to attend the May graduation following
their conferral. To apply for a master’s degree call Torchtone at 212-995-4747.
Students should have their social security and pin number ready in order to
respond to prompts. (The system can record your expected graduation date if
you are unable to recall your pin number.) In order to graduate in a specific
semester, you must apply for graduation within the application deadline period.
The graduation application deadlines can be found at the website address:
http://www.nyu.edu/registrar/04graddeadline.shtml. The application period
falls approximately three to six months before the expected graduation date.
It is recommended that you apply for graduation no later than the beginning
of the semester in which you plan to complete all program requirements. Please
inform the Sackler Office that you have applied for the master’s degree
via Torchtone so the proper paperwork can be filed on your behalf.
Registration after Completing 72 Credits
Students must be enrolled at the University in order to be conferred a
degree.
3 Credit Option
After completing 72 credits with a G.P.A. of 3.0 students are advised to
register for only 3 credits per semester until their research is completed,
an oral defense has been presented, and a copy of the thesis has been approved
by their committee and GSAS.
Maintenance of Matriculation
If students expect to complete their defense and submit the final copy
of their dissertation near the beginning of a new semester, or in rare cases
in which it is necessary to leave NYUMC campus prior to submitting their thesis,
students should register for maintenance of matriculation for that semester.
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The
Thesis and its Defense
Purpose
The dissertation is a body of work that should reflect the
student’s cummulative research, including an initial hypothesis or premise,
an analysis of the results and the conclusions drawn within the context of
modern science.
As
defined in the GSAS Bulletin, the dissertation, "must demonstrate a sound methodology and
evidence of exhaustive study of a special field
and make an original contribution to that field."
Length
There is no set length for a doctoral dissertation. The student’s
best reference is a pamphlet called, "A Formatting Guide For Successful
Completion of the Doctoral Dissertation." The pamphlet, which is part
of the Ph.D. packet, can be picked up in the Sackler Office.
The
dissertation should have three main sections:
the preliminary pages including the title and
copyrighting pages, table of contents, acknowledgement,
list of figures; the body or text of the work;
and the appendices and bibliography. The body
or the text of the work is the area where the
student has the most flexibility in deciding
how to break up the results of his work in chapters,
subsections, etc.
Outside Reader
The fifth member of the dissertation committee must be selected from outside
NYU and possess an expertise in the field studied. The Ph.D. candidate and
the advisor should discuss the choice of an outside reader and arrive at a
mutual conclusion. The outside reader is expected to read the thesis and attend
the defense itself.
NYU must approve
all outside readers for defenses. Ph.D. candidates must obtain
and submit to the Sackler Office an outside reader form along with the
reader’s curriculum vitae. The proposed reader should meet the following
requirements: (1) Ph.D. degree; (2) rank of at least Assistant Professor;
(3) published research beyond the dissertation. If this is not the case,
the student must submit a memorandum written by his/her graduate advisor
justifying approval of the reader.
The Defense
The Oral Defense should be scheduled immediately following completion of
the dissertation and approval by the committee members. Students are responsible
for selecting the time, date and place for their defense and making sure that
all members of the committee are available. Most students utilize the biochemistry
or microbiology seminar rooms for their defenses. Call Emily at x35320 to reserve
the biochemistry seminar room, MSB 393, or Lynn at x35324 to reserve the microbiology
seminar room, MSB 248.
Students
must provide their defense notices to the Sackler
Office two weeks in advance, including the title,
the abstract, the advisor’s name and the
time and location of the defense. The Sackler
Office will be sending notification throughout
the University to encourage attendance by the
Medical Center community. E-mail notification
will be made to faculty and students. Please
adhere to this deadline to allow significant
time to notify students and faculty.
Administrative Requirements
Please inform the Sackler Office that you have applied for the Ph.D. degree
via Torchtone so the proper paperwork can be filed on your behalf. Checksheets
are forwarded to the Sackler Office and the students for the purpose of clearing
up any administrative matters regarding graduation, including correct mailing
address, spelling of students’ names, etc. The Registrar provides checksheets
to the Sackler Office for those students who have applied for graduation with
a copy provided to the student for verification. There are a number of administrative
deadlines.
Deadlines
The Ph.D. graduation application deadline can be found at
the website address: http://www.
nyu.edu/registrar/04graddeadlines.html
GSAS sets both a
preliminary and final deadline for submission of the thesis. The preliminary
thesis deadline is set about a month and a half before the final deadline
so students can adjust any formatting errors. Preliminary and final deadline
dates are listed in the Ph.D. packet, available in the Sackler Office.
Microfilming & Copyrighting
Students are required to microfilm their thesis according to university
guidelines. Checks made payable to NYU in the amount of $100 should be submitted
with the final copy of the thesis. Advisors are expected to pay the cost of
microfilming and copyrighting the thesis-- either by paying outright or by
reimbursing students for such costs. Upon request the Sackler Office will provide
candidates with a receipt for the microfilming and copyrighting costs.
Copyrighting is optional.
The fee is $35. In most cases, if the distinctive results of your research
have been published in a journal during your graduate career, students
have already preserved their rights to the material and do not copyright
the thesis. Conferring with your advisor on whether or not to copyright
your thesis is always a good idea.
Preliminary Submission of the Thesis
Students must hand in a preliminary copy of their thesis to the Sackler
Office.
Final Submission of the Thesis
The final copy of your thesis must be presented to the Sackler
Office in a blackspring binder. We will deliver the preliminary and final copy
of your thesis to GSAS Enrollment Services at One-Half Fifth Avenue. The administrator
reviewing the thesis will contact students directly with any changes that need
to be made to the thesis. Once the final copy is approved, students need to
provide the Sackler Office with a copy of the approved thesis in a black spring
binder. An additional copy must be provided to the students’ department.
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