Exams:
In order to be admitted to candidacy for the Ph. D. degree a student must pass 2 exams. The first exam, the Comprehensive Exam (aka qualifying exam) is taken after the completion of 3 semesters, usually at the beginning of February.
The second exam, the Proposition Exam, must be taken no later than 3 - 6 months after passing the Comprehensive Exam.

Comprehensive Examination

All students must take a written comprehensive examination after the end of the third semester (End of January). The examination is designed to evaluate basic knowledge in biochemistry and molecular biology. The ability to analyze and interpret data will also be tested. Students must have a B average in course work to be allowed to take the comprehensive exam. Only the presence of extraordinary circumstances will make the operating committee allow a student who is on probation to take the comprehensive exam.  

Students who enter the program in January will take the comprehensive examination after their fourth semester (end of January). Note that these students will have taken their dissertation proposal prior to taking the comprehensive examination (see below).

The possible results of the written examination are*.

PASS with honors, PASS and PASS with remedial work required and FAIL.

If the student fails the exam the student may be given an opportunity to repeat the examination one time at the discretion of the operating committee.)

Students are required to pass the written comprehensive examination to stay in the program. A student who has failed the Comprehensive Exam twice has to leave the program. Only under exceptional circumstances can the operating committee recommend that the student be retained in the program. The student must request such a recommendation in writing. The decision to retain a student must be based on a strong support by the student's mentor, a superior proposition exam and satisfactory course work (GPA > 3.0). If the operating committee decides to recommend retention, its recommendation must be approved by a majority of the primary faculty of the department. If approved, the student will be given an oral examination administered by 3 members of the department chosen by the director of the graduate program. The decision on whether to retain the student will depend on the outcome of this exam.

Dissertation Proposal Presentation (Written and Oral):

Within two months after taking the Comprehensive Exam the student, in consultation with the mentor, will choose a dissertation committee from faculty whose research interests and expertise will complement the student's research project. It is the student's responsibility to suggest 4-5 faculty members in order of preference who are willing to serve on the dissertation committee. A form for the selection of the dissertation committee can be obtained from the departmental Graduate Secretary. The Program Operating Committee will then select the Thesis Committee from this list. The dissertation committee is charged with overseeing all aspects of the dissertation research. They will administer the oral preliminary examination, meet with the student periodically to help plan research and review the student's progress, and provide written reports to the director of the graduate program (see progress report description below). The dissertation committee will consist of 3 members, with at least two primary faculty members of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and one from outside the department (the external examiner [see below] fulfills this requirement). A fourth member may be added, if his/her expertise is required. It is a requirement of the graduate school that at least 3 members of the dissertation committee including the mentor be members of the graduate faculty. At the time of the thesis defense an external examiner (from outside the University of Miami) is added to this committee. Both the program operating committee and the dean of the graduate school must approve the dissertation committee as part of the application for admission to candidacy.

The chairman of the dissertation committee must be a member of the graduate school other than the mentor. The chairman will be recommended by the student and must be approved by the operating committee and the mentor. The responsibility of the chairman will be to chair the oral examination meetings and the progress report meetings and to prepare and send written reports regarding these meetings and examinations to the director of the graduate program and the student. This should be done within less than two weeks after the meeting. The chairman should also meet with the student after every meeting to discuss the the outcome of the report.

The format of the proposition exam is as follows: At least one week prior to the scheduled examination, the student will submit to the committee members a written dissertation proposal which 1) defines the research problem, 2) surveys the relevant literature, 3) outlines the initial steps in the research (including any preliminary results), and 4) clearly states the intended goals of the research. The student will then orally present the proposal to the members of the dissertation committee, and the committee members will question the student about the proposal.

The presentation of the dissertation proposal will be chaired by the chairman of the dissertation committee. The role of the chairman will be 1) to insure that oral presentation is held to a reasonable length of time; 2) to insure that the student is evaluated fairly and rigorously; and 3) to see that a written evaluation is promptly prepared and sent to the student and to the director of the graduate program.

The dissertation committee should specifically evaluate the following: Has the student demonstrated the ability to design a feasible project? Has the student shown a reasonable knowledge of the literature regarding the project? Has the student presented the proposal (both written and oral) in a scholarly fashion? Does the research presented constitute an acceptable and feasible dissertation project? The International Union of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology has published Standards for the Ph.D. degree. These provide some guidelines for the thesis committee as well as the student.

After the defense of the dissertation proposal, the dissertation committee will discuss the student's performance and the merits of the research proposal. The possible results are PASS, FAIL or UNSATISFACTORY. If the proposal were to be deemed UNSATISFACTORY, the dissertation committee will review the status of the student and recommend appropriate corrective measures. These may include, but are not limited to, revision of the written proposal, remedial studies, repeat of the oral defense, or modification of the research project.

The dissertation committee will notify the student of its decision, verbally, immediately after the discussion, and then in writing as soon as possible (within a week).

After a student has passed the written proposition examination the director of the graduate program will file an application for admission to candidacy with the graduate school (Coral Gables Campus). These applications must be filed before the dissertation defense.

The Graduate School at the University of Miami has implemented a new "Electronic Theses and DIssertations (ETD) submission process. The new formatting guidelines and submission instructions are available at http://www6.miami.edu/grad/tabs/thesis.html. Students can download all paperwork that is required for defending and submitting their theses, dissertations, and doctoral assays as well as templates for the preparation of their documents. All students defending and submitting their theses are required to follow these new guidelines.