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Purpose of the Examination

The doctoral Qualifying Examination is an assessment designed to indicate to the Department whether the student has the substantive knowledge and methodological skills to engage in doctoral level research and is ready to proceed to the next phase of the doctoral program.  The student must demonstrate written knowledge and skills in Epidemiology and the ability to synthesize and use the professional literature for grant writing and problem-solving situations.  Moreover, the examination is a formal assessment of the student’s mastery of doctoral competencies considered necessary for doctoral research.

Timing of the Examination

The doctoral Qualifying Examination is offered annually in September/October.  In general, most students take the exam approximately two years after beginning the program of study, if full-time.  Students may take the qualifying examination when there is a general consensus of the Doctoral Program Committee and the Major Professor that the student has completed the necessary coursework and is ready to take the exam.  A student is eligible to sit for the qualifying examination when the following minimum criteria have been met.

• The student has successfully completed all or most course work;
• There is an agreement between the student and all members of the doctoral committee that the student is prepared to take the qualifying examination; and
• The student must be registered for a minimum of 2 credit hours for the semester in which the qualifying examination is taken.
• The student must submit the Application for the PhD Qualifying Exam Form to the Department Academic Coordinator and the COPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs

Format of the Examination

The doctoral Qualifying Examination in Epidemiology is administered in two independently graded sections. Part 1 is an 8-hour, in-class, closed-book examination and Part 2 is a 2-week written examination. A brief description of the sections of the examination is outlined below.

1. The first section is an 8-hour general, closed-book examination, which focuses on the synthesis and application of epidemiologic knowledge to specific problems covered in the Core Competencies for the Ph.D. PhD program in Epidemiology.
2. The second section is a two-week written examination in which the student will be given an epidemiologic research question (such as an association between an etiologic exposure and an outcome) and asked to fully review the literature and write an epidemiologic research proposal which addresses the question using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant format.

Students should be prepared to block out two weeks in their schedules for the completion of Part 2 of the examination since it will require dedicated time to successfully complete the examination.  Submission of both parts of the exam by the student to the Department is final, therefore; students should review their exams carefully prior to submission.  Revisions/corrections to the examination after it has been submitted will not be permitted.  Qualifying Examinations will not be accepted after the stated deadline.

Taking the Examination

Students should arrive on time to take the examination and those who arrive late will not be granted extra time to complete the examination unless the lateness is due to personal/family illness or medical emergency, etc.  Student should bring a basic pocket scientific calculator and writing instruments for use during the examination.  Student’s whose primary language is not English may bring a foreign language dictionary.  However, it may not contain notes or any other markings that may assist the student during the exam.  Students are not permitted to use any other unauthorized electronic device (including mobile phones, smartphones, pagers, tablets, etc.) during the examination.

Evaluation and Grading of the Qualifying Examination

To “pass” the doctoral Qualifying Examination, students must demonstrate mastery of and ability to apply the epidemiologic concepts and methods covered in the core epidemiology curriculum and the relevant doctoral competencies.  A passing total score of at least 80 (out of 100) is required in order to pass each section. Students are allowed to take each section of the examination (Part 1 and 2) a total of two times each and must pass both sections to continue in the doctoral program in Epidemiology. If a score of 80 is not achieved, the entire failed section (Part 1 or 2) must be re-taken.  If the student fails one of the two sections, s/he must re-take the failed section the next time the examination is offered. If the student fails to pass a second time, the student cannot continue in the doctoral program, but may apply to transfer to other degree programs.

Students who fail a section or both sections of the examination may be required to take additional coursework, Independent Studies or workshops/seminars in order to appropriately prepare for the next offering of the Qualifying Examination.  More detailed information about the Department doctoral Qualifying Examination is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

Admission to candidacy in the doctoral program in Epidemiology is certification that the student has successfully:

1. Appointed a Doctoral Program Committee;
2. Attained an overall and degree program GPA of 3.00 at USF at the time of candidacy; and
3. Successfully completed the Doctoral Qualifying Exam.

The Graduate School Admission to Candidacy Form should be submitted for approval during the semester that the qualifying exams were successfully completed.

Doctoral students admitted to candidacy, are required to register for a minimum of 2 credit hours every semester following admission to candidacy, until the degree is granted. However, students may NOT enroll in dissertation hours prior to admittance to doctoral candidacy.  More detailed information about admission to candidacy is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website.

The Dissertation

The Department expects that the Doctoral Dissertation will have the scope, independence, and skillful presentation that demonstrate that the candidate has acquired a command of epidemiological concepts and principles, the ability to contribute fresh knowledge or a fresh outlook to the subject, and has mastered epidemiological methods. 

Human Subjects Approval

All proposed dissertation research which involves human subjects, even if it involves secondary data, must be submitted to the USF Institution Review Board.  Information can be obtained at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/officeresearch/humansubjects.html. This applies to all proposals whether the research is funded or unfunded.  All doctoral students at USF are responsible for following all guidelines of the USF Graduate School, Human Subjects Regulations, Data Use Agreements (if applicable) and HIPAA regulations (if applicable).  Students who fail to comply with these requirements may be subject to disciplinary action or dismissed from the program.  Students should consult the USF Office of Research, Division of Integrity and Compliance website to obtain guidance about research involving human subjects as defined in the USF Human Research Protection Program Investigator Guide, available online at http://www3.research.usf.edu/dric/hrpp/resources.asp. Aspects of the dissertation research that involve contact with study subjects or data containing personal identifiers cannot proceed until IRB approval has been obtained. More detailed information about is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

Data Use Agreements

Doctoral students who plan to use existing data that is not a public use data set should complete a Dissertation Data Use Agreement Form which outlines the terms of use, authorship, student rights, acknowledgements, etc.  This form should be signed by the student, owner of the data set and the Major Professor.  A copy of the form is available on the Department website and should be maintained in the student’s file.  Students should consult the Department Doctoral Student Handbook for more information.

Dissertation Requirements

The research question for a dissertation should have a demonstrable potential for advancing the state of knowledge or practice in epidemiology or public health.  The requirements for dissertation are as follows.  Dissertations should have a high level of achievement in: (1) originality - innovation in theory, methods, substantive content, or creative application of existing theory or knowledge to a new problem, (2) depth - technical competence and intellectual sophistication which is assessed by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee against standards of work publishable in peer-reviewed publications; (3) scholarship; and (4) scientific writing – demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written form.  Dissertation topics must be selected in subject areas in which there is sufficient faculty expertise within the full-time faculty of the department to provide appropriate guidance for the student's dissertation research. More detailed information about Department Dissertation requirements is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

Dissertation Format

The doctoral dissertation can be prepared in one of two formats: traditional format or the collection of articles (manuscript) format.  The first, the traditional format, has at least four sections, including at least five chapters.   The second option is the manuscript format which has at least four sections. The Department expects that regardless of the dissertation format selected, a minimum of two manuscripts intended for peer-reviewed publication must be proposed for all doctoral dissertations.  The scope and content of each manuscript will be decided upon by the student in consultation with their Major Professor and approved by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee.  The student’s Doctoral Dissertation Committee approves the refereed journals that will be targeted for submission and the number of manuscripts that will be included in the dissertation.  These manuscripts should be of sufficient quality to be potentially published in a first rate, peer-reviewed journal.  The Department prefers that one paper be accepted by a peer-reviewed journal, and the other one or two are submitted to peer-reviewed journals by the time of graduation. However, if the dissertation only results in two publishable manuscripts, this is also acceptable if approved by the candidate’s Doctoral Dissertation Committee.

There may be situations in which the original publication plan or manuscript structure is not well suited to the dissertation findings. In those cases, students can work with their Major Professor and committee to modify the publication plan prior to the dissertation defense or use the traditional dissertation format.

The acceptance of any of the manuscripts for publication is not a requirement for graduation although all manuscripts must be submitted for publication before graduation. In the unlikely situation that a manuscript needs to be published before the dissertation is submitted (e.g., there is a submission deadline for a special issue), the committee must review and approve in writing that the manuscript is ready for publication.

Completion of the doctoral program requires that at least one manuscript be submitted to an external scientific, peer-reviewed journal (approved by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee) prior to the Final Dissertation Defense.  Acceptance of the manuscript for publication IS NOT a requirement for graduation from the doctoral program.  Rejection of a manuscript by a journal (or equivalent external peer-review process) DOES NOT preclude successful completion of the doctoral program in Epidemiology or graduation. 

Although co-authors will need to be identified for manuscript submission, co-author’s names should not be included in the dissertation itself. In general, it is understood that all doctoral committee members will co-author the manuscripts, with the doctoral student being first author and comply with individual journal requirements. The doctoral committee shall decide, in collaboration with the student, in what order the co-authors should be listed for each manuscript. The student and committee should agree to general authorship of the publications before the defense of the doctoral proposal and reconfirm and prioritize order of the co-authors prior to the dissertation defense. 

The dissertation must conform to the specifications outlined in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website.

Dissertation Concept Presentation

All doctoral students are required to present their dissertation research idea in a formal oral presentation to the Department as a Departmental Seminar by the end of the Spring semester immediately following the Qualifying Examination and prior to writing the dissertation proposal.  The student should present their ideas for a dissertation topic during the mid-stages of dissertation development so that they can incorporate any input they receive from Department faculty and other doctoral students during the seminar.

When the Major Professor and Doctoral Dissertation Committee agree that the student is ready to present their dissertation idea to the Department and have selected potential dates for presentation, a Department Seminar will be scheduled.  Students should contact the Department Academic Coordinator to schedule the seminar.  The seminar will be announced via flyers and email at least two-weeks prior to the date selected, therefore the student should contact the Department Academic Coordinator at least 3 weeks prior to the desired seminar date.

For the Concept Presentation, the student should prepare a 35 to 40-minute presentation with slides (e.g., PowerPoint) which includes: the rationale for the proposed study, the research question and proposed hypotheses, study design, and research methods.  At the conclusion of the presentation, there will be a 15-20 minute Q&A session which will be moderated by the student.  More information about the dissertation concept presentation is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

Dissertation Research Proposal

The student will write his/her proposal and will orally defend the proposal in a public defense in which the Doctoral Committee and other interested parties are present.

The proposal is presented in a formal presentation to the student’s Doctoral Dissertation Committee. This presentation is open to other faculty, other students, and the general public. The Dissertation Proposal Defense date will be scheduled by agreement between the student and members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, and approved by the Department Chairperson.

Summary of Steps in the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Defense Process

1. The student may schedule a final Dissertation Committee meeting prior to distributing the version of the Dissertation Proposal that will be presented at the oral defense. At this meeting, the student and Committee should finalize any additional changes needed to be made prior to the Dissertation Proposal Defense. 
2. After this meeting, the student will make the recommended changes. If a meeting is not scheduled, the draft of the Dissertation proposal that will be defended must be received by all committee members at least four weeks prior to the anticipated defense date. Committee members should review the proposal and discuss changes prior to signing the Department Request for Dissertation Proposal Defense Form.
3. All Dissertation Committee members must sign the Department Request for Dissertation Proposal Defense form indicating that they have read the proposal and approve it for presentation. This form is available from the Department's Academic Coordinator or on the Department web page.
4. The Dissertation Proposal Defense Announcement Form must be posted at least 14 days prior to the Dissertation Proposal Defense. Once approved, the Department Academic Coordinator will post and distribute the announcement to Department.  Flyers will be posted throughout the College, placed on the COPH listservs and USF-NEWS.
5. A final copy of the Dissertation Proposal must be given to the Dissertation Committee members and the Department Chairperson 7 days prior to the defense. No further changes may be made to the research proposal until after the defense.
6. Submit the Department Request for Dissertation Proposal Defense form and a copy of the announcement (Dissertation Proposal Defense Announcement Form) to the Department Chairperson at least 21 days prior to the presentation.

Format of Proposal Presentation

The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal defense is to provide students with the opportunity to present their plans for dissertation research, and refine the methods based on recommendations and suggestions from the audience at-large.   The student will make a formal oral presentation with slides (e.g., PowerPoint) of the dissertation proposal by student not to exceed 35 minutes. The presentation should include: the rationale for the proposed study, the research question and proposed hypotheses, study design, research methods and proposed statistical analyses. 

The Dissertation Proposal Defense

The student, in consultation with the Major Professor, selects an “Outside Chair of the Dissertation Proposal Defense” (moderator) for the Dissertation Proposal Defense.  The moderator must be a fully credentialed member of the USF graduate faculty.  The moderator cannot be a member of the doctoral committee or a faculty member within the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics. 

Following the Dissertation Proposal Defense, the Dissertation Committee members will convene in a private meeting to determine the appropriateness of the proposed dissertation research and to discuss recommendations for additional changes in the proposal.  Committee members sign the Department Approval of Dissertation Proposal Defense Formonly after the corrections, additions or changes have been made in writing and the corrected final copy has been distributed to the committee and Department Chairperson.  

Approval of Dissertation Proposal Defense is not an endorsement of the proposal as a completed research plan.  This acceptance also does not preclude the committee from requiring modifications to the data analysis plan or review of literature at a later date.  The committee may require that a proposal be presented for a second time before being approved, if actions after the initial proposal meeting indicate that substantive modifications in the proposal are necessary.  Final approval of the Dissertation Proposal document only occurs after the proposal defense and the corrections, additions or changes have been made in writing and the corrected final copy has been distributed to the Dissertation Committee and Department Chairperson.

The proposal must be successfully defended for the student to continue in the Doctoral Program in Epidemiology.  Acceptance of the dissertation proposal by the student’s Dissertation Committee does not preclude the committee from making modifications in the data analysis plan or review of literature at a later date.  Upon successful completion of the oral defense, the student is given permission to begin the dissertation. More information about the dissertation proposal defense is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook.

Doctoral Dissertation Defense

At the completion of the dissertation research project, the student will defend his/her work in a public defense attended by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, faculty, students and any interested individuals who wish to attend. The doctoral student must have met regularly with his/her committee such that the defense is a pro forma event and the committee is apprised well in advance on the progress of the student toward completion of the degree.

The student must provide all Doctoral Dissertation Committee members a final draft of the dissertation document at least four weeks before the desired defense date.  Committee members must be given at least two weeks to read the dissertation and provide feedback prior to signing the form.  A final draft copy of the dissertation must be provided to the Department Chair for review by any interested college faculty member.

Summary of Steps for the Final Oral Presentation of the Dissertation

1. The student may schedule a final Dissertation Committee meeting prior to distributing the dissertation that will be presented.   During this meeting, the student and committee should finalize any changes needed to prepare the dissertation for presentation. After the meeting, the student will make the recommended changes. If a meeting is not scheduled, the draft proposal must be received by committee members at least four weeks prior to the anticipated defense date. Committee members should review the proposal and discuss changes prior to signing the Ph.D. PhD Request for Dissertation Defense Form.
2. All committee members must sign the Ph.D. PhD Request for Dissertation Defense Form indicating that they have read the proposal and approve it for presentation. These forms are available from the College of Public Health Office of Academic and Student Affairs and online.
3. The Ph.D. PhD Request for Dissertation Defense Form and a copy of the announcement (Dissertation Proposal Defense Announcement Form) must be submitted to the Department Chairperson for approval at least 21 days prior to the presentation. Once approved, the Academic Coordinator will post and distribute the announcement to the faculty and to students. Flyers will be posted throughout the College, placed on the COPH listservs and USF-NEWS.
4. A final copy of the dissertation is given to the committee members, Department Chairperson, and moderator at least 7 days prior to the presentation. No further changes may be made to the research proposal until after the defense. Approval for presentation is not an endorsement of the dissertation as a completed research project.

Scheduling the Dissertation Defense

Scheduling of the oral presentation of the dissertation is by mutual agreement between the student and the Doctoral Dissertation Committee members, and approved by the Department Chairperson. Before the defense can be scheduled, the student must have the PhD Request for Dissertation Defense Form(http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/forms.html) completed and signed by all committee members and given to the Department Academic Coordinator.   Once the form has been approved, a final draft copy of the dissertation must be provided to the Department Chair for review by any interested college faculty member.

Approval of the defense does not preclude changes in the final form of the dissertation, which may be suggested during or after the oral defense. The format for the oral defense is consistent with policies of the College of Public Health and the USF Graduate School, but as much as possible, is governed by the mutual wishes of the student and the Doctoral Dissertation Committee.

The student, in consultation with the Major Professor, will select an “Outside Chair of the Dissertation Defense” (moderator) for the Dissertation Defense.  The moderator must be a fully credentialed member of the USF graduate faculty. In accordance with USF Graduate School policy, the moderator cannot be a member of the doctoral committee or a faculty member within the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics. 

Successful completion of the oral defense is the culminating step of the doctoral program. This defense is the student's opportunity to present the dissertation in a public forum where faculty, other students, and guests are invited.

Format of the Dissertation Defense

The student will make a formal oral defense with slides (e.g., PowerPoint) of the dissertation not to exceed 35-45 minutes. The presentation should include: the rationale for the proposed study, the research question and proposed hypotheses, study design, research methods, statistical analyses, results and discussion.  The entire oral examination process normally should not exceed 3 hours in duration. Details of the format of the Dissertation Defense are provided in the Department Doctoral Student handbook. 

The student's Doctoral Dissertation Committee has final approval of the oral defense and the written product. Following the dissertation defense, the Doctoral Committee convenes without the student present to assess the student's performance in presenting the dissertation research. The doctoral committee may require modifications of the dissertation following the examination and before granting its final approval. If the modifications are extensive, the committee may ask the student to undergo another formal defense.

A student is recommended for the doctorate only if ALL members of the committee judge both the dissertation and the performance of the student in oral examination to be satisfactory.  Approval of the dissertation is indicated by signature on the Successful Defense of the PhD Dissertation Form. The student has sole responsibility for assuring that all forms related to the proposal and dissertation are completed, and that all work related to the dissertation conforms to the accepted style and format of the USF Graduate School.

Read the Graduate School website for specific details required by the USF Graduate School regarding dissertation presentation and preparation of the final manuscript: http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php.   

After the successful defense of the doctoral dissertation students should submit the Successful Defense of the PhD Dissertation Form signed by Committee members and moderator to the Department Academic Coordinator and the COPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs.  In addition, students should also submit the Certificate of Approval Form for Theses and Dissertations Form to the Department Academic Coordinator and the COPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs after it has been signed by committee members after all corrections and modifications have been completed satisfactorily.

The details of the format of the doctoral dissertation defense are provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website.

Submission of Dissertation

It is essential that the dissertation be submitted in an acceptable format. Students are required to attend an Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Workshop sponsored by the USF Graduate School (in person or online) the semester prior to graduation.  Students are required to follow the format given in Graduate Studies Thesis and Dissertation web site at http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.asp.  Additional information about the dissertation submission process is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website.