A Year-by-Year MCDB Summary

A Year-by-Year MCDB Summary

Year 1

Carrie Ambler (left) and Courtney Blickarz (right), both former students in the Biology Department.

The first year is now done through the BBSP program. The first year includes three laboratory rotations and weekly meetings of small focus groups, in addition to coursework. Students may TA during their first year if they wish.

The written exam. Students choose 3 areas (of 4 offered) for concentration. They are given a group of up to 10 papers for each area approximately one month before the exam (early June or July). They receive questions and answer them at 5 hrs/area over several days at the end of the month, in a written format. The exams are then graded by the Biology MCDB Written Exam Committee. Students who do not pass may be asked to retake all or part of the exam the following year. A more detailed description of the exam process can be found here.

Year 2

Jan LaRocque, PhD in Biology, 2007.

1. Finish any coursework requirements not done the first year.

2. Form thesis committee. The committee consists of at least 5 faculty, 3 of whom must be from the Department of Biology. If one or more members are not at UNC, these faculty need to submit a curriculum vitae. The Director of Graduate Studies must recommend such individuals to the Dean of the Graduate School, who is responsible for their appointment.

3. Have your first committee meeting before the end of the Spring semester. This meeting is to help you, your mentor, and your committee determine what areas will be important for your research, and how to best utilize their areas of expertise.

Year 3

Feasibility of Dissertation and Doctoral Oral examination:

The feasibility and oral examination are combined into one comprehensive oral examination that is accompanied by a written proposal. This examination must be held before the end of the spring semester of the third year. This translates into approximately 2 years after the written exam. For the feasibility and oral exam, students write a feasibility proposal on their thesis topic in the NIH NRSA style. The proposal should have preliminary data that has been generated; however, the report should be primarily focused on the logic and feasibility of the project. A member of the thesis committee who is not the mentor will chair this examination. All members of the student's doctoral committee will examine the student. Grading will be pass or fail. A pass requires the approval of no less than 2/3 (in most instances 4 out of 5) of the committee.

Subsequent years:
Have yearly committee meetings at least every 12 months. Student must schedule a pre-thesis defense meeting at least 2 months prior to anticipated thesis defense date, and prior to setting the date. The committee must give the student permission to defend. The defense consists of a written thesis that has been read and approved by the committee, a public seminar describing the thesis work, and a private oral defense of the thesis work with the committee.