Students interested in applying must complete a departmental preapplication available from the director of graduate studies. Graduate Record Examinations scores, complete undergraduate transcripts and three letters of recommendation are required before the application can be considered.
The preapplication procedure should be completed before May 1 for admission to the following fall semester. All applicants must also apply formally to the university. Final acceptance is contingent upon completion of the official admission procedure.
Screening Procedure Following the student's successful completion of PHBI 581, 582 and 583, the graduate committee will consider each student for continuation in the Ph.D. program. An overall GPA of 3.0 or better and a minimum grade of B (3.0) in all courses given by the department are the minimal requirements for continuance. At the discretion of the graduate committee, a screening examination may be required.
Guidance Committee The guidance committee consists of at least five members, three of whom must be from within the department and at least one of whom must be drawn from the faculty of another department. The chair of the committee will be the student's dissertation advisor.
Qualifying Examination The purpose of the qualifying examination is to give the student a formal opportunity to demonstrate to the faculty that he or she is qualified to conduct independent research. Passing this examination is formal recognition that the student has independently developed a research proposal that is significant and can be reasonably accomplished with available resources.
At least 60 days prior to its scheduled date, the student must petition the Graduate School for permission to take the qualifying examination; the examination must be completed by the end of the semester during which application is made. Students must complete this examination no later than the fifth semester of graduate work. If the student fails to take the examination by this time, the guidance committee will report a failure to pass the examination. The student then has one additional chance to take and pass the examination; this may not occur sooner than six months nor later than one year after the first examination. Applications to take the qualifying examination later than the fifth semester may be considered on an individual basis and must be approved by both the guidance committee chair and the department chair.
The qualifying examination consists of a written and an oral portion. For the written portion, the student must prepare a proposal for a research project. The proposal must be submitted to the members of the guidance committee not less than 10 days prior to the oral portion of the examination. For the oral defense, the student should prepare an oral presentation of the proposal of approximately 30 minutes duration and be prepared to answer questions regarding any topic related to the proposal.
Dissertation and Oral Defense Upon completion of the research project, and with the consent of the dissertation committee, the candidate prepares the written dissertation. After the dissertation has been read by the committee, the candidate must make an oral defense of the work.
Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995