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Program of Study by Year: | 2012/13 and previous years | 2013/14 |
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Department Details
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Advising and mentorship of doctoral students is a comprehensive process that evolves throughout the Doctoral Program. Upon admission, an initial advisor is appointed for each student. The student then selects a Major Professor and assembles a Doctoral Program Committee which will provide guidance and oversight for the coursework phase of the Doctoral Program. After successfully passing the Qualifying Examination, the student will have a Doctoral Dissertation Committee which will provide expertise and guidance for the dissertation. More information about each aspect of the advising process is provided in the sections below. The Advisor Upon admission an advisor of full-time Biostatistics faculty from the Department is appointed by the Department for each doctoral student. The Advisor will provide general orientation to the doctoral program and guidance in the initial selection of classes. Each Program Advisor will serve in this capacity for a maximum of two semesters from the time of entry into the doctoral program. By that time (i.e., by the end of the second semester in the program), doctoral students are expected to select a Major Professor and form a Doctoral Program Committee. The Major Professor As the student's research interest develops, usually by the end of the second academic semester, the student will select a Major Professor. If the Program Advisor is in agreement, she/he may become the Major Professor if appropriate, or the student may ask another full-time, departmental Biostatistics faculty member to serve as the Major Professor. Students must have a Major Professor in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress in the doctoral program. If a student is unable to have a full-time Biostatistics faculty member from the Department to serve as his or her Major Professor by the end of one year from the date in which they entered the doctoral program or at any time point thereafter in the program, the student may not be permitted to continue in the doctoral program. The Major Professor must be fully credentialed by the College of Public Health. The Major Professor will assist in identifying any specific deficiencies and provide guidance for completing the Plan of Study. Students should consult the USF Graduate School Catalog for more information. In special circumstances a Co-Major Professor may be assigned upon approval by the Major Professor and Departmental Chair. The Doctoral Program Committee By the end of the second academic semester, in collaboration with the Program Advisor (or Major Professor if selected), the student will assemble a Doctoral Program Committee. Students should follow the steps for forming a committee as outlined in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and by the COPH. In addition to the requirements of the USF Graduate School the specific Department requirements for the composition of the Doctoral Program Committee are as follows:
The Doctoral Program Committee will approve the student's Plan of Study and provide guidance for the student regarding class selection and preparation for the qualifying examination. The signed Department Plan of Study Form should be submitted to the Department Academic Coordinator and the COPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs. The Doctoral Program Committee may meet at any time, but should ideally meet once per semester but at least once per academic year to review the student's progress, or to suggest changes in the plan of study. The student also may request a committee meeting at any time. The Doctoral Committee Chair may be asked to provide the department as requested by the Department Chair or the PhD program Director, or the student with an evaluation of the student's progress toward the degree. More detailed information about the advising process for doctoral students is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee After the successful completion of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination but before the student reaches the dissertation stage, the membership of the student's Doctoral Program Committee should be assessed for suitability for the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The membership of the Dissertation Committee may be the same as that of the Doctoral Program Committee if the student and/or Major Professor so desires. Students must have a Doctoral Dissertation Committee in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress in the doctoral program. If a student is unable to assemble a Doctoral Dissertation Committee within one year of successfully passing the Qualifying Exam, the student may not be permitted to continue in the doctoral program. Requirements for Composition of Doctoral Dissertation Committee In addition to the requirements of the USF Graduate School, the specific Department requirements for the composition of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee are as follows:
Changes in Doctoral Committee Membership There may be a variety of reasons, including better suiting the needs of the student's dissertation research, to change the membership of the Doctoral Program or Dissertation Committees. Members of the Doctoral Program Committee may decide not to serve, or choose to remain on the Dissertation Committee. In the event a Major Professor is unable or unwilling to continue serving on the student's committee, the student is responsible for finding another Major Professor. Students who are unable to find a replacement of Major Professor who meets the Department requirements should confer with the Department Chairperson for available options. If no other options exist, the student may be requested to voluntarily withdraw from the program or may be honorably withdrawn in good academic standing. The PhD candidate or Major Professor can also recommend changes. However the Major Professor and the Department Chair must approve all changes in committee membership. In order to change the membership of a Doctoral Committee, students are required to submit the PhD Change of Committee Form which is available at http://www.publichealth.usf.edu/forms.html to the Department Academic Coordinator and the COPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs. Students should consult the Department Doctoral Student Handbook, the College of Public Health Office of Academic and Student Affairs, and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website for specific information about the process to change Doctoral Committee membership. |
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Purpose of the Examination The doctoral Qualifying Examination is designed to evaluate whether the student has the substantive knowledge and methodological skills to engage in doctoral level research and is ready to proceed to the dissertation phase of the doctoral program. The student must demonstrate knowledge in Biostatistical methods, skills in computation and data analysis, experience in consultation, and the ability to synthesize scientific literature for research proposal development and problem-solving. 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. Most students take the exam after approximately two years of full-time study. Students may take the qualifying examination when the Doctoral Program Committee assesses 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 he or she has met the following minimum criteria:
Format of the Examination The Doctoral Qualifying Examination in Biostatistics is administered in two independently graded Parts: Part 1 is a 6-hour, in-class, closed-book examination and Part 2 is a 1-week, take-home, written examination. The following is a brief description of the Parts of the examination.
Students should block out one week in their schedules for the completion of Part 2 of the examination since it will require dedicated time to successfully complete the examination. Students' submission of both Parts of the exam is final; 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 can bring a basic pocket scientific calculator and writing instruments for use during the examination. Student's whose primary language is not English may bring an English/ 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 Biostatistical methods and skills covered in the core Biostatistics curriculum. To pass Part 1 (in-class), the student must (i) achieve a mean score of ≥70% overall for all five concentration areas combined AND (ii) receive a score of ≥50% in each concentration area. If the student fails Part 1 overall, but achieves ≥70% in two or more concentration areas, she/he passes these areas and will need to retake only those concentration areas which she/he did not achieve a score of ≥70%. To pass Part 2 (take-home), the student must achieve a score of ≥70%. Students must pass both Parts of the examination. If the student fails Part 1 and/or Part 2, she/he must retake the failed Part(s) in the following academic year. A student can take the qualifying exam up to two times. If the student fails to pass the qualifying examination after the second attempt, the student cannot continue in the doctoral program and will be terminated from the doctoral program in Biostatistics. The student may apply to transfer to other degree programs. Students who fail the qualifying examination after the first attempt may be required to take additional coursework, an Independent Study or workshops/seminars to help 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 Biostatistics certifies that the student has successfully:
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. More detailed information about admission to candidacy is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website. |
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The Dissertation The Doctoral Dissertation culminates the student's research and demonstrates that the candidate has acquired a command of biostatistical theory and methods, their application in a chosen substantive field in health, skills in computation, data analysis, and consultation. The Doctoral Dissertation also should be a presentation that demonstrates the student's ability to contribute fresh knowledge to or advance translation of knowledge in the chosen topic. Human Subjects Approval All proposed dissertation research which involves human subjects, even if it involves secondary data,must be approved by 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 and HIPAA regulations, when 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 dataset 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 dataset 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 topic for a dissertation should have a demonstrable potential for advancing methods, tools (including computation), and applications in Biostatistics 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 the standard of work 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. The first format is the traditional format. The second option is the manuscript format. See Departmental Hand Book for specific requirement of each format. Traditional Format: The Department expects that 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. More detailed requirements about traditional format dissertation are provided in guideline of the USF Graduate School (http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php) and the Department Doctoral Student Handbook. Manuscript Format: A minimum of two manuscripts, which are of closely-related research topics, intended for peer-reviewed publication must be proposed and at least one manuscript has a focus on biostatistical methodologies. The proposed manuscripts should be of the merits and quality to be potentially published in a recognized peer-reviewed journal judged by Major Professor and the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The scope and content of each manuscript will be decided upon by the student under supervision of the Major Professor and approved by the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. In situations where the original publication plan or manuscript structure is not well suited to the dissertation findings, students may change to the traditional format upon approval by the Committee. Two manuscripts must be submitted for publication before defense. 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 the doctoral student will be first author or lead author, the Major Professor, in general, will be the correspondence author. Committee members and other individuals who have made significant contributions to the manuscript as judged by requirements and standard of common journals will be co-authors. 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. The dissertation must conform to the specifications outlined in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website. 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. Steps in the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Defense Process
Format of Proposal Presentation The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal defense is to provide students with the opportunity to present their plan for dissertation research, and refine the methods based on recommendations and suggestions from the committee and audience at-large. The student will make a formal oral presentation not to exceed 45 minutes, followed by a period of question and answer. The presentation should include: the rationale for the proposed research, the research topics, proposed statistical methods, applications and significance, source of data, and preliminary results when applicable. The Dissertation Proposal Defense At the end of the Dissertation Proposal Defense, the Dissertation Committee will excuse the student and the public and convene in committee meeting to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed dissertation topic and to recommend changes in the proposal. The committee may require that a proposal be presented for a second time before being approved, if substantive modifications in the original proposal are necessary. Committee members sign the Department Approval of Dissertation Proposal Defense Form only after the corrections, additions or changes have been made in writing and the corrected final copy has been distributed to the committee members. Approval of Dissertation Proposal Defense is not an endorsement of the proposal as a completed research plan. Acceptance of the dissertation proposal by the student's Dissertation Committee also does not preclude the committee from requiring additional modifications in the research plan. The proposal must be successfully defended for the student to continue in the Doctoral Program in Biostatistics. 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 Upon 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 Ph.D. Request for Dissertation Defense Form. Steps for the Final Oral Presentation of the Dissertation
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 an oral presentation not to exceed 45 minutes. The presentation should cover the entire dissertation research. Following the presentation will be rounds of question-and-answer by the committee members. The moderator may allow for one-round of question and answer by non-committee members in the audience towards the end. The entire oral defense normally should not exceed 3 hours in duration. Details of the format of the Dissertation Defense are provided in the Department Doctoral Student handbook. Following the oral dissertation defense and committee examination, the Doctoral Committee convenes without the student present to assess the student's dissertation research as well as the performance in presenting the dissertation research. The doctoral committee may approve the dissertation at it stands without any modification, or require minor to moderate modifications of the dissertation before approval for submission to the Graduate School, or require extensive modification of the dissertation and ask the student to undergo another formal defense. The student's Doctoral Dissertation Committee has final approval of the oral defense and the written documentation. A student's dissertation is approved 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 granted by signature on the Successful Defense of the Ph.D. 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 Ph.D. 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. Submission of Dissertation It is essential that the dissertation be submitted in an acceptable format. 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. 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.php). Additional information about the dissertation submission process is provided in the Department Doctoral Student Handbook and the USF Graduate School Catalog and website. |
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