Education

Harvard University: Arts & Sciences: Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary

Category Art and Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Doctoral, Harvard University, Medicine, USA
Tags Arts, Biology, Evolutionary, Harvard University, Organismic, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A departmental Graduate Committee is responsible for all matters pertaining to OEB graduate students. It considers applicants for admission and approves all examination committees appointed for doctoral candidates.

Course selection (other than those prescribed; see Prescriptions) is determined by consultation between the advisor and student. During the first two years, satisfactory progress towards the degree requires fulfillment of the departmental teaching requirement, successful completion of at least 16 half-courses (with no more than 12 of these half-courses at the 300 level), completion of all prescribed courses with a grade of B- or better, and passing the qualifying examination (which should be held no later than the end of the second year). Thereafter, satisfactory progress is assessed by the student’s Dissertation Committee at an annual Dissertation Conference.

Academic Residence Requirements: A minimum of two years of full-time study is required to fulfill the residence requirements (16 half-courses passed with distinction). Research (300) courses taken under the direction of members of the Harvard faculty count toward fulfilling the academic requirements. These courses ordinarily require a minimum of ten hours per week (one-quarter TIME) for a minimum of a term. Full-time research (recognized as TIME by the Registrar) will generally not be accepted by the department as part of the academic requirement for a degree.

Research Advisor: Upon admission students will be assigned a faculty member in the department to serve as a dissertation research advisor. Students are encouraged to consult freely with any staff member on matters pertaining to their programs and may change to another advisor at any time, subject to the approval of the new advisor and the chair of the Graduate Committee and notification of the department office.

Students must have an advisor at all times and it is the student’s responsibility to ensure this. Any student who does not have an advisor at the beginning of a term must withdraw from the department at the end of that term if arrangements for a new advisor have not been made by that time.

Prescriptions: OEB has relatively few requirements, generally designed to ensure that entering students have a broad background. They include: 1) college-level calculus; 2) statistics; 3) a reasonable combination of courses in cell biology, molecular biology, and genetics; and 4) courses on the biology (including lab work) of at least two kingdoms. If deficiencies in a applicant’s academic background warrant, courses may be prescribed by the Graduate Committee, and these will be identified at the time of the offer of admission. These courses may be completed prior to matriculation into the program, but they must be completed with a grade of B- or better prior to the student’s qualifying examination. Additionally, the Graduate Committee will determine from each student’s prior training and in discussion with the student and the advisor, an appropriate individual course of study to be completed by the qualifying exam. Each student will complete an orientation seminar program offered by various faculty in the department.

Teaching Requirement: The department requires each PhD candidate to participate in teaching for two terms at a minimum of one-quarter TIME each term. The first of these is ordinarily fulfilled during the second year, and the second requirement is ordinarily fulfilled during the fourth year. Additional teaching assignments, if desired by the student, may be undertaken on recommendation of the individual course instructor.

Admission to Candidacy for the PhD Degree: After completion of 16 graded half-courses in biology and related subjects (300 level courses are included), the student’s record is reviewed by the Graduate Committee. Favorable action will provisionally admit the student to candidacy for the PhD degree. Final admission to candidacy is by means of the qualifying examination.

Qualifying Examination: This is an oral examination which shall be taken before the end of the second year of graduate study. Prescriptions must be satisfied prior to the examination. The Graduate Committee will review any petitions for exception.

The examination committee will consist of the student’s advisor acting as chair, plus three additional individuals. At least two of the additional members must be members of the OEB faculty. Two of the examination committee members will be designated by the advisor, and the fourth member will be appointed by the chair of the Graduate Committee after consultation with the advisor. The overall composition of the examination committee must be approved by the chair of the Graduate Committee.

By the end of the fall term final exams of the student’s second year, the student, after consultation with his or her advisor, will submit to the chair of the Graduate Committee and to the OEB departmental office a list of three broad topics on which to be examined and the time and location of the examination. The topics should be pertinent to, but not be restricted to, the specific topic of the proposed or ongoing dissertation studies. The date, topics, and proposed composition of the examination will be sent to all OEB faculty prior to final approval by the chair of the Graduate Committee. Once approved by the chair, a qualifying examination notice will be sent to all OEB faculty members.

At least two weeks prior to the exam, students should present to the examination committee a dissertation proposal, plus a syllabus outline for three potential courses that could be taught corresponding to the three topic areas. During the qualifying examination, the student’s knowledge of at least two of the three chosen topics will be appraised. In addition to this evaluation, the examination committee will determine whether the student has satisfactorily completed the prescribed studies decided upon earlier by the Prescription Committee.

If the qualifying examination reveals serious deficiencies, the committee may require 1) that the student be reexamined at a later date, or 2) that the student not be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

Dissertation Conference: In the dissertation conference, students have a relatively early opportunity to review with their advisor and the Dissertation Committee the dissertation project, its progress, and future potential. The dissertation conference should be held annually, with the first conference taking place in April of the student’s third year. The student should arrange the conference in March of the fourth year of study, and then in the month of February for all subsequent years. One month prior to the conference, a one-page abstract of proposed and/or completed work and the time and location of the conference should be submitted to the OEB departmental office. The student should present in person a brief account of the results obtained and plans for additional research. The committee should indicate to the student whether it anticipates that the dissertation will be acceptable, and should also suggest improvement where needed.

The Dissertation Committee will consist of the student’s advisor, who will serve as chair, and two other members suggested by the advisor and approved by the chair of the Graduate Committee. At least three members of the committee must be members of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.

Dissertation: The dissertation is written under the supervision of the student’s research advisor and will be read by members of the Dissertation Committee. Prior to the dissertation examination, the candidate will prepare a summary of the dissertation for distribution to the members of the committee. The final copies of the dissertation should conform to the standards outlined in The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Public Presentation of Dissertation Research: All PhD degree candidates in OEB are required to present the subject matter of their dissertations in a seminar open to the general biological public within the University, and to which the members of the Dissertation Examination Committee and OEB faculty have been invited. This presentation shall take place sometime following the dissertation conference and prior to the dissertation examination.

Dissertation Examination: The dissertation examination, conducted orally, is usually held at least one month before the date on which degrees are to be conferred. Final dates for holding dissertation examinations are announced early in each academic term. At least two weeks before the date set for the public presentation/examination, the candidate will present the dissertation committee with at least two copies of the dissertation in final form (but not yet bound), and make available a third copy in the OEB office for review by other members of the faculty. After the dissertation examination has been held, the committee may decide that the candidate passes, fails, or passes on condition that specific changes be made in the dissertation.