Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination is taken early in the fall semester following successful completion of BMOL 606 Proposal Writing course. It assesses the readiness of a student to pursue doctoral research in biomolecular sciences by preparing and orally defending a written proposal. The proposal will be in the student’s dissertation research area and must include at least one specific aim that reflects the student’s independent thinking (eg. innovative idea, new question(s), new experiments, new approaches, new model, etc).
The proposal will be initiated in the BMOL 606 Proposal Writing course. It is expected that the student will continue to improve this proposal after the course ends and will incorporate at least one specific aim that stems from their own independent thinking. The student is free to change the specific aims from those used in the BMOL 606 course. The proposal should not contain nearly identical aims and/or methodologies with any other BMOL student’s proposal (past or current), particularly those from the same lab. The BMOL program office will maintain a record of all past student proposals to ensure scientific aims are not duplicated. Once the student is satisfied with their proposal, they will submit it (termed “examining committee review version”) to the program no later than April 15th of their 4th semester to ensure that it is sufficiently well developed to proceed to the next steps. Also by April 15th the student must submit the form entitled “Proposal Submission for Pre-Review” Form specifying the extent of the student’s individual contributions to the proposal, which specific aim(s) is/are attributed to the student, and whether the major professor provided a copy of their own grant to the student. In case of the latter, the extent of scientific overlap between the major professor’s grant and the student’s proposal must be described.
The faculty mentor must also submit a brief letter to the BMOL program by April 15th describing the student’s contribution to the proposal, which aim(s) are attributed to the student’s own independent thinking, the extent of their involvement in assisting the student with their proposal, whether they provided the student with copies of their proposal(s), and a brief description of the student’s planned dissertation research. If the student’s and major professor’s letters don’t align, the examining committee will hold a meeting with both the student and major professor to discuss and make a final determination.
It is possible for a student to use a proposal for the comprehensive exam that was already submitted for funding. This should be declared no later than February 1st of their 4th semester, and a meeting will be held to determine if it is allowable for use in the comprehensive exam and that it meets the criteria regarding student independent thinking.
| Document/Action Required | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Tentative title of proposal due to BMOL program | February 1st of 4th semester |
| Supervisory committee meeting to discuss student’s proposed dissertation research and 2nd proposal overview | No later than March 1st of 4th semester |
| Examining Committee Review Version due | April 15th of 4th semester |
| Faculty letter & student form addressing independent contributions | April 15th of 4th semester |
| Proposal review by faculty for permission to proceed to scheduling comprehensive exam | By the last day of 4th semester |
| Submission of Approval to Schedule Comprehensive Exam form signed by examining committee | By the last day of 4th semester |
| Final Comprehensive Proposal due | July 1st (2nd summer) |
| Comprehensive Exam taken | 5th semester |
The draft proposal and associated documents must be submitted to the program (Director and Coordinator) no later than April 15th of their 4th semester for review by the examining committee. Please use the file naming convention of “LASTNAME_committee_review_version”. This review ensures that the proposal is sufficiently well developed for final submission the upcoming summer. After the draft proposal is approved, the student is encouraged to continue their refinements. If reviewers provide comments, they will be shared with the student.
The final version must be submitted to the program by July 1st. The file naming convention of “LASTNAME_finalproposal” should be used. Late in July the BMOL program will begin scheduling exams, which should happen during the student’s 5th semester, unless unanticipated circumstances are documented and approved.
If the student fails to get approval to schedule their comprehensive exam or to submit their final version by the July 1st deadline, an automatic fail for the first attempt will be recorded. In this case, there are 5 working days in which to request a second attempt in writing. If the request is approved, the final version of the proposal must be submitted by the first date of the fall semester. If this second deadline is missed this will result in a failed second and final attempt.
The examining committee consists of five members of the program faculty representing all three departments of biological sciences, chemistry/biochemistry, and physics. The examining committee excludes the student’s major advisor. The comprehensive examination requires a private 15-minute PowerPoint presentation of the proposal by the student. After the presentation, the student answers questions posed by the committee. Questions will be based upon the proposal and scientific thinking and scientific content related to the proposal, as well as relevant questions drawing upon BMOL core courses including BMOL 601-603, BMOL 504, and BMOL 511. Students are expected to demonstrate a deep understanding of their research plan and provide justifications for approaches employed. After this question and answer period, the examining committee will grade the oral defense as pass/fail. A comprehensive exam that is failed on the first attempt can be repeated once, but only if a second attempt is requested in writing within five working, and if the request is approved by the Program. Approval will be based on the students’ academic performance and standing in the program. If the second attempt is disapproved, then the Program Director notifies the Dean of the Graduate College that the student should be administratively withdrawn from the program. If the second attempt is approved, the student must retake the exam within a specified time frame (e.g., 30 days) after the failed first attempt. If the student does not make a second attempt within the specified time frame, or if the student fails the second attempt, then a grade of (F) is assigned to the BMOL 691 credit and the student is dismissed from the program by the Graduate College. A second attempt to pass the exam may be videotaped. A third attempt to pass the exam is not permitted by the Graduate College. A student who is administratively withdrawn from the program may apply for admission to another graduate program offered by the university.