Summary

The first-year curriculum emphasizes course work but allows a student to spend thirty to forty percent of the time in laboratory rotations. At the end of the first year, the student chooses a thesis advisor and begins thesis research. During the second year, the student has little course work and devotes nearly full time to research. At the end of the second year, the student takes a preliminary exam in order to advance to candidacy for the PhD degree. Thesis work generally takes three to four years, culminating in a written thesis that the student defends orally before a thesis committee.

First year advising

First year students are advised by the director of graduate studies (dgs), currently Richard Mooney, who helps students select appropriate course work and rotations and gives general advice until a thesis laboratory/advisor has been chosen. Students first meet with the dgs at the time of matriculation; subsequent meetings are usually held on an annual basis. The program coordinator will schedule these meetings, but students are free to request a meeting at any time. Medical Scientist Training Program (mstp) students and minority students will meet at least once a year with their respective advisors. After the first year, thesis committees assume responsibility for advising students. In addition to the dgs, a faculty ombudsman, currently David Fitzpatrick, specifically meant to be an advocate for students, is available to advise and counsel students in all years.

Coursework

Required courses for the Graduate Program in Neurobiology:
Fall semester of the first year:
•   Concepts in Neuroscience I  (NBI 319, three credit hours)
•   Frontiers in Neurobiology (faculty seminar) (NBI 325, one credit hour)
Spring semester of the first year:
•   Basic Neurobiology (NBI 202, four credit hours, January medical school course)
•   Concepts in Neuroscience II (NBI 320, three credit hours)
Repeated each semester for the first four semesters:
•   Student Seminar (NBI 280, four credit hours, one credit hour each semester)
•   Journal Club (NBI 326, four credit hours, one credit hour each semester)
Other courses:
•   Two Electives (generally a total of six credit hours). Courses selected by the student and offered by neurobiology or other departments.
Electives can be taken any time after the first semester.
Except for the student seminar and faculty seminar courses, it is possible to complete formal coursework in the first year. After the electives and seminar requirements are met, students in the first two years register for enough credit hours in Research in Neurobiology (NBI 372) to make a total of twelve credit hours each semester. Students are encouraged, however, to take or audit additional courses to expand their interests and knowledge.

Required courses for Medical Scientist Training Program (mstp, md/phd) students and transfer students from other programs will be determined individually for each student by the director of graduate studies depending on the student’s previous training. In general, students transferring from other programs will take the required courses in their first two semesters in the department; it is likely that these courses will complete their formal course requirements.

Graduate grades at Duke are A, B, C and F (failure). Students must maintain a B- average in the Concepts in Neuroscience I, Concepts in Neuroscience II and the Basic Neurobiology courses. In addition to this department requirement, the Graduate School requires that all graduate students maintain a 3.0 cumulative Graduate Grade Point Average (GGPA). Students falling below the 3.0 GGPA will risk either academic probation or termination from their graduate program.

Laboratory rotations

Although rotations are optional, students are encouraged to do three laboratory rotations (Research in Neurobiology, NBI 372) in their first year (September-December, January-April, May-August). The rotations acquaint students with current research in neurobiology and offer opportunities to develop proficiencies in a variety of techniques.

At the end of this year of rotations, students select their thesis advisors.

Thesis committee meetings

The student’s thesis committee should be selected at the beginning of the second year and should meet for the first time before December 15 of the second year. This meeting is an opportunity for the student to discuss potential projects for his/her thesis, as well as the status of on-going experiments that might constitute preliminary data for the project. At the second meeting, to be held by April 15, the student and committee will agree on the major questions to be addressed in the student's thesis proposal, and arrive at a list of potential experiments. The committee will offer advice to the student about the scope and feasibility of the aims, as well as their relevance to the questions that form the basis of the thesis proposal. Depending on the individual needs of the student, the committee may meet again before the preliminary examination.

After the preliminary examination, the committee should continue to meet at regular intervals every six to twelve months. The program coordinator will remind students when meetings should be held, but it is the responsibility of the student to schedule meetings and file short reports documenting the date of the meeting and summarizing the outcome.

The thesis committee consists of at least four faculty members: the student's principal research advisor and at least three additional faculty members. All committee members must be on the graduate faculty. Of the three or more members in addition to the advisor, at least one member must have a primary appointment in neurobiology and at least one must have his/her primary appointment in a department other than neurobiology. The Graduate School requires at least three members representing the student’s major area and at least one member representing a minor area. The choice of committee members should be based on their expertise in the area of the student's research and their willingness to contribute help and advice.

Occasionally, it may be desirable to include members from outside the university, but in general this should not be necessary. If an outside member is deemed necessary, permission must be obtained from the dean of the graduate school through solicitation by the dgs. The student, together with his/her research sponsor, is responsible for organizing the thesis committee and arranging for payment of any expenses involved in bringing an external member to campus for committee meetings.

The chairperson of the thesis committee is not the student's research advisor but another faculty member, preferably with a primary appointment in neurobiology. The chairperson will be chosen by the student in consultation with the advisor. The responsibility of the chairperson is to oversee meetings of the thesis committee, including the preliminary examination and the final examination. The dgs and the associate dean of the graduate school must approve the committee in writing. Although it will not be usual, the composition of the committee can change according to the direction of research or as a result of other problems that arise. Changes in the composition of the thesis committee require permission from the dgs and the associate dean of the graduate school. This same committee conducts the preliminary examination and the thesis examination.

The preliminary examination

The preliminary exam is based on the thesis proposal written by the student. It is meant to test a student's ability to formulate a hypothesis and design aims (experiments) in the form of an nrsa fellowship application. The exam is to be completed by September of the third year. Students who fail to take their exam by this deadline will not be permitted to register for the spring semester of the third year. Exceptions to this rule will be made only under extenuating circumstances and by approval of the director of graduate studies. The preliminary exam will consist of four parts:

• a short (five-to-ten minute) organizational meeting of committee members without the student to assess the student's progress, identify the main issues to be addressed in the question session, and determine who will address them and in what order,
• an uninterrupted twenty-minute presentation by the student in which he/she reviews the background and significance of the proposed studies as well as the specific aims,
• a question period (one to two hours) during which the student is expected to respond to the questions of each committee member (with the exception of the thesis advisor), and
• deliberation and vote by the committee members on the quality of the student's performance.

During the presentation period, the student is encouraged to use slides or transparencies to help communicate the main points of the proposal or to illustrate preliminary data. However, the presentation must be kept within the allotted twenty-minute time interval.

During the question session, individual committee members are expected to take turns asking questions. The chairperson of the thesis committee is responsible for assuring that each member of the committee (with the exception of the thesis advisor) has equal access to the student. The thesis advisor will refrain from asking or answering questions or offering comments during the question period unless specifically requested to do so by the thesis committee.

Two negative votes (or one negative vote by the chair) constitute a failure, and, in accordance with the policies of the graduate school, the student has one opportunity to retake the examination. In order to advance to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must pass the preliminary exam. If the student fails the preliminary exam twice, the student must leave the program within three months or at the end of the current semester, whichever period is longer.
The thesis proposal document:
The thesis proposal should be written in the form of an nrsa application and limited to ten pages. As such, it should contain the following sections: 1) an introduction which briefly outlines the biological question to be addressed in the proposal, 2) a list of specific aims that summarize the actual experiments that will be done to address the biological question, 3) a section that covers the background of the question and addresses the significance of the proposed work, and 4) a research design/methods section that describes the experimental methods, expected results, and potential problems that might arise. The proposal must be given to members of the thesis committee at least two weeks prior to the preliminary examination. The completed application will be submitted to nih to meet one of the three deadlines (April 8, August 8, and December 8). Applications are available in the graduate program office or on the web: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/416/phs416.htm.
Contribution of the advisor and student to the thesis proposal document:
The thesis proposal document is to be written by the student, with the guidance of the advisor. The advisor is encouraged to contribute to the content of the document to the extent that he/she feels is appropriate. The student is also encouraged to consult with other members of the thesis committee.

Progress subsequent to the preliminary examination

The duration of a student's thesis research will vary according to circumstances. In general, however, completion of this work takes a minimum of two years and should not take more than four years. The program guarantees support of students through their sixth year as long as the student makes satisfactory progress toward the degree and the student and mentor remain at Duke. The program does not guarantee support if either the student or the mentor leaves the university.  After six years, continued support requires semi-annual approval by the student’s thesis committee; this approval can be rendered without a formal committee meeting. If the committee recommends cessation of support, a student has the option to appeal this recommendation to the faculty members of the steering committee or to the graduate student ombudsman, currently Dr. David Fitzpatrick. In accord with Graduate School policy, students not making adequate progress to their degree can be dismissed upon the recommendation of their thesis committee.

Thesis outline, thesis, and thesis defense

In order to receive a doctoral degree, the student must prepare and satisfactorily defend a doctoral thesis. At least four months prior to the date of the expected thesis defense, each student must prepare a written outline of the major experimental observations and conclusions of their work. This outline is discussed in a meeting with the thesis committee, at which time the committee recommends either that the student prepares the thesis and makes arrangements for its defense or that the student be required to do additional work before defending.

In general, the thesis consists of an introductory chapter, a series of chapters that describe the work accomplished, a concluding chapter and a complete bibliography. If research papers based on the work have already been published, it is permissible to use this material verbatim for some chapters. The graduate school sets the format of the thesis, and that office should be consulted for details about thesis preparation. Instructions for formatting the thesis can be found on the graduate school web site. Copies of the thesis, in final form, must be in the hands of all members of the committee, including outside members, at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense. If this goal cannot be met, the thesis defense will be rescheduled at the committee's convenience.

The thesis committee conducts the thesis examination, and the examination is chaired by the chairperson of the thesis committee. The thesis defense consists of an oral presentation (a public seminar) by the student of his/her principal findings. Following the presentation the committee will question the student in closed session. Following the question period, the student will be asked to retire and the committee will determine whether the written thesis, the oral defense and the response to questions meet the criteria for awarding a doctoral degree.

The thesis examination committee has three options: 1) to accept the thesis as written and presented, 2) to reject the thesis, or 3) to recommend acceptance of the thesis after appropriate modifications. The modifications will usually be corrections of the written thesis, but in some instances additional experimental work may be required.

At least four of the five committee members must agree on the final recommendation. In the unusual circumstance that the committee comprises only four members, the decision must be unanimous.

Graduate student teaching

There is no formal teaching requirement.

Steering committee

Because the graduate program in neurobiology will always require ongoing adjustments, a steering committee will oversee and guide its progress. This committee is responsible for writing and enforcing the program guidelines that govern the program. The steering committee is composed of the dgs, other primary neurobiology department faculty, at least one member representing secondary faculty, three student members to be selected by the graduate students (one from the first year class, one from the second year class, and one representing students in the third and subsequent years), and one post-doctoral representative. The faculty members who head mstp and minority recruitment are also members of the steering committee. The chairperson of the Department of Neurobiology is an ex officio member. The steering committee meets two times during the year, usually during the spring and fall semesters, to review the progress of the training program. At that time, faculty members of the steering committee also review the progress of students in the program.