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JCGS Home > Academic
Programs > Ph.D. Programs > Neuroscience > Program Structure > Research
proposal (Thesis)
Research Proposal
A student is expected to submit his/her Thesis Research
Proposal to his/her Research Committee during the fall semester
of the student's third year, after completion of the comprehensive
examination. The thesis proposal committee meeting must take place no later than December 1 of a student's
third year of study. The proposal should be prepared as a pre-doctoral
research grant application (NIH, F31 application), and should
be reviewed for approval by the Research Committee. While
subject to revision, as it would be with any research plan,
this document serves as a guide to the student, advisor and
Research Committee for the conduct of the student's research
activity. Formal submission of the F31 proposal to NIH is
not mandatory. Such a submission, however, is encouraged
to provide the student with real-life grantsmanship experience.
The student and research advisor
collectively determine whether an approved thesis proposal
will be formally submitted to NIH.
If the student cannot meet the December 1st deadline of the third year of study, he/she
must petition the Executive Committee
for an extension. Only one extension of no more than three
months will be allowed.
Members of the student's Research Committee must include the thesis advisor, two faculty members of the neuroscience graduate program, and one external to the program. A student is encouraged to identify an individual outside of Jeffferson as the external examiner. Additional
members of the Graduate Faculty may be appointed by
the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
Defense of Thesis
No less than three weeks in advance of the Defense-of-Thesis,
the student submits one unbound copy of a Research Committee-approved
dissertation to the office of the Dean of the College of
Graduate Studies and to each member of the Final Defense
of Thesis Committee. The format of the dissertation must
conform to the guidelines established by the College of Graduate
Studies.
View dissertation guidelines
The final examination consists of a public defense of thesis
at which time the candidate gives a formal presentation of
the thesis before the Final Defense of Thesis Committee.
An announcement must be made public no less than one week
before the scheduled date of defense. The doctoral dissertation
defense tests the candidate's ability to communicate the
specific research project to a broad scholarly audience and
to show the implications of the research for other disciplines.
Following the public presentation and an open question and
answer period, the Final Defense of Thesis Committee convenes
with the candidate to ask additional questions and/or vote
on the acceptance of the candidate's dissertation. Upon successful
defense of
the dissertation, the original bound dissertation, an additional
bound copy, and one unbound copy are submitted to the office
of the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies. In accordance
with the policy of the College of Graduate Studies, in order
for a student to graduate at June commencement exercises
during any particular academic year, all requirements must
be successfully completed by the deadline set by the College
for that academic year. |
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